Boing Boing has posted several pages from the new Fantagraphics book, “ Pogo: The Complete Daily & Sunday Comic Strips, Vol. 1: Through the Wild Blue Wonder.
”
Walk Kelly, born in 1913, started working as a Disney animator (Pinocchio, Dumbo, Fantasia)when he was 22 years old. He left Disney during the infamous labor dispute at the studio in 1941, and began drawing comic books. A year later, he created the character of Pogo, a wise/naïve possum who lives in the Okefenokee swamp with a menagerie of colorful swamp critters, including Albert Alligator, Churchy LaFemme (turtle), Porky Pine, Cousin Downwind (skunk), Rackety Coon Chile, and many other characters who who were, at turns, manipulative, generous, foolish, obstinate, and forgiving. Presenting his characters as animals gave Kelly the ability to explore human nature without the distraction that cartoon humans would have bought along with them. His illustration style was warm, highly expressive, and detailed without looking crowded. It’s hard to think of another newspaper cartoonist who equalled his talents.
Definitely a book on my want for Christmas list.
I wanted to refresh my knowledge of the referenced 1941 Disney Cartoonists strike. Google brought me to a concise history at libcom.org (hence not exactly Management’s PoV).
http://libcom.org/history/1941-disney-cartoonists-strike
Couldn’t wait for Christmas myself…got my copy of this must-have book last week! And any day now I should be getting the other Christmas must-have book, Jack Davis: Drawing American Culture.