Playing Possum

Smelling a rat, Kevin lingers to see what sort of plan is afoot. Thord quickly schemes to get Kevin out of his way, but as usual, the Irishman is one step ahead of his foe.

Pretending he has passed out from too much drink, Kevin leaps at an opportunity to search for Freya. Bound and vulnerable, Freya doesn’t know who her rescuer is, but she appears to like what she sees. Kevin hastens her away in the nick of time. Thord, with the menacing prow of the dragon ship looming over his shoulder, sets off to grab Freya.

Instead, he finds Kevin, and becomes enraged. Luckily, Freya is not only beautiful, but quick thinking and surprisingly strong.

The July 20 episode is one of a few from 1958 for which I don’t have a half-page example. I’m fortunate to have a crisp black and white proof, and it reveals all the cropping that took place when one-third-page versions were created. Some nice details are lost, such as the fuller illustration of the house in the final panel, but the comparison also shows that Kreigh Collins had learned to deal with the inevitability of the third-pages. Several of the wider panels’ sides are rather empty, and ready to be sacrificed for the truncated version. Interestingly, the penultimate panel has been extended upward, with the caption moving up and over, so the overall width can be reduced without obscuring the fetching Freya’s face.

Now available!

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The book also features an extensive introduction by Eisner Award winner Frank M. Young and previously unpublished artwork and photographs.

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

Funerary Preparations

After learning that her great uncle has died, Freya realizes exactly how vulnerable she is.

Help is on its way, but not soon enough—the ship delivering Kevin is becalmed in the fjord.

In an episode featuring beautifully rendered ships, Kevin learns the fate of the old man he had traveled so far to meet. What he doesn’t know are the circumstances in which the lovely Freya finds herself—bound, gagged, and close to panic.

Kevin’s suspicions aroused, he brushes off the suggestion that he presence isn’t welcome, and defiantly stands up to Thord. The danger passes, yet Kevin suspects more trouble ahead.

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

The Dragon Ship

A recent trip to Iceland (a country my blog has yet to have a visitor from) inspired me to run the following sequence, originally published 60 years ago, over the summer of 1958. The previous storyline transitions dramatically with an enormous and beautifully illustrated splash panel. (Sincere thanks to my friend in the Netherlands, Arnaud, who sent me scans of many of the comics I’ll be posting over the course of the next five weeks).

Thord, an evil man from the east has caught the ear of the declining, yet venerable Erl Sor Nordick, and is scheming to steal everything the old man holds dear.

It’s quite clear that Thord is the representation of evil incarnate, and an unusual graphic detail underlines this fact. Likely unintentional, in the bottom left panel of the episode above, a swastika is shown in the detailing on Thord’s left sleeve. In the next panel, the old man is dead. Fortunately, this evil will be countered by virtue, as Kevin the Bold’s arrival in Norway is imminent.

Now available!

Visit the Lost Art Books website to place your order for The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, Vol. 1: 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.

The Sword of Courage

I recently acquired an “Australian Edition” Atlas comic on eBay, No. 11, shown above. It is in rather rough shape; nonetheless, I was thrilled to win the auction. It contains a storyline where Kevin takes young Prince Rupert under his wing, and makes a man of him. (A previous post about Kevin’s appearances in Atlas comics can be found here.)

Not all of the comics’ dates are still included with the artwork, but at least half of them still appear. The comics included in Atlas No. 11 originally ran in Sunday comics sections from October 26, 1952 through February 22, 1953. In the story, Kevin and Brett arrive in Lutenburg, a city recently rebuilt after a disasterous fire. The rebuild was funded by Kevin’s ward Brett, who had donated his family fortune—once it was recovered. (The back story on Brett’s family fortune ran in a series of posts starting here).

Meanwhile, in Lutenburg, the orphaned Prince Rupert is under the thumb of a controlling and evil Regent.

I used to get annoyed to find advertisements inside these comics, I wanted to see more of my grandfather’s artwork! But I soon realized that these ads were quite charming timepieces.

The “double decker” panel from the comic on page 18 provided the issue’s cover artwork, but as was typical with Atlas, it was edited—the cover shows villain Torre Hemlar shakily fumbling his sword, whereas in the original comic, it was still sheathed.

The sequence draws to a close (more or less), leaving three pages for Atlas to fill the 24-page self-cover comic book. The material chosen, “Mary Mixup” seems to be an odd selection to pair with “Kevin,” with its titular female lead. I had been previously unaware of this comic, but learned it was drawn by Robert Moore Brinkerhoff, ran from 1917 until 1956 (!), and was originally called “Little Mary Mixup.” (Over the course of its run, Mary aged somewhat, and at some point the strip’s title may have been abbreviated). Based on the automobiles shown in the comic, I’d guess these dailies date to the early 1940s.

Now available!

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.

Kevin Neustrasivi

What I find most enjoyable about sharing my grandfather’s comics on this blog are the connections I have made with far-flung readers across the world, and discovering the different languages my grandfather’s comics have been translated into.

The following comics were sent to me by my friend in Serbia, Marko Davidovic. They appeared in a comic book called Veseli Zabavnik. Because I cannot read Serbian, I rely on an online translator, and it yields some peculier results.

The first two pages originally were published in 1952, on April 27 and May 4. Because of the way the episodes were broken up on the comic book’s pages, the May 4 episode is incomplete. The original versions are below.

Above, Kevin Neustrasivi translates to “Kevin Frustrating,” and below, Osveta Plave Zatocenice translates to “The revenge of a blue prisoner.” What is also interesting is that the artist’s name was listed as “Krejg Kolinsa.”

The next comics originally ran in August, 1952. The typeset text at the bottom of the first page translates as “from the next issue of new episodes.”

I refer to this sequence as “The Dragon,” but according to my translator, it is “Flame and Zmai.” I think I’m missing something. The original comics are below.

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.

Fearless Girl

Kevin has tricked Bouchard’s henchmen, but Jacques has a trick of his own—dirty, of course.

Love has also caused Marie to act impetuously, and Paul’s father couldn’t help but notice.

Paul and Marie are set for their happily ever after, and Kevin departs for England. But after crossing the English Channel, Kevin lands in hot water, and the comic transitions into a new sequence.

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.

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!

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.

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.

	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

silver age comics

Playing Possum

Now available!

Funerary Preparations

The Dragon Ship

Now available!

The Sword of Courage

Now available!

Kevin Neustrasivi

Now available for pre-order!

Fearless Girl

Now available for pre-order!

Honorable Intent

Now available for pre-order!

Rejected

Now available for pre-order!

Defending Her Honor

Now available for pre-order!

More Lore