The Lost Art of Kreigh Collins, Volume 1: The Complete Mitzi McCoy

Edited and restored by the artist’s grandson, Brian E. Collins, with an introduction by Eisner Award-winning author Frank M. Young, and an Afterword by comics columnist Ed Catto.

Lost Art Books launches the initial volume in a new series devoted to underappreciated illustrator and comic artist Kreigh Collins (1908-74), collecting for the first time his syndicated Sunday strip, Mitzi McCoy, in its entirety.

Kreigh Collins (1908-74) had a wanderlust, fueled by an itinerant childhood, that led to a lifetime of adventures, whether it was leaving his humble midwestern roots to study the masters in the Louvre and hone his craft painting on the banks of the Seine or getting knifed in Morocco while boating and painting his way through North Africa. But equally strong was the draw of his adopted home in Michigan, which is where he launched and set his first syndicated newspaper strip, Mitzi McCoy, in 1948. It didn’t take long, though, for wanderlust to strike again, rendering Mitzi but a precursor to Collins’ eventual 20-year run on the picaresque adventure comic, Kevin the Bold. Lost Art Books celebrates these beautiful beginnings with this first-ever complete collection of Collins’ Mitzi McCoy.

Drawn as well as scripted by Collins, Mitzi McCoy showcased the artist’s skill as an illustrator and storyteller. His picturesque landscapes, lovely character designs, and thrilling action sequences brimmed with detail and charm, and the strip’s ensemble cast rotated in and out of the spotlight, taking turns as protagonists in the dozen story arcs collected in this volume. The last story collected within this volume is the narrative bridge that set Collins and his characters off on a new journey, beautifully told for the next couple of decades in the much-lauded adventure strip, Kevin the Bold.