pittsburgh press

Stub’s New Hobby

MITZI McCOY existed for less than two years, only enough time for 11 distinct chapters. The following story arc was the second-to-last chapter, and is one of my favorites.

All of the following episodes are taken from the Pittsburgh Press, which featured MITZI as the lead comic in its collection of Sunday funnies.

It’s a light-hearted affair, wrapping up the previous chapter. It features some slang I had to look up (“hay burner” = horse), and references the Winston Churchill’s painting hobby (a contemporary development; this episode appeared less than five years after the end of WWII).

Stub soon learns that landscape painting is a young man’s game—something that Kreigh Collins had discovered himself. He was 42 years old at this point, and had been working professionally for over 20 years. During the first fifteen years of hios career, he worked primarily as a painter. He started with landscapes, learning from the esteemed Michigan painter Matthias Alten. Later, in the Depression years, he produced numerous large murals as well as portraits, but his painting career was cut short by a shoulder injury suffered in the mid-1930s. His recovery led to his new focus on pen and ink illustration, which eventually led to his gig as a syndicated Sunday comic strip artist.

I haven’t seen any evidence of my grandfather having ever taken up etching, but for the purpose of the storyline, it makes sense for Stub to take up something “easier” than landscape painting.

While doing research for my MITZI McCOY book, I learned that Collins based Mitzi’s appearance on Rita Hayworth… I wonder who his inspiration was for his new femme fatale (whose name, Zoe, would be revealed in a later episode).

To be continued…

_______________________________________________________________

About that Mitzi McCoy Book…

“The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, the Complete Mitzi McCoy” features the entire run of Kreigh Collins’ first NEA feature.

Mitzi McCoy Cover 150

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!

_______________________________________________________________

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

Flash News

The outline ends. As before, it accurately describes the final episode of the chapter—another graphically-appealing example of Collins’ work. The example I have, like many of the MITZIs in my collection, is a half-page from The Pittsburgh Press. For nearly its entire run, MITZI McCOY was the Press‘ lead comic feature (though as you may have noticed, my examples from this sequence also included tabloids, half-tabloids, a third-page, an NEA promotional slick, and a photo of one of the original pieces of artwork).

This final episode includes several interesting panels. One is an interior of the Freedom Clarion’s work space (note the metal type being composed on the make-ready table, and the first and last panels of the second row both show exterior scenes of the little town of Freedom that very closely resemble those shown in the proto-episode Collins created for NEA that became MITZI. These exterior scenes were modeled after Fishtown, the commercial lakefront district of Leland, Michigan, where Collins spent much time in his career, both at leisure and painting.

As the outline came together in March-April, 1949, Collins was able to sneak in a teaser reference to the upcoming chapter in the one he was currently inking. In the June 12, 1949 episode, from the prior sequence that introduced Dick Dixon, the boy notices a poster for the Notty Pine show that was central to the chapter just featured. (Incidentally, this one is one of my favorite MITZI episodes—along with the Notty Pine reference, DIck stuns Tim Graham with his knowledge of various sailboats’ histories, and there are several beautiful examples of good-girl art—typical hallmarks of Collins’ work.


__________________________________________________________________________________

Speaking of Mitzi…

“The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, the Complete Mitzi McCoy,” is available for a limited time at a reduced price; it features the entire run of Kreigh Collins’ first NEA feature.

Mitzi McCoy Cover 150

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 costs $30 ONLY $20! For domestic shipping, add $4; for international orders, add $25 for 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 information.

___________________________________________________________________________________

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