Ninety years ago today, a family in Philadelphia named Kelly gave birth to a kid named Walter Crawford Kelly, Jr. They probably didn't suspect that he would grow up (to the extent cartoonists ever grow up) to become one of the most honored and loved comic strip creators of all time. It was many years after that that Walt Kelly, in turn, gave birth to Pogo Possum, Albert Alligator, Howland Owl, Churchy LaFemme, and other denizens of the Okefenokee Swamp…and what a swamp it was, teeming with personalities of every stripe and persuasion. Even on the days Pogo was black-and-white, its language and style made it more colorful than anything else that graced the Sunday Funnies. Walt put more personality into a drawing than any practitioner of the anthropomorphic arts, before or since, but it didn't stop there.
Their speech was vibrant, their wit unparalleled, their situations irresistible. Kelly is often remembered for his political content — and to be sure, it was unique and bold and the reason that so many adults felt they had to scan the comics page. But he was also just plain funny, which was maybe the best reason to cruise the Okefenokee. Even when I was too young to have a clue what those silly animals were talking about, I just knew it was something very special.
So Happy Walt Kelly Day, people. A lot of cartoonists can do slapstick. A lot of them can say pithy, on-target things. Some of them can even create characters that you just plain want to hang around. But darn few can put it all under one roof and in one strip.