No Doubt

I jes' loves seeing Kelly's artwork in its original state, blue pencil and lush brush strokes. There were times when some strips might have had an assistant's help here and there, but it was Kelly shining through it all!

January 31, 1954

But Sir . . . um, SIR!

January 6, 1962

A Happy New Year

Heart-felt wishes for a good year of 2019 to you all!

I hand-colored this beautiful Kelly art several years ago as part of my tribute to his 100th birthday, and, well, it kinda says it all.

Silently Steal Away

You just didn't see this kind of adventure in the other strips. 

Steve Canyon, eat yer heart out!

November 23, 1952

From the Simon & Schuster book, below is the extra panel that would run in the 3-tier horizontal newspaper format.

WANT TEA?

Moving along into September 1952, a little vaudeville . . .

September 7, 1952

Oh 🎵 3,679,40 and 1 🎵

Now, where was we, before being interrupted by one of the most divisive and ugly American politiwockle events, which is far from over. Indeed, what would Kelly have made of all this? But also knowing that he reserved Sundays for fun and frivolity for children and children at heart. 

So,  we plunge ahead with our continuity!

July 20, 1952

Them Ears is Blindin'!

Who knows why someone thought Rackety Coon Chile was a white kid, but 1952 is still my favorite Kelly year.

April 13, 1952

Yoicks! Yoicks!

Kelly had a full house when he played the 'cute' card. Cute art, cute characters, cute shenanigans—without being sugary. I can't think of another cartoonist that could out-cute him.

April 6, 1952

Any Calls While I Was Out?

My internet was on the frizzle for almost a week! No Google! No trailers! No porn! No wasting precious time on pointless crap! It was horrible. And worst of all, I had to skip another Sunday, Kelly Sunday! 

Sorry about that, but blame my ISP—it truly was their fault, just because I dropped my landline in favor of my cell. 

So I'm back, sound as a dollar .  .   .  uh oh. 

March 21, 1965

Bingnabs in Yo' Beezers?

Yay, A-nother Sunday to fill a gap in previous posts.

Happy Sunday, Kelly Sunday!

March 14, 1965

Anonymous, The Magnanimous

I know some of you have said that if it comes to either not cleaning up a Sunday strip or not showing it at all, you'll take it dirty and disheveled. I jes' hate puttin' em out dirty, so I do a hurry clean if I can, which is what I've done here.

Yippies and Paul Krassner were in the spotlight at the time of this strip. Krassner, having been a founder of the Youth International Party (Yippies), was a potent rabble rouser and was famous for prankster activism. 

This attorney fox guy looks like Seminole Sam, but isn't. And check out the worm's false nose and 'stache mask in the first panel, before he disappears (maybe squooshed under all that excitement?). And that's a pretty tree, isn't it?

HAPPY SUNDAY, KELLY SUNDAY! LLK

November 3, 1968

That Cronks Your Hippo-Critical Oaf!

Two cartoonists of the 20th century, no, let's make that three, gave us more pleasure per panel, consistently, than any other comic stripper. Let's see, that's Winsor McCay, Harold Foster, and of course Walt Kelly. 

Loving care crafted each panel that the medium did not require. Case in point, this panel, that feels completely believable in Kelly's whirled, yet is full of detailed whimsy—the whole setup bouncing through the air, the horse with exaggerated features, an alligator and an owl and a bug in relative sizes with human postures, wheels that shouldn't be rollable, lettering on the side of the van that isn't just a simple font and contains its own gag. Kelly gave us our money's worth almost every time!

Happy Sunday, Kelly Sunday y'all!

May 23, 1971

Aha! Ahee! Ahoo!

Hi folks!

Kelly certainly did give us our money's worth for the cost of a Sunday paper (over 40 years ago). He gave us more than a comic book page worth of tomfoolery every Sunday, PLUS such things as a frog in the lower right corner of the opening panel, and lookit! It looks like he drew in a bit of reflection of the Pogo logo (say 'Pogo logo' fifteen times real fast...it sounds like the natives are restless in an old Tarzan movie).

Looking this post over, it looks like I got it pretty well cleaned up from bleed-through and mis-registration. I left a few errors just to keep it natural looking.

Oh, BTW, it may look like we've skipped a Sunday 'tween this'n and last'n. But no, it's already been posted somewhere here on Whirled of Kelly. It was a stand alone page, not part of this arc.

Happy Sunday, Kelly Sunday and LLK!

May 16, 1971

Civic Culture Down the Drain

Hully gee, Kelly certainly had the boyish spirit.

Happy Sunday, Kelly Sunday.

Good morning Hun, LLK!

May 2, 1971

Young Yippee Yaps

I had a little time to scan up yet another Sunday strip to help fell in the blanks in all our collections, little by little.

November 2, 1969

Of course 1969 was a critical point in the conflict between young boomer rebels and the elder 'great society' establishment. It seems amazing that today, those very boomer rebels are now the stolid establishment and ready to be pushed aside by their now middle-aged children. 

Dag Grabbit!

I'm going to bed 'early' tonight, so I'm posting this Sunday, Kelly Sunday on Saturday night. This is the last segment of this story arc. The strip following this one has already been posted on this blog somewhere in the distant past.

Actually, to the pain and misery of some of you, I'm going to skip the Sunday, Kelly Sunday postings for at least a coupla weeks. Now don't get too upset. By doing so I will be able to start posting other Kelly material that I haven't taken time to prepare yet. Most of it is pretty special stuff that I don't want getting buried by Sunday after Sunday posting . . .  at least for a while. Also, that will give me a chance to take inventory of what's left of the Sundays stash, because, well, we've posted a lot of strips and sooner or later, sob, we're gonna run out of what I've clipped. I need to figure out just how much longer this can go on. Don't panic yet—let's jes' see what's what.

So, stay 'tooned!

February 22, 1970

Uncle Albert's Story Hour

I can't stay awake any longer, so I'm posting Sunday's strip on Saturday nite. This is the last of the current crop, with scans provided by DJ David B. It's so lovely to see these early strips in color. 

Next week, we'll head back to Pogo's later but still great days, with some strips from my collection.

February 3, 1952

Pogo by Bursey Rimbitts

From that wonderful year, 1952, a fairy tale, in progress, in full color—courtesy of DJ David B. Happy Sunday, Kelly Sunday!

January 20, 1952

Ugbert, Sam, Miguel, Otho, Waldo, Hilary, Herman

Good golly, 1952 was a good era for Pogo — the art superb, the dialogue spot on — and oh to see it all in color after all those years of loving it in black and white in the Simon & Schuster book. Thanks and ever thanks to DJ David B for sharing scans of this classic period—the golden age of Pogo, in my opinion.

And dig those menacing trees, in great fairy tale fashion.

panel detail

January 13, 1952

Generous to a Fault

First offs, soo-prize! I ent gonna make you wait til Sunday, Kelly Sunday to gits a golden ol' Sunday strip.

Now, second, let me make myselfs perfectly clear . . . I loves the Fantagraphics Books volumes of the complete syndicated comic strips of Pogo (volume 2 now appearing at your local bookstores—yay), it's a magnifercent effort to bring us the totality of Pogo like we nevers seen afore. Okay, the color may be a little pale and/or too clean, but it's put together with love, which of course Kelly dee-serves.

SO, if'n you have the second volume of the complete syndicated comic strips of Pogo, published by Fantagraphics Books, the next few posts are no soo-prize, story-wise. But note—these are the tabloid versions, standin' straight and tall, bursting with rich color from real newsprint, coming to you via DJ David B, with edits by moi—ALso put together with love, which Kelly so richly dee-serves.

If you're a fan of the best cartoonist in history, GO FORTH, buy the complete syndicated comic strips of Pogo, volume 2, subtitled Bona Fide Balderdash, published by Fantagraphics Books. It is worth your time and money. But also stay 'tooned here, cuz these gen-you-wine strips are also worth your time and they is complete FREE.

Thank you, one and all, and may you all be blessed with a bona-fried happy new year!

January 6, 1952