CANDY’S PICK :: POGO COMP SYNDICATED STRIPS HC VOL 02 BALDERDASH: I know exactly what you are thinking–“Andy”(of “Andy’s Pick”) only reads material by artists whose last name begins with the ‘K’ sound.  Kirby, Campbell, King, Crane, Kaluta, Crumb, Caniff, Kurtzman, Cole…but I swear to you– on a stack of pancakes– that it is nothing more than an odd coincidence.  And to prove that I do not prejudge talent based solely on alphabetical order, my recommendation for this week is Bona Fide Balderdash: Volume 2 of Fantagraphics complete reprint of the Pogo Daily and Sunday Newspaper strips written and drawn by …um… Walt Kelly.

Oh, shut up…

Pogo certainly belongs on any informed list of the top 5 newspaper comic strips of all time.  The artwork is stunning, the pacing is fast, the characters simply come alive on the page; the plot-lines are crazy and labyrinthine and above all hilarious.  The dialog is pitch perfect– even the lettering ads to the strips characterizations and somehow, along the way, you will learn quite a bit about potent political satire especially as the specter of McCarthyism weighed down on life in 1950’s America. The comics really are that good and Fantagraphics does the Kelly oeuvre proud with beautiful production values and insightful introductory material.  Buy this book–or put it on your Christmas wish list.

Next week….Dan Clowes—-ah, ferget it.