tom mix

Tom Mix Nr. 4 (1953)

For a while, it seemed like the results of last week’s survey would be unanimous, but a late flurry of vote (singular intended—Ed.) made things interesting. As I was color-correcting the pages of what was Rafa G’s request, TOM MIX Nr. 4, a second vote came in from Alberto, tying the score. With no tie-breaker in place, a New York Mirror Sunday comics section will have to wait until next month.

Although my ruse didn’t produce an overwhelming response, it was nice to hear from a few readers. As for the third request I received (thanks, Roger!), the Treasure Hunt chapter will begin next week.

Like the preceding issues, the cover for TOM MIX Nr. 4 was printed in color on a nice, sturdy cover stock, with black and white inside covers. Released two weeks after its predecessor, the cover seems to feature General George Custer. (I might be missing something, but I didn’t find this character inside the comic book). Besides the cachet of being a nicely printed, 70-year old comic featuring the Swedish version of KEVIN THE BOLD, it features a few other elements that coincidentally align with some of my (other) fondest obsessions—the Buffalo Bills, beer, and Johnny Cash.

As usual, two episodes of UGH appeared on the inside front cover. The main portion of the comic book was kicked off by a mock-up of a newspaper’s front page.

TOM MIX runs across three spreads…

…and concludes on a page facing the recurring På Kryss med Roland contest, notable for its imagined adventures, this time featuring a giant squid on the attack.

De Dog Med Stövlama På (“They Died with their Boots On”) follows; it profiles “Wild” Bill Hickok, the notorious gun-fighting western figure.

Eight pages of a comic based on the exploits of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody followed. Interestingly enough, “Wild” Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill knew each other—in fact, Hickok became Cody’s mentor.

Two Bills—“WIld” (left) and “Buffalo” (right).

I’m not overly familiar with either of these Bills, but having grown up in western New York State, I’m a big fan of the (American) football team, the Buffalo Bills!

Next up was ROLAND DEN DJÄRVE. The action picks up where it left off in TOM MIX Nr. 3, with the episode originally published on December 24, 1950. The comic book publisher created their own color separations, and an interesting choice was made for the color of Roland’s hair—he’s blond (not the first time Kevin was depicted as a toehead).

To fit in the comic book, the three Sunday half pages were repurposed quite smartly, with each episode being reconfigured into a comic book spread.

As a Buffalo Bills fan, it might come as no surprise that I’m also a fan of beer; I used the little tent seen in the introductory panel of the December 31 episode as part of a beer label I created for Ada, Michigan’s Gravel Bottom Brewery—Kevin the Bold Imperial Stout.

Following Kevin, it’s time for LASH LaRUE.

My only familiarity with Lash LaRue is the fact that he appeared on the cover of a mid-1980s album by another of my obsessions, Johnny Cash. (Before I started collecting my grandfather’s comics, I collected Johnny Cash LPs. I don’t have them all, but 94 is a pretty substantial total—even without including CDs and cassette tapes, but I digress). The handsomely-photographed album features an action shot of Mr. LaRue on the back cover. (Sadly, the version of “Heroes” that appears at the end of side one is not a cover of David Bowie’s memorable track).

No offense to Johnny or Waylon, but the cover art is the album’s highlight. Getting back to the realm of comics, it’s interesting to know that Johnny even had his own comic book.

TOM MIX Nr. 4 concludes with a short story running on the inside back cover, Afrikas Vän (“Africa’s Friend”), about David Livingstone.

Despite owning a book on Livingstone written and illustrated by Kreigh Colllins (1961), my knowledge of the famed explorer was quite spotty. (I was happy to learn that he was an abolitionist, and not out to exploit Africa).

Livingstone’s portrait is featured on the back cover of TOM MIX Nr. 4.

Thanks again to those who voted last week.

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

Happy New Year’s Birthday

Happy New Year—and happy 115th birthday to Kreigh Taylor Collins!

Wishing all of my readers a wonderful, prosperous, and healthy New Year (me included, as a stomach flu is preventing me from writing any more).

See you in 2023!

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

Christmas in Many Lands

Early in his career, Kreigh Collins did freelance work for the Fideler Company, a publisher in Grand Rapids, Michigan. One of his early projects was illustrating various “Unit of Teaching Pictures” programs from Fideler’s Informative Classroom Picture Series.

It was a plum assignment. Each unit included 20+ detailed black and white illustrations, and there were at least 18 different units. The unit’s historical themes were right in Collins’s wheelhouse, and the project kept him busy for several years starting in 1937. The Informative Classroom Picture Series was used by primary school teachers as a part of a social science curriculum.

CHRISTMAS IN MANY LANDS was one of the later themes. It included 21 plates showing different countries’ holiday customs and traditions. Not surprisingly, European countries featured prominently, but a couple of unexpected outliers were included (Plates 20 and 21). Perhaps a scene from your home country is included…

A new custom to me was the Festival of St. Lucia (Plate 10). Celebrated on December 13, it kicks off the Christmas season in Sweden. What caught my eye was the woman’s “crown of light”—my kind of holiday!

Another Swedish custom involves the Christmas Sheaf, which I can only understand to mean gifting sheafs of paper, such as comic books.

An interesting detail noted on Roger’s site notes how the size of the BUFFALO BILL logo grew until it surpassed that of TOM MIX, and how Bill eventually displaced Tom as the cover subject (bottom row).

I received a gift of such sheaves from my friend Roger. It consisted of 18 TOM MIX comic books, originally published in 1953–54. Included is ROLAND DEN DJÄRVE—a Swedish translation of KEVIN THE BOLD. Most of the covers featured cowboys (either Tom or Bill), but three sported Kevin-inspired artwork.


The grand Tom Mix competition is hereby opened!

I first laid hands on a copy of TOM MIX nearly ten years ago; it was included in a box I received from Uncle Kevin and basically disproved my theory that my grandfather was unaware of these foreign versions of his brainchild. Roger has written extensively about the TOM MIX comic book series (and so many others) on his remarkable website, and I look forward to featuring more of TOM MIX in the New Year.

Wherever you are celebrating—happy holidays and best wishes for a wonderful new year!

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