When I was a kid and my parents took me to their favorite bookstore, I would always buy a book, usually a book of comic strips. Up until the time I had all of those then in print — I think there were four or so — it was the Peanuts books. That was when I started in on Pogo, which is not to say I fully understood Pogo at the time. The dialogue was inaccessible to my toddler mind and even when I could decode what I could decode, I wasn't sure what they were all yelling about. In a way, it was frustrating the way it's frustrating to watch certain TV shows with the sound off. You can tell something interesting is being said but it drives you up the ever-lovin' wall to be denied it.
That was how I felt about Walt Kelly's swampland comic strip up until the age when I started to "get it." I knew it was funny. The characters were so alive and expressive. You could tell just from their poses that wonderful things happened in their world. You could also tell that the guy drawing all them amusing pics was a man of great humor and wit. I never got to meet Walt Kelly but long before I met his daughter, I felt like I knew him. And of course, hearing her stories and being welcomed into that world, has only made me feel closer to this great Pogo cartoonist.
Walt Kelly would have been 94 years old today. For purely selfish reasons, just so I could have met him, I'm sorry he didn't make it. I'm also sorry for all of us because it would have been great to have another few decades of him and his wonderful creativity. Under Carolyn's watchful, protective eye, Fantagraphics Books will soon reprint the Pogo newspaper strips in full, and in the best presentation possible, and everyone who knows the material is very excited indeed about this.
To keep you Pogofied until then, we'll be posting more excerpts and goodies over at the Pogo Possum website. Pop over there later this weekend and celebrate Walt Kelly Day with a little Walt Kelly. It doesn't get any better than that.