Honorable Intent

Kevin, Marie, and Paul are all trying to do the right thing. But in trying to protect the other, they are working at cross-purposes.

Kevin stumbles across the heartbreaking sight of a distraught, beautiful woman and his primal instinct, to help those in need, kicks in. However, further complications arise when Paul’s father is introduced.

Once Kevin fully grasps the situation, he takes matters into his own hands.

Now available for pre-order!

Visit the Lost Art Books website to place your order for The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, Vol. 1: The Complete Mitzi McCoy. In addition to the entire run of “Mitzi McCoy,” the book includes the opening sequence of the comic strip “Mitzi” evolved into, “Kevin the Bold.”

The book also features an extensive introduction and previously unpublished artwork and photographs.

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

Rejected

Kevin’s new friend Paul Fortin proves that love is blind… in this case, to danger.

After taking a punch in the previous week’s episode, Paul was left with a nasty black eye. Instructions for the colorists were left at the bottom of the original illustration, but unfortunately, I do not have any color examples of the above comic to show how the bruise was rendered. However, the comic below, with events from the same day, shows no evidence of Paul’s black eye (although Kevin mentions it in the dialog).

Despite a beggar’s helpful tip, Jacques Boucher shows how ruthless he is—not a good sign for Paul. Making matters worse, Boucher is not the only one plotting against the young student.

But worst of all (to Paul), he has now been rejected by the object of his desire.

(continued)

Now available for pre-order!

The book also features an extensive introduction and previously unpublished artwork and photographs.

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

Defending Her Honor

The following “Kevin the Bold” sequence, which began in late September 1963, seems to have been an attempt to relate to college-age readers of the funnies. It portrays the students’ 16th-century counterparts as being not so different from themselves. Quick to fall in love, idealistically standing up for their beliefs, and living like slobs—some things never change. (Except for the part about college kids reading newspapers).

Having just arrived in Paris, Kevin is attracted to its beauty and stumbles into a messy scene.

Paul’s actions are based on emotions rather than logic, and he is headed toward danger to which he is blind. Luckily, his new friend Kevin is more worldly, and willing to help.

(The sequence continues next week).

In commemoration of this blog’s third anniversary, I would like to thank all of its readers for their continued interest in my grandfather’s comics career.

Now available for pre-order!

The book also features an extensive introduction and previously unpublished artwork and photographs.

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

The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, Vol. 1: The Complete Mitzi McCoy

Long in development and currently undergoing final edits, The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, Vol. 1: The Complete Mitzi McCoy will be printed in September, 2018. This puts it on schedule to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the strip’s 1948 launch. In addition to the entire run of Kreigh Collins’ first syndicated comic, “Mitzi McCoy,” the book also includes the opening sequence of the comic strip “Mitzi” evolved into, the better-known and longer-lasting “Kevin the Bold.”

The book features an extensive introduction by Eisner Award-winning writer Frank M. Young. Collins’ early life and career are covered as well as the development of both “Mitzi McCoy” and “Kevin the Bold.” Previously unpublished photographs and artwork are included.

The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, Vol. 1: The Complete Mitzi McCoy will be published by Lost Art Books, whose stated mission is to collect and preserve the works of illustrators and cartoonists from the first half of the 20th century. Previously published titles feature the work of Richard Thompson, Niso Ramponi, Ray Willner, and others.

For a limited time,The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, Vol. 1: The Complete Mitzi McCoy can be pre-ordered at a reduced price. Visit the Lost Art Books website to place your order.

Future volumes of Kreigh Collins’ comics are planned. Stay tuned for further developments!

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

More Lore

Because “Up Anchor!” ran for over three years, Kreigh Collins had to come up with quite a bit of material to fill the two topper panels of its 174 Sunday comics. All of this information needed to be fresh, but sometimes the accompanying illustrations required a bit of recycling.

December 15, 1968

Say… that lad hopping over the tree stump looks familiar. Where have I seen that pose before?

At left, from the Methodist Publishing House’s Bible Picture Story Comics, is a young Jesus (1946); at right, Brett from “Kevin the Bold” (1955).

Brett from “Kevin the Bold” (1963).

Back in the days before the internet, illustrators were wise to keep a “morgue,” where reference images were stored. These images came in handy for future assignments, and I’m unaware of a pose Collins copied more often than the boy playing leapfrog.

Here are some more examples of “Water Lore.”

After three weeks of “Water Lore,” I am happy to say that I will be making a major announcement in next Sunday’s post.

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

Water Lore, Boat Show Edition

After the launch of “Up Anchor!,” a promotional event for the new comic strip was held a few months later at the New York City Boat Show.

The New York Times ran articles about the show opening and closing; unfortunately, there was no mention of my grandfather’s participation. They did mention 434 exhibits and 14 educational booths, I guess that will have to suffice.

Kreigh Collins was accompanied by his new NEA boss, Robert Molyneux.

At the boat show, Collins worked on the episode of “Up Anchor!” shown below. Note the inscription beneath the strip’s logo, “Drawn at New York Boat Show.” The episode ran May 4, 1969, and because the boat show lasted from January 25 until February 2, it shows the cartoonist was still working with his customary three-month lead time.

In addition to nautical trivia, sailing regulations, and knot-tying how-to, “Water Lore” featured personal anecdotes based on Collins’ travels with his family aboard their 45-foot schooner. The Collinses encountered much in the 15 years they spent aboard Heather, sailing the Great Lakes, off shore in New England, and on their travels along the Mississippi River, Erie Canal, and Intracoastal Waterway. Here are some of those first-hand observations.

In addition to nutty things his kids did or saw, others were based on places they had spent time while cruising.

Lake Huron and the St. Clair River were crossed during any trips eastward through the Great Lakes, and Holland, Michigan was the location of Heather’s home port on Lake Macatawa (which connects with Lake Michigan).

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

Water Lore

“Water Lore” was the topper strip Kreigh Collins created for his third NEA comic, “Up Anchor!” The comic generally ran as a one-third page, so the topper was rarely seen in print. Until recently, I had only seen “Water Lore” when I’d come across Collins’ original illustrations for the comic, or in the handful of “Up Anchor!” syndicate proofs in my collection.

The May 17, 1970 episode is one of many pieces of Collins’ original art found in the collection of the Grand Rapids Public Library.

I recently acquired some half-page examples of “Up Anchor!” and have now seen its topper in print, and in color.

The “Evening Chronicle” from Allentown, Pennsylvania was one of the few newspapers to run “Up Anchor!” as a half page comic.

Collins had long hated the one-third page format in which most newspapers were running “Kevin the Bold,” and when the suits at the NEA convinced Collins to retire “Kevin” and replace it with something more contemporary, he utilized the topper so his panels wouldn’t get cropped and shrunken. In cases where it ran as a four-tiered tabloid comic, the second topper panel would be eliminated.

The “Water Lore” toppers occasionally had dates inscribed in them, indicating they may have been intended as stand-alone single panel comics. Collins often illustrated and wrote articles for consumer sailing magazines, perhaps they were the intended market.

More commonly, they were undated.

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

Hercules

In what could be the worst bachelor party ever, Kevin and Luoth spend the eve of the wedding working hard on a risky and dangerous task.

Following his night of hard labor, Kevin is spent. The panels in the middle tier of the episode above are hysterical—with the first two contrasting the eager bride and the reluctant groom, and the third panel existing somewhere between the screwball and the absurd (and practically begging to be taken out of context). Meanwhile, Kevin faces his moment of truth.

Mascarading as Hercules, Kevin passes one test, but unexpectedly faces another.

Luoth understands that if Barda breaks the engagement, it is mutually beneficial to Kevin and himself. Luoth is willing to take a great risk in order to restore his standing with Barda. Finally, a sudden thunderstorm and some quick thinking allows Kevin to escape his fate as a married man.

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

The Obelisk

I wish I had some color half-pages from this sequence to intersperse with the black and white art, but the printer proofs really accentuate Collins’ wonderful line work. And As you can see, the third-page versions that ran in many newspapers during this era of Kevin left much to be desired. With these shrunken comics, each panel was cropped, and the lovely “throwaway” was eliminated.

For the time being, Barda is able to calm her erstwhile boyfriend’s anger, but her situation proves too sticky for any further help from her father. Though Kevin will have his hands full dealing with the jealous, jilted Luoth, he is as calm and confident as ever.

Someone please hide those scissors!

Quick thinking and a sudden, unlikely alliance buys Kevin time as he tries to dig his way out of trouble.

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

The Trap

Barda has a new muse, and she gives her new toy both freedom and fair warning.

Determined not to make the same mistake twice, Kevin is cautious.

The comic used to patch the hole in this proof reveals the main problem with one-third-page versions—a significant chunk of the opening panel (to the right of Kevin) has been cropped out.

The names of Kreigh Collins’ ancillary characters were generally symbolic. As the child of a druid-inspired cult’s spiritual leader, Barda (“daughter of the earth”) is an appropriate name for a young poetess. Although she seems to relish dominating her love interests, she is not to be confused with Big Barta (a DC comics character with similar proclivities that debuted a decade later).

In the December 11 episode, our poetess riffs on a scene from King Lear (“The knave turns fool that runs…”). Of note, five years down the road Shakespeare would figure even more prominently as inspiration for a “Kevin the Bold” sequence.

Having made Kevin an offer he could not refuse, Barda finds trouble of her own.

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

	Ivan on El Diario
	Kevin the Bold i Thr… on The Search for Sadea
	Kevin the Bold i Thr… on The Count de Falcon
	Kevin the Bold i Thr… on First Impressions
	Kevin the Bold i Thr… on Thriller Comics No. 24

Kreigh’s Comics

An examination of my grandfather's comic strips by Brian E. Collins

kreigh collins

Honorable Intent

Now available for pre-order!

Rejected

Now available for pre-order!

Defending Her Honor

Now available for pre-order!

The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, Vol. 1: The Complete Mitzi McCoy

More Lore

Water Lore, Boat Show Edition

Water Lore

Hercules

The Obelisk

The Trap