Me is for You and You is for Me . . .

I've been doing this blog for so long, with so many posts, and now a year hiatus, that I have little idea what I've posted or not. And I'm too time-crunched right now to look backwards. So for a while I'm just posting some random panels that I really like, even if they've been posted before, just to keep a ball rolling around here.

This is a neat panel anyway, but I especially like Beauregard's intense passion. Wack wack wack wack wack

Little Cheerful Charlie Chums

This page is a little bit rough, but it gives you a pretty good view of the Sunday strip published on this date in 1962. I love that first panel line-up . . . well, heck . . . I love all the panels.

April 29, 1962

Independent Hose Co

On this date, back in '62, was a Saturday, which is when Kelly would break continuity with a stand-alone strip for the sake of weekend subscribers only.

This looks like an ad for a hose company in Danbury, Connecticut.

February 24, 1962

I is Right Be-HOOG!

That footnote is the best footnote of all time!

June 15, 1952

Peace and Harmony is Our Fightin' Words!

Sorry to be late in posting here. Halloween festivities kept me busy 'til all hours — my fa-vor-ite frivolity.

Here is more Christmas Carol frivolity, one of Kelly's fa-vor-ite themes every year.

December 15, 1968

The Spell of Music

This gathering of characters makes for a great display of cartooning.

And Kelly's understanding of bagpipes is displayed in pretty accurate sound effects (SZKWACK PWEERP) as well as Porkypine's recognition of a Dudelsak. In reality spelled slightly differently, the Dudelsack was once the most widespread bagpipe in use in Europe. Becoming almost extinct, the Dudelsack today has many players . . . including Pogo!

December 8, 1968

Ready to Resist

That last panel is a honey. I loves a Kelly poo-rade!

June 29, 1969

World Champeen Polluters

This Sunday strip seems, to me, to be a sign of spiraling in toward the end of the Kelly era. With still a year to go, there would yet be good strips ahead, including next week's. There's nothing majorly wrong with this strip, but you can see that either 1) Kelly didn't have his heart in it, or 2) that an assistant had a hand it this (possibly Selby?). The renderings of Albert and Beauregard are 'off' just a bit, and the message is heavy-handed without funny dialogue.

I'm not complaining, but just pointing it out, from my POV.

May 14, 1972

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?

Far-Sighted

Kelly's art is just innately joyful, full of joy. This little number strikes me as a joyful version of "the dance band on the Titanic". Music coming out of a telescope is far-sighted.

Play Ball!

Man, man, man, we gotta skip one here. I swear it was here in this stack to be scanned, but the Sunday dated 3-29 has gone missing. Why, how, I dunno. But ain't no time to waste lookin' for it. Gotta get the next one up so's I can go to bed. I think ya still gets the gist of what's goin' on in the storyline. Hah, yeah, storyline.

Suffice to say, the team has got all its equipment and is ready to play.

April 5, 1970

The Litter Squad is Relentless!

This arc is headin' for the finish line, but hang on, it's not over yet.

Look, look! Below! Fast acting action!

The Dread Litter Squad

Happy Sunday, Kelly Sunday!

In Durance Vile

I've heard from some few of you, passionately no less, to keep flinging these posts up to the 'net, but there's so many folks not heard from. Really? You don't mind if these full-color Kelly wonders go away? Oh, I'll finish up this arc, no matter what, but after that . . . well, I need to know that more than a few followers are really following. Peter Wheat? You're not gonna miss more Peter Wheats?

Fire-House Five Minus Three

Yes, still part of the same, long, on-going arc, a Kelly phee-nomanon!

Actually, now that I look at this closely, I wonder if it was a mistake in the next to last panel that Howland has the firehat on and is doling out water—that should have been Bun Rab! Perhaps Kelly was daydreaming and didn't notice or care what he was doing. And who woulda had the dagnab bluster to call him on it. Ding ding.

All Kinds Laws

Yep, the story is still amblin' and ramblin' on. Keep toonin' in.

Greetings

God rest ye merrie gentle men and women!

Black Magic!

Kelly keeps on keepin' on with the story line, not progressin' it much, but havin' his fun.

In the top panel is a critter that's a bit unusual, at least up to this time. Just a few months down the road, Kelly takes us to Pandemonia—where this critter would fit right in. Methinks Kelly was gearin' up and countin' down for the blastoff to 'Mars'.

detail of top panel

One Way Street

A Handful of Nomenclateral Apocrypha

What other comic strip would bring in reference to cartographer Martin Waldseemuller's 1507 naming of the Americas?