Pogo's Body politic

by Walt Kelly

Pogo and the inhabitants of the Okefenokee Swamp concern themselves with such matters as VIP's, women, elections, and the 240-minute work hour.

Genres: Humor, Comic Strips, Comics

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

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

[Phrodrick slowed his growing backlog · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was imbibing Walk Kelly’s satire and political punning before I had any understanding of these terms. Pogo’s Body Politic presents selections from Walt Kelly’s more politically oriented satire from the early 1970’s. His talkative animals of the Okefenokee Swamp (It exists along the Georgia Florida boundary) had been to me, a variation of the hill people from Lil’ Abner. Between the two Kelly may have always been more political.

When I first saw these same Pogo comics in the early 1970’s I was aware of a darker edge at the expense of being funny. Some things, like then Vice President Agnew as a dog wearing the White House security uniform that Nixon had commissioned, worked for me. The real Agnew invited pointed satire and a royal guardsman uniform did not belong in the White House. Some of the jabs at the notoriously heavy handed FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover may have been justified, but even he deserved deft humor. There are also jabs at the then brand new movement, Women’s Liberation but here the humor tends to be uninformed and therefore wide of the mark. And so it goes. Too much of this collection may be spot on in picking the large targets in American politics, but too much of the humor is just not that funny.

Walt Kelly was too often better than this collection. Pogo’s Body Politic is a worthwhile read if you want to trace the history of political satire from say Thomas Nast to Bill Maher. As a standalone sample or a trip back down memory lane with the critters of Pogo; this is not a recommended choice.

[Al McCarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

1976 collection of Pogo strips from 1970-1972, the year of Walt Kelly's death, edited by his widow, Selby Kelly. Does that make this the final paperback collection of Pogo? Not sure.
The Spiro Agnew dog has a conversation with a flea. A pig who appears to be a caricature of no one and is named Rip-Dan Winkle, simply has to be a parody of someone or something, woos Miz Beaver for some reason, and then a deft caricature of J. Edgar Hoover steers some sinister goings-on. P.T. Bridgeport pops up, and every swamp critter seems to get his day in the sun.
I struggle with re-reading for a capsule review, as the pages seem to want to slip out of the binding.
They never tell you this on eBay.
His drawing seems even more perfect than ever.
I look forward to when these particular strips are reprinted in the current Fantagraphics series, if it ever gets that far, so that some scholar can give us the annotations needed to fill us in on the topical references. Should only take another 10 or 12 years.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

another collection of Pogo strips. Walt Kelly was the master, sho' nuff.