Walt Kelly's comic strip Pogo was set in the swamp. It's a very smart strip and I highly reccommend it. These are Pogo figures stamped on each foot with 1969, Japan. All of them are opposable at the neck. 2 can move both arms, 2 can move only one arm each, and 2 only the neck. Beauregard Chaulmoogra Frontenac de Montmingle Bugleboy (aka Beauregard Hound) and Churchill "Churchy" LaFemme Dr. Howland Owl and Porky Pine Albert Alligator and Pogo Possum This is the whole set of 6 as far as I know.
Wow, fascinating that these even exist. I missed out on Pogo but as I understand it was largely brilliant satire of American society and politics. Or am I wrong and the satire was more universal than that? Anyway, cool toys, cool post.
Made in Japan - Readily available on the US. They were laundry soap premiums - I think they were shrink wrapped to the box. Cheer if I am not mistaken. There was also a series of plastic cups with the characters on them also.
Yep - I had a set of these when I was a kid. Dean, you should really check out the comic strips; they're amazing both in terms of graphics and themes. Supposedly Fantagraphics is going to be reissuing them in much the same way they're doing the Peanuts, Krazy Kat et al. volumes. Check it out: http://www.pogopossum.com/index.htm
Holy mackerel, what a blast from the past! I remember having an Albert Alligator growing up. I think I chewed the heck out him though. Thanks for the memories UberB.
I, too, had a set of these as a kid (chewed on Howland Owl - odd, that) and have also re-collected them as an adult. I, also recommend the original strips (avoid those not done by Walt, however). Fantagraphics did some reprintings a while back - they seem to be out of print, though! Great stuff!
Wow. Trip down memory lane. I had a collection of these as a kid. I think my mother later sold them at some yard sale.
Grew up reading the strip, collected (and lost all but 1) the books. Thanks for showing these! Who remembers the great caricatures of McCarthy (there's a tyrant for Mr. Kozik!) , LBJ , Nixon and Agnew the Jackal? Great stuff. Kelley was influenced in his younger years by a great forgotten cartoonist, one T. S. Sullivant. He drew great cows and Irish! Whoops, off track. Great collection!
these are the best figures I've seen posted on the board in a long time. thanks for sharing them! I'm a big Pogo fan.