Page "Comic strip" Paragraph 40

The comics have long held a distorted mirror to contemporary society, and almost from the beginning have been used for political or social commentary.

This ranged from the conservative slant of Little Orphan Annie to the unabashed liberalism of Doonesbury.

Pogo used animals to particularly devastating effect, caricaturing many prominent politicians of the day as animal denizens of Pogo's Okeefenokee Swamp.

In a fearless move, Pogo's creator Walt Kelly took on Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s, caricaturing him as a bobcat named Simple J. Malarkey, a megalomaniac who was bent on taking over the characters ' birdwatching club and rooting out all undesirables.

Kelly also defended the medium against possible government regulation in the McCarthy era.

At a time when comic books were coming under fire for supposed sexual, violent and subversive content, Kelly feared the same would happen to comic strips.

Going before the Congressional subcommittee, he proceeded to charm the members with his drawings and the force of his personality.

The comic strip was safe for satire.