Pogo, June 29, 1950

I bought the first volume of Fantagraphics' Pogo: The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips Vol. 1: Through the Wild Blue Wonder almost 9 years ago (November 2011)...and I was really anxious to read it. I had fond memories of that strip...read it in the Baltimore Sun back when I was just a little Brother K. But it sat on my shelf until a few days ago. Does this happen to you? Admittedly I buy a lot more books than I can keep up with...though I've been trying to mend my ways of late, as the end of my book reading days--and all of my days, for that matter--appears on the horizon. And I do get distracted pretty easily, so there's always a shiny new book just ahead.

But hey, I did finally get around to it. And? Well, it's been pretty close to pure joy. And Walt Kelly hasn't even come close to hitting his stride yet, so I know it's just going to keep getting better for quite some time.

Today I read the June 29, 1950 strip...and I just had to stop to holler about it. 

I don't think any context is necessary, but if you're the kind of person who likes that sort of thing, it goes like this: a puppy dog has gotten lost and some of the less generous-minded denizens of the swamp have decided that Albert the Alligator has eaten said pup. There is no evidence of this, of course, but that doesn't stop the lg-mds from going to work against Albert.

Also, the turtle...Churchy La Femme...is actually Albert's friend...but that doesn't stop him from going to work for the shyster lawyer, Seminole Sam. It's hard to tell if this is just because Churchy is that stupid, that gullible, or his self-interest has been enlightened. 

At any rate...that fourth panel is just it, isn't it? You present a bogus case, you link it to some unrelated material and create some semblance of a relationship, and then you present this bullshit as fact.

I mean...is that the Trump Administration in a nutshell or what?

Okay. Got to get back to the strips. And I did purchase the second volume as well, so I may just keep on it for awhile. There are ten more, though, and I didn't get them. It gets a little pricey, I'm sorry to say. Well worth it if you have the spare change, for sure.