Complete Pogo Comics, Vol. 3: Diggin' Fo' Square Roots

by Walt Kelly

Complete Pogo Comics, Volume 3: Diggin' Fo' Square Roots

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

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

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's there to say? Its Pogo and all his buddies in the swamp. This is some very early Walt Kelly, with rougher art than his beautiful later work although there are clear signs of his talent and skill on display. The dialect is much thicker in these earlier works than in a few years, but its still the same hilarity.

A bunch of mice move into Albert the Alligator as a home, living in his belly, leading him to believe he's haunted (this is a theme later on, with people inside Albert for comedic effect). Pogo's relatives move in and take over his home. Weevil finds a magical book. Pogo learns to fly from a skeeter. The concepts are very basic but handled with charm and hilarity by Kelly, who had a real gift for sweet, fun humor in any situation.

You just cannot go wrong with Pogo, even in the much more politically-tainted later works.

[Michael P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Few comic strips have been actually satirical. I can think of only MALLERD FILMORE (bad strip and heavy-handed satire), DOONESBURY, and POGO. (MINUTE MOVIES was an odd hybrid that pretended to be satire more than it actually was.) POGO exposed hypocrisy and lots of it: in politics, religion, and social institutions. The satire is targeted like a dart in a bullseye, and always insightful and funny. This collection is highly recommended.