another modest proposal

[kip_w]

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And how about a Library of America volume of Walt Kelly? They printed cartoons in the Thurber volume, and they looked great. All the poems he wrote. The prose portions of Ten Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Years with Pogo are classic.

Failing that, a book of his poems.
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Comments

[beamjockey.livejournal.com]

If any cartoonist were to break into the Library of America, I hope they would have the good sense to make it Walt Kelly.

Also, let's face it, he drew a bit better than Thurber did.

[le-trombone.livejournal.com]

Thurber himself wrote in one of his essays that his editor defended him against him being "a fifth-rate artist" with "You mean third-rate."

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

Harold Ross, bless him.

[le-trombone.livejournal.com]

That would be a great idea. Hmm. His illustrated poetry would be an excellent start, and would certainly be easier to do than selecting sequences from the strip itself (much as I love the Simple J. Malarkey strips, it would need a bit of explanation, particularly his side-kick and "no one from Rhode Island must see me!").

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

If you're not familiar with Ten Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Years with Pogo, you should seek it out for all the above reasons. It has illustrated poetry, and strips selected by Kelly, complete with his running commentary and a number of freestanding essays on this and that. One of the main reasons I venture to suggest that the book should include his strips is that they go so well with his connective tissue. Here's a random sample:

"As has been pointed out on many public and private occasions, Howland Owl is the sort of professional who has answers to everything except questions. When the Pup Dog barked at the wrong end of a worm, Owl decided the child needed psychiatric care. Since the pup could not talk, Beauregard acted as a sort of interpreter. The analysis below starts in where most psychiatry leaves off. It has always seemed to me that anyone poking around under another's skull may lose his way and never come back."

It would, however, require some real problem-solving creativity in layout, so as not to lose the detail of the strips. Laying each strip out in (more or less) two rows of two, for instance, would use up the space pretty quickly. Turning them sideways is a whole new can of worms.

[le-trombone.livejournal.com]

Yes, I own and have read it, and it is the source for the reason I thought the illustrated poetry would be a good starting point.

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

I did say "if," but I should have weaseled harder.

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

("'It may be that...', 'some contend,' 'if, then...' These are our weasel words too!" —Alternate James T. Kirk)

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

I tried to read stuff in a Pogo volume my parents had, but I could never get anywhere in it. It seemed to me that it had aged badly.

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

I'd say try Ten Ever-Lovin' Years. I truly believe that this is the sweet, nutty center of the whole series. His art may have been cleaner in the 60s, and the lettering crisper, but such lunacy as Albert and Beauregard's thinking contest have never been excelled. You may also find his prose sections and poetry an unexpected treat.

And if not, well, that's life. I'm thinking that if it aged, it may have been his topical material, and if it aged badly, it may be we're talking about his 60s stuff.