Kevin’s Page

I generally think of Brett as being Kevin’s ward, but the more accurate term would be page. A boy served as a page for about seven years; at age fourteen he could graduate and become a squire. A page’s duties were acting as a messenger, serving, cleaning clothing and weapons, and learning the basics of combat. He also received a more general education from his master.

The January 16, 1955 episode shows Brett at work.

Again, Brett shows his skills (combat training this time). While it might seem unlikely that a lad as young as Brett was shown wielding a crossbow, it was not unheard of—the wikipedia article that described a page’s responsibilities also states “The mechanical and long-range nature of [crossbows] made them almost the only medieval weapon which could be employed effectively by a youth.”

This example of the January 30, 1955 episode taken from the Chicago Sunday Tribune reproduced beautifully.

Meanwhile, young Sigurd—more squire than knight—is being conspired against by his supposed guardian, Gouda, who is using the thug Hunn as a means to his end.

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

Skeleton in the Closet

In 1954’s final episode, the previous story arc wraps and transitions to the next chapter by way of an extremely dynamic splash panel.

Kevin’s lady friend yearned for some excitement, proving the adage “be careful what you wish for!”

The action takes a rather grim turn as the giant intruder rampages. After his futile attempt at stopping him, Kevin looked to suffer the same fate as the fallen servant, only to be saved by the quick-thinking (and strong-armed) Brett.

Although they were both sourced from the Chicago Sunday Tribune, the color scheme changed significantly between the last two episodes. Such problems were avoided when KEVIN THE BOLD began appearing in the black and white Menomonee Falls Gazette (Issue 109, which also featured Kevin on the cover).

Further mayhem was avoided, and after healing up, Kevin and Brett continued on their way.

When I originally posted this episode, for some reason I neglected to do color correction.

To be continued…

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

Boxing Day

Today is Boxing Day, a day on which servants, tradespeople, and the needy are traditionally presented with gifts. It originated in the United Kingdom, and is primarily celebrated in countries formerly part of the British Empire.

It precedes Kevin the Bold, who might have celebrated it differently.

Panel taken from KEVIN THE BOLD’s third episode (October 15, 1950)

I learned of Boxing Day more as a day to share holiday leftovers and good cheer, and this post will follow that line of thinking. In my more freewheeling younger days, my brother (Brett) and I would often host Boxing Day parties where we’d encourage attendees to dress in boxer shorts and play a few rounds of Rock-em Sock-em Robots.

Brett and I are comics fans from way back but didn’t start throwing Boxing Day Parties until the late ’80s.

Brett was Kreigh Collins’s first grandchild and my brother’s namesake character was a major player in KEVIN THE BOLD from January 1952 until April 1965.

A character named Brian only appeared in a single 1961 sequence and although the characters Brett and Brian both preceded my brother’s and my existence, I can’t help but feel a bit jealous about the discrepancy in those characters’ roles—though I’d be smart to avoid mentioning this to my Uncle Glen (Uncle Kevin’s brother).

At least Brian, the Duke of Duval, was a bad guy and basically shared a name with a tasty Belgian beer.

Speaking of Belgian beer, the painting above, from the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s collection, with its unusual composition, is unlike any other I have seen by Kreigh Collins. Its date (5/14/31) indicates it was produced while Kreigh and his wife Theresa were summering in Europe, shortly after they were married.

Although there were no major characters named Brian in my grandfather’s comic strips, I was bestowed a cool nickname in the Christmas letter he and my grandmother sent out in 1964. (I was born three days before his third grandchild, my cousin Josh).

With that, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, a gay holiday season, and that you look forward to ~~1965~~ 2022 with as much anticipation as I look forward to all of the adventures the year promises to bring.

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

Brett in in the Lions’ Den

At each others’ throats just moments before, Kevin and Karl are now completely aligned.

The short chapter’s quick pace continues, and with Brett’s lion cub/baby switcheroo, the story begins to transition to Kevin’s next adventure.

Before Kevin’s lady friend gets a chance to share it, her story comes alive!

This story line would continue in the pages of the Monomonee Falls Gazette. KEVIN THE BOLD debuted in issue No. 109 (January 14, 1974), which featured Kreigh Collins’ artwork on the cover. For the next six months, KEVIN ran on the gazette’s back cover, and continued inside until the demise of the publication four years later.

In case you can’t get your hands on MFG issues 109–232, the next dozen or so KEVIN THE BOLD chapters are collected in the book Kevin the Bold: Sunday Adventures. The 154-page collection, about 97% of which was compiled from BW syndicate proofs, is available on Amazon.com.

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

The Mountebank’s Lions

This short chapter appeared at the tail end of 1954. Its five episodes were all taken from the Chicago Sunday Tribune, and although they are a bit past that newspaper’s prime years (as far as reproduction and printing of Sunday comics is concerned), they are beautiful examples nonetheless. This early chapter—KEVIN THE BOLD’s 17th—immediately precedes the episodes that ran in the Menomonee Falls Gazette.

As noted in the opening caption, the action is set in 1491. The year is somewhat arbitrary—my feeling is that it just serves to peg the action as occurring just before Christopher Columbus’ first voyage to the New World. It was a busy year for Kevin—the strip’s three previous chapters also took place in 1491. These were the first times a specific date was referenced for KEVIN THE BOLD’s action.

This sequence also kept Kevin busy—quite a bit of action was packed into its five episodes, which lacked the longer exposition normally found at the beginning of a chapter.

Having just arrived, Kevin makes immediate impressions on both the town’s law and order man and his pretty female friend. The jealous Swiss guardsman insults Kevin and moments later they square off to fight. Oh, and there are lions!

As quickly as it started, the fight ends, and the two combatants join forces in a common goal, finding the lioness’s cub. It’s all happened so quickly that I barely had time to look up the definition of mountebank—if he’s a charlatan, the townsfolk don’t seem to mind. Now back to the action!

In an odd form of payback, the lioness kidnaps a baby. Brett emerges as the voice of reason, the lion cub returns and… has Brett lost his mind?

To be continued…

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

Tit-Bits No. 2238

In April 1952, the Argentinian weekly Tit-Bits added “Kevin the Bold” to its lineup. Among other stories and features, Tit-Bits reprinted American comics with Spanish translations. The magazine’s cover art was provided by the comic strips it featured inside (as would be the case with the Menomonee Falls Gazette two decades later).

“Kevin el Denodado” ‘s debut, in issue No 2232, was appropriately bold—in addition to landing on the magazine’s cover, its center spread was comprised of the strip’s first three episodes. For the next five issues of Tit-Bits, other comic strips appeared on the cover, and only a single, tabloid version of “Kevin the Bold” appeared inside. For No. 2238, Collins’ comic regained its spot on the cover, and another three-episode spread appeared inside. (Eventually, “Kevin” ‘s appearance on the cover no longer signified a triple-episode spread inside—later issues only had single tabloid episodes. Unlike some other Tit-Bits comics, “Kevin” continued to run in color).

This spread cobbled together the November 19, November 26, and December 3, 1950 episodes (shown in English, below).

As in Issue No. 2232, the front of the magazine featured black and white versions of “Big Ben Bolt,” by John Cullen Murphy (Ben Bolt Campeón), and “Rusty Riley” by Frank Godwin (Rusty Riley, Aprendiz de Jockey).

The back of the issue had Spanish versions of “The Phantom” (by Ray Moore?), “Terry and the Pirates” by Milt Caniff (Terry, el Piloto), and Dr. Nicholas P. Dallis’ “Rex Morgan, MD” (Rex Morgan, Médico).

Lost in Translation

The action featured in the epic “Kevin the Bold” comic above appears near the tail end of my book, “The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, Vol. 1: The Complete Mitzi McCoy.” The book features all 99 episodes of “Mitzi McCoy” as well as the ensuing 12 “Kevin the Bold” adventures that following the “Mitzi”‘s transition to “Kevin”. While there are no immediate plans to translate the book into Spanish, it’s pretty awesome in its original English, if I do say so myself.

“The Complete Mitzi McCoy” can be ordered here.

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

Tit-Bits No. 2232

Tit-Bits was a British weekly with origins in the late 19th century. An Argentinian version was created in 1909, and among its pages, Spanish translations of American comics were featured.

Measuring 10.5″ x 13.5″, the 24-page, tabloid-sized magazine had full-color covers, and the interior was a mixture of black and white and color pages.

“Kevin the Bold” made its Tit-Bits debut in issue No. 2232, published on April 1, 1952. Retitled Kevin el Denodado, its adventure theme fit in nicely with the other comics the magazine featured. In addition to appearing on the cover, “Kevin” also ran on the inside spread. The other comics in this issue were Spanish versions of “Big Ben Bolt,” by John Cullen Murphy (Ben Bolt Campeón), “Rusty Riley” by Frank Godwin (Rusty Riley, Aprendiz de Jockey), “Terry and the Pirates” by Milt Caniff (Terry, el Piloto), and Dr. Nicholas P. Dallis’ “Rex Morgan, MD” (Rex Morgan, Médico). Sometimes the comics ran on full pages, and in other cases there was editorial content wrapping around them.

In all the copies I have seen of Tit-Bits, comics were featured on both the second page and facing the table of contents (page 3). The other comics appeared at random intervals throughout and generally ran in black and white.

On the other hand, the new comic found on the magazine’s center spread ran in color. Not only that, but this massive 21″ x 13.5″ image was made by combining three separate episodes into one.

It actually begins with the final episode of “Mitzi McCoy,” and continues with the first two episodes of “Kevin the Bold.” This composite comic was constructed from tabloid versions of the original—each of the three throwaway panels are missing—and the visuals of the third and fourth panels are reversed, with the dialog remaining in its original position (I guess the NEA’s Ernest “East” Lynn wasn’t the only fussy comics editor in the western hemisphere!)

As a comparison, here are the original versions of the spread’s three comics (September 24, October 1, and October 8, 1950).

Tit-Bits continued running episodes of Kevin el Denodado for at least three years. A single episode ran in each of the five issues following No. 2232, and then another three-comic combination graced the center spread of issue No. 2238, dated May 13, 1952. As was the case with the Menomonee Falls Gazette, the Tit-Bits cover images rotated based on the comics featured inside. From what I can tell from my small collection, Tit-Bits kept publishing “Kevin” episodes sequentially, possibly skipping a story arc, or occasionally running them in a different order.

“Mitzi McCoy” does not seem to have been featured in Tit-Bits, and the only case I have seen of that comic strip having been translated into Spanish appeared in Havana, Cuba’s “El Mundo” Sunday edition.

“El Mundo de Mitzi McCoy,” May 21, 1950.

Lost in Translation

“The Complete Mitzi McCoy” can be ordered here.

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

Kevin Hin Frygtløse

This summer, I received a comic book in the mail. Although I had never met the sender, he knew exactly what I’d like—a Danish “Kevin the Bold” comic book. It is Serie Magasinet Solo Number 23. with “Solo” possibly indicates there are only Kevin hin Frygtløse (“The Fearless”) comics inside. It’s quite robust—68 pages with no ad pages at all.

I’d seen (and copied) an image of the cover online somewhere years ago, but to hold an actual copy was wonderful. They didn’t skimp on the ink when they printed the cover. The palette of colors used is almost completely saturated: 100% cyan, 100% magenta, 100% yellow, and a blend of 100% cyan and 100% magenta to create a nice dark purple, and a similar magenta-yellow blend for bright red. The skin tones are the only place half-tone dots are used.

A copyright line inside indicates it was published in 1974, which means it came out at about the same time the Menomonee Falls Gazette also began reprinting “Kevin the Bold.” (A small amount of material overlaps the two publications’ efforts). The 66 individual comics it features make up five complete story arcs—all of the 1954 “Kevin the Bold” Sunday comics plus another 15 from 1955. The first story, “The Island of Death,” appears below.

The action begins abruptly—the introductory comic in the sequence was skipped. To help explain what’s happening, here is the December 27, 1953 Sunday comic.

Inside the comic book, the action picks up. Although I can’t read Danish, the sequence has some lovely illustrations. As usual, the comic book was put together using original tabloid pages, but to avoid the repeating the comic strip’s logo on each page, it was simply cropped out. The results were usually fine, but there does tend to be a bit of dead space in the upper right corners of several of the comics.

On page 14, the episode transitions to the next story arc. It features a beggar character, Toto, that would reappear in Kevin’s later adventures.

The back cover reproduces a beautiful splash panel and has some expository text.

It’s a nice synopsis of “Kevin.” With assistance from an online translator, it reads:

In this issue of SM solo, I have the pleasure of presenting Kevin the Bold, or Kevin the Fearless, as he has been called in Danish. Unfortunately, it has not been possible for me to write an article about the series, as I know quite a bit about it and have not been able to find any information about it anywhere.

It is an American comic strip that was founded by Kreigh Collins from around 1949. It was only drawn for Sunday papers, so there are no dailies.

The story is about a young Irish man, Kevin. When he was a little boy, Ireland was invaded by pirates who robbed and burned large areas. Kevin, an orphan, was found by a Scottish soldier, MacTavish Campbell [MacGregor] who took him in as his son and raised him. At the age of 15, Kevin received an amulet from MacTavish, an amulet that Kevin had been wearing when he was found, and maybe one day it could lead him on the trail of his true family’s name.

He has experienced a lot and fought a lot. As a soldier, he became known for his boldness in battle, and since then he has been all over Europe in his quest for adventure. It is a very lively and exciting series that in many ways can be compared to Prince Valiant. Enjoy.

Asger, my friend who sent me the Danish comic book, had heard about my efforts to publish the “Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, Volume 1: Mitzi McCoy.” He and some friends have been working on a similar project—reprinting the great Danish adventure strip “Willy På Eventyr” (“Willie’s Adventures”). So far, four volumes have been published (about 250 pages each), and Vol. 5 is due out next year. Information can be found at their web site: www.willy-centret.dk

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

Il Nerbiniano

Recently, I received a surprise in the mail — a large padded envelope. I tore it open before realizing who’d sent it, or where it had come from. Inside were two copies of the Italian comics publication Il Nerbiniano, sent to me by an overseas blogger with whom I’d recently connected with via email. We’d made plans to trade a couple issues of Il Nerbiniano for a book on “Kevin the Bold,” but it had slipped my mind. (I hastily placed an order).

I first became aware of Il Nerbiniano earlier this year. After some research, I began to get a handle on what it was, sort of an Italian Menomonee Falls Gazette. Because everything I saw online about it was written in Italian, it made sleuthing more difficult (so much for that one semester of the language at SUNY-Buffalo 30-some years ago!). Published in Florence, Il Nerbiniano existed from about 1973 until 1980. The editions varied in length but were usually ran 32–36 pages. Initially, there were six issues produced yearly, but by 1980 it seems to have become a quarterly.

The covers had a heavier paper stock, and the text pages were generally black and white, with occasional two- or four-color pages. Its trim size was quite large, about 9-3/4″ x 13-1/2″, nearly tabloid-sized.

I grabbed the one with the more striking cover. I had seen an Australian comic book from the 1950s that utilized the same panel as its cover, but the art was heavily modified. Il Nerbiniano was truer to the original.

This edition was the first issue from year eight. The table of contents listed page numbers for its features, but the book’s pages weren’t numbered. The front of the book consisted of a seven-page feature/interview with noted Disney artist Floyd Gottfredson, and was illustrated with some very nice artwork. The next page had a beautiful full-page Hal Foster illustration. Opposite this was what I was looking for — but what was going on?

Flipped 90° so it appeared with a landscape orientation was half of a “Kevin the Bold” tabloid comic, translated into Italian. It was the bottom portion of the comic that concluded the strip’s initial sequence. Here it served as a transition to the following sequence, highlighted by Kevin’s tournament showdown with Count de Falcon.

The balloons were redrawn, and the dialog changed, ever so slightly. Details in the original were smoothed over because of the truncated appearance of the comic, and to blur the ethnicity of the protagonist.

Ma prima, ditemi qual’e’il vostro cognome translates to “But first, tell me what your surname is,” while the original states “Kevin, you are no mere shepherd. What’s your full name, lad?” More tellingly, Ho Capito! Hai un segreto che non vuoi svelare. Allora per noi sarrai per sempre Kevin il Temerario! (“I get it! You have a secret that you do not want to reveal. Then for us you will always be Kevin the Bold!”) originally ran as, “Keep your secret, lad! But the Irishman who wields this sword shall be known as Kevin the Bold!”

By splitting the tabloid comics in half and running them on two separate pages, they are printed about 12-3/4″ wide, larger than the original Sunday versions. However, because they are both oriented so that the tops of the comics align with the gutter, reading them requires a bit of book spinning. The next two pages consist of the first episode in the Count de Falcon sequence. It originally ran on December 17, 1950.

The December 25, 1950 episode follows on the next two pages.

Page 14 consists of the top half of the December 31, 1950 comic, but readers are left hanging because a three pages of “Flash Gordon” material begins on the next page. Recapping, that’s two full “Kevin” tabloids and two partials.

“Collectors Corner” followed the “Flash Gordon” comics, and in turn was followed by four pages of Neil O’Keeffe and Max Trell’s “Dick’s Adventures” (running in two colors, black plus magenta). Three pages were devoted to an interview with some Italian comics collectors, and the remaining six pages consisted of five weeks of “Lone Ranger” dailies. I didn’t see any sign of the comics’ original publication dates.

The inside back cover featured “Tim Tyler’s Luck,” a half-page 1928 comic by Lyman Young, and the back cover listed a bunch of comics for sale (4.000 lira apiece).

I’ve heard of half-page comics turned into tabloids, but vice-versa? Interesting. By running landscape-oriented versions, they appear twice as large as they would otherwise, but only half as many comics fit in the six pages allotted to Kevin. Either way, there wouldn’t be enough room for the entire sequence, so it’s nice to see them enlarged like this, it must be a sign that Il Nerbiniano’s editors appreciated the quality and detail of Kreigh Collins’ comics. Perhaps this sequence continued in the next issue of Il Nebiniano?

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

Ending with a bang

Sorry, but… April Fools! The two Menomonee Falls Gazette comics from last week were fakes — they don’t exist. Here are the color half-pages for the final comics in this sequence.

A crooked archer, Shark Donnelly wasn’t much better at swimming — posing as a sailor was a poor career choice. The fate he suffers is grim (and reminiscent of Captain Zinbad’s demise in Kevin’s first sequence).

All that’s left is Clarissa and Ben’s reunion. As the sequence ends, it transitions to the next storyline, again involving romance.

	Leonardo Redux… on A True Story of Captain John…
	Leonardo Redux… on The Alchemist
	vallecano2022 on Hercules
	The Double-Cross… on Gone East
	Revista Ferronales… on The Alchemist

Kreigh’s Comics

An examination of the comics of Kreigh Collins

Menomonee Falls Gazette

Kevin’s Page

Skeleton in the Closet

Boxing Day

Brett in in the Lions’ Den

The Mountebank’s Lions

Tit-Bits No. 2238

Lost in Translation

Tit-Bits No. 2232

Lost in Translation

Kevin Hin Frygtløse

Il Nerbiniano

Ending with a bang