CE -- A lifetime of collecting comic related material :: Kelly, Walt [Pogo]

Pogo Daily Strip from Pandemonia Series, 21 July 1966

Artist: Walt Kelly (All)

2 Comments - 2,407 Views - 0 Like

Pogo Daily Strip from Pandemonia Series, 21 July 1966 Comic Art

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Artwork Details

Title:	Pogo Daily Strip from Pandemonia Series, 21 July 1966
Artist:	Walt Kelly (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Comic Strip
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	2,407
Likes on CAF:	0 1
Comments:	2
Added to Site:	5/2/2013
Comic Art Archive:

Description

Although I have always greatly admired Walt Kelly's art, I cannot really say that I am a big fan of his greatest creation, Pogo. In fact, it has been 16 years since I bought my first example of that strip. That Christmas daily is exceptional in every way and, until now, I was satisfied with having it as the sole representation of Pogo in my collection. Finally, however, another Pogo original came along which really caught my fancy, this strip from 1966. Like many who have always been fascinated with dinosaurs, I was attracted to the silhouette images of a mother Tyrannosaurus Rex and her daughter toying with Albert Alligator in the first panel. I have never seen speed lines quite like those which Kelly drew below the figure of Albert, but I am impressed over how well they convey the action of bouncing a creature in the air. I also liked the fact that Albert, who is about the same size as the younger Tyrannosaurus, is smoking his cigar, showing quite clearly that he was not, himself, a young dinosaur. But, probably most of all, I was attracted to the tiny heard of elephants who are darting away from Pogo and Churchy in the last panel, lest they end up as dinner for a possum and turtle. It's all very surreal, actually [even if the Pandemonia series which this strip is from took place after Pogo and his two friends were propelled in a large pot to Mars -- which is rather surreal, in and of itself]. Finally, I always prefer Pogos which don't have a lot of dialogue. Although I can usually figure out what the characters are saying in Kelly's strips, it sort of wears me out at times, often without that much of a payoff for the effort. In any event, I finally obtained another Pogo original which I am proud to add to my tiny collection of Kelly's work.

This strip is from fairly early on in the Pogo Pandemonia sequence, which began with the June 7, 1966 strip. For more on that important sequence and to see how this strip fits into the overall context of that series, see Thomas Haller Buchanan's excellent blog at the following web address: http://pogoinpandemonia.blogspot.com/2009/06/pheeoomp.html

It is rather ironic that the Pogo I purchased in 1997 was illustrated in Russ Cochran's auction catalogue on the page opposite a great, hand colored, Gasoline Alley Sunday original from 1921. Back then I was attracted to the striking Pogo, with its black background, and totally ignored the Gasoline Alley, a strip I was rather unfamiliar with at the time. The Pogo was estimated to sell for a higher price than the Gasoline Alley in that auction (and I believe, without checking, that it actually did). My, how my attitudes about the relative values and importance of the two strips have changed, especially over the last year and a half. Even so, I still respect the artists who drew both Pogo and Gasoline Alley, which are unquestionably two of the most important comic strips of all time.

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	C E
Joined:	April 2006
Last Login:	August 2025
Country:	UNITED STATES
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Monty B
Member Since 2006

Posted on 5/4/2013

Fantastic Pogo strip! I adore the Pandemonia sequence and especially the little elephants in the last panel...Congrats!!!

B. Jones
Member Since 2011

Posted on 8/4/2014

This is such a great strip! Loved the nice story about your views on Kelly's work then (& now). :)

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