Pogo, the Puny' Possum Punster

For the past three years thousands of American have been picking up their newspapers and turning to the comic section. After a chuckle filled five minutes in the heart of the Okefenokee swamp, they feel fortified against the news the front page has to offer.

There is perhaps no comic strip that has so rapidly won its way into the hearts of the American people and into the pages of their newspapers as Pogo. The puny possum and his partner sin mirth poke fun at every subject from atom bombs to truant officers with corn and candor.

Walt Kelly's creation received such popularity that it was inevitable that a book with reprints of some of the best series should appear.

The paper-bound volume has only one fault--the pages are crowded.

Otherwise, the volume is perfect. Kelly drew some new portraits of his pet 'possum for the covers and title pages that picture his quaint whimsical attitude toward life.

All the others are there, too--Albert the Alligator, Porky, who "don't like anybody 'cept one crittur whom I dislikes less than most," Churchy la Femme, Howlin' Owl, Deacon Mushrat, the Rackety Coon Chile, and the rest of the too-human animals that people the South's fairest swamplands.

Pogo's universal appeal lies in the double nature of the strips. To those who follow Kelly, a satirical view of the world greater than Jonathan Swift's and Al Capp's is presented. To those who don't go that deep, Kelly's corn and his play on words both receive a new treatment with results that reach the peak in adult humor.

This word game Kelly plays is one of the most sparking points in the strip. He finds all the oddities of the English language and puns with them until he has formed a new language for his creature creations. From Deacon Mushrat, who speaks in Old English script to pup dog who pontificates on poltergeist, each varmint adds his own grammar.

One of Kelly's improvements on the comic strip routine is to run two stories in each strip. While the characters are following one in Kelly's own brand of swamp talk, they act out another. The first provides the thread of a series from strip to strip, and the second gives a complete tale all in one strip.

To those few who may have been living in caves for the last few years and haven't met Pogo and his friends, this book is an excellent introduction. To those who discovered Pogo late, it's an excellent collection of Kelly's early best. And to anyone who has joined the Okefenokee Glee Club, Perloo, and Arts Society, it is a bible and handbook.

In short, this is a rave review about a riotous book written by a raving genius. It injects into the American scene the balance of satire it has sorely needed for a long time. It provides a workable philosophy, a readable poke at English, and a laughable look at ourselves.