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Pogo: The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips #2
Pogo: The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips, Vol. 2: Bona Fide Balderdash
In November of 2011, Fantagraphics released the first volume of its much-anticipated, long-promised series reprinting in its entirety the syndicated run of Walt Kelly s classic newspaper strip, Pogo. Pogo: Through the Wild Blue Wonder immediately became the company s best-selling book of the last five years. Exactly one year later, the second volume, Pogo: Bona Fide Balderdash, will be released, featuring all the strips from 1951 and 1952. With sources found for the more elusive strips (in the past, our scheduling downfall), we re confident that these collections will become an annual affair. Even though Pogo had been in syndication for less than two years as this volume begins, Kelly s long professional experience (including seven years creating Pogo stories for comic books) had him at the peak of his powers, and this book features page after page of gorgeously drawn, hilarious vaudevillian dialogue and action among the swamp denizens, as well as Kelly s increasingly sharp-tongued political satire especially on display during the 1952 election season. Kelly was famous for his prolific creation of recurring characters, and by the end of this second volume, the count will already have topped over one hundred. New arrivals include Tammanany the Tiger, the voluble P.T. Bridgeport, the sinister Sarcophagus MacAbre (with his funereal speech balloons), Uncle Antler the bull moose... and Bewitched, Bothered, and Bemildred, the adorable trio of bats. The two years of daily strips in this volume have been collected before but in now long-out-of print books; and even there they were not as meticulously restored and reproduced as in this new series. Bona Fide Balderdash also reprints, literally for the first time ever in full color, the two full years of Sunday pages, also carefully restored and color-corrected, shot from the finest copies available. This second volume is once again edited and designed by the cartoonist s daughter, Carolyn Kelly, who is also handling much of the restoration work. It includes a new introduction by the legendary author, recording artist, and satirist Stan Freberg, who was not only a friend of Kelly s but the voice of Albert the Alligator in the I Go Pogo: Pogo for President movie. There will also be more extensive annotations by comic strip historian and expert R.C. Harvey, as well as additional historical information from writer Mark Evanier.
344 pages, Hardcover
First published September 19, 2012
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125 people want to read
About the author
Walt Kelly
394 books53 followersAmerican animator and cartoonist best known for the classic funny animal comic strip, Pogo. He won the National Cartoonists Society's Reuben Award in 1951 for Cartoonist of the Year, and their Silver T-Square Award in 1972, given to persons having "demonstrated outstanding dedication or service to the Society or the profession."
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
December 23, 2020
While I did not read this book in it's entirety, I'm calling it done. Newspaper comics aren't written in a way to make them digestible in large swathes.
Anyway, so much of what came after is influenced by what Walt Kelly did with Pogo. His cartooning is without peer, even now when he's been dead for 40+ years. I hate to admit it but I think his artwork beats out even the almighty Bill Watterson. This isn't the breezy read you think it is, though. It's all written in a Southern dialect and each panel takes a little effort to decipher.
I'll dip into this from time to time in the future but for now, we are done.
Anyway, so much of what came after is influenced by what Walt Kelly did with Pogo. His cartooning is without peer, even now when he's been dead for 40+ years. I hate to admit it but I think his artwork beats out even the almighty Bill Watterson. This isn't the breezy read you think it is, though. It's all written in a Southern dialect and each panel takes a little effort to decipher.
I'll dip into this from time to time in the future but for now, we are done.
May 10, 2019
The problem with the passage of time is the built-in bug (feature) which makes it very easy to forget things. One reason for this is as time passes, the number people who were present for those events decreases over time. With fewer first hand counts, we need to dig through artifacts of those past times and frankly that's hard so usually we will lazily accept whatever the accepted narrative of a particular time is. When I was a kid, my ideas of my mother's childhood (she was born in the 50s) were filled in by the Leave It to Beavers, Father Knows Bests and Donna Reed Shows of the world. These television shows presented a sanitized view of 1950s America, where the worst could happen would be that the Beavers of the world would steal a penny candy from the local druggist, only to be found out and given a life lesson lecture by Ward to close the show. Of course, as a grade school kid watching these reruns on the local UHF channel, I had no concept of On the Road, Naked Lunch and "Howl", the smoldering sexuality presented by the likes of James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and a young Marlon Brando or the civilization shattering idea of Elvis Presley shaking his hips while singing on The Ed Sullivan Show. Instead, thanks to 50s television, I just bought the accepted notion that everyone liked Ike and dissent wasn't a thing that existed.
Of course, with age comes wisdom and eventually if you dig enough you find out that the sanitized view of culture often has its own political ramifications. By the time I was watching those old 50s sitcoms in my tween years, the Beavers of the world had become the parents and they likely had their own reasons for trying to portray the world of their childhood in this way (I worked under the impression that my parents' generation had perfect lives--my parents lives and the suicide of one of my mom's friends shattered that view inexorably in my young adulthood--I wonder how I could ever have been so naive.) Unfortunately, in post-World War II America, the narrative of a country still divided by racism didn't fit with the preferred narrative of a white-bread America, defender of the free world. Sexuality would only undermine this notion of the nuclear family of a mom, a dad and 2.5 children (although since Lucy and Desi didn't share a bed, where did that baby come from anyway?) This was the age of Seduction of the Innocent and the Comics Code Authority, so censorship was in full swing (won't someone think of the children?) With all of this mind, if there was going to be a voice of dissent, why not put it in plain sight?
Enter Pogo. By the time Walt Kelly started working on the syndicated Pogo newspaper strip in 1950, he effectively had given himself a daily soap box to espouse his personal politics and philosophy. However, in the 50s you just couldn't come out and say it, so Kelly dressed it up in cute woodland creatures of the kind that had started his career at Disney and then was deft enough to layer the strips in such a way that what looked innocuous was actually subversive as hell. Take the "I Go Pogo" arc that takes a good part of the 1952 dailies. This became popular at universities and ushered in a series of Kelly speaking at universities and as a result growing the readership of Pogo in the process. But the joke here is that "I Go Pogo" is as vacuous a campaign slogan as "I Like Ike!" which doesn't really communicate anything important about the candidate (and has been re-used ad nauseum by the likes of Jeb Bush (JEB!) and my local Cleveland favorite Dennis Kucinich (Dennis!)) Of course, this slogan (and associated campaign pins) lead to the swamp denizens trying to draft Pogo into running for President (of what, I'm not even certain the citizens of Okefenokee know) and hilarity ensues. As I stated in my review of the previous volume, these techniques would later be used in strips like Bloom County but unlike that strip, Kelly subtly weaves his political dissent in a strip that sometimes becomes so strange that it disarms its targets in the process.
Unfortunately, in the years since Kelly's death in 1973, we (collective we here) have mostly forgotten about Pogo. Unlike Charlie Brown, Pogo never became the ubiquitous star of stage and screen, jumping from the newspaper page. Like I stated in that previous review, had it not been for Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing I might not even have gone down this path, which would be a shame since Kelly has had as much influence on comics as Schulz, Moore and Will Eisner, among others.
Of course, with age comes wisdom and eventually if you dig enough you find out that the sanitized view of culture often has its own political ramifications. By the time I was watching those old 50s sitcoms in my tween years, the Beavers of the world had become the parents and they likely had their own reasons for trying to portray the world of their childhood in this way (I worked under the impression that my parents' generation had perfect lives--my parents lives and the suicide of one of my mom's friends shattered that view inexorably in my young adulthood--I wonder how I could ever have been so naive.) Unfortunately, in post-World War II America, the narrative of a country still divided by racism didn't fit with the preferred narrative of a white-bread America, defender of the free world. Sexuality would only undermine this notion of the nuclear family of a mom, a dad and 2.5 children (although since Lucy and Desi didn't share a bed, where did that baby come from anyway?) This was the age of Seduction of the Innocent and the Comics Code Authority, so censorship was in full swing (won't someone think of the children?) With all of this mind, if there was going to be a voice of dissent, why not put it in plain sight?
Enter Pogo. By the time Walt Kelly started working on the syndicated Pogo newspaper strip in 1950, he effectively had given himself a daily soap box to espouse his personal politics and philosophy. However, in the 50s you just couldn't come out and say it, so Kelly dressed it up in cute woodland creatures of the kind that had started his career at Disney and then was deft enough to layer the strips in such a way that what looked innocuous was actually subversive as hell. Take the "I Go Pogo" arc that takes a good part of the 1952 dailies. This became popular at universities and ushered in a series of Kelly speaking at universities and as a result growing the readership of Pogo in the process. But the joke here is that "I Go Pogo" is as vacuous a campaign slogan as "I Like Ike!" which doesn't really communicate anything important about the candidate (and has been re-used ad nauseum by the likes of Jeb Bush (JEB!) and my local Cleveland favorite Dennis Kucinich (Dennis!)) Of course, this slogan (and associated campaign pins) lead to the swamp denizens trying to draft Pogo into running for President (of what, I'm not even certain the citizens of Okefenokee know) and hilarity ensues. As I stated in my review of the previous volume, these techniques would later be used in strips like Bloom County but unlike that strip, Kelly subtly weaves his political dissent in a strip that sometimes becomes so strange that it disarms its targets in the process.
Unfortunately, in the years since Kelly's death in 1973, we (collective we here) have mostly forgotten about Pogo. Unlike Charlie Brown, Pogo never became the ubiquitous star of stage and screen, jumping from the newspaper page. Like I stated in that previous review, had it not been for Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing I might not even have gone down this path, which would be a shame since Kelly has had as much influence on comics as Schulz, Moore and Will Eisner, among others.
August 15, 2018
These Pogo collections take me about a year to read, because they are DENSE. Verbally and visually, there's not a corner that isn't full of some little gag or detail, and so they resolutely cannot be skimmed. I'll read a few pages every few days, and I'm so overwhelmed by the sheer scale and consistency of Kelly's inventiveness that I take a break.
Mind you, this is a criticism of myself as a reader, not of Kelly as a comic-strip artist. I can only imagine what joy Pogo must have provided in daily increments, framed by lesser strips, providing time and space to soak it in and ruminate before the next morning's installment. In book form, you can't read just one - but several pages can be exhausting. But it's also enriching and powerful - like lifting weights in comic form. Okay, I'm rambling.
Mind you, this is a criticism of myself as a reader, not of Kelly as a comic-strip artist. I can only imagine what joy Pogo must have provided in daily increments, framed by lesser strips, providing time and space to soak it in and ruminate before the next morning's installment. In book form, you can't read just one - but several pages can be exhausting. But it's also enriching and powerful - like lifting weights in comic form. Okay, I'm rambling.
October 17, 2021
Walt Kelly really seems to hit his stride here with Pogo in Volume 2 of the complete strip as published by Fantagraphics. For me there has been a learning curve in reading Pogo as the strip is packed with characters, sarcasm, wit, period and political references and enjoyable artwork. I find Pogo a slow read for a comic strip, but not in the sense of it being dull or uninteresting; there is just so much to take in. It is definitely worth the effort. I go Pogo.
December 13, 2025
This book is okay, but the cover is just two separate Sunday comic drawings pieced together and recolored (so the geese are white now?). Pretty stupid to complain about, I know, but also there's not much excitement in the Okefenokee Swamp. And besides, why can't Pogo and friends succeed in going to another community, like Chicago? Cartoons are for the bizarre, after all. I think that Pogo is decent, but the big book these strips came in is too tiring for me to ingest all of this at once.
July 21, 2018
Great classic newspaper comics
April 12, 2019
Masterful.
August 4, 2020
More laughs
Great comedy and artistry. You will enjoy this collection. It made me laugh out loud, very witty. Good poetry in places.
Great comedy and artistry. You will enjoy this collection. It made me laugh out loud, very witty. Good poetry in places.
November 14, 2020
Classic Pogo dailies and Sundays. The introductions of PT Bridgeport and Tammanany the Tiger. I Go Pogo. The cowbirds.
December 28, 2020
The man could draw like nobody else. Just savor the art.
February 12, 2015
Volume two of Fantagraphics' projected complete run of Kelly's Pogo offers some landmark moments, notably the first Pogo for President campaign and the introduction of P.T. Bridgeport and his amazingly expressive lettering. The daily strips here especially are strong and funny, with no shortage of political and social satire bubbling beneath the innocuous surface--insofar as story after story about characters duping and even threatening to eat each other can be seen to be innocuous. The Sunday pages are a delight to look at but also, as some other reviewers have noted, seem slighter when measured against the dailies. Kelly always foregrounded humour, but the Sundays tend a bit more towards the lightly whimsical. The most disappointing feature of this book are R. C. Harvey's desultory annotations. Some offer worthwhile or at least interesting insights, but he seems not to have invested a lot of effort in them. For every reference he annotates, there are a couple he leaves out, and the choices do not always seem to me to be equally important. That's mainly a quibble, though.
January 15, 2013
I Go Pogo, for the poignancy of the characters' relations, the ridiculous situations, the multitude of fractured historical, geographical and political references, the pseudo-scientific foo-fa-rah, and just for being loveable. Read the biographical and explanatory material surrounding the comics as well: it is not to be missed. I was brought to tears by the personal story behind "Kathryn B." in the December 8, 1952 strip, and rereading it made me love the characters and the artist even more. I hate that I have to wait a year for volume 3!
April 8, 2015
Another dead solid reprint from Fantagraphics. Kelly's art firms up in this volume, and there's lots of great story arcs to be found, such as the first "I Go Pogo" election run that runs for a good part of one year and my favourite, a Little Orphan Annie spoof. Story and art aside, it's the word play that will keep you coming back.
That said, I think I'm good with these two volumes of Pogo snuggled together in a nice slipcase. I'm sure I'd love the additional volumes, but I don't think I need them.
That said, I think I'm good with these two volumes of Pogo snuggled together in a nice slipcase. I'm sure I'd love the additional volumes, but I don't think I need them.
April 28, 2013
Two years' worth (1951-1952) of the Pogo cartoon, both dailies and Sundays. The main drawback to this book is its size & weight: Amazon.com says its shipping weight is 3.6 pounds (it seems like more when you're holding it to read) and measures 9" high by 11" wide & a full inch thick. Heavy reading for such a lightweight subject.
Lots of great fun, though some plots seem to go on forever.
In general I loved it all.
Lots of great fun, though some plots seem to go on forever.
In general I loved it all.
November 9, 2014
Another round of Walt Kelly's comic classic from the swamp. All the strengths of the first volume are present here, notably the wonderfully expressive Disney-esque drawing style and puns and wordplay by the bucket. A storyline where Pogo runs for President carries on a little long, and the Sunday strips aren't quite up to the sharp standard set by the dailies, but this is a great read for anyone interested in classic comic strips.
February 2, 2017
I adore Walt Kelly's work, but this volume happens to contain a relatively poor stretch of it. The dailies are burdened with the bear P. T. Bridgeport who speaks in circus-poster fonts and the "I Go Pogo" campaign of 1952. The Sundays are played relentlessly for gags but fall short of funny again and again. I made it through two-thirds of the doldrums of the dailies before jumping ship to the Sundays, and I'm not going to get halfway through those.
December 28, 2016
Had enough of politics 2016 style? In addition to all of the usual commentary on life in the early 1950s*, here you can relive the presidential election of 1952** through the Pogo lens. For that alone, this book is a worthwhile read or even browse.
* Not nearly as wonderful as those with selective memories would have you believe.
** Spoiler alert, Eisenhower won.
* Not nearly as wonderful as those with selective memories would have you believe.
** Spoiler alert, Eisenhower won.
December 23, 2024
This collection would be of interest to Pogo fans, cultural historians of the age, and those interested in the history of American comics. Not many of the biting, incisive comments for which Kelly is known. It seems he was trying to figure out just what kind of comic he wanted to write. A lot of less-than-interesting story lines, but one can sense a maturing author/artist.
January 21, 2013
Clever, funny, exquisite to look at. There is nothing like Pogo, and never will be. Supposedly these volumes will be printed every Christmas for the next 12 years, and they will be at the top of my list for each one.
May 27, 2014
The dailies pick up in the summer of 1952, as Kelly begins early broad political satire, but I had a hard time getting into the majority of the strips reprinted here. Most of the humor comes through as somewhat juvenile and somewhat cornball and the combination doesn't connect for me.
January 16, 2013
The second collection in a series comprehensively reprinting Kelly's wonderful comic strip. Lush, beautiful artwork and finely-tuned nonsense. Not every strip has a joke, but they are all funny.
September 4, 2013
wonderful
October 20, 2014
These strips really hold up, yet still have an old-fashioned charm to them. In this volume, Walt Kelly brings in some political satire when Pogo runs for President.
April 20, 2016
As I read about Pogo's first time candidacy for president, I note the current election process. It really is a cartoon, and we need Pogo more than ever.
May 11, 2015
Full of slapstick, satire, and word play, along with some great characters. Lots of fun.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews