It's in this volume (featuring another two years worth of Pogo strips) that we meet one of Walt Kelly's boldest political caricatures. Folks across America had little trouble equating the insidious wildcat Simple J. Malarkey with the ascendant anti-Communist senator, Joseph McCarthy. The subject was sensitive enough that by the following year a Providence, Rhode Island newspaper threatened to drop the strip if Malarkey's face were to appear in it again. Kelly's response? He had Malarkey appear again but put a bag over the character's head for his next appearance. Ergo, his face did not appear. (Typical of Kelly's layers of verbal wit, the character Malarkey was hiding from was a Rhode Island Red hen, referencing both the source of his need to conceal Malarkey and the underlying political controversy.) The entirety of these sequences can be found in this book. But the Malarkey storyline is only a tiny portion of those rich, eventful two years, which include such classic sequences as con-man Seminole Sam's attempts to corner the market on water (which Porkypine's Uncle Baldwin tries to one-up by cornering the market on dirt); a return engagement of Pup Dog and Houndog's blank-eyed Little Orphan Annie parody Li'l Arf and Nonny; Churchy La Femme going in drag to deliver a love poem he wrote, Cyrano style, on Deacon Mush-rat's behalf to Sis Boombah (the aforementioned hen); P.T. Bridgeport's return to the swamp in search of new talent; and of course two rousing choruses of Deck Us All With Boston Charlie.

Little Mouse gets dressed to go to the barn with his mother, brothers, and sisters.

For Pogo fans everywhere, young and old, here's the best and brightest of the comic strip superstar and his creator, Walt Kelly, all in one volume. Who can forget Howland Owl, Porky Pine, Albert the Alligator, Churchy La Femme the Turtle, and of course Pogo Possum? Take a delightful inside look at one of the funniest, most popular and literate comic strips of all time. The Best of Pogo features Walt Kelly's landmark cartoons in a marvelous scrapbook of anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories. From Kelly's earliest cartoon creations to his legendary stories in pictures and words syndicated across the country, it's a warm and witty tribute to the man and his magical menagerie of lovable swamp "critters." You get the whole wonderful story, including: rare presyndicated Pogo comics ; the immortal Whirled Series of Baseball ; all the lyrics to "Deck Us All with Boston Charlie" ; and Pogo's real-life presidential campaigns, with first-hand reports on the wild victory parties that followed. Plus, a special feature - "MAD Goes Pogo," a reprint of Pogo Possum parodies from MAD magazine. All this and much more, as you relive the life and times of the Okefenokee Swamp - its timeless humor, its mischief, satire and political controversy.

ALL-TIME BESTSELLER: The first “wonderfully fresh and exotic mystery” starring septuagenarian coroner Dr. Siri, who finds himself caught in the political intrigues and mystical underpinnings of 1970s Laos (New York Times Book Review). Laos, 1978: Dr. Siri Paiboun, a 72-year-old medical doctor, has unwillingly been appointed the national coroner of the new socialist Laos. His lab is underfunded, his boss is incompetent, and his support staff is quirky, to say the least. But Siri’s sense of humor gets him through his often-frustrating days. When the body of the wife of a prominent politician comes through his morgue, Siri has reason to suspect the woman has been murdered. To get to the truth, Siri and his team face government secrets, spying neighbors, victim hauntings, Hmong shamans, botched romances, and other deadly dangers. Somehow, Siri must figure out a way to balance the will of the party and the will of the dead.