Number 2193: Albert the Alligator sings!

Bumbazine was the only human character to appear regularly in what eventually became the Pogo comic strip.* Pogo Possum, seen here in his second appearance, looked more like an opossum and less like the cuter and more marketable Pogo that came later. Like all good comic characters, Pogo and Albert the Alligator had a ways to go before their images matured under Kelly’s hand, and “Pogo” became a longtime hit in newspapers. That’s a whole other story.

In this early episode (the second) Bumbazine and Albert are the title characters. Albert tries to pull off lip-syncing in order to win a singing contest. (His own voice sounds like “Roo-oo-oof! Wuff! Yowp!” which sounds more like ol' Hound Dog, who had not yet become a character in the feature.) Bumbazine was later dropped from the strip. Including a human just did not fit into the swamp universe as Kelly later envisioned it. Also, it might have turned off some of the Southern newspapers in those segregation days. Another whole other story.

Written and drawn by Walt Kelly. From Animal Comics #2 (1943):

*However, Bumbazine was not the only human character to appear in an Albert the Alligator story. Here we have several. Just click on the thumbnail.

Number 2060: Ol' Albert is really a deer

Like most popular features, Walt Kelly’s Pogo went through some growing pains. Albert the Alligator had star billing early on, with Pogo a sidekick. When Kelly made Pogo’s appearance cuter and switched Albert to the role of sidekick, the strip took off. Kelly also featured a young African-American boy, Bumbazine, who did not survive long. Leaving humans out of the strip made it easier for Kelly to have the animals take on the roles of caricature humans, without the jarring sight of an actual human in their midst.

Speaking of cute, Upsy Daisy is certainly that. Kelly sometimes brought in characters that despite visual appeal made one appearance, did their part, and left the swamp.

From Animal Comics #9 (1944).

“De Fust Time” shows Albert and Pogo’s first meeting. Just click on the thumbnail.

Number 1632: Albert the Alligator and people

It seems jarring to see Walt Kelly’s universe of talking animals populated with people, interacting with Albert the Alligator, or Pogo, or any of the other Okeefenokee animal characters.

In this early story, published in Animal Comics #5 (1943), there are several humans who are overwhelmed by the sight of Albert the Alligator, who is ready to take a train to the big city. They are mostly clownish African-American caricatures,* but if it counts, there are a couple of drunk white hillbillies to add to the bizarre nature of the story. In the early Albert strips a young African-American boy, Bumbazine, was the primary focus, interacting with the animal characters. Humans were quickly dropped from the strip by Kelly.

*I apologize if this offends anyone, but this story is 71-years-old and I can’t censor the past.

Number 1389: Enter Albert and Pogo

Any ardent Pogo fan can tell you Walt Kelly’s familiar character did not spring forth from his creator’s forehead fully formed. Rather he was developed over time. As you can see in this, the first appearance of both Albert Alligator and Pogo Possum in Animal Comics #1 (1942), they were hardly recognizable as to what they would someday become. No matter. The Kelly humor is here, and while the Pogo characters went through an evolution, Kelly was as talented in his beginnings as he was at the end of his career, which came with his death in 1973.

I’m also showing another Kelly strip from the same issue of Animal Comics. “Muzzy and Ginger,” is a more typical funny animal strip.