Things seems bad for Kevin when he sees how heavily Stormza travels. The situation deteriorates as the weather worsens.
Nearing exhaustion and dealing with a mutinous crew, Kevin has an unlikely rescuer. Once he comes to, he learns that his mission is about to become even trickier.
In 2004, I acquired my first “Kevin the Bold” comics. I purchased two years of Florida Times-Union half-pages from a woman whose husband had died. The comics were inexpensive, and I later realized that they were rather poor-quality examples. The colors printed rather garishly, there was a lot of show-through and other problems — but it was great having a two-year run of half-page comics.
The action was exciting and featured exotic, nicely-rendered locales. In the following sequence, rooted in the history of the Hanseatic League, Kevin’s patron wants to find a trade route through the Suez. In order to gain the trust of the powers that be, he has enlisted Kevin to deliver a “priceless jewel” — the Pasha’s daughter has to get home after spending time in Europe. Kevin soon realizes how difficult his assignment will be.
Stormza is perhaps Collins’s most headstrong female character since Mitzi McCoy, and like Mitzi, she has a knack for getting into — and out of — trouble.
As usual, the transitional comics in the sequence feature light-hearted, humorous situations.
I started my professional career as a graphic designer in 1987. Like a lot of young people in the publishing industry, I was a big fan of Spy magazine. Spy was a satirical monthly that ran from 1986 to the mid-90s and was based in New York City, like me. There were plenty of interesting components of the magazine, among them “Separated at Birth.” It wasn’t a high-brow feature, and no doubt it’s been parodied to death.
Kreigh Collins often had characters that were inspired by ones from his previous comics. Occasionally ideas were recycled too, but these are examples of the former.
These examples might not be as elegant as those found in Spy, but they are still pretty interesting. Sometimes it wasn’t so much a recurring character as it was an object.
“Up Anchor!,” Kreigh’s final comic, was set aboard a representation of his own boat, the 45-foot long Heather. The Bowdoin didn’t feature in any of Kreigh’s comics, but the historic 88-foot long schooner was the design upon which the half-size Heather was based.
Uniquely designed for Arctic exploration, the Bowdoin was launched in 1921.Under the direction of skipper Donald B. MacMillan, it made dozens of trips above the Arctic Circle. Earlier, MacMillan had accompanied Robert Peary on his historic expedition to the North Pole in 1909.
Kreigh’s wife Theresa described how Heather came to be in the article she wrote, and which Kreigh illustrated, “The Wake of the Heather.”
When [Arctic] explorations were in the forefront of the news, a Chicago doctor wrote to the ship’s designer and asked him to design a half-sized schooner, built as she was and able to go anywhere and do anything. The doctor died two years after his boat was launched in 1927, and the superbly built schooner passed on to a succession of owners until we bought her twelve years ago. This is our Heather, little sister of the Bowdoin.
Kreigh and Teddy met MacMillan at Mystic Seaport in the summer of 1966. They had known of Heather’s parentage, and had sought out the Bowdoin. The 92-year-old MacMillan, a rear admiral in the Naval Reserve, invited the couple to dine with him and his wife aboard their boat.
Kreigh and his family sailed Heather for nearly 15 years, and she lived up to her go-anywhere, do-anything billing. Among the places they took her were all of the Great Lakes, the Erie Canal, the Hudson River, New York harbor, Long Island Sound, the Cape Cod Canal, Maine, the Bay of Fundy; and the Inter-coastal Waterway, Florida, the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River. I’m not sure if they ever made it to the Bahamas, as a late-1950s newspaper article mentioned, but they certainly covered a lot of water.
Having come to the north woods to win a bet, Tim has found no time for bear hunting. It’s a good thing that he has been keeping his archery skills sharp, as he does finally get a chance to use his bow.
With the accuracy he had displayed twice before, Tim takes a 100-yard shot and pins Waboosh to a tree with an arrow seemingly straight through his heart. It’s grim stuff for the comic strip, but it turns out that Waboosh’s wound is not fatal. And just as the tension eases, Mr. McCoy is startled by another gun-toting local.
The “Bow and Arrow Bear Hunt” sequence ends neatly, with a chance encounter with an old friend, loose ends being tied up, and the final payment on a debt. “Mitzi McCoy” was hitting its stride nicely as it was about to transition into its most significant chapter to date, “The Christmas Story.”
Features director “East” Lynn was no doubt glad to see Mitzi reappear in Kreigh’s illustrations. In correspondence with his artist, he reminds Collins to portray the heroine in flattering poses, and raved about her “equipment… facial, pectoral and callipygian.” However, Waboosh has also taken notice of her arrival in Roaring Fork, and the stage is set for further conflict.
Coming to the north woods to hunt bears with a bow has left Tim and the McCoys at a disadvantage when confronted by Waboosh and Toadie. In the October 23 comic, things look especially dire as Waboosh kidnaps Mitzi at gunpoint.
October 23, 1949: click comic to enlarge.
“Mitzi McCoy” was designed to have plot lines that could be carried by any of its main characters — Mitzi, Stub Goodman or Tim Graham. In this case, Tim grabs the spotlight, as he is the only regular character appearing in a string of four episodes. “Mitzi” also promised lively adventure, romance and human interest, and with Tim leading the way, the action veers into violence for the first time since Stub Goodman bounced Phil Rathbone from the offices of the Freedom Clarion.
Another strategy “Mitzi”used was to create new characters that would reflect various demographics it was trying to reach as it tried to grow its audience. A previous sequence had brought aboard young Dick Dixon, and Lynn and Collins had discussed the possibility of adding a girl to the Bow and Arrow Bear Hunt chapter. It was decided that a later sequence would feature a schoolgirl, and last week’s comic introduced Mugs, a native boy defended by Tim.
Fortunately for Tim, his unlikely ally Mugs returns the favor… in spades. Mugs saves Tim once and after being warned away, the boy lingers long enough to save Tim yet again. Later, while setting up camp, stereotypes are shattered and his bond with Mugs is sealed.
Perhaps reminding readers of the reason he had come to the north woods in the first place, Tim puts on an exhibition of his archery skills for his young friend. The October 2, 1949 comic also features some clever survival skills employed by Mugs. This comic proved to be very popular with Kreigh’s test audience (sons Erik and David, ages eleven and nine). In the final panel, an attractive young native woman heralds the return of the comic’s usual eye appeal, as Mitzi and her father have been summoned to Roaring Fork.
Working with his usual three-month lead time, Kreigh Collins sent his initial story outline to NEA features director Ernest Lynn in mid-May. By this time, after having worked so closely over the past year, the two men had become good friends. Having heard that Ernest’s wife was sick, Kreigh’s wife Teddy had sent her a pair of gloves. By now, Ernest used his nickname, “East,” to sign his letters to Collins.
“Mitzi McCoy”’s sixth sequence was timed to conclude during hunting season, in a bid for more traction with readers. It followed a very successful chapter on the history of the Irish Wolfhound, and wanting to keep his momentum, Kreigh led off with his most alluring illustration of Mitzi to date. Smiling broadly and showing more leg than would fit in the double-decker panel, Mitzi was ready for her close-up.
The August 28, 1949 offering is a pretty typical transitional comic, in that it’s light-hearted, humorous fare. True to his name, Stub Goodman stubbornly insists he knows all about archery — and of course he finds trouble.
In the following comic, Tim gets a chance to show off his skills; no doubt these will come in handy soon enough. Mr. McCoy proposes a bet and the stage is set for a change of scenery, including some new, rough-looking characters.
There are also some other, more attractive characters shown, such as the “squaw” suggested by Lynn who is seen in the third panel. But where there is beauty, there is often ugliness, and Tim’s good intentions have placed him in danger.
Most of my Kreigh Collins-related comics and clippings were given to me by my uncle Kevin, one of Kreigh’s four sons. One of the more interesting items I received appears above. It ran in the Grand Rapids Press in May, 1966. I have seen no other mention of this project. Perhaps it was an attempt to clear Collins’s path for doing a new comic. The final installment of “Kevin the Bold” ran a couple years later, on October 27, 1968, and the comic morphed into “Up Anchor.”
In this last part of the Moorish Pirates sequence, Kevin is determined to go down swinging, and he waits for the proper moment to make his move.
It’s a life and death situation on deck and overboard. Captain Zinbad is dispatched, but Bull Blackie’s life is spared. According to his code of honor, Kevin’s primary responsibility is to save those in danger. It’s unclear how the traitorous Bull Blackie escaped, and it seems he may have been spared in order to appear in future episodes of the comic.
Meanwhile, Rory took care of business aboard the pirate ship and cleared the decks of her crew. Moya’s grateful countrymen are freed as Kevin remains humble. As a reward for his bravery, the lord of McCoy Castle presents Kevin with both an impressive trophy and a catchy moniker.
The Moorish Pirates, part 3. With the aid of the Irish traitor Bull Blackie, Moorish pirates have been raiding the Irish coast, taking prisoners and selling them as slaves. Soon enough, the Pirates have scored quite a bounty. Despite fighting like wildcats (Moya) and dogs (Rory), all of our heroes have been captured — including Kevin.
The double-decked opener of the November 19, 1950 comic provided the artwork for the promotional illustration that appeared in Tit-Bits, at top.
The pirates decide that as a witch, Moya must be killed (not the only time witch-killing was portrayed in the strip). However, they soon learn of Kevin’s creativity and fierce determination to save those in peril, especially those he loves.
Kreigh’s Comics 