Most of my American family knows what a fan I am of "Pogo." Been reading it for about 40 years, I’d guess. So, the key problem here is that the political aspects of old Pogo strips are completely non-topical (even in the late ’60s when I started reading them – because I was reading strips from the early ’50s at that time). Most of the time I can pick out the politicos being caricatured ("Fido" being Fidel Castro, for example; Khruschev being the Russian pig). The faces on the political animals clearly represent the person they’re spoofing.
Now, one character that I still don’t get after all these years of reading is Prince Pompadoodle. Going by some of the poems in "Pogo Revisited," I have to conclude that this is a caricature of Georges Pompidou. Certainly the name seems right; the timing is right for Kelly’s strips. But Kelly portrayed Prince Pompadoodle as an overstuffed, clueless ruler. I only know of Pompidou what I have recently read on Wikipedia, but there is nothing written there to justify the scorn that Kelly repeatedly heaps upon the Pompadoodle character. In fact the Wikipedia article mentions the prosperity of France under Pompidou, the modernization of Paris, and other reasonable endeavors that have led him to be favorably remembered in France.
Can anyone confirm for me that Pompadoodle is indeed a caricature of Pompidou? And if so, was there some Pompidou news item back in the day, which might have spurred Kelly on to the derision he shows in Pogo? Perhaps there was something topical that irked Kelly, something newsworthy, which has failed to be recorded in Wikipedia?
I’m going to spend some time reading more about Pompidou to see if there’s something I haven’t learned about yet…but any help will be appreciated.
The US Picks 