Sunday, December 15, 2013

That's What This Country's All About

I don't blame Owl for wondering just what Albert is doing to his unicorn. No other strip in the comic section came close to matching Kelly's Boorawp.

 July 4, 1971


Above, a close-up view of a sort-of complex panel made even MORE complex by having another partially seen Pogo marching behind Seminole Sam. It's the same pose as the seen Pogo, making it seem like it's maybe a paste-up? Anyone have access to a scan of the original art to see what that's all about?

9 comments:

  1. Very confusing this!
    Not only the tiny Pogo Doppelganger hiding behind SemSam. But also, I was taught that 'Boorawp' is the mating call of the octopus. (Or is it 'Booorawp'?)
    Is there an octopus hiding inside Albert's horn?
    Scratching my head (while thanking Thom)
    Hun

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  2. Huh. Reptiles are not known for their supple lips, so I certainly wasn't excepting Albert to have that sort of brass. If anyone thinks Albert blows, it's got to be Owl right now. Blew Howland's dreams of fame right out the window.

    Okay, I'll stop now.

    - (A)

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  3. Maybe Pogo started at the back of the line and then ran to the front at superpossum speed!

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  4. The Phantom Pogo isn't identical to the drawing of the "real" Pogo in the same panel, although the posing is very similar. He has a couple of extra tufts of hair on him. Perhaps Kelly sketched a blue-pencil Pogo and didn't fully erase it, and an assistant in his haste inked over the lines?

    For an in-universe explanation, there was a 1957 series of strips featuring Pogo's sister Pogonia and her brood of five little possum babies (all Pogo clones of varying sizes, of course). Clearly, one of Pogo's seldom-seen nephoos decided to pay a visit for the swamp's famed Fourth of Joo-ly celebration!

    ~Craig

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  5. As for the Pogo doppelganger, I'm going to put my bets on the magic of the Myth-Illogical Beast being responsible - possibly through the influence of some hasty assistant.

    Or maybe Sam is wearing his latest in trendy products, the new 'Parade Pogo Doppleganger Backpack'. It fits right snug!

    Whew, I had to put all my will into not continuing 'forceful exhalation puns' to point out the fact that Albert not only blew the unicorn, he mounted her like an olympic champ as well.

    ...

    darnit.

    - (A)

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  6. Is it my imagination, or is a fragment of the sun peeking through Howland's spectacles in panel 4?

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    Replies
    1. It's probably the glare off the horn. Anyone who's ever played a brass instrument knows how darn shiny they can be when well-polished!

      ...or it's a printing flaw. But it sure does look cool.

      ~Craig

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  7. Printing flaw...
    The 2-tier, 8 panel newspaper copy shows the rim of Owl's glasses up to the top very clearly.
    Hun


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  8. You gotta hand it to Kelly: In no other strip could the comment "I ain't gained a son-in-law, I lost a unicorn." make sense.

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