Walt Kelly's Pogo Romances Recaptured: 2 Pogo Classics in 1 Volume: Pogo, Prisoner of Love - the Incompleat Pogo

by Walt Kelly

Book by Kelly, Walt

Genres: Humor, Comics, Comic Strips, Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

American 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."

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pogo was a constant source of entertainment when I was growing up. It was one of my favorite comic strips in the daily paper's 'funny pages'. Even though I did not grasp the political commentary that was a key ingredient of the strip, I loved all the swamp critters and their adventures.

Having recently rediscovered Pogo, I treated myself and my mother to copies of several of the various titles available at my favorite online used book source. This is one I had ordered for her, but she wanted me to read it so I brought it home with me after my last trip north.

There are two Pogo books here, each one made up up daily strips from the early 1950's. Pogo, Prisoner Of Love and The Incompleat Pogo were both not only fun to read, but they made a bit more sense to my adult self, since I understood the thoughts behind the words this time. Mostly, anyway.

Nothing was off-limits to Kelly's pen. Pogo and his friends would poke fun at the way government worked, the World Series of Baseball, the way universities were more concerned about their sports stadiums than their libraries, young people and their rebellion against everything under the sun, Sergeant Friday from Dragnet, the Russians who had just developed their own atomic bombs. There is always a lot going on in the Okenenokee swamp, let me tell you! And I wonder what Kelly and Pogo would have to say about the current situation in US politics, not to mention the fear of Everyone Else that seems to be spreading across the land. We could use a bit of Pogo these days.

I was surprised to see that this book concluded with Christmas panels. I was happily treated to more of the classic Kelly versions of certain Christmas carols:

Deck us all with Boston Charlie, Walla Walla Washington and Kalamazoo.....

Well, you get the idea. Churchy Turtle is one of my favorite characters and in The Incompleat Pogo, he has decided that the entire year should be October, because it is such a 'perty' month. He creates a new calendar, and according to it, Christmas day would be on the 86th of October, with the first day of the New Year on October 93rd. A few panels later a little frog shows up. He has lost his job as a weatherman and says that his replacement is probably some boss's relative who could not predict Christmas even on December 24th. Churchy Turtle chimes in with "That would be October 457th!" (He must have been thinking a year ahead at that point.)

Which brings me to my final words for this Christmas Eve review....Merry October 457th, everyone!

[ComicNerdSam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still steadily going through my collection. This one has some good moments in it, not as strong as the ones in Pogo Re-Runs but still good.

[Mark Lisac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walt Kelly was a veritiwockle genius. He was skilled at drawing the florida and fawna of the Okefenokee Swamp. He created characters who were DIS-tinckt and strong and in some cases prone to bursts of temper, but who never held grudges and quickly found ways to get along. He also touched up the humour with occasionally PONY-antsy, as in this exchange:
Pogo: "I figgers, Porky, that EVERY MAN'S HEART IS EVENTUAL in the RIGHT PLACE."
Ol' Porky Pine: "An' I figgers, Pogo, that if a man's gonna be wrong 'bout somethin', THAT is the BEST wrong thing to keep bein' wrong about 'til Forever."

[Shirley Erstad · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0

[Thomas Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hadn't read Pogo since I was a youth (I have incorporated ''bazzfazz'' into my discourse), so picking it up now in later middle age was really a delight. What amazes me the most about Walt Kelly's work is the diversity of discourses he uses (even using different FONTS for different characters), which are part and parcel of the characters in the story. I also love Pogo (the self we believe --erroneously -- is the self we project in the world), with his simplicity, his acceptance of whatever comes along, his cooking abilities, and his wisdom (''we have met the enemy and he is us''). Also, I love Kelly's veiled political subtext as far as ridiculing narrow-minded thinking in all forms. Finally, his irreverence: e.g. changing the Nationable Anthem to ''Oh, I was eating some chop suey.'' Kelly is amazing and deserves to be resurrected and put back in the public eye (he would probably be a plank in that eye).

[Delia Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not terribly well-reproduced, and available in other anthologies, but any Pogo is a good Pogo. Recommended reading for anyone who (a) likes good pen work (b) has a silly sense of humor and loves word play (c) despairs about the current state of the world, because it is a bracing reminder that the state of the world was always pretty bad.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

All Walt Kelly's Pogo books are the best comics ever written. The last couple (post-1970) are a little less outstanding, but all are a great mixture of out-of-control word play, tongue-in-cheek social comment, human (and animal) warmth, and humor at its best.

[Jeremy Sovereign · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compilation of Pogo strips from 56-57, which were put into book form. This was re-released in the 70s. Good stuff inside, with that classic Pogo style. It was good to have read the real strips from the first years in the new collections from last year, so I kind of knew the style.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most influential cartoonists of the 20th Century, Walt Kelly's work is as charming today as it was when written.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of the more recent comics, I think this is most similar to Calvin and Hobbes.