Thanks for pointing me from Fur Babies to your site! This is a really cool post. Sorry to say, the 12-minute version of this film has been taken off YouTube (the account was closed down).
Btw I am a GoComics subscriber; thanks for explaining their payment strategy. I will be even more generous with my “likes” than I already am. GoComics is all the more important since Gannett axed virtually all the women and young cartoonists from their papers!
I found another upload of the 12 minute version and the site has been updated. Thank you for supporting cartoonists on GoComics. (and Comics Kingdom, too...check out Sandra Boynton's Substack on this site as well. Her BETWEEN FRIENDS comic was one of the casualties of the Gannett purge. It's a great strip.)
Thank you for sharing, Nancy. Selby came to at least one Boston-area comic con in the 1970s (I think it was the Sunday Funnies, a monthly sister event to the yearly Newcon). She showed We Have Met the Enemy--the shorter version, I guess--and was nice enough to autograph my copy of Pogo Parade alongside her husband's printed signature.
It's just amazing that we have animation of Pogo by Kelly himself. Was he the first great comic-strip cartoonist after McCay to animate his own characters, and has anyone done it since?
Hi Harry, as far as I know, Kelly was the second comic strip artist, after Winsor McCay, to animate his own characters. I do not know if there are any others.
There were a fair number of newspaper cartoonists who spent time in animation (Ketcham and VIP come to mind). I wonder if any of them considered animating their print creations? Even Kelly might not have if he'd liked the Chuck Jones version more.
it really didn't matter what Chuck did. Kelly thought the story was weak and he wanted to do a film about pollution.
The differences between the two versions are stark...even here, Kelly had to sweeten things up in order to get the shorter version made. He gave it a happy ending which he did not believe in. The longer film, with all its flaws, puts the blame where it belongs and shows Kelly's true attitude..
There may have been more, but the only animation people whom I positively know drew comic strips (but never animated them) were Hank Ketcham, Gus Arriola, Virgil Partch and Ted Key.
I remember Irwin Hasen, the Dondi artist, telling me at a comics convention that he had worked at Max and Dave Fleischer’s studio in New York. I vaguely recall he may have been an in-betweener, and he did not like to mention that period of his career in publicity, as he said the Fleischers overworked the artists and he was not happy there.
I discovered this newsletter though Animation Obsessive. It brings me some hope and joy seeing there are more writers here dedicated to animation scholarship.
I've been a professional animator for most of my life, am about to change careers...but I figure, better get the truth out there. There is a lot of BAD animation 'scholarship' by people who literally have no idea what they are talking about. I'm glad that you enjoy this site.
I can’t say enough about this. After a lifetime of studying, teaching, and, occasionally, making art, Walt Kelly remains my all time hero. Some years ago I had the opportunity to buy a couple drawings from We HAVe MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US, but I didn’t know anything about it except that it seemed to be an unfinished project by the Kellys. Your comments on Facebook were the first time I had an idea of what it was, and your comments on Selby gave me a real notion of her as a person, besides the person who was revealed in the compiling of the various Kelly anthologies of Pogophilia after his death. This Earth Day article should be read by everyone, at the very least by anyone who cares about the expressive potential of cartoons and/or the horrible implications of mankind’s activities on the planet. The first “Pogo” book I read that wasn’t a compilation of Sunday strips was THE POGO PAPERS, which contained the McCarthy sequence as well as the wonderful introduction by Kelly with the original use of “the enemy may not only be ours, he may be us.” It has often bothered me that “we have met the enemy and he is us” seems to be the only thing about “Pogo” that anybody remembers, if they remember anything. Your compilation of history and the priceless relics of the film that you share here are a reminder that just that phrase, seen in context, may be all the legacy that Kelly needs. Thank you so much
I’d like to go there one day! The first original I had was a gift from Kelly via a mutual friend who was attempting to mentor me after I did a couple primitive illustrated stories in the Miami News in 1961-62. Over the years I’ve picked up originals here and there. I think I got the Albert cooking drawing and one of Pup Dog on eBay about ten years ago or so.
Oh, you are so blessed. I never met, or contacted Walt Kelly. I was five years old in 1962.
Selby gave me a Sunday strip that was stolen by the movers when I moved to Toronto in 2019. I still have my daily strip, but also have a presumably rare poster that Selby gave me. I have never seen another example, so it may actually be worth more than the Sunday was. Eventually, I hope to replace the missing Sunday strip. I would love to have a storyboard panel from WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY. You are very blessed.
Nancy, you are blessed beyond anything I could imagine, with your talent, character and experience(s)! To have been a friend and collaborator with Selby Kelly, not to mention working for Disney and writing animation texts and your own illustrated books, all seems pretty nifty to an old guy who has a nice collection of cartoon art and a bunch of books, who paints a picture once in awhile and played with and talked about other people's art in a couple of museums and a few colleges. Not whining, I've had a better life (on my terms) than most folks, but the drive, talent and character I mentioned earlier have blessed you to a considerable degree!
Dallas Museum of Art (the old one, in Fair Park) I came to Amarillo in 1981 to run the Education Department. Retired 2003 and taught at a couple local colleges (art history, humanities, art appreciation) until 2019, when I retired temporarily to free up time for my wife's parents' illness. Then came Covid and a general (in my view) betrayal of educational principles. Hit the silk in the nick of time.
Thanks for pointing me from Fur Babies to your site! This is a really cool post. Sorry to say, the 12-minute version of this film has been taken off YouTube (the account was closed down).
Btw I am a GoComics subscriber; thanks for explaining their payment strategy. I will be even more generous with my “likes” than I already am. GoComics is all the more important since Gannett axed virtually all the women and young cartoonists from their papers!
There is no emoji adequate for that. What is wrong with people?
I found another upload of the 12 minute version and the site has been updated. Thank you for supporting cartoonists on GoComics. (and Comics Kingdom, too...check out Sandra Boynton's Substack on this site as well. Her BETWEEN FRIENDS comic was one of the casualties of the Gannett purge. It's a great strip.)
I didn’t know that Boynton had a strip. I really like her drawings.
What a gem of a post. Thank you, Nancy. 💛✨
Thank you for sharing, Nancy. Selby came to at least one Boston-area comic con in the 1970s (I think it was the Sunday Funnies, a monthly sister event to the yearly Newcon). She showed We Have Met the Enemy--the shorter version, I guess--and was nice enough to autograph my copy of Pogo Parade alongside her husband's printed signature.
It's just amazing that we have animation of Pogo by Kelly himself. Was he the first great comic-strip cartoonist after McCay to animate his own characters, and has anyone done it since?
Hi Harry, as far as I know, Kelly was the second comic strip artist, after Winsor McCay, to animate his own characters. I do not know if there are any others.
There were a fair number of newspaper cartoonists who spent time in animation (Ketcham and VIP come to mind). I wonder if any of them considered animating their print creations? Even Kelly might not have if he'd liked the Chuck Jones version more.
it really didn't matter what Chuck did. Kelly thought the story was weak and he wanted to do a film about pollution.
The differences between the two versions are stark...even here, Kelly had to sweeten things up in order to get the shorter version made. He gave it a happy ending which he did not believe in. The longer film, with all its flaws, puts the blame where it belongs and shows Kelly's true attitude..
There may have been more, but the only animation people whom I positively know drew comic strips (but never animated them) were Hank Ketcham, Gus Arriola, Virgil Partch and Ted Key.
I remember Irwin Hasen, the Dondi artist, telling me at a comics convention that he had worked at Max and Dave Fleischer’s studio in New York. I vaguely recall he may have been an in-betweener, and he did not like to mention that period of his career in publicity, as he said the Fleischers overworked the artists and he was not happy there.
I wish I had asked Mr. Hasen about his earlier career. I only knew him for DONDI.
I discovered this newsletter though Animation Obsessive. It brings me some hope and joy seeing there are more writers here dedicated to animation scholarship.
I've been a professional animator for most of my life, am about to change careers...but I figure, better get the truth out there. There is a lot of BAD animation 'scholarship' by people who literally have no idea what they are talking about. I'm glad that you enjoy this site.
I can’t say enough about this. After a lifetime of studying, teaching, and, occasionally, making art, Walt Kelly remains my all time hero. Some years ago I had the opportunity to buy a couple drawings from We HAVe MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US, but I didn’t know anything about it except that it seemed to be an unfinished project by the Kellys. Your comments on Facebook were the first time I had an idea of what it was, and your comments on Selby gave me a real notion of her as a person, besides the person who was revealed in the compiling of the various Kelly anthologies of Pogophilia after his death. This Earth Day article should be read by everyone, at the very least by anyone who cares about the expressive potential of cartoons and/or the horrible implications of mankind’s activities on the planet. The first “Pogo” book I read that wasn’t a compilation of Sunday strips was THE POGO PAPERS, which contained the McCarthy sequence as well as the wonderful introduction by Kelly with the original use of “the enemy may not only be ours, he may be us.” It has often bothered me that “we have met the enemy and he is us” seems to be the only thing about “Pogo” that anybody remembers, if they remember anything. Your compilation of history and the priceless relics of the film that you share here are a reminder that just that phrase, seen in context, may be all the legacy that Kelly needs. Thank you so much
Did you buy the artwork? How lucky you were. Most of it is now in the Billy Ireland Museum in Ohio.
I’d like to go there one day! The first original I had was a gift from Kelly via a mutual friend who was attempting to mentor me after I did a couple primitive illustrated stories in the Miami News in 1961-62. Over the years I’ve picked up originals here and there. I think I got the Albert cooking drawing and one of Pup Dog on eBay about ten years ago or so.
Oh, you are so blessed. I never met, or contacted Walt Kelly. I was five years old in 1962.
Selby gave me a Sunday strip that was stolen by the movers when I moved to Toronto in 2019. I still have my daily strip, but also have a presumably rare poster that Selby gave me. I have never seen another example, so it may actually be worth more than the Sunday was. Eventually, I hope to replace the missing Sunday strip. I would love to have a storyboard panel from WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY. You are very blessed.
Nancy, you are blessed beyond anything I could imagine, with your talent, character and experience(s)! To have been a friend and collaborator with Selby Kelly, not to mention working for Disney and writing animation texts and your own illustrated books, all seems pretty nifty to an old guy who has a nice collection of cartoon art and a bunch of books, who paints a picture once in awhile and played with and talked about other people's art in a couple of museums and a few colleges. Not whining, I've had a better life (on my terms) than most folks, but the drive, talent and character I mentioned earlier have blessed you to a considerable degree!
Well, I think you are being rather modest...which museum were you associated with?
Dallas Museum of Art (the old one, in Fair Park) I came to Amarillo in 1981 to run the Education Department. Retired 2003 and taught at a couple local colleges (art history, humanities, art appreciation) until 2019, when I retired temporarily to free up time for my wife's parents' illness. Then came Covid and a general (in my view) betrayal of educational principles. Hit the silk in the nick of time.