Pogo

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Pogo

Eventually a very political possum, Walt Kelly's Pogo was first seen in 1942 in a comic book. By the time he moved into the funny papers in 1948, he was not only considerably cuter but also much more socially aware. A success, albeit a controversial one, from almost the start of his newspaper days, Pogo soon branched out into a series of popular soft-cover reprint books. As the strip progressed, Kelly took increasing interest, and delight, in poking fun at many of the biggest political targets of the day; these included Senator Joe McCarthy, Lyndon Johnson, Nikita Khrushchev, Spiro Agnew, and J. Edgar Hoover. Needless to say, this was sometimes a risky sort of satire in which to indulge, especially in the social climate of the 1950s.

Born in Philadelphia and raised in Bridgeport, Kelly had always yearned to be a cartoonist. In the mid-1930s he went West to work for the Disney organization. Along with hundreds of other artists, the young Kelly worked on such animated features as Snow White, Pinocchio, and Dumbo. After leaving Walt Disney in 1941, Kelly came back East and was soon gainfully employed in the comic book business. By then he had become an excellent cartoonist; it was logical that he would find work with Animal Comics and Fairy Tale Parade.

In 1942 Kelly invented Pogo as a backup feature for Animal Comics, a magazine wherein the designated star was supposed to be the venerable rabbit gentleman Uncle Wiggily. A very scruffy and too-realistic-looking possum at the start, Pogo soon improved in appearance and eventually came to be the leading character in the feature. Among his swamp companions were the turtle Churchy LaFemme, Porky Pine, Howland Owl, and Albert the Alligator, a likeable ne'er-do-well who smoked cigars and possessed a mind overflowing with sly schemes—a goodly portion of which involved food.

By 1948 Kelly was working as staff artist and chief political cartoonist for the short-lived New York Star, which was more or less the successor to the liberal newspaper PM. On October 4 of that year, Pogo began as a daily comic strip exclusively in the pages of the New York Star. When the paper ceased publication three months later, Kelly's swamp denizens were temporarily without a home. The strip, however, was picked up for syndication that May and it immediately began to gather a sizeable client list. Although he had liberal political views, Kelly was at heart a comedian and he also included considerable slapstick, burlesque, puns, and uncontrolled nonsense in his saga of Okefenokee Swamp. In addition to outrageous continuities, mixed frequently with political satire, Kelly was especially fond of having his characters sing somewhat garbled versions of traditional songs. No Christmas, for example, went by without a heartfelt rendering of "Deck Us All with Boston Charlie."

Aware that Kelly's views on such topics as Senator McCarthy, the Ku Klux Klan, and the John Birch Society did not sit especially well with some of their subscribing editors, his syndicate suggested that he prepare a few alternative strips to run in place of an offensive one. Kelly went along with this, creating what he called his "bunny rabbit strips." These featured none of the Pogo regulars, but only a bunch of cute little rabbits enacting very tame and quiet gags. Kelly produced at least two dozen of these, and some of them must have been run far more than once.

Because of failing health in his final years, Kelly had to rely on assistants to turn out his strip. After he died in 1973, Pogo went on until 1975, written and drawn by others and controlled by his heirs. Early in 1989, the Los Angeles Times Syndicate attempted to resurrect Pogo, Albert, and the rest of the gang. A brand new version of the strip, titled Walt Kelly's Pogo, was launched with art by Neal Sternecky and scripts by Larry Doyle. This version, which concentrated mostly on whimsy and not social comment, was not particularly successful. By 1992, both members of the creative team had departed and Kelly's daughter Carolyn was drawing it while his son Peter oversaw the writing. Pogo closed up shop for the second time soon after.

—Ron Goulart