silver age comics

Biblioteka Lale — Broj 174

I recently wrote about a wonderful Christmas present I received from my friend Roger in Sweden—another awesome gift I received over the holiday season was sent by a friend in Serbia. Marko sent me scans of a KEVIN THE BOLD comic book published in the former Yugoslavia, likely from the early 1970s.

According to Marko, Biblioteka Lale was a magazine published by in the town of Gornji Milanovac, near Belgrade (now part of Serbia). It was released by Dečje novine, the largest comic book publisher in Yugoslavia. Besides this one, issue numbers 160, 180, and 206 also included Croatian translations of KEVIN THE BOLD.

Appearing on the first 46 pages of the comic book, Issue 174 features the entire “Story of the Norman Conquest” chapter, which originally ran from November, 1966 until January, 1967. Some other interesting comics in the rear portion of the comic book.

The first time I saw these Sunday comics I was confused—Kevin had blond hair! Because my collection was incomplete, I missed the fact that the chapter was a flashback, and the blond Kevin was an ancestor of Kreigh Collins’ protagonist.

The timeframe of the Norman Conquest preceded the action in KEVIN THE BOLD by about five centuries.

For a late-period episode, the illustration work is inspired, and the meeting of Marie and Kevin (Cardiff) is reminiscent of the one between Moya McCoy and Kevin (the Bold) from the comic strip’s debut chapter.

At this late stage in KEVIN THE BOLD’s existence, remember that the entire third tier of panels was absent from the more common third-page version—such a shame!

To be continued…

_______________________________________________________________

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

Kevin the Marriage Broker

Among the more than 900 episodes that appeared over 18 years, the December 12, 1965 installment is one of a handful of KEVIN THE BOLD pages missing from my collection. Until I discovered Newspapers.com, I was unsure how Kevin was able to broker the union between Ellen and Alan-a-Dale.

Kevin’s plan begins smoothly, but an obstacle is found in the form of the Bishop who intends to marry Ellen to Sir Guy.

The story within a story ends, as Kevin’s tale of Robin Hood reaches its conclusion (recall how Kevin’s narrative came at the end of the “Lost Colony or Roanoke” story arc). Young Saigen was satisfied with the tale, but one thing still puzzled Pedro.

Next week is Christmas, and if you celebrate the holiday, I hope you are fortunate enough to receive a gift as wonderful as one that was recently delivered to me.

_______________________________________________________________

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

Sheriff Don’t Like It

The tale continues, and Robin Hood starts to get under the skin of his antagonist, the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Bows and arrows were a common theme in Kreigh Collins’ comics, especially in KEVIN THE BOLD, but the first time Collins illustrated an archery contest was in a mid-1949 episode of MITZI McCOY.

Another throwback to Collins’ earlier work is found in the third panel of the November 28 episode (below). Bathing by the stream, Robin’s pose harkens back to earlier work showcasing the artist’s skills in rendering figures and costumes. Sadly, in this example from late 1965, the results leave something to be desired, but the pose clearly seems to have been based on a piece of art from Collins’ illustration morgue.

With the third tier of each original episode now serving as an embellishment on the action shown in the third-page versions, the treatment the original’s “throwaway panels” has also changed. For the first 15 years of KEVIN THE BOLD’s run, the throwaway was a small panel generally found in the middle of the second tier (similar to the fifth panel, above). Now, a tabloid version was created by excising a tiny panel from the third tier—illustrated in a couple of black and white examples below.

To be continued…

_______________________________________________________________

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

Kevin the Red

A concise account of how young Robert Fitzooth became Robin Hood illustrates why the tale fits so nicely into the KEVIN THE BOLD narrative, and in the October 31, 1965 episode, Robin’s antagonist is introduced—the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Traveling through Sherwood Forest, Robin and his band are confronted by a formidable obstacle. It is Little John, who Kreigh Collins summarily rechristens with a name more appropriate for his comic strip—and his resemblance to the strip’s titular character no doubt helped casual readers stay interested in the action. (Two years later, in another story arc, a blond version of Kevin would appear!)

Collins’ chief antagonist for the 15 years he had been illustrating KEVIN THE BOLD was the abridged third-page abominations found in so many of his syndicate’s newspapers. The NEA created third-page versions by severely cropping the left and right edges of the strip’s panels, but toward the end of 1965 Kreigh took a new approach—laying out the episodes so that that the entire third tier was expendable. Half pages included it; third pages did not.

Collins generally captured the most relevant parts of each episode in the upper two tiers, but in many cases, readers were missing out on some lovely bonus material.

_______________________________________________________________

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

A Story of Robin Hood

As the 1960s progressed, several changes happened in regards to the production of KEVIN THE BOLD. In April, 1961, it sported a new logo, and for a couple years, Jay Heavilin took over the strip’s writing. By 1964, NEA Features Director Ernest Lynn had handed over supervision of the strip to NEA staffer Robert Molyneux. In 1965, the prevalence of newspapers running the dreaded one-third page format led to a brilliant new way of dealing with this unfortunate situation, and in another development, the name of the story arc occasionally started appeared in conjunction with the strip’s logo.

The first chapter to include this minor embellishment to the logo was “A Story of Robin Hood.”

On his way back from the New World settlement at Jamestown, Kevin begins recounting the tale of Robin Hood to Saigen, a young indigenous boy with whom he is traveling to England. Having an adult narrate a tale to a child was a device Kreigh Collins employed periodically, but Saigen’s appearance leads to some unfortunate stereotypes, language-wise. Looking beyond that, the reader sees a warm relationship between the two, as shown in the transitional episode from October 10.

Recounting the oft-told tale of Robin Hood could also be seen as a sign that original ideas for story arcs were beginning to dry up.

I’m not overly familiar with the story of Robin Hood—the last version I’ve seen was Mel Brooks’ Men in Tights—so perhaps I can benefit from a more traditional account, like learning how Robin and Marian were slated for an arranged marriage. Meanwhile, Robin is off to see the King.

Having been duped into killing the one of the King’s deer, the October 24 episode concludes with three ominous panels whose silence adds to the suspense.

To be continued…

_______________________________________________________________

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

Survival Instincts

A commotion caused by the apparent change in tournament combatants causes a delay, much to the King’s displeasure.

Following the knight’s code of conduct puts Kevin at a disadvantage, facing a scoundrel such as Bruce Black.

Saved by his impeccable instincts, Kevin witnesses his opponent self-destruct.

The matter of Conovanshire’s title is settled by the King who, despite his surprise in bumping into Kevin, has a new task for the him—which certainly helps move the story along. That action, posted previously, continues here.

_______________________________________________________________

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

Tournament Day

Instead of a weakened Malcom Keith, Bruce Black will face Kevin in the tourney.

Malcom hastens to the tournament field, but will he arrive in time?

As the tournament begins, Malcom fears he will forfeit Conovanshire.

So far, so good for Malcom’s replacement…

_______________________________________________________________

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

Fatal Attraction

Malcom makes the best of his situation.

Motivated by finding booze, the guards make some questionable decisions.

As previously mentioned, much of my comics collection was given to me by Kreigh Collins’ son Kevin. Uncle Kevin gave me tons of Sundays, plus numerous black and white bromide proofs. I have most of the bromides for this story arc, but one is missing—March 30. The episode was a favorite, and the framed proof hangs Kevins dining room.

The April 6 episode starts with a gorgeous silhouetted splash panel and includes a lovely closeup of the conniving Kay. In between, Kevin’s good nature lands him in a world of pain.

_______________________________________________________________

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

The King’s New Armor

The following chapter is from the spring of 1958, and most its scans were provided by my friend Arnaud. The first several episodes introduce new characters, and while Kevin is mentioned at the end of the second, he doesn’t make an appearance until the fourth one.

With a name like Bruce Black, he is clearly the villain—yet the loutish thug certainly has a comely, yet conniving, lady friend.

To be continued…

_______________________________________________________________

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

Sweet 116

I have a soft spot for comics from the Indianapolis Times—it is the newspaper from which the first six months of my MITZI McCOY collection originated. I also appreciate the paper’s solid reproductions.

The remaining two episodes are represented by third-page versions, which is a shame—for me the only bonus are the identifying labels. Initially thinking it was the handwriting of Kreigh’s wife Theresa, I was mistaken—it was written by Kreigh’s mother, Nora. Because Nora and Stephen Collins lived in a small cabin on Kreigh and Teddy’s property, all the mail was co-mingled, and since the cabin was closer to the mailbox than the house, Nora took charge of the mail. No doubt she felt enormous pride in her son’s career, and many of the saved copies of his comic strips include Nora’s handwritten labels. I have no memories of my great-grandmother—she died when I only two or three.

At any rate, today is the birthday of Nora’s daughter-in-law, Teddy—sweet 116. (She lived to be 101).

At her 99th birthday party with some of her sons and grandsons (L–R, Brian, Josh, Glen, Kevin, David, and Brett (absent are oldest son Erik, youngest grandson Wes, and granddaughters Karen and Lauren).

Meanwhile, Pedro is still in custody, and Carmine has an audience with the King.

As Carmine charms King Henry, the chapter quickly draws to a close…

…with the suddenly freed Pedro gaining both a job and a fiancée.

_______________________________________________________________

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