Groun'chuck chile from the Pogo comic


"GBNX" — grundoon hisself
"...a scienterrific genius"
— Howland Owl


Grundoon is the perfect candidate for a Brevity Quest as he is a diminutive, minor character in the Pogo strips. This is not to say that he lacks character; on the contrary he's jes' full of beans. He's known to the denizens of the Swamp as the "bitin' nephew", because well, that's what he does. Speaking mostly in consonants, he's curious and curiously gifted.

Roaming the Okefenokee Swamp in what appears to be a nappy, he prods and pokes at the world in a wonderfully childish way, but has many hidden and delightful qualities. One of his better-known abilities lies in his skill calling fish - as Pogo Possum himself puts it, "GRS...some give a moose call, Grundoon give the fish call..." and they come in droves. Or schools.

Howland Owl once called him a "scienterrific genius" after figuring that his pronouncements (in this case, "TCH DSG") were pure algebra. He's smarter than yer average groundhog, fer sure. One can only hope that his baby sister, Li'l Honey Bunny Ducky Downy Sweetie Chicken Pie Li'l Everlovin' Jelly Bean is equally blessed.

Mischief? Aplenty. Scaring Howland into a tree by bursting a balloon, disappearing after getting stuck in taffy, stopping an impo'tant baseball game by unravelling the ball, not to mention biting fingers.

He does speak some English though, finally learning to say "Bye", and once speaking in Chinese to a chick hatched from a Thousand-year-old egg. Mostly he's just entertaining in his joyful manner, shouting gleefully to the woods and sky, "Mgnx." I can think of no more fitting tribute.


For my beloved grundoon, whom I miss dreadfully.

For my father, who introduced me to Pogo, also Walt Kelly and his imagination and brilliance.


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