Pop loved Pogo. The Christmas strips were particular favorites of his, but I don’t recall this specific one. The Russian jokes tie it to the Cold War/Space Race storyline… Somewhere I’ve got the books that introduce the two-headed dog who barks in Russian and a kind of gibberish that I find hysterically funny (pookapookapooka!).
This one has St Nicholas and his reindeer (Albert the Alligator and his trusty moose), with Pogo along to make with the good cheer (oog).
Walt Kelly was the greatest daily comic strip artist in American history. His Pogo strip was an uncanny mixture of laughter, high spirits and swamp intrigue, mixed with pointed political satire. His thinly-veiled villain based on Sen. Joseph McCarthy was one of several characters with political overtones.
This material is copyrighted by the Estate of Walt Kelly. It has been posted on the web.
Visit the official site at PogoPossum.com.