James Eric Black is the Schumann Endowed Professor of Media Writing and assistant director of the Center for Collaborative Journalism at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. He has written extensively on Joseph McCarthy and the repercussions of McCarthyism on pop culture. He lives in Macon.

One of the most popular comic strips of the 1950s and the first to reference politics of the day, Walt Kelly's Pogo took on Joe McCarthy before the controversial senator was a blip on Edward R. Murrow's radar. The strip's satire was so biting, it was often relegated to newspaper editorial sections at a time when artists in other media were blacklisted for far less. Pogo was the vanguard of today's political comic strips, such as Doonesbury and Pearls Before Swine, and a precursor of the modern political parody of late night television.
This comprehensive biography of Kelly reveals the life of a conflicted man and unravels the symbolism and word-play of his art for modern readers.
There are 241 original Pogo comic strips illustrated and 13 other Kelly artworks (as well as illustrations by other cartoonists).

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments

Foreword by Mark Burstein

Preface

Introduction

One. Getting Back There from Here

Two. The Cartoon Journalist

Three. Making Money and Having Fun

Four. Everyone's Equal in the Swamp

Five. The Evolution of Politics in Pogo

Six. The Cold War Gets Hot

Seven. Simple J. Malarkey

Epilogue

Chapter Notes

Bibliography

Index