Pogo Volume 2: Bona Fide Balderdash (POGO COMP SYNDICATED STRIPS HC)

There must be thousands of us who have hung on to the Simon & Schuster "Pogo" reprints from the 1950s -- reading and re-reading them until the bindings gave out. Now comes Fantagraphics Books' fabulous projected 12-volume reprinting of the entire "Pogo" oeuvre, and for dedicated Pogophiles it's a dream come true. Volume One, "Through the Wild Blue Yonder," took the strip from its pre-syndication days through 1950, and is instructive in showing how Walt Kelly developed the characters; apparently identical scenes from the New York Star and from the syndicated strip show subtle alterations as his cartooning style matured. Volume Two, "Bona Fide Balderdash," shows Kelly fully in command of his medium.Among the highlights this time around: The introduction of P. T. Bridgeport; Wiley Catt and Sarcophagus Macabre's plot to dine on Churchy LaFemme; Bun Rabbit's attempt to celebrate every holiday; Pogo runs for President, sort of (launching the "I Go Pogo" movement); and various critters disguise themselves as characters from "Little Orphan Annie" (or, as is suggested by Beauregard, "Li'l Arf an' Nonny"). For those of us who have had to make do with the S&S reprints of yore, the Fantagraphics series is a particular delight, as it reproduces many strips left out of the paperbacks. This is the whole thing, in order. Nothing could be more satisfying.Annotations draw the reader's attention to details not apparent to the casual fan. For example, Kelly's fight with the Post-Hall Syndicate about exactly who owned the copyright led him to sign the strip for a while with pseudonyms such as "Motley Crewcutt" and "Parsley Shawl." Once the dispute was settled (in Kelly's favor), the authentic name reappeared, as the proud "Copr. 1952 Walt Kelly." The notes also inform readers about such details as what "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" means, or who Edgar A. Guest was. Why, starting in mid-1951, was the upper left corner of each day's first panel devoid of speech or important visual material? The notes explain.For those with a lifelong devotion to "Pogo," Volume Two is a must-have book. Those new to Kelly's genius will also find inspiration in the comic strip, now gone almost 40 years, that to this day is a hallmark of literacy, wit, and visual excellence. Quibbles? OK, the brief introduction by Stan Freberg (himself a major wit of the '50s and '60s) is a pleasant remembrance but not much more. And the notes, valuable though they are, could be more extensive. But these minute drawbacks don't even come close to reducing the five-star rating. This is as good as "Pogo" gets, and it is wonderful.

Buy it. Buy many. Buy the first one. Buy the next one.Give them as gifts, leave them in taxis, donate them to schools, pass them out on the streets, change your kid's name to Grundoon, befriend a cigar-smoking alligator, leave your estate to the Walt Kelly Is A God And Deserves Himself A Nice Church Foundation, no trifle is too small, no global Pogo Day celebration too big.Those aren't five little Amazon stars. Those are five massive, searing orbs of space fire, billions of fathoms wide. So pay attention.History keeps trying to remind us what happens when we try to get along without her. Making sure every budding American has read Pogo will make her job a bit easier. Why? You're on a computer, aren't you? G**gle it! A deft and nuanced satirical take on American culture and politics from the days when a computer was some math dork with a slide rule, Pogo was the Doonesbury of its day, and these books are actually a magnificent history lesson.There's no tits, not much cussing, and the whole world seemed to have a sort of Mayberry rhythm to it (again, look it up), so it isn't trying to compete with androgynous angsty robot vampires turning into pickup trucks and blowing up New Jersey. It is a chance to reconnect with the middle America that actually did exist, in a way, back then, by reading what they read back when reading was about all there was to do if you didn't have the 15 cents for a double bill plus cartoon and newsreel movie ticket.This may look like a bunch of cartoons about talking animals in a swamp, but so does the Washington Post, and people take that seriously, don't they? Political buffoonery, chicanery, and ne'er-do-wellity has been rampant since long before our glorious republic was even conceived, and it was in full swing during Walt's very long tenure at the pen. A worthwhile read for anybody with a serious interest in the history of common political discourse in the US, and cleverly disguised as amusement, to boot. Edumacate those lummoxes without they even knowing...

Update: The publisher responded promptly/courteously/informatively. This seems to have been a problem with my individual copy. Returned it to Amazon for an exchange (Amazon's return/exchange process is, as usual, 100% hassle-free). My new copy is just fine. All is well. upgrading stars. But be on the watch for misprints; obviously if it could happen to my copy it could happen to others.For those interested in the 25-year-long demented theater of the absurd that is Pogo, these probably represent the ultimate edition. Too bad they are not all already available.-----My copy reads "First printing: September 2012 / Printed in China". Published by Fantagraphics. I purchased from Amazon.The colophon of my copy lists an ISBN13 *different* than what Amazon and the publisher list (my copy lists 978-1-56097-584-6, Amazon/publisher list 978-1-60699-584-6). Don't know why that would be.Eager to have this (and the other volumes in the series)... but in my copy (just received), pages 80-81 (week of Sep 24, 1951), 88-89 (week of Oct 22, 1951), and 92-93 (week of Nov 5, 1951), all pairs of facing pages, are listed in the contents and physically present but completely blank (not even page numbers). The verso faces of all these pairs of blank pages contain the content that they should (including page numbers).I have just sent an email to the publisher, Fantagraphics, to determine if this problem is isolated to this particular copy or potentially a problem with the whole print run, etc. Once I know that, I will know better what the feasibility is of simply exchanging this copy (which I am sure Amazon would be happy to do).However, at the moment, I can't recommend this book. Caveat Emptor. I will update and add more stars once I have resolved this.

Love Pogo, love these Pogo newspaper strips and I love these collections, volume 2 is no exception with a wonderful selection of stories in black and white and the Sundays in colour at the back. Have volumes 1 - 4 so far, must get 5 and 6 and will get all the rest. This is a chunky book (very wide) and a joy to read through

Pogo wird oft für den satirischen Blick auf die der 1950er Jahre US-Politik gelobt.In diesem Band stehen aber m.E. andere Qualitäten von Kelly im Vordergrund.Abgesehen von den superben Zeichnungen -Pogo gehört zu den Comicss, die diesbezüglich sehr schnell voll ausgereift waren- finden wir hier zahlreiche Spiele mit der englischen Sprache. Im Gegensatz z.B. zu Lil Abner dienen die grammatikalischen Freiheiten, mit denen die Sprache aller Figuren behaftet ist, nicht der Erzeugung von Lokalcolorit.Albert bringt zur "Jam Session" natürlich einen Topf voll Marmelade, "swear" wird der Bedeutung "fluchen" zugeordnet, Eule muss also fluchen, als er die Wahrheit beschwören soll, die Gruppe Vogelbeobachter heißt "Audible Bird Watchers" (also etwa "hörbare" im Sinne von "laute" Vogelbeobachter, d.h. genau das, was ein guter Vogelbeobachter nicht sein sollte) , eine Anspielung auf die ehrwürdige Audoborn Society, auch Ghost Writer wird natürlich wörtlich genommen.Ein Höhepunkt: Die Goldilocks-Episode.Die Geschichten schwanken zwischen absurd (Marsreise), romantisch (drei "Männer" sind hinter dem Skunk-Mädchen her) und moralisch (der scheinheilige Prediger, der bereit ist, die unschuldige Schildkröte ans Messer zu liefern und dann fast selber im Backofen landet), bei letztgenannter Episode ist eine gewisse Parallele zu McCarthy zu erkennen.Und natürlich gibt es viel Situationskomik: Die Postbotenente, die die Briefe zu Fuß zustellt, weil die Kundschaft zu geizig für Luftpostmarken ist.Sehr lesenswert, sehr komisch, aber übersetzt funktionierte Vieles nicht mehr, daher die Empfehlung: Unbedingt auf Englisch !

Nel secondo biennio di Pogo Walt la padronanza di Walt Kelly nell'uso del linguaggio della strip raggiunge la perfezione, espressa con una maestria grafica che ha pochi rivali nel campo del comic e una gioia creativa ispirata e generosa. Qui inizia anche a manifestarsi appieno quella sarà una delle caratteristiche più apprezzate dai tanti fan americani, la satira delle derive della politica e alla società americane. Mai acre, eppure sempre profondo e indignato, il giudizio dell'autore nasce dalle radici migliori dell'anima liberal statunitense. Per rendersene conto, basta leggere, quasi all'inizio del volume, l'episodio in cui Pogo è sottoposto a una sorta di processo assurdamente kafkiano, che adombra le sedute inquisitorie maccartiste. Oggi si ride soltanto leggendolo, all'epoca, il lettore deve avere sentito anche qualche brivido di inquietudine. Il volume è da raccomandarsi anche per l'eccellente qualità del materiale proposto e per la cura editoriale. Insomma, la Fantagraphics al suo meglio.

Pogo est un personnage de comic books et une série de comic strips vénérés aux USA et la maison d'édition étatsunienne a lancé il y a quelques années une intégrale des comic strips tandis que la maison Hermes Press se charge de celle des comic books. Après le  premier tome , je poursuis ici la lecture de l'intégrale des strips quotidiens (sans couleurs) et des pages du dimanche (en couleurs), avec les années 1951 et 1952.Ce 2è tome est présenté avec le même soin que le précédent : une couverture épaisse, une "dust cover", un beau papier, une solide reliure, une table des matières détaillée, d'excellents scans des strips et planches du dimanche récupérées aux meilleures sources disponibles, des notes sur presque chaque strip ou planche soulignant des détails ou allusions qui auraient pu échapper au lecteur étatsunien. Des dessins inédits illustrent les parties "textes" (****1/2 pour la forme).Les strips et planches mobilisent une belle trentaine de personnages animaliers dans un marais que l'on imagine en Louisiane, et qui s'expriment quasiment tous de manière plutôt volubile pour ne pas dire bavarde pour beaucoup d'entre eux, dans un mélange de patois de la partie Sud des états-unis et d'anglais fâché avec l'orthographe, la grammaire et la conjugaison. D'où une invention lexicale et linguistique permanente que l'on imagine bidonnante pour les lecteurs américains du début des années 1950 mais qui se révèle plutôt ardue pour un lecteur français de la fin du premier 1/6è du XXIè siècle.Les aventures relèvent toutes du complet délire et même du coq-à-l'âne sans aucun sens apparent mais avec un substrat très réel comme par exemple celui d'une campagne électorale pour la présidence des USA, en effet miroir de celle qui se produisait réellement à l'époque. Il peut y avoir aussi des réflexions sérieuses au détour d'une case. Comme celle-ci, très actuelle, dans laquelle un personnage répond à un autre, qui se plaint des immigrants et se prétend américain ("natural born") et se voit répondre par un autre personnage que les seuls vrais américains sont les Indiens.Walt Kelly est un remarquable dessinateur, qui excelle dans le design et la représentation de ses personnages, que l'on prend en affection malgré la complexité de la lecture, qu'il s'agisse de Pogo l'oppossum, d'Albert l'aligator, de Churchy La Femme la tortue et de ces personnages que Kelly sort à intervalles réguliers de son chapeau afin d'animer une série de strips : un tigre, un chiot, un ours etc. (****1/2 sur ce point)Plus que la plupart des comic strips, Pogo vise la vie de la société des USA, ses codes, ses us et coutumes, son histoire et ses traditions. Les français sont à la peine pour - comme le veut un mot à la mode dans la presse française depuis quelques années - "décrypter" de nombreux messages de cette série, dont le sens est rendu d'autant plus mystérieux que le temps a passé (***, "J'aime", pour qui comme moi ne dispose pas du bagage nécessaire pour ce décodage), même si le message essentiel et toujours actuel est celui du vivre ensemble malgré les différences. premier tome

My husband and I were enthusiastic "Pogo" fans back in the fifties when we were teenagers. We were delighted to see the first two collections be released recently, and ordered them right away. What a treasure they are! We love the gentle humour and playfulness, the clever and imaginative word play, the wonderful drawings.......... Walt Kelly was a genius! This book would be most suitable for those who appreciate the above.