The ''Pogo'' [[comic strip]] was syndicated to newspapers for 26 years. The individual strips were collected into at least 20 books edited by Kelly. He received the [[Reuben Award]] for the series in 1951.
The principal characters were [[Pogo (comic strip)|Pogo]] the [[opossum|Possum]], Albert the [[Alligator]], Churchy LaFemme (a [[turtle]]; cf. [[Cherchez la femme]]), aHowland [[turtleOwl]], HowlandBeauregard Bugleboy (a [[Owlhound]],Beauregard (Houndogdog), Porkypine, and [[Miss Mam'selle Hepzibah]] (or ''Miz Mamzelle Hepzibah''), a French [[skunk]]). Kelly used the strip in part as a vehicle for his liberal and humanistic political and social views, and satirized, among other things, Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]]'s anti-Communist demagogy (in the form of a shotgun-wielding bobcat named "Simple J. Malarkey") and the sectarian and dogmatic behavior of [[communism|communist]]s (in the form of two comically doctrinaire [[cowbird]]s).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blog.timesunion.com/comics/we-have-met-the-enemy-and-he-is-us-pogo-possum-and-politics-in-the-funnies/94/|title=We Have Met the Enemy, and He is Us: Pogo Possum and Politics in the Funnies|date=October 30, 2008|website=blog.timesunion.com}}</ref>
The setting for Pogo and his friends was the Okefenokee Swamp. The Okefenokee Swamp Park near [[Waycross, Georgia]], now has a building housing Walt Kelly's relocated studio and various Pogo memorabilia.
