Pogo In Pandemonia

A Dream Come True

2011-11-20T17:36:00.000-08:00

This just in (literally): volume 1 of a series of 12 books that no Kelly fan should be without:

POGO—Through the Wild Blue Wonder, The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips—Volume 1, published by Fantagraphics Books, available NOW at your favorite booksellers.

Okay, so the only Pandemonia art in volume 1 is the magnificent drawing above. Collect all the volumes over the next few years and it WILL get around to the entire run of Pandemonia. In the meantime, the early strips are gorgeous.

Many of you saw the Pandemonia sequence for the first time on this blog, but to eventually own it, in hardcover no less—well, a dream come true.

Fabulous Fantasy Art

2011-04-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

Fans of Pandemonia are probably fans of The Adventures of Peter Wheat. Keep checking in at The Whirled of Kelly for fabulous fantasy art!

At the Caves of Mystery

2011-04-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

Check out this fanciful chapter of The Adventures of Peter Wheat over at Whirled of Kelly. It's not Pandemonia, but a precursor of sorts with grand Kelly characterization.

Dutch Treat

2010-09-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

It seems the fellers tried blasting off for Mars any number of times over their years with Kelly. Because that's the gimmick of this whole Pandemonia thing, here are some pages from the fifties that saw print in a Dutch fan publication, StripSchrift. Great thanks to Norman Boyd for sending over this Dutch treat.

You don't need to know Dutch very well to be able to follow along, in fact 'Gobby Wombies' translates pretty well.

Tiny Folk of the Wheat Field

2010-05-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

The first issue, ever, of The Adventures of Peter Wheat has been posted over at Whirled of Kelly. Come take a look, it's Kelly work you probably haven't seen before.

Above, a reconstructed 1948 poster giving you a synopsis of Peter Wheat's world.

Rare Treat

2010-05-18T06:52:00.000-07:00

There's not been any new business in Pandemonia for quite a spell. But there's breaking news over at Whirled of Kelly.

Coming up soon will be the premier posting of the first three issues of The Adventures of Peter Wheat, Walt Kelly's adventure fantasy. Issues from this series are extremely scarce, but showcasing issues 1, 2 and 3, in order, is a rare treat indeed, courtesy of our friend OtherEric of the Digital Comic Museum.

Head on over to Whirled of Kelly, to see it unfold.. Here's a sneak preview panel:

Pogofenokee

2010-02-08T08:03:00.000-08:00

This is not strictly related to Pandemonia, but just in case you toon in here but not at Whirled of Kelly, I thought you might enjoy this 1952 Walt Kelly drawing.

Abandoned on the Martian Ice Cap

2010-02-02T22:01:00.000-08:00

Over the years, the boys have had the dream of reaching Mars any number of times. I believe they've tried for some of the other planets, and I know they've even had ambitions to land on the sun. Here Churchy is figgerin' to get to Mars some 14 years before he makes it as far as Pandemonia.

Post-Pandemonia

2009-12-02T11:39:00.000-08:00

Post-Pandemonia, 1969, Kelly is having fun. Check it out at Whirled of Kelly.

Creator of Pogo

2009-11-10T21:06:00.000-08:00

I've pre-ordered this book from Amazon. I hope you all will want to also.

Up and Walking

2009-11-07T10:05:00.000-08:00

Sorry it took so long to get started, but the new Walt Kelly site is up and, well, walking. Look for it and please follow it at Whirled of Kelly.

I hope to see you there.

SERIOUSLY

2009-10-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

Howland and Kelly

(sounds like the name of a radio team show, doesn't it?)

Really, serious thought is being given this new 'blog. Just need a bit of time to organize the material.

In addition, I've got two long distance trips I need to make in the next three weeks, so my plan is to have the new 'blog up and running by November 7. I would dearly love to make it sooner, but all things considered, that's the way it is. I still have a few things to share on this 'blog, so keep checking back, but ESPECIALLY, come back around Saturday, November 7 to find the link to (working title) Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Years with Kelly.

Thinkin' Out Loud

2009-10-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

Not that any of you need to worry about it, but I'm still trying to decide some things about the new Kelly 'blog.

Please indulge me while I think this 'out loud'.

I was hoping to bring over the Sunday, Kelly Sunday strips from The Pictorial Arts 'blog, but those are from 1964 and aligned with the calendar of this year. I can give up that gimmick and post them back to back here, but I also have strips earlier, from 1963, that really deserve a showing as well, and from 1965 (not to mention the rest of 1967 plus '68, '69, '70 and '71). So a big question is: Do we want strict continuity for the Sunday strips? Or maybe 'story arcs', of a few weeks here and there? I lean toward that concept so that I can also throw in a whole bunch of other Kelly material between story arcs. You know, each Sunday will have its date in its file name, as always, so if you're saving em, they'll all go into order as you dump em into a folder, or folders, if you want to do em by year. So you can still have continuity on your end of the deal.

I think I've just convinced myself to do it that way.

I'm going to post some non-Pogo Kelly stuff here and there, cuz we all love Kelly, right? Not JUST Pogo, please tell me that.

OK, so, well, I've talked it out and feel better for it. If any of you have some strong feelings about something or other that I should know before I kickstart the new 'blog, do please let me know. But really, even if you've seen a lot of this stuff here and there, like the comic books, or the special stories from the books, I promise to make the scans big and clean and worthy of Kelly, so it might be fun looking at it all again.

And who knows? Maybe I'll post something you've never seen before. Wouldn't that be fun?

Oop, Alors!

2009-10-04T01:20:00.000-07:00

Well, this is it. We're at the end of our story for Pandemonia/Post-Pandemonia. The story ends here, because there is no reference to Pandemonia in the Sunday strips ever again, and in fact from this point Basher is never again seen in the Sundays as well.

What happened in Kelly's mind that he could ignore the previous year and a half of continuity and just go back to business as usual?

And where do WE go from here?

Well, I'm going to start another 'blog for Kelly's work, with lots of stuff that many of you may not have ever seen, but I'm still giving some serious thought to the format and contents. Please weigh in on what you might want to see while I do some prepping for the next Kelly volume.

That Strange Strawberry

2009-10-03T00:34:00.000-07:00

Tee Hee and Sympathy

2009-10-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

Even the most ordinary of Pogo Sundays is full of fun and frolic, and even ordinary coloration makes the art even prettier.

See There?

2009-10-01T18:53:00.000-07:00

You've all been extraordinarily polite in letting these dailies play out without complaint, as they have been a bit repetitive and dare I say, dull. But, um. . . we're done with the dailies as of—here—folks. This is where I cut when I passed on the rest of my daily collection. Who knew back in the 80s that I'd ever want to post em on a thing called an internet. But at least I saved the really good stuff--wow--I did something right.

I've got three more Sundays to post, and then Pogo in Pandemonia will draw to a close with some final thoughts.

The thing is, I never got rid of my Sunday collection, so they go on for quite a long stretch. But they never refer to Pandemonia in any way. Even Basher will just up and disappear, never to be seen again.

So, I really think the Pandemonia blog will stand alone, here, for new fans to discover and explore, at least until the reprint books catch up. After three more Sunday posts I will discuss my plans for the NEW Walt Kelly blog and hopefully get some more feedback from you all, now that you've had a little more time to consider, um, how we'd like to see this go on.

See you in three.

Gack

2009-10-01T06:16:00.000-07:00

Slab the Liverwoots

2009-09-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

A Fine Aptitude

2009-09-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

Truth is Oft a Splendid Disguise

2009-09-29T18:07:00.000-07:00

Bosh!

2009-09-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

Dogmatically

2009-09-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

Categorically

2009-09-28T15:12:00.000-07:00

Watching Those Outlanders

2009-09-28T06:46:00.000-07:00

Oh, world-wide, some things never change.

Comin' Like a Valkyrie

2009-09-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

Newspaper art was the ultimate of ephemera—read it this morning, wrap your fish in it tonight, so not much printer effort went into nuances of ink. Fortunately Kelly's art was recognized as worth saving, but always in black and white anthologies.

Those dod dummed yellow backgrounds in every panel subtract character from the page design. Kelly's art deserved an art director's deft touch, I say.

I retract my belief that any new collections of Pogo Sundays should use the original colors of the strips. I go on record as saying that an art director with great sensibility should have the pages re-colored, taking great care in using palettes as befitting Kelly's great artistry.

The Ornery Guy

2009-09-27T00:47:00.000-07:00

Now, how in the world, all those years ago, could Porky—I mean Kelly—be writing about me, now—today? How could he know what kind of ornery guy I em?

Secret Martian Automaton

2009-09-26T17:36:00.000-07:00

Ah yes. Perhaps this is where Bill Watterson got inspiration for Calvin's death-defying coaster wagon rides? Perhaps not. But, perhaps.

Yes? Yes? Yes?

2009-09-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, superstition can be retroactive.

There Y'Go Again

2009-09-25T18:27:00.000-07:00

Grab Flag the Flamin' Flack?

2009-09-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

Ah, a full menu of Kelly-speak.

Gee Whiz, Pal

2009-09-25T06:47:00.000-07:00

OK, now we get an ample demonstration of the Kelly pre-use of the Seinfeld concept, 'a show about . . . nothing!'

I Be Dod Dummed

2009-09-24T07:43:00.000-07:00

Kelly was so unique to the comics page. Who else would go on and on about this kinda stuff?

Of all cartoonists, one would have been tempted to ask the cartoonist's dreaded question, "Mr. Kelly, where DO you get your ideas?"

Thing to Do is Face Him

2009-09-24T05:50:00.000-07:00

It's My Fate

2009-09-23T22:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry, this time we really do have to skip a strip, between this and the previous. Lost, it's gone, it is no more. Somewhere in the world it may reside, but not here, not now. It seems to have disappeared along with Miz Beaver. I am so sorry. We can survive, we can get along perfectly well without it . . . . stop looking at me like that.

Gotta Be Believable

2009-09-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is how most of us reason things out.

Friends Who are Out of this World

2009-09-23T06:46:00.000-07:00

Kelly was really sticking to the same topic, moving ahead with no speed at all.

Ain't No Wild Horse

2009-09-22T23:02:00.000-07:00

Heaven Stone the Crows

2009-09-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

Absolutely Insane

2009-09-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

Owl is more like us than we care to admit.

Bold as Brass

2009-09-22T06:46:00.000-07:00

The inside of that whale must be sumpin' else.

So Rare

2009-09-21T22:06:00.000-07:00

YAY! Ol' Doc Noah in the Okefenokee!

And YAY! Pogo on a pogo stick! How cool is that?! Walt Kelly was 6 years old when the pogo stick was patented in 1919.

You're Full of Glomberries

2009-09-21T16:44:00.000-07:00

Most Marvelous Thing

2009-09-21T06:20:00.000-07:00

Stop Cringing as a Rascal

2009-09-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

What a lovely chair. It could have been an any-old-chair, but not for Kelly.

Tell the Mayor to Swallow a Rock

2009-09-20T12:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a crowded, funny and (as owl sez) lively Sunday. Kelly had a little more time on his hands again, and boy—we appreciate it.

Cheerful Charlies are cheerful to a fault. Charlie, this post is dedicated to you.

Ready for Any Contingency

2009-09-20T09:13:00.001-07:00

Behold . . In the Bayou

2009-09-19T23:39:00.000-07:00

Hmm, that ufo looks familiar.

Glad Somebody Believes I'm Me

2009-09-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

Always something to fret over and worry about. A familiar past-time.

A Manufactured Creature

2009-09-18T19:19:00.000-07:00

Luck and Patience

2009-09-18T11:59:00.000-07:00

I haven't had to do this til now, and I really apologize, but here I'm posting a strip that I had to skip earlier because I thought it was lost. I found it, turned on its side in its filing box.

It's a pretty funny strip. So in the interest of completists everywhere, I'm including it now. If you're saving these, just drop this in with the others and the file name-date will automatically put it where it belongs in the continuity.

Sorry. Thanks. Carry on.

Oh, and look at the syndicate cutline--The Hall Syndicake Ink. Don't know if that was Kelly or his inking assistant, but along with the rest of the strip, it's pretty funny.

The Martian Substitute

2009-09-18T00:34:00.000-07:00

Tadaaa. So see, we take up right where the book left off.

Coal or Licorice?

2009-09-17T23:31:00.000-07:00

I hate it when I get anthracite stuck 'tween my teeth.

So, this is the way the book Prehysterical Pogo ends, the last strip of the last page.

But hey, we've got my clippings, so we get to end it a little further down the road. Hang in there folks.

Behold, Grassputin, My Son!

2009-09-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

Just the Sunday follies, folks, no hidden messages or deep meanin's here.

Salt and Flour On a Stick

2009-09-17T06:45:00.000-07:00

There's a lesson here . . . some . . . where . . .

Need One More

2009-09-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

Where everyone knows your name . . .

Only One of His Kind

2009-09-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

Albert's being a little hard on LBJ.

Come Clean, Pogo

2009-09-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

And you know, these news guys that don't know who Pogo is have been coming around for 10 years at this point.

Could Be You Went to Venus

2009-09-15T15:54:00.000-07:00

Gotta love Porky's expressions.

Mish-Mash of Facts Marches on!

2009-09-15T06:59:00.000-07:00

So, here we are back to the book Prehysterical Pogo (in Pandemonia) for a few more strips. These were also printed in the daily paper, but for these few, I'm scanning the book for cleaner images (also for the sake of completion of the book).

Kelly considered himself a journalist by trade, and yet he skewers these guys from Newslife. Kelly truly identified with the newspaper daily reporters and saw the slick magazine weekly guys as just that—slick—and shiny and full of it and themselves. They were fair game just like everybody else.

House Cleanin' Time

2009-09-14T17:55:00.000-07:00

OK, well I believe here's some more Yiddish. Churchy is lamenting "Woe is me". What other comic strip consistently had such fun with language?

WhollySmoke!

2009-09-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

To be perfectly honest, I don't get the joke—that is to say, PT's end reaction, why wouldn't he know it would be 3 years?

Mark My Words

2009-09-13T22:34:00.000-07:00

What an odd and funny thing to have that 'N' fall from Churchy's words, but be visible to Basher.

A Grinning Monster, Sir

2009-09-13T17:54:00.000-07:00

Sometimes Kelly liked to linger with the same point, and roll it around a little, to eke out a little more flavor.

Under-Up-to-Then-Privileged Poverts

2009-09-13T15:07:00.000-07:00

Congressman Frog gives us the low-down. Really low and down.

And yes, I know we missed a day between this strip and the previous. It seems to have gone away. I think it would have had the Congressman, er, frog, enter stage right.

180 Million People

2009-09-13T01:16:00.000-07:00

Mouse is a character that goes way back in Pogo time. A level-headed worldly fellow from the outside world (maybe Baltimore way). He's essentially political and shows it by his talk talk talk.

Pogo's idea here shows why he's presidensity material. I can almost see that work, but maybe only a couple of days of financing a modern police action.

A Blinkin' Shyme

2009-09-12T00:30:00.000-07:00

For an average sort of Sunday, that's a pretty 1st panel, with the tree 'n' all. Too bad every panel has a yellow background.

The Folly of Miserliness

2009-09-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

Nobody know the angles like a worm chile. Or something to that effect.

You Ain't Kiddin'

2009-09-11T06:59:00.000-07:00

We are really back to everyday swamp talk here—the standard chatter that the bulk of Pogo dailies consist of. As noted before, the Pogo strip was the Seinfeld of its day, a strip about nothin'. But it was worth everything.

We're going to keep on this continuity a while longer, cuz it all does come back to Pandemonian closure (remember, we get to see ol' Doc Noah again 'fore it's all over).

Moomph

2009-09-10T18:44:00.000-07:00

See, now, in '67 Russia was slated to host this expo, but for whatever reasons—didn't. Canada had to rush, against all odds, to build the site and open on time—which they did.

I have no notion if Kelly is referring to any of that or not—Kelly's ideas take any direction they want, for whatever reason they want.

Expose 67

2009-09-10T12:29:00.000-07:00

Expo 67 was the common name for the 1967 International and Universal Exposition, held in Montreal, Quebec. It was tremendously successful with over 50 million visitors and 62 nations participating. At the time of this Pogo strip, the Expo had only been open a week. It would stay open until October 29 of that year.

The Martian Candidate

2009-09-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a case where you can really see the difference between original art (below) and the printed strip on newsprint (above). The delicate shading lines either drop out or fill in, any refinement is lost, and the newspaper people jammed the panels closer together and altered some border lines. You can sure see why book reprint editors want original art or good proof prints.

It's the Love What Counts

2009-09-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

Yay, we have a cute Sunday again. Kelly does cute really well.

Rarely in a Sunday page did Kelly mix cute and politics, but here Deacon Mushrat shows his sourpuss amidst bunny-stuff, reminiscent of the Deacon's early 1950s demagoguery. Even Pogo is rendered with ink-work that hearkens back to an earlier period.

Did My Heart Good

2009-09-09T09:38:00.000-07:00

Hurt yourself before others hurt you, a sign of a true misanthrope.

Very Risky

2009-09-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

Oy.

Red Blooded American

2009-09-08T06:56:00.000-07:00

Yea, verily, that is the perception much of the world has of Americans. When in doubt, slug it out.

I Caught Only a Glimpse

2009-09-08T00:37:00.000-07:00

Pogo, Porky, and Albert can only watch in a numb stupor. Mole's prose is pretty purple (ish greenish).

Ugly it Was

2009-09-07T21:00:00.000-07:00

Once again, these trees are not typical Okefenokee foliage, but yet it all has the Kelly 'look'.

Boyish Exuberance

2009-09-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

As pointed out in a recent comment, the mid 1960s was a time of huge UFO 'activity' in the world. There was a real media buzz regarding huge waves of UFO sightings. I remember at the time a feeling of excitement that maybe we truly weren't alone.

A large percentage of 'true' sightings (as opposed to hoaxes) were proven to be natural phenomena (or pitched hats). But there were the tantalizing cases where even the experts were baffled, and oh, that was the good stuff that kept the buzz alive.

At the time of this strip, 1966—1968, the Condon Committee (University of Colorado UFO Project, under direction of physicist Edward Condon) was in the midst of investigating and examining many hundreds of UFO files and sightings.

Just as Deacon is verbalizing in this strip, people might describe in great detail all the features of a 'space craft', only to have it proven that it was an ordinary object seen under extraordinary circumstances. Sometimes people saw what their imaginations wanted them to see.

Kelly's storyline here seems to be blending that phenomenon with the one of political mistrust—both of which are still going on, all these years later.

Bushwah, You Busher

2009-09-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

Shenanigans, Barnstable Bear's bare bottom shenanigans.

You can really see here that the Sunday story continuity has once again diverged from the daily. Still, for now, we'll keep 'em all together by date.

Be Careful Who You Call "Sneaky"

2009-09-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

Most unusual tree formations during this phase of the strip. Lovely, but unusual.

A Name to Conjure With

2009-09-06T00:24:00.000-07:00

If there was any doubt on recent strips, there's none in my mind that this one is pure Kelly.

Take a Good Look at Oneself

2009-09-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

Kelly gave a lot of talks over the years, many to college students, nationwide. In 1960 he gave this message to an auditorium of students (as excerpted and compacted from an article):

"Know yourself. Our problem is that we don't understand ourselves. Without self-understanding, it is impossible to comprehend the political and social problems of today.

However if you can find out who you are and if you can talk to yourself, the problems will be solved. Language will be unnecessary and love important.

Cartoons can't teach you anything. They can only try to make you see what you already know."

A Rose by Any Other Name . . .

2009-09-04T17:33:00.000-07:00

Something about that last panel looks a bit off to me. Pogo's a bit stretched out and kind of has a goofy expression. And Albert is a bit stretched as well. As much as Kelly didn't want assistants drawing the characters, he admitted that sometimes they did. I ain't sayin', I'm just sayin'.

One time Kelly got a letter from a fan, asking who the heck inked a certain strip. Kelly was pretty perturbed, thinking his assistant had screwed it up. When they went to look it up, however, they saw it was Kelly's after all. Sometimes you're just off.

Where's the "Real Pogo?"

2009-09-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

Hmm, and some people think the White House HAS been captured by an alien, and, OMG, students are being forced to listen to alien propaganda!

Gee - - Things Puzzle Me

2009-09-04T05:55:00.000-07:00

Two innocents trying to figure the ways of a con, bless their hearts.

What If

2009-09-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

I know, who am I to be second guessing Kelly and/or his publishers about colorization, but I have to wonder, 'what if?' Different colors create different moods, so 'what if' yellow wasn't always the dominant background color? I've wondered what the new reprint series will do with color (if any), but I've got to say that I'm open to recolorizing, if done sensitively.

Oh, Ye of Lulu Faith

2009-09-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

Yellow backgrounds, alla time yellow backgrounds. I wonder who did the color guides for the strip. In the title panel there's a beautiful dark swampy forest through the trees under the logo, but it's bright on either side and even in the 'G' area of the pasted Pogo title. I would think Kelly's intent might be to have a deeper cool color for that panel's background. But maybe it's just meant to be incongruous for its own sake. I had always hoped the Sundays could be a little more atmospheric in coloration.

How Laughabobble

2009-09-03T06:09:00.000-07:00

Suspicion and doubt. Churchy should know better, but rumor-mongering strikes deep.

Pogo is a Secret Martian

2009-09-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

Those who are superstitious are those most easily beguiled.

Everybody Says So

2009-09-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

Twist the facts to fit your beliefs? Gosh, no one would ever do that!

A Subversive, Evil Martian

2009-09-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

I hope I'm not being paranoid saying this, but what's scary is that there are real people who think like this.

You Don't Know Who Your Friends Are

2009-09-02T05:44:00.000-07:00

True paranoia is when you even suspect yourself. Suspect yourself of what? Anything . . . almost anything.

What's the Latest Snoop

2009-09-01T21:48:00.000-07:00

We are returning to the continuity here, without a break, to view the aftermath of Pogo's journey, an epilogue of sorts. Maybe you've noticed that Kelly's satire is at its best when it takes on paranoia, secrecy and suspicion, which these two guys are always wallowing in. And this is even before Nixon!

As you can tell from the strip format, we have returned to the newspaper strips. Most of the strips to come in this post-Pandemonia epilogue were not in the book (though there will be a few from the book yet to come).

Blimey! The Blinkin' Bag is Bugged!

2009-09-01T12:19:00.000-07:00

I'm hoping to hear from more of you folks, but in the meantime, many thanks to those of you who have weighed in on comments.

So, here's the plan right now. First of all, I want to keep posting, so y'all don't get bored and go away. So consider this a POST-Pandemonian episode of this site (pun only slightly intended).

We will continue without losing a day. We have Basher hanging around for a number of Sundays, the dailies deal with suspicion and paranoia regarding Pogo's return from 'Mars'. AND we will see ol' Doc Noah again, a little ways further in the dailies.

So we will stay with this site for a couple more months of continuity. THEN, I will create a new blog, dedicated to Kelly, so's we can broaden our appreciation of his talents. There will be many Sundays, but also a run of dailies that may not have made it to the books (I think). But also some non Pogo stuff from books that true Kelly fans will appreciate. Some of you have all the books, but many don't, so I'll try not to get stuck in a rut either way.

A call for help from anybody with dailies that hover a couple of weeks beyond June 28, 1967. That's where my post-Pandemonian dailies end, but I'm hoping for a better place to say 'the end' to the daily story line. Please let me know as soon as possible if those are available from someone. You may groan, but I actually got rid of many many dailies a few years ago, before the age of blogging. How was I to know that I would find a reason for dusting them off? At least I had the good sense to keep the Pandemonia stuff, ey?

There's still time to weigh in with your thoughts, so please do.

I Need Your Input

2009-08-31T17:23:00.000-07:00

OK, so we're at the point I warned you about a while ago. I would like your input. Not just from the loyal few who have left nice comments along the way, but bunches of you that have passed through like silent ships in the night. I've been keeping track for the last couple of months, and some 20,000 visitors have stopped in and made some 45,000 downloads. Well, that's really cool, so I know you're out there, I can hear you breathing.

I want your opinions on where to go from here. Here are some options:

1. Stop where we are, it's been a lovely journey, but just stop.

2. Keep on going, chronologically, even though the storylines are back in the Okefenokee and, well, just sort of so-so sometimes. I'll be out of dailies after just a little while, but I've got nearly every Sunday for the next couple of years, and then some.

3. Delve into the books a bit, like the Pogo Poop Book, and others, that have some unusual stories and great art.

4. Maybe a combination of 2 and 3, weaving back and forth.

Now here's the biggest question I need help on: If I keep going, should I continue on this site, maybe changing the title appropriately? Or should I start a new 'blog, maybe dedicated to Kelly work, Pogo and Non-Pogo, and leave this site stand as-is, just dedicated to Pandemonia?

I don't mean to put myself up as THE expert on Kelly, but I am a (long) life-long fan and collector of all things Kelly. Some of what I would post might have been posted elsewhere, but you know I love large clean scans. Eventually I would run out of stuff, but it would take awhile.

Or again, I could just stop, cuz boy this is a lot of work and I'm not in this for money or glory. I just love Kelly's work. And, of course we'll have the Fantagraphics series coming out (I hope) sometime, so maybe what I'm doing here ain't necessary.

Help me out, let me know what you think. I know you're out there, I can hear you breathing.

I watched Kelly draw this drawing in January of '66, when Pandemonia was just hatching in his mind. He whipped it out, impromptu, with marker on newsprint. I have other original drawings of his, even better, that I'll post some time, some where.

Pandemonian Original Art

2009-08-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

Here's some original Pandemonia art gathered from the internet by Michel Francois. While not in high enough resolution to learn much, it's still fascinating to see. Those that you see below with red numbers are panels that were drawn just for the book, and the numbers indicate which page of the book they would be published. Thank you Michel.

More Extra Panels

2009-08-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

Extra Panels

2009-08-29T09:01:00.000-07:00

In the interest of completism (apparently not a real word), for you completists (okay still not a real word), for all you people who love Kelly, here are some of the extra panels from Pandemonian Sunday strips that came in too late to be included with the regular posts. Thank you again to Ger Apeldoorn.

Each panel has a date on its file name, so if you have been collecting all along, just dump these into your file and they will find their way to their appropriate continuity.

Nothin' Like It

2009-08-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

Sadly, this is the final panel of the Pandemonian story. It's a beautiful celebration, as Kelly was wont to do throughout his cartooning career.

Of course it wasn't the end of the Pogo strip. It would go on with new strips for another 4 or 5 years, with much fun and frivolity. But Pandemonia was certainly the high water mark.

The next few posts will be some highlighting of some special panels and showing some of the extra and original art from the arc and such. And then I will actually continue, without breaking the continuity, the next couple of months of strips, a kind of aftermath of Pandemonia.

Keep 'tooning' in. Still a bunch of cool stuff to come.