Queen Catherine of Aragon

Maritime Hazards

The first eight episodes of this sequence made a compelling first act, and a wonderful second act is made from the next four episodes. The action involves plotting for revenge, building a secret armada, a catfight with flying fish (?!), gorgeous sailing scenes… and is essentially what convinced me rerun this sequence.

Kevin unseals the King’s orders, and a couple of likable “enemies” are introduced.

Also referenced is Catherine of Aragon, yet another historical figure I was inspired to look up thanks to my grandfather’s comic strip. Ah yes, King Henry’s first wife, the spurned Spanish princess who died young, tragically. Yes, I understand Diego’s beef with England.

Moving on, we are introduced to Inez and Dolores, AKA Sheepface. Me-oww! The claws are out!

Yes, the fish are flying! And some beautifully-rendered panels follow, featuring longboats and more of my favorite fishing girls.

These gals have a much more intense rivalry than my other favorite blonde/brunette duo, Betty and Veronica!

The July 26 episode (below) is evidence of Kreigh Collins’ personal experience with and love of sailing. The perspectives shown accurately reflect the imminent collision at sea. At this point Collins mostly sailed aboard a 45-foot schooner, but he still owned a 19-foot Lightning, whose hull pretty closely resembles the boat Kevin is shown sailing. Sailing downwind, the square-rigged boat has less maneuverability than Diego’s lateen-rigged double ender. But pointing into the wind, the Spaniard has no intention of passing port to port, as would be the custom.

That’s right—even sailing solo, acting as a spy in foreign waters, and rammed by an unnamed boat, Kevin is duty-bound to try to rescue his antagonist at sea.

___________________________________________________________________________________

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

Jealousy

My collection of my grandfather’s comics began when I acquired two complete years of Florida Times-Union Sundays half pages (1955–56), thanks in part to a leap year, there were 105 episodes in all. That bit of good news was offset slightly by the middling print quality of many of the episodes. Below, the opening splash panel shows quite nicely, but by the third panel, skin tones are represented by near-solid patches of magenta ink. Whenever possible, I will post comics from other sources.

In last week’s introductory episode, the stage was set—London, 1515. Among a large crowd, Kevin witnessed the arrival by boat of a delegation from Venice, bound for a meeting with King Henry VIII. However, other business had brought Kevin to the city.

KTB 020556 HF 150 QCC

Kevin’s friend Stephen Moore is introduced; the handsome, friendly painter is obviously one of the  good guys. On the other hand, we meet the conniving Sir Guy Thornberry. The two have the same intention, marrying the beautiful Marion Drake.

KTB 021256 HF 150 QCC

With King Henry having given his blessing to Thornberry, and Queen Catherine approving Marion’s own choice of a husband, quite a dilemma has been established. The Queen, Catherine of Aragon, was Henry’s first wife, but obviously not his last. This disagreement is a portent of real-life marital trouble down the road for the royals, and while Catherine’s demise is tragic, at least she did not suffer the fate of wives No. 2 and 5!

KTB 021956 BWP 300 qcc combo

As the plot thickens, we learn that Thornberry’s vanity and jealousy is matched only by his ruthlessness. As with several other episodes from this story arc, the visual is upgraded to a crisp NEA proof—which in this case has a hole cut into it—likely the casualty a craft project undertaken by one of Kreigh Collins’ younger children or grandchildren (moi?). I guess those Times-Union halves come in handy after all.

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