Possum Politics
Jeff Smith has been tapped to illustrate the covers of Fantagraphics upcoming "Complete Pogo" series of books, which will collect all of the Pogo the Possum comic strips into twelve volumes, similiar to the Peanuts collection that is currently being produced. "Pogo" is like "Calvin and Hobbes" for the Baby Boomer generation. It was a comic strip that touched on politics, and philosphical topics, yet always did it with a laugh or gag, so everyone from adults to kids could enjoy it. Jeff Smith, the creator of "Bone" has often talked about how his love for "Pogo" when he was younger was a major influence for what would become "Bone."
The "Pogo Special Birthday Special" was an animated special that aired on television back in the 60's, and has been unavailable on video for two decades now, but thanks to the glory that is YouTube you can watch Pogo in all his animated glory. "Pogo" is one of the most classic comic strips of all time, and this video should hold us over until the Fantagraphic collected volumes are released in the spring.
Pogo was definitely the cutting edge of daily comic strips for years, probably until Doonesbury took over that role in the early 70's. Pogo caused all sorts of uproars (hard to imagine) over the decades. The one truly lasting addition it made to our culture was the phrase "we have met the enemy and he is us."