“Water Lore”

Line Squall

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As he’s escorted around Hollywood by his co-star and director, Kevin learns how the movie game is played. As the action in the comic intensifies, the mood of the topper strip “Water Lore” darkens.

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Jane trusts her husband Kevin enough to ignore the rumors propagated by the Hollywood hype machine — or is she just putting on a brave face? Meanwhile, Kevin and Bunny are lost at sea without ship-to-shore communication. Rescue efforts get under way, and Pedro manages to press the spineless movie star Cecil Dunn into service.

Of note: movie director Rex Fox bears a certain resemblance to one of Collins’ old “Mitzi McCoy” characters, publisher Stub Goodman. Stub was based on the character Frank from the 1947 novel by Thomas W. Duncan, “Gus the Great.” Like Stub, Frank was a newspaperman, and a very richly developed character. Midway through the book, he retires to California (and to my disappointment, isn’t heard from again). It’s nice to see one possible outcome was Frank’s reinvention as a Hollywood director.

Stub on the phone

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

Comic Artist’s Family Gets Away From It All

The following article appeared in an in-house NEA publication, and also ran in various newspapers that had picked it up from NEA. Written by Jay Heavilin, it picks up the story about Heather and her crew’s Great Loop journey as the schooner neared home. Since the NEA offices were located in Cleveland, Kreigh Collins and crew would be sailing directly past NEA HQ as they neared the western end of Lake Erie on their way to Heather’s home port on Lake Macatawa. They still needed to nearly circumnavigate the lower peninsula of Michigan—nearly 500 miles through lakes St. Clair, Huron, and Michigan—but with 5,000 miles already logged, they were on the homestretch.

The final installment of this story arc includes two new additions to my collection—the two color third pages shown below. These episodes (and three dozen others) came from my new friend Dave, a vendor from New Jersey. This spring, I paid him a visit, intending to purchase the episodes, but he insisted on giving them to me. Thank you, Dave!

The black and white portions of final three episodes come from photographs I took of the originals, which are located in one of the Grand Rapids Public Library’s special collections. (If I remember correctly, they are found on the fourth floor. Highly recommended!)

Meanwhile, back in New Orleans, the situation is frantic.

And when things couldn’t get worse…

Oh, what a relief!

In the third frame of the final episode of the chapter, young Dave utters what seems to have become something of a catchphrase, “Some things are hard to explain.” I haven’t kept track of all the instances, but I recall Pedro uttering the line in a mid-1960s episode of KEVIN THE BOLD.

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

Cartoonist, Family Aboard Schooner at Beach

On this journey south, articles often appeared in the newspapers of the towns Heather and her crew visited. I don’t know if my grandfather acted as his own publicist, or if the mere sight of his boat drew reporters looking for some interesting local news (47-foot schooners were a rarity on the Mississippi). It certainly helped if the newspaper featured KEVIN THE BOLD in their comic sections. However they came about, the articles sometimes provided some interesting information, such as this one, from the January 13, 1960 Fort Meyers News-Press.

Over the years, as my comics collection has grown, the thing that surprised me most was the number of countries in which Kreigh’s comics were published. Aside from a single Swedish Tom Mix comic book and a tear sheet from a Cuban newspaper, my research had yielded no acknowledgement of his work appearing in markets outside the US and Canada—and I always wondered if Collins was aware of (and compensated for) these additional NEA revenue streams.

Finally, that question was answered—check the top of the article’s third column. Speaking of KEVIN THE BOLD, Collins is quoted as saying, “…the strip has been surprisingly well received. It now appears in Canada, South Africa, Yugoslavia, Sweden, France and other countries on the Continent. A very fine reproduction appears in the Manchester (England) Guardian.”

This example from the Manchester Guardian ran December 31, 1960, five an a half months after its original publication date (July 10, 1960)

I hadn’t been aware of any British papers carrying his work—it’s wonderful to learn something new after all these years of research!

Meanwhile, back to the funny pages’ version of Heather…

More obstacles—and more helpful strangers. By the time they reached New Orleans, Kevin Marlin and his crew had to be feeling pretty good about their state of affairs.

Like sailing weather, things can change change quickly, and not always for the better. Where’s David?!

It’s a parent’s worst nightmare!

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

Modern Life on the Mississippi

Yachting is a monthly magazine first published in 1907; it’s still on newsstands today. I’m most familiar with issues from the 1960s–80s, because my father had stacks of them piled in his library. Little did I know then, but on at least two occasions my grandfather wrote and illustrated features for Yachting. The first that I’m aware of was included in the March, 1962 issue.

Due to the times, these articles occasionally contained language now considered politically incorrect. Otherwise they are well-written, informative, and very funny. The March, 1962 article described the trip down the Mississippi that became the inspiration for this blog’s current story arc.

A cute detail are the two toy boats trailing behind Heather, in addition to the dighy, Mobe Dink.

While the opening spread relates some of Heather‘s mechanical troubles, the following page describes the incident later featured in the October 26, 1969 episode.

No doubt some liberties were taken in both versions of the story, and it’s not surprising that in the comic strip version, the smashed window was placed in the galley (kitchen), not the head (bathroom).

The article jumps to the back of the magazine, and continues for three more pages. (If you’re interested in the complete article, copies are usually available on ebay).

Heather and her crew survived this first drama, but surely there would be more to come.

The Marlin family’s new friend had some good advice, but it was to no avail. Making sure not to judge a book by its cover, they graciously accept Al’s generous offer. (Of note, the November 2 WATER LORE episode consists of three panels, not two—the only such instance I can recall).

More surprises awaited—thankfully, this one was pleasant.

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

Mackinac Island

After making a couple jokes about cars and drivers in previous episodes, it should come as little surprise that Heather’s destination was Mackinac Island, noted for being completely free of automobiles. However, there are other ways to get around the island, as Erik and Dave soon discover.

Coming ashore meant becoming reacquainted with civilization—for better or worse.

In the sequence’s final episode, it accurately portrays how the artist Kreigh Collins continued working as he plied the water—his mail was forwarded to Post Offices along their route, and Collins continued to send and receive artwork along the way. The episode ends with another blow against the cliche of the pampered life of a sailor.

A nice personal touch to the March 30, 1969 is the name of the Erik’s girlfriend—Judy. Erik and Judy were the names of my parents.

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

Out of the Storm and into the Steamer Lane

Sailing on the inland seas known as the Great Lakes, weather conditions can change rapidly. I can personally attest to the situation in the February 16, 1969 episode.

It might seem that Jane and Dave have the easier station during the storm, but in rolling waves, being belowdecks is no picnic—it’s much easier to get seasick down below (to which I can also attest).

Sometimes the bathing beauties even showed up in the topper!

Sturdily built, the Marlin’s schooner survives the storm handsomely, though she was 30+ years old. In real life, Heather was a half-size model of a noted schooner designed for polar expeditions.

Bowdoin (left), shown in waters north of the Arctic Circle, and Heather (right), docked in Annapolis, Maryland.
A couple summers back, my brother Brett and I joined my Uncle Kevin on a sailing trip through much of Lake Michigan aboard Kevin’s sloop, Legacy. Though we didn’t reach Mackinac Island, we did make it to Charlevoix.

With the rough weather behind them, Heather and her crew now had to deal with other problems—iron tubs of all sizes.

Continued next week…

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

Launch Time

Apologies for this week’s meager selection of color comics—my collection is a bit spotty as far as “Up Anchor!” episodes are concerned—but going forward in this chapter, things will brighten up considerably.

As the Marlin family gets ready to launch their boat, they first have to deal with on-shore know-it-alls. Luckily, sailing is a team effort, and that includes putting obnoxious folks in their proper place, done this time by Jane Marlin. Jane was loosely based on my Gramma Teddy, and one thing the two shared was an inability to mince words.

In the “Water Lore” topper, Kevin and Jane Marlin make a rare appearance (possibly the only time this happened).

With the boat finally launched, there is rigging and provisioning to be done before setting sail.

In the fifth panel, where Kevin points to the nautical chart, it also shows where my family was going to relocate, a few months after this episode was published. We moved from Ann Arbor, Michigan (near the lower part of mitten-like Michigan’s “thumb”), to Fredonia, New York when I was just shy of five years old.

It’s a shame that I don’t have a color version of the February 9, 1969 episode—it features a couple of strategically-placed bathing beauties modeling some of the season’s finest swimsuit apparel. It also features a character who offers an explanation of why Collins and his family spent so much time on their boat during the summer.

Continued next week…

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

Leaping Lizards, er, Lads!

Six episodes in, and so far two of Heather‘s crew have fallen into the drink. I wonder who’s next?

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Somewhere in Kreigh Collins’ morgue file, he had an image of a boy playing leapfrog. It was never referenced in “Mitzi McCoy,” but it appeared in Collins’ pre-NEA “Bible Picture Story Comics,” twice in “Kevin the Bold.” and at least once in “Water Lore,” above. Now that’s thrifty!

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From left: December 15, 1963; October 30, 1955; and c. 1946.

With the eighth episode of “Up Anchor!”, another recurring character was introduced—Kevin’s friend, Pedro. Pedro had been a mainstay in “Kevin the Bold,” he first appeared in 1958 and continued on and off until the very last episode, a decade later. While Kevin definitely changed when he transitioned between the two strips, Pedro remained essentially the same.

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Oho! It was Erik that somehow fell in—luckily Pedro was there to lend a hand. He also lets loose with what will become the big fella’s catchphrase.

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Waiting until late December to button up a boat for the winter would be ill-advised in Michigan, but if you factor in the three-month lead time that the production process of these episodes required, doing it in late September (when the artwork was inked) seems appropriate.

Collins also had the advantage of being able to photograph his sailboat in order to create reference images for use in his strip, and it looks like the photo below could have been used for the episode above. I’d guess the younger guy is my uncle Kevin.

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

Secret Weapon

Heather's Crew

Kreigh: “Teddy, let’s sail the Great Loop with the twins.” Teddy: “Wouldn’t that be grand!”

“Up Anchor!” was narrated by Jane Marlin, who was loosely based on Kreigh Collins’ wife, Theresa. “Teddy” also had a hand in writing the strip, and the the November 24, 1968 episode, she also pitched in a bit with the illustration. I clearly recognize the handwritten labels on the drawings Jane holds from her numerous cards and letters over the years (and there were plenty of years—she lived to be nearly 102!)

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Teddy definitely fit the idiom, “Behind every great man is a great woman.” After all, besides “the Skipper” and eight-year-old twins, she served as Heather‘s only crew during it’s year-long circuit of the 6,000-mile Great Loop. Made plain in the strip, traditional gender roles were largely held, so she was responsible for cooking, cleaning, and all the other typical roles of a mother. The original plan was to home-school (boat-school?) Kevin and Glen during the journey, so teacher could be added to the list, too. Of course, Teddy was used to adventuring with her husband—shortly after their 1929 wedding, they took a steamship to Europe and spent several months exploring the continent (mostly France). She chronicled the Great Loop journey in her diary, and later the material was published in an article that appeared in The World Of Comic Art. The late 1966 article was reprinted and used as part of an NEA promotional push, and some of this material was repurposed as “Up Anchor!” storylines.

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After a bit of self-deprecation, another educational tidbit was dished out regarding alcohol fires.

Generally, the content of “Water Lore” didn’t reflect the action in an episode of “Up Anchor!,” but the December 1, 1968 episode was an exception, with its focus on cooking. Personally, I don’t have a lot of memories of sailing aboard Heather, but I do recall touching her smokestack once and burning my hand.

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This wouldn’t be the last time Heather went aground.

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

I’d Rather Be Sailing

In late October of 1968, with the final episode of “Kevin the Bold,” our hero made good on something he’d been trying to do for years.

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The end of the trail found Kevin in his friend Pedro’s homeland, Spain, but if he was going to settle down, it would mean more than time travel—a change of scenery was also in the cards.

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A true measure of local renown is not needing to list a street address on one’s stationery.

Set on Lake Macatawa, in western Michigan (the same place Collins docked his boat, Heather), “Up Anchor!” was Kreigh Collins’ final NEA comic feature. It launched on November 3, 1968 and was an attempt to adapt to changing times—adventure strips like “Kevin the Bold” had fallen out of favor. His new strip was largely based on his family’s real-life experiences aboard their schooner, Heather—but plenty of license was taken with the plot.

The tone of the strip changed too, as it was narrated by Jane Marlin. Jane was loosely based on Kreigh’s wife, Theresa; “Teddy” helped develop the strip’s continuity, too. With “Up Anchor!,” Collins had finally figured out how to best deal with dreaded third-page reproductions of his artwork—he added a topper strip, “Water Lore.” (For the last few years of “Kevin,” the bottom tier of panels had been considered expendable—an example is shown at the top of this post). When the new strip ran as a tabloid, the smaller of the two “Water Lore” panels was the throwaway; when it ran in a one-third page format, the topper was lost.

While the tone of the strip was more modern than in “Kevin,” there are still some elements that now seem dated, such as a recurring theme of male chauvinism, and even an awkward joke about a black eye in the strip’s debut.

Nonetheless, with summer here, a voyage under sail sounds wonderful.

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The debut introduced the characters, or crew—in addition to Jane and Kevin (remember, this was supposed to be the same character as from the previous strip), we meet the couple’s sons, Erik and Dave. In real life, Erik was my father and David is my uncle, and their little brothers are Kevin and Glen. Once again, Glen seems to have gotten short-changed, but maybe this was fine with him. For what it’s worth, Glen bears a much stronger physical resemblance to his father than his brothers.

Most of the examples I have are third-pages, but I have recreated the full illustrations with the help of black and white online downloads.

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A rather central component of the strip was education, and it wasn’t just relegated to the topper.

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This post has some pretty sweet examples of “Water Lore,” particularly the one above dealing with radar’s precursor, and the November 10 example even previews the following week’s edition.

As the episodes themselves indicate, “Continued next week.”

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