Walt Kelly — Later, ‘Gator
Pogo Sunday Strip, August 13, 1961
It’s hard to use the word bargain in vintage, quality comic art in 2026 without sounding delusional — but hear me out.
As a general rule, original comic strips are still far less expensive than comparable comic book pages. Yes, there are blue-chip exceptions — Raymond, Caniff, Foster — but overall, strips remain the better buy.
Drill down another level and the affordability improves: humor typically trails adventure in price. (Again, with notable outliers — Peanuts, and of course Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side. And in those last two cases, good luck finding originals at all.)
Which brings us to Walt Kelly’s Pogo.
These may be the best values in comic art collecting right now. Every time a daily or Sunday hits auction, I’m genuinely surprised at how reasonable the hammer price is. You can look it up.
Kelly was a first-rate cartoonist and a razor-sharp political satirist. Pogo famously inspired Jeff Smith’s Bone, and you can see why — the lush brushwork, the elastic expressions, the choreography of bodies in space. Yes, some of the topical humor can feel a bit inside baseball today. Kelly loved weaving contemporary politics into the Okefenokee.
But strip away (pun unintended) the references and the cartooning still sings. The line is alive. The staging is elegant. The characters feel like they’re breathing.
Simply put — gorgeous art and terrific storytelling.
In a hobby where true value is increasingly rare, Pogo may be hiding in plain sight.
