This Day in Comic History: March 5th – Pogo, Lanterns, and Political Possums
March 5th serves as a dual pillar in the history of sequential art. On this date, we recognize the birth of Walt Kelly, the satirical mastermind behind Pogo, and the DC Comics anniversary of Alan Scott, the original Golden Age Green Lantern. One brought the sharp bite of political commentary to the funny pages, while the other introduced the mystical green flame of the Starheart to the superhero pantheon.
The Birth of a Satirical Giant: Walt Kelly
Born on March 5, 1913, Walt Kelly began his career as an animator at Disney, contributing to classics like Pinocchio and Fantasia. However, his most enduring legacy is the creation of the Okefenokee Swamp and its inhabitant, Pogo Possum. Kelly’s work shifted the paradigm of the daily comic strip. What appeared to be a whimsical tale of anthropomorphic animals was, in reality, a sophisticated vehicle for social and political commentary.
Kelly famously used his characters to caricature figures like Senator Joseph McCarthy (depicted as the wildcat Simple J. Malarkey). This boldness in the face of the 1950s Red Scare demonstrated the power of the medium to challenge authority. The phrase "We have met the enemy and he is us," originated in a Pogo strip for the first Earth Day in 1970, encapsulating Kelly's wit and his ability to distill complex human failings into a single, poignant line.
The Magic of the Starheart: Alan Scott’s Green Lantern
While Walt Kelly was redefining the swamp, DC Comics was expanding the cosmos. March 5th marks a significant "birthday" in the publication cycle for the original Green Lantern, Alan Scott. Unlike the later iterations of the character, such as Hal Jordan or John Stewart, who are members of an intergalactic police force fueled by willpower and science, Alan Scott’s origin is rooted in the supernatural.
Scott’s power comes from the Starheart, a magical entity gathered by the Guardians of the Universe to contain the stray mystical energies of the cosmos. After a train wreck, Scott discovered a green lantern containing this power, fashioned a ring from it, and became a founding member of the Justice Society of America.
Here’s the deliciously weird part that makes Alan Scott feel like a campfire ghost story wearing a cape: his “lantern” era isn’t hard sci-fi, it’s straight-up sorcery. The Starheart is basically a cosmic mop-bucket of wild magic, and Alan is the guy who accidentally grabbed the handle and said, “Sure, I’ll be responsible.” His early adventures lean into that fairy-tale logic—oaths, talismans, cursed objects, and villains who feel like they wandered in from a pulp magazine rack.
Also, yes: wood. Not yellow. Wood. If you’ve ever wondered why Golden Age rules hit different, it’s because they were building mythology in real time, and sometimes mythology comes with a “do not bonk with a chair” warning label.
Fan Fun: How March 5th Hits Two Totally Different Nerd Itches
March 5th is one of those dates where comics show off their full range:
- Pogo proves the funny pages can be a Trojan horse for big ideas—wordplay, satire, and that “laugh so you don’t scream” kind of clarity.
- Green Lantern (Alan Scott) proves superheroes can be modern folklore—ritual, symbol, destiny, and a ring that doesn’t care about your OSHA training.
If you want a themed re-read today, try this:
- Start with a few classic Pogo strips (pay attention to the “cute” dialogue—Kelly’s puns are doing backflips).
- Then jump into early Justice Society material with Alan Scott and enjoy that “mystery-men meet magic” energy.
- Finish by spotting the legacy echoes: political comics that bite, and superhero lore that keeps expanding like a shared dream.
Historical Context: The Impact of Pogo and Green Lantern
Walt Kelly’s Pogo is still the gold standard for “comedy with teeth.” He wrote like a poet who got bored and started doing impressions. The strip’s dialects, malapropisms, and swampy nonsense weren’t just jokes—they were camouflage for razor-sharp commentary. Kelly helped prove that comics could be both mass entertainment and serious cultural critique, paving the way for later satirical strips and editorial cartooning that didn’t ask permission.
On the DC side, Alan Scott is a reminder that superhero universes weren’t always cleanly categorized into “science” and “magic.” He’s a bridge character: part masked mystery-man tradition, part mythic champion. The Starheart concept (and its later expansions) is DC quietly admitting, “Yeah okay, the universe is huge…and some of it is haunted.” His oath—later refined and echoed across generations—becomes less a tagline and more a ritual: a piece of in-world culture fans can chant along with.
Stay tuned for March 6th, where we delve into the evolution of sidekicks and the rise of the independent press.
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