Grand Rapids Press

No Mere Shepherd

Captain Zinbad has decided to kidnap not only Moya and her family, but also Rory, their imposing Irish wolfhound.

In 1969, my family moved from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Fredonia, New York, when my father took a teaching job at SUNY-Fredonia. Along the trails in the woods behind our house, I remember digging tiger traps with my brother—knowledge passed down from my grandfather to my father to us. (We caught neither tigers nor wolfhounds).

Traitorous Bull Blackie has bad intentions with Moya, but the “witch girl” isn’t going down without a fight!

With Moya and Rory now also held captive, Kevin quickly devises a plan to set them all free.

Before diving overboard, Kevin uses his cutlass to scar Bull Blackie’s face. His Zorro-like swordplay and dialog was recycled from a story Collins had written and illustrated approximately fifteen years earlier. (I think his short story was titled “T Stands for Traitor”—alas, I cannot find the original. But trust me, it’s somewhere in the Grand Rapids Public Library’s Special Collection #56, a must-see for fans).

The introductory chapter ends with Kevin being knighted by the Moya’s father, Lord McCoy. While these roughly-assembled black and white third-page versions are interesting to see, the color half-page versions are quite an improvement—and they are included as the final chapter of The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins: The Complete Mitzi McCoy.

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The Complete Mitzi McCoy

“The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, the Complete Mitzi McCoy” features the entire run of Kreigh Collins’ first NEA feature, as well as the transitional story arc in which the strip morphs into KEVIN THE BOLD.

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MITZI McCOY ran from 1948 to 1950 and showcased Kreigh Collins’ skill as an illustrator and storyteller. His picturesque landscapes, lovely character designs, and thrilling action sequences brimmed with detail and charm, and the strip’s ensemble cast rotated in and out of the spotlight taking turns as protagonists in the dozen story arcs collected in this volume. The last story collected in “The Complete Mitzi McCoy” is the narrative bridge that set Collins and his characters off on a new journey, beautifully told for the next couple of decades in the much-lauded adventure strip Kevin the Bold.

The collection includes an introduction by Eisner Award-winning author Frank M. Young, an Afterward by Ithaca College’s Ed Catto, and previously unpublished artwork and photos. Longtime comics artist Butch Guice also provides a new pin-up of the character Mitzi McCoy.

The book is available for $30. For domestic shipping, add $4; for international orders, please add $25 to cover first class shipping. To place an order, leave a comment below or email me at BrianEdwardCollins1[at]gmail.com, and I will give you PayPal or Venmo information. Thank you!

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For more information on the career of Kreigh Collins, visit his page on Facebook.

A New Direction

In the summer of 1950, MITZI McCOY started running in the Grand Rapids Press, which was not just Collins’ hometown newspaper, but a client. He had been doing illustrations for them since the beginning of his career, which began about 20 years earlier. (Collins also did work for another local daily, the Grand Rapids Herald).

The first print example is dated July 8, 1950, and it’s the leadoff episode in MITZI’s penultimate chapter, about an exotic woman named Yolo. (That story arc appeared on this blog previously).

The chapter that followed Yolo will be featured over the next two weeks. “The McCoy Legend,” served as the transition point between MITZI and KEVIN THE BOLD. The big change in direction started innocuously enough, with Stub Goodman’s friend, Dick Dixon paying him a visit on a rainy day.

Stub loves to tell stories, and the one he relates to young Mr. Dixon is legendary—so much so that it uses a modified MITZI McCOY logo. For newspapers that had been running MITZI, this logo helped the reader navigate the change in the comic strip’s direction, whereas newspapers that were picking up Collins’ strip with KEVIN’s debut (like the Chicago Sunday Tribune) used an episode with the new KEVIN THE BOLD logo.

At any rate, readers of the Grand Rapids Press were the first to meet Kevin, as these episodes printed in the Saturday edition, scooping other Sunday readers. In it, Moorish pirates were raiding the Irish coast, looking for slaves.

Moya McCoy, Mitzi’s ancestress, has a sudden meeting with Kevin, and this overqualified shepherd soon comes to her aid. After two episodes, the “McCoy Legend” logo was replaced, and the metamorphosis was complete.

This opening chapter was an action-packed classic, and introduced a character who became a fan favorite—Rory the Irish wolfhound.

Having leaped from the cliff into the sea, Kevin makes his way to the pirates’ ship, which he hopes to capture single-handedly.

Kevin fails, but the story isn’t over yet…

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For more information on the career of Kreigh Collins, visit his page on Facebook.

The Tournament

Tournament preparations are completed; it is time for the show. The few rules are explained. The dramatic sequence of the Chicago Sunday Tribune’s new comic feature begins.

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With a lot less color and not as much fanfare, the action also unfolded in another recent subscriber to the NEA’s new comic. Kreigh Collins had a longstanding business relationship with a local paper, the Grand Rapids Press, for whom he had previously done illustrations. Like many cities of the era, Grand Rapids had several daily newspapers, but It took a while before any of them started running his comic. (A few months ahead of the strip’s transition to “Kevin,” the Press started running “Mitzi McCoy” in July of 1950).

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Now, with the Trib’s vivid reproduction.

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Kevin followed Stub’s plan to slide off his mount in order to try to lure De Falcon into combat on foot. The only problem — De Falcon is still astride his warhorse, Satan. However, playing possum proves effective, and Kevin avoids the Baron’s coup de grâce.

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Kevin’s own quick thinking leads to his desired outcome of mano a mano, where Stub declared, “On foot, ye’re his better.”

Stub is absolutely correct, as Kevin makes quick work of De Falcon. Claiming the Count’s horse, but sparing his life, Kevin realizes he has done well to allow him to live. He discovers the fallen man’s humanity, and is about to set out on another quest.

For more information on the career of Kreigh Collins, please visit his page on Facebook.