Pogo: Bona Fide Balderdash

This volume collects the years 1951-1952 dailies of the popular comic strip, with extras such as an introduction by Stan Freberg. In November of 2011, Fantagraphics released the first volume of its much-anticipated, long-promised series reprinting in its entirety the syndicated run of Walt Kelly’s classic newspaper strip, Pogo. Pogo: Through the Wild Blue Wonder immediately became the company’s best-selling book of the last five years. Exactly one year later, the second volume, Pogo: Bona Fide Balderdash, will be released, featuring all the strips from 1951 and 1952. With sources found for the more elusive strips (in the past, our scheduling downfall), we’re confident that these collections will become an annual affair. Even though Pogo had been in syndication for less than two years as this volume begins, Kelly’s long professional experience (including seven years creating Pogo stories for comic books) had him at the peak of his powers, and this book features page after page of gorgeously drawn, hilarious vaudevillian dialogue and action among the swamp denizens, as well as Kelly’s increasingly sharp-tongued political satire — especially on display during the 1952 election season.