Walt Kelly's Pogo: After the Moonshot

"Today the moon, tomorrow the stars!" After America's first two successful space flights to the moon in 1969, Howland Owl realizes that the next obvious destination is the sun. He tells Churchy LaFemme he's invented a new kind of space suit. But has he?

The comic strip, of course, is Walt Kelly's Pogo and it dates from January 25, 1970, when everything was still rosy some three months before the nearly disastrous voyage of Apollo 13. The original art was sold on eBay in 2013 and your faithful blogger has been sitting on it all this time waiting for the right moment. Maybe this is it. 

Walt Kelly
eBay listing ended October 9, 2013

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pogo-Sunday-Original-by-Walt-Kelly-Howland-Churchy-1970-/111182042033?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19e2f753b1&nma=true&si=UB68sj2DvLx%252F9kdb54zXrlCgzYs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Walt Kelly
eBay item description

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Walt Kelly's Pogo: The Noble Dog

Here is some fine original artwork by Walt Kelly from his imaginative daily comic strip Pogo. At first it seems we're on a political topic, but by the last panel Kelly is surely channeling Nicely-Nicely Johnson.

Walt Kelly, Original Artwork for Pogo, May 7, 1968

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Daily-Pogo-Strip-by-Walt-Kelly-5-7-1968-Beauregard-Churchy-Porkypine-/290963948376?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43becd8358&nma=true&si=UB68sj2DvLx%252F9kdb54zXrlCgzYs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Note:  I'm pleased to inform you I have more Walt Kelly posts for you here.

Don't forget the Whirled of Kelly blog here and the Pogo in Pandemonia blog here. I won't.

Tomorrow fall will begin. See my blog posts about autumn here.

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Walt Kelly's Pogo: Baseball and the Presidensity

Original comic strip art from Walt Kelly's Pogo shows the artist to be as adept at wordplay as he is at ink brushing. The strange words and dialect which abound here seemed unnecessarily difficult when I first encountered Pogo as a boy, but over the years I've taken to it with a bit more enthusiasm.

Walt Kelly, Original Artwork for Pogo, August 20, 1964

Note:  This blog has more Walt Kelly posts sure to befuddle you here.

Then there's the Whirled of Kelly blog here and Pogo in Pandemonia here.

Autumn begins the day after tomorrow. There are only a couple of posts about fall in the blog and you can see them here.

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Walt Kelly's Pogo: Unknown Superstitions

There are all kinds of superstitions, but this 1958 daily from Walt Kelly's wildly inventive Pogo comic strip is the first I've seen to express the fear of unknown superstitions. That could include quite a lot. Happy Friday the 13th!

Walt Kelly, Original Artwork for Pogo, January 6, 1958

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Walt-Kelly-original-daily-Pogo-strip-1-6-58-/141004368496?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20d483ea70&nma=true&si=UB68sj2DvLx%252F9kdb54zXrlCgzYs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Note:  Lately, we've had quite a few posts on this blog about Walt Kelly. You can see them all here.

Fans of Walt Kelly might enjoy the Whirled of Kelly blog here. There's also a Pogo in Pandemonia blog. I don't know much about Pandemonia but you can study it here. Let me know what you find out.

Did you know that it's already football season? Why didn't I get the memo? My football posts are here.

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Walt Kelly's Pogo: Puce Stamps

So, those Puce Stamps mentioned in Walt Kelly's Pogo comic strip back in 1962 actually do exist. Mr. Pig, who does business in the Puce Stamps, is a caricature of Nikita Kruschev.

Walt Kelly, Original Artwork for Pogo, June 26, 1962

Walt Kelly, Puce Stamps, 1962

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pogo-Daily-Original-Strip-by-Walt-Kelly-Published-6-26-62-/111112909553?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19ded872f1&nma=true&si=UB68sj2DvLx%252F9kdb54zXrlCgzYs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 

Walt Kelly, Detail of Original Artwork for Pogo, June 26, 1962

[End of eBay Listing]

Walt Kelly, Pogo Puce Stamp Catalog, 1963

Image added September 27, 2013

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1963-Book-Pogo-Puce-Stamp-Catalog-by-Walt-Kelly-/231039692408?nma=true&si=UB68sj2DvLx%252F9kdb54zXrlCgzYs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Note:  Well, I've certainly been enjoying this close look at Walt Kelly's fine brushed ink originals from the comic strip Pogo. Just in case you missed any of it, it's all preserved for posterity here. There's still more to come.

While you're at it, you should certainly check out the Whirled of Kelly blog here. More obscure is the Pogo in Pandemonia blog. You can seek it out here.

This year I don't expect to write any new 9/11 posts, but if you're interested you can read my older posts on the subject here.

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Walt Kelly's Pogo: Understanding Chinese

As I've mentioned here before, sometime during the remainder of this year I expect China to surpass Brazil in all-time page views for this blog, elevating it to the exalted rank of tenth in the world among nations reading Attempted Bloggery. I am intensely proud that when the Chinese people manage to circumvent government restrictions on internet surfing, one of the places they choose to come is here. I look forward to the great nation of China catching up on Pogo. This original artwork for Pogo shows that Walt Kelly was critical of Chinese political propaganda back in 1962.

Walt Kelly, Original Artwork for Pogo, September 12, 1962

http://www.ebay.com/itm/POGO-daily-Walt-Kelly-ORIGINAL-COMIC-ART-1962-/190717470809?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c67a5a859&nma=true&si=UB68sj2DvLx%252F9kdb54zXrlCgzYs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/POGO-daily-Walt-Kelly-ORIGINAL-COMIC-ART-1962-/190717470809?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c67a5a859&nma=true&si=UB68sj2DvLx%252F9kdb54zXrlCgzYs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Note:  There's been a lot of irresponsible posting of Walt Kelly's original artwork for Pogo on this blog lately. You can see all the mischief here.

Even more irresponsible is Thomas Haller Buchanan's Whirled of Kelly blog. See it here. He also wrote the recently quiescent Pogo in Pandemonia blog? Check it out here.


Finally, my blog has a surprising amount about China which you can see here.

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Walt Kelly's Pogo: Albert is Speechless

Even when I don't particularly care for the gag, as is the case with this Sunday Pogo original comic strip art from 1955, I love to see Walt Kelly's incredible line work up close. For me, an amateur, one of the most difficult things about drawing is the physical challenge of applying ink to paper. Walt Kelly was a master of the brush pen!

Walt Kelly, Original Sunday Artwork for Pogo, January 9, 1955

http://www.ebay.com/itm/POGO-SUNDAY-MASTERPIECE-Original-comic-art-Walt-Kelly-1955-Pogo-Albert-Churchy-/261242429655?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cd34320d7&nma=true&si=UB68sj2DvLx%252F9kdb54zXrlCgzYs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Note:  My Pogo posts mostly feature original comic strip art from eBay. You can see some gorgeous Walt Kelly art here.

Thomas Haller Buchanan's Whirled of Kelly blog is always sensational, but for Walt Kelly's centennial he's published an amazing 'zine tribute. See it all here. He also has a Pogo in Pandemonia blog that's been kind of quiet this past year. Still, you may enjoy it here.

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