Admittedly this cartoon may leave lots of folks scratching their heads. However, it's really just a tip of the hat to Walt Kelly's wonderful strip "Pogo," which has been a huge influence on my sense of humor, both visually and verbally.
Among my favorite sequences was the one below, which illustrated that a scary statement, if issued forcefully, could induce panic - no matter how ridiculous the premise was. For decades now, I've been laughing to myself that "the Jute mill is exploded!" any time I catch myself overreacting to stress and circumstances. It's a pretty hard thing to say with a straight face. -Stilton
9 comments:
We have met the enemy and he is us.
I loved reading the POGO comic strips when I was a boy growing up in North Carolina, even though, being just a young'un, I generally didn't understand the jokes or the message.
@TrickyRicky- Truer words was never speaked.
@John Robert Mallernee- I didn't understand everything either when I was a kid (particularly the political satire), but that didn't hamper my enjoyment. I loved the sound of the language used, the beautiful (and hilarious) artwork, and Kelly's amazing ability to make his cartoon characters actually seem like they're in motion. I have multiple paperback collections of Pogo, and treasure them.
Thanks for honoring one of my favorites Anyone who regularly read Pogo learned a lot.
Oddly enough, "Jute" is a thing - fibrous plant used to make twine, and burlap and such.
Grows mainly in monsoon areas, so it's unlikely that there'd be a mill anywhere in the US, but...
Read Pogo daily when in HS, later in life bought the compiled books read the entire series. After several tours in Vietnam, two years of College, raising a family and life in general they were even funnier when I understood the satire behind them.
RIP Walt Kelly you gave us years of education disguised as entertainment in the daily comic page.
Many, Many thanks for the pleasant trip down Memory Lane. Do you think you could write a series of Holiday Strips based on the "traditional" Xmas Carol he did each year, Deck Us All With Boston Charlie?
Again, To quote the Immortal Bob Hope "Thanks for the memories."
@Berferdt- It's true that there was a lot to be learned from Pogo, and I did my best to do so.
@Pete (Detroit)- Oh, I was quite aware that jute is a real thing (the Beatles even wrote a song about it: "Hey Jute"). And I'm sure there are jute mills, though I don't know how prone they are to exploding.
@Dragonrider33- It surely won't surprise you that I know and love "Deck Us All With Boston Charlie" (Walla, Walla Wash and KalamaZOO!) I'd never thought about doing strips on it - but hey, it's a decent idea. Especially now that I know there are Pogophiles here!
@Stilton Jarlsberg- Looking forward to it.
I love it.
Sadly I missed out on Pogo with my age difference, but I think I need to print and repeat "The jute mill is exploded!" every day in my job. It might make me worry less about what I can't control.
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