Since rescuing two kids and their monkey from a drifting rubber raft, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. However, Heather’s crew is pretty good at problem solving.
A leeboard was improvised, and worked pretty well until the monkey dropped anchor.
Luckily, tying up the loose ends wasn’t too challenging.
Unfortunately, the chapter concludes with an episode I don’t have. And Murphy’s Law dictates that the original artwork isn’t among the 75 examples found in Collection 56 at the Grand Rapids Public Library, either. (All told, there are 174 episodes of UP ANCHOR!).
Nonetheless, it shows the family sailing into Boothbay Harbor, Maine, aboard the cutter they were delivering.
This ending was inspired by Collins and his family reaching Boothbay Harbor, Maine, aboard their schooner Heather in the summer of 1965. After a year of sailing, Boothbay Harbor was the furthest point east that they reached—over 1,000 miles from Lake Macatawa.
After wintering in Maine, Heather would start her return trip to west Michigan in the spring. By August she would be home.
Heather and her crew spend a short time in Mystic, then continue their journey eastward. An interesting parallel is found to a three-week sailing trip I took with my Brother aboard his Gulfstar 43.
In the spring of 1989, we sailed from South Amboy, New Jersey and made some of the same stops as UP ANCHOR’s Marlin family. After sailing through Long Island Sound, we visited Block Island (and hit Mystic on the return trip). We also spent a night at Cuttyhunk Island, but from there our courses diverged. Where Heather headed northeast toward the Cape Cod Canal (and Down East), Brett and I sailed east to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Also, we didn’t hit any whales. The only bit of trouble we ran into was getting pulled over by a Coat Guard Cutter in Buzzard’s Bay… but that’s another story.
The damage is assessed and while it could have been worse—losing the engine and centerboard is not good!
Introducing a monkey might seem like a bit of a stretch, but it is a nice call back to a KEVIN THE BOLD episode from a couple decades back.
A recently-acquired batch of UP ANCHOR! half pages included most of the episodes of a story arc which ran 53 years ago, in the summer of 1970. The action begins in Florida, but the Marlin family soon land in New England, in order to handle the delivery of a sailboat.
UP ANCHOR! was based on the Collins’s experiences cruising and living aboard their boat. In May, 1964, Kreigh, Theresa, and 13-year-old twins Kevin and Glen left West Michigan and journeyed to New York City to take part in the first Operation Sail, which was a tie-in to the 1964 New York World’s Fair.
Coinciding with this trip was the imminent birth Of Kreigh and Teddy’s second grandchild (Ahoy! That’s me!). In order to simplify things for my parents (Judy and Erik), the decision was made for my older brother Brett (not quite three years old), to accompany his grandparents and the “Uncle Boys” on the first leg of Heather’s trip. My family was living in Ann Arbor, Michigan at the time, so my dad drove Brett to Ada, dropped him off, with plans to pick him up in the Detroit area, after Heather had made the trip up and around Michigan’s “mitten.” (It must have made an impression on Brett, who has owned numerous sailboats during his adult life). In a letter, Kreigh described his youngest crew member as “not too much trouble,” which I always thought was pretty funny.
After dropping Brett off, the journey continued down the Detroit River, through Lake Erie and the Erie Barge Canal, and down the Hudson River. From there they sailed through Long Island Sound and made port at Mystic, Connecticut.
Theresa kept as diary during the voyage, and much of the material was eventually used as raw material for UP ANCHOR! Before turning into the comic strip’s storylines, it was edited, illustrated by Kreigh, and published as “In the Wake of the Heather.”
Kevin and Brett’s only advantage is the 24-hour head start they have over Moab and his desert raiders.
Again, Moab surprises Kevin. Despite his tactical advantage, Moab lays down his sword and professes his admiration for the Irishman. Kevin’s feelings are mutual, but surely danger lurks somewhere?
Valor is either contagious or Brett is a quick student. On the flip side of the same coin are a pair of Moab’s greedy men. As the battle between good and evil plays out, Moab again saves the day. He and Kevin will meet again.
As Kevin and Brett continue on their way to a bank to deposit the “family jewels,” a new villain appears on the horizon — the pirate Zyclos.
While journeying past the Alps, and on their way to certain adventure — finding a lost treasure! — Kevin and Brett pause for an archery lesson. Who better to have as a teacher than Kevin? Surely he’s the finest archer in the land…
An impromptu contest between Kevin and a local hotshot ends with the expected result. Speaking of expected results, what did Kreigh Collins have against raptors? (In an October 1949 “Mitzi McCoy” sequence, Tim Graham had made a pin cushion of an osprey. Although it’s a similar stunt, it’s nice to see the differences in perspectives between the two illustrations.)
Their land journey over, Kevin and Brett set sail for the exotic East — to Byzantium (which is sometimes referred to as Istanbul or Constantinople).
Note the cute advertisement for the (second) re-release of Walt Disney’s 1937 feature Snow White at the bottom of the page—but the highlight for me is the wonderful throwaway panel illustration of Moab’s niece. Speaking of treasure, it turns out that our heroes aren’t the only ones digging around for it.
Moab demonstrated that he had honorable principles as a youth, when he first saw the jewels being hidden; what about now, when he seeks them as an adult?
In KEVIN THE BOLD’s seventh chapter, Kevin has decided to take Brett as his ward, and they set off together. Brett’s tragic backstory is revealed in these handsomely-printed and concisely-scripted comics. The impressive variety of settings, exotic locales, archery and wildlife were all hallmarks of Collins’ style.
In what must have been a rare case of transposed films, the Chicago Tribune’s March 9, 1952 comic printed badly. (It seems the magenta and cyan plates were switched — similar to a different instance, involving yellow and magenta). A tabloid version from the same day had its own reproduction issues, but gave an indication of how the colors were probably supposed to appear.
For a while, it seemed like the results of last week’s survey would be unanimous, but a late flurry of vote (singular intended—Ed.) made things interesting. As I was color-correcting the pages of what was Rafa G’s request, TOM MIX Nr. 4, a second vote came in from Alberto, tying the score. With no tie-breaker in place, a New York Mirror Sunday comics section will have to wait until next month.
Although my ruse didn’t produce an overwhelming response, it was nice to hear from a few readers. As for the third request I received (thanks, Roger!), the Treasure Hunt chapter will begin next week.
Like the preceding issues, the cover for TOM MIX Nr. 4 was printed in color on a nice, sturdy cover stock, with black and white inside covers. Released two weeks after its predecessor, the cover seems to feature General George Custer. (I might be missing something, but I didn’t find this character inside the comic book). Besides the cachet of being a nicely printed, 70-year old comic featuring the Swedish version of KEVIN THE BOLD, it features a few other elements that coincidentally align with some of my (other) fondest obsessions—the Buffalo Bills, beer, and Johnny Cash.
As usual, two episodes of UGH appeared on the inside front cover. The main portion of the comic book was kicked off by a mock-up of a newspaper’s front page.
TOM MIX runs across three spreads…
…and concludes on a page facing the recurring På Kryss med Roland contest, notable for its imagined adventures, this time featuring a giant squid on the attack.
De Dog Med Stövlama På (“They Died with their Boots On”) follows; it profiles “Wild” Bill Hickok, the notorious gun-fighting western figure.
Eight pages of a comic based on the exploits of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody followed. Interestingly enough, “Wild” Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill knew each other—in fact, Hickok became Cody’s mentor.
Two Bills—“WIld” (left) and “Buffalo” (right).
I’m not overly familiar with either of these Bills, but having grown up in western New York State, I’m a big fan of the (American) football team, the Buffalo Bills!
Next up was ROLAND DEN DJÄRVE. The action picks up where it left off in TOM MIX Nr. 3, with the episode originally published on December 24, 1950. The comic book publisher created their own color separations, and an interesting choice was made for the color of Roland’s hair—he’s blond (not the first time Kevin was depicted as a toehead).
To fit in the comic book, the three Sunday half pages were repurposed quite smartly, with each episode being reconfigured into a comic book spread.
As a Buffalo Bills fan, it might come as no surprise that I’m also a fan of beer; I used the little tent seen in the introductory panel of the December 31 episode as part of a beer label I created for Ada, Michigan’s Gravel Bottom Brewery—Kevin the Bold Imperial Stout.
Following Kevin, it’s time for LASH LaRUE.
My only familiarity with Lash LaRue is the fact that he appeared on the cover of a mid-1980s album by another of my obsessions, Johnny Cash. (Before I started collecting my grandfather’s comics, I collected Johnny Cash LPs. I don’t have them all, but 94 is a pretty substantial total—even without including CDs and cassette tapes, but I digress). The handsomely-photographed album features an action shot of Mr. LaRue on the back cover. (Sadly, the version of “Heroes” that appears at the end of side one is not a cover of David Bowie’s memorable track).
No offense to Johnny or Waylon, but the cover art is the album’s highlight. Getting back to the realm of comics, it’s interesting to know that Johnny even had his own comic book.
TOM MIX Nr. 4 concludes with a short story running on the inside back cover, Afrikas Vän (“Africa’s Friend”), about David Livingstone.
Despite owning a book on Livingstone written and illustrated by Kreigh Colllins (1961), my knowledge of the famed explorer was quite spotty. (I was happy to learn that he was an abolitionist, and not out to exploit Africa).
Livingstone’s portrait is featured on the back cover of TOM MIX Nr. 4.
Having just finished the busiest part of the year in my day job as a graphic designer (a two-week stretch of work without a day off, ugh!), I had no time to prepare anything for today’s post. In general, when I finish a multi-week chapter of Sunday comics (as happened last week), I create a stand-alone post, featuring a comic book or Sunday comics section, and then start running a new chapter over the next few weeks.
Here’s an opportunity for you to cast a vote for what you would like to see next week. The choices are: 1. BIG HORN No. 4 (A French comic book featuring Kevin le Hardi, from the late 1950s) 2. A New York Mirror Sunday Comics Section featuring Mitzi McCoy, et al (1949) 3. A 1963 Apu magazine (featuring Kevin’s Finnish iteration, Haukka) 4. Some comics and content from the Argentinian magazine Tit-Bits, which carried Kevin el Denodado 5. Some comics and content from a Swedish comic book, Tom Mix (1953)
Please vote using the “Leave a comment” option found at the bottom, right.
Also, if there is a particular chapter of MITZI McCOY, KEVIN THE BOLD, or UP ANCHOR! you would like me to start running the following week, let me know. Here is a link to the past chapters that have run.
As the chapter draws to a close, a couple of things happen which may be familiar to long-time readers of KEVIN THE BOLD. Kevin’s being distracted by his prime objective—saving others—putting his own safety in jeopardy, and a costume switch between male and female characters (as happened in KEVIN’s debut sequence, a decade earlier).
This time, it’s Brett creating the diversion, allowing Anne a chance at an escape.
Kevin is fortunate to emerge relatively unscathed after the coach topples over—Cardiff, not so much.
The chapter ends as Anne’s guardian appears, and Pedro makes an appearance, signaling a transition to a new adventure.
Kreigh’s Comics 
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