American animator and cartoonist best known for the classic funny animal comic strip, Pogo. He won the National Cartoonists Society's Reuben Award in 1951 for Cartoonist of the Year, and their Silver T-Square Award in 1972, given to persons having "demonstrated outstanding dedication or service to the Society or the profession."
I became a fan of Walt Kelly's Pogo in 1967-68 when he was satirizing that presidential election, and I carried a set of his comic strips in my wallet for years. So reading this collection of Sunday funnies from 1953-1958 was like visiting old friends. The humor in Pogo may be of the sort that you just have to love right off or you never will--so many malapropisms, so many puns, such absurdities--and phrases from this collection stick with a person: "Octopots done got me" is such a one (though it's hard to work into a conversation). And Kelly's skepticism about politics and politicians seems just as relevant today as when he created this lovable set of rapscallions. Here's a quotation from a short essay included as an intro: "It is probably not too soon to warn again that our leaders in business, education and government are merely pretending to be stupid..." (131).
1978 Fireside trade paperback reprinting The Pogo Sunday Parade from 1953, & 54 published in 58, and The Pogo Sunday Brunch, dealing out 1955, 56, & 57 strips published in '59. The usual dose of madness, acted out by the repertory of swamp critters, with scattered nonsense poetry throughout. Starting with a spoof of Soviet Russia. Nothing could be better than Albert Alligator with an octopus on his head. (Do they have them in the Georgia swamps?)
A lot of Pogo escaped me because I had to spend so much time figuring it out, but this collection made me smile. My mom would have approved - she liked Pogo in the Sunday comics.