Belated Holiday Post: EVERY DAY'S A HOLLY DAY "Thrilling Story Behind Old Glory: Flag Day"

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...and try to forget it was also (ironically) the 79th birthday of disgraced, twice-impeached, President Don (the Con) Trump, the Oldest President in American History!

Coloring goof: the Union soldiers in panel 5 are wearing Confederate gray!

Why is this 1955 comic entitled "Every Day's a Holly Day" instead of "Every Day's a Holiday"?

Because it was given away to kids by grocers who sold Holly Sugar!

Illustrated by John Rosenberger, it's a unique pamphlet covering a number of American holidays, including both Lincoln and Washington's Birthdays (before they were combined into "Presidents' Day" in 1962), Mothers' Day (though not Fathers' Day), Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and a couple of holidays we've largely abandoned...Pan-American Day and American Indian Day!
Note: We're gearing up for our traditional multi-blog Summer Blogathons which we'll announce the week before the 4th of July weekend and begin the week after!

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Cartoon History of the United States
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Holiday Reading Room EVERY DAY IS A HOLLY DAY "Mother's Day"

Ever wonder why Mother's Day is when it is...or even why it is?

Oddly, there's no entry in this comic for Father's Day!

(Perhaps because Father's Day wasn't made an official American holiday until 1972, decades after this comic was published in 1956!)

Why is this comic entitled "Every Day is a Holly Day" instead of "Every Day is a Holiday"?

Because it was given away to kids by grocers who sold Holly Sugar!

Illustrated by John Rosenberger, it's a unique pamphlet covering a number of American holidays, including both Lincoln and Washington's Birthdays (before they were combined into "Presidents' Day"), Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and a couple of holidays we've largely abandoned...Pan-American Day and American Indian Day!

We'll be presenting the other chapters on the dates they fall upon.

Watch for them!

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Cartoon History of the United States

Easter Egg-citement with Walt Kelly!

Easter is Next Sunday...

...but we don't believe in waiting , especially since getting real eggs has proven so difficult!

This centerfold from Dell's Four Color Comics: Easter with Mother Goose #103 (1946) is, perhsps the closest some families will have to an actual hunt this year.

Can you find the bunnies, chicks, and eggs hidden in the art?

Friday Holiday Fun EASTER WITH MOTHER GOOSE

Here's a short story featuring a plethora of fairy tale characters...

...as presented by a (then) future superstar of the comic strip or, (if you want to be pretentious) graphic novel form!

The title story from Dell's Four Color Comics #103: Easter with Mother Goose (1946) was written and illustrated by Walt Kelly, whose signature series Pogo wouldn't debut for another three years.
Trivia:
While Pogo as a stand-alone series began in 1949, various characters including Pogo himself and Albert the Alligator had appeared as supporting characters in other Walt Kelly-written and drawn strips since 1941.
Besides doing an annual comic of Easter stories featuring fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters celebrating the holiday, Walt also did an even-more popular series of annual Christmas comics utilizing the same concept!

Easter Reading Room EASTER WITH MOTHER GOOSE "Little Bunny"

Walt (Pogo) Kelly went into full-on "cute" mode with his holiday stories...

...including this never-reprinted one from Dell's Four Color Comics: Easter with Mother Goose #185 (1948)!

Besides doing an annual comic of Easter stories featuring fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters celebrating the holiday, Walt also did an even-more popular series of annual Christmas comics utilizing the same concept!

Monday Madness / Easter Reading Room EASTER WITH MOTHER GOOSE "Easter Bunny and the Dwarf"

To be clear, "dwarf" is not politically incorrect...

...so just sit back and enjoy the never-reprinted tale from Dell's Four Color Comics: Easter with Mother Goose #140 (1947) without any guilt!

This story, written and illustrated by Walt (Pogo) Kelly features a number of nursery rhyme characters including Jack and Jill (who went up a hill), Little Jack Horner, and Mother Goose herself.

But, it is not, as was often the case with Kelly's holiday pieces, an adaptation of existing nursery rhymes, but a totally-new tale!
It's also a prequel to the book's main tale featuring an Easter party...which you'll see on Easter Sunday!

Holiday Reading Room EASTER WITH MOTHER GOOSE "Candy Egg"

Here's a (literally) sweet, never-reprinted Walt (Pogo) Kelly short...

...from Dell's Four Color Comics: Easter with Mother Goose #220 (1948)!

Imagine getting one of these 52-page annuals in your Easter basket along with jellybeans, chocolate bunnies and marshmallow Peeps!

Several 7-10 page stories, a number of 1-3 page features, games, and, usually, a wraparound cover!

Would've kept a 5-8 year-old me occupied in those dark days before TV (much less the Internet)!
Good thing I was born after that era...

Easter Reading Room EASTER WITH MOTHER GOOSE "Chicken Little"

It's a classic tale with a holiday twist...

...as told by the legendary Walt (Pogo) Kelly in Dell's Four Color Comics: Easter with Mother Goose #140 (1947)

"Fudgy-wudgy" indeed!

Easter Reading Room EASTER WITH MOTHER GOOSE "Inside an Easter Egg"

Sometimes Walt (Pogo) Kelly did single page shorts...

...sometimes he combined several unrelated short pieces into a theme, like what you might see inside an Easter Egg!

...as this never-reprinted piece from Dell's Four Color Comics: Easter with Mother Goose #103 (1946) demonstrates!

Monday Holiday Madness EASTER WITH MOTHER GOOSE "Hot Cross Buns"...TWO WAYS!

Sometimes Walt (Pogo) Kelly liked a nursery rhyme so much...he used it twice!

Such is the case with this one...first from Dell's Four Color Comics: Easter with Mother Goose #103 (1946), and then, with an extra rhyme, in Easter with Mother Goose #220 (1949)

You gotta admit, if there's anyone who can do a classic nursery rhyme and make it appear fresh both times, it's Walt!

EASTER WITH MOTHER GOOSE Cover Gallery

From 1946 through 1949, Dell produced an Easter with Mother Goose annual..

...with all-new stories and art by Walt (Pogo) Kelly!

Here's several of the best covers (also by Kelly)!

Friday Holiday Fun EASTER WITH MOTHER GOOSE "Humpty Dumpty"

 An Easter-themed combination of a pair of classic nursery rhymes...

... courtesy of legendary writer/artist Walt (Pogo) Kelly...who really knew how to freshen up an old concept!

This never-reprinted short from Dell's Four Color Comics: Easter with Mother Goose (1948) expands on the nursery rhyme with a new adventure of the accident-prone ovum!

Walt Kelly also used Humpty in other Mother Goose comic stories.

Oddly, the cover, also by Walt Kelly, features a radically-different version of Humpty...

Weird, eh?

Easter Reading Room EASTER WITH MOTHER GOOSE "Goldilocks and the Baby Bear's Basket"

Here's a classic fairy tale everybody knows...

...adapted, with a couple of twists, for the Easter season by Walt (Pogo) Kelly!

A never-reprinted tale from Dell's Four Color Comics: Easter with Mother Goose #140 (1947) demonstrates how Walt Kelly could take even a tale you didn't think would work in this context and make it seasonally-appropriate!

Easter Reading Room EASTER WITH MOTHER GOOSE "Lost Chick"

Some of Walt (Pogo) Kelly's Easter tales were totally-new...

...not just reworkings of classic nursery rhymes and fairy tales!

This never-reprinted short from Dell's Four Color Comics: Easter with Mother Goose #185 (1948) takes characters who had not appeared together before and also explains where the Easter Bunny gets his supply of eggs from.