A page from the comic book version of Beetle Bailey.

Beetle Bailey (begun on September 4, 1950) is a comic strip set in a United States Army boot camp, created by Mort Walker. It is among the oldest comic strips still being produced by the original creator. The strip also remains among the most popular comic strips today. For other uses, see Author (disambiguation). ... Addison Morton Walker (born September 3, 1923), more popularly known as Mort Walker, is an American comic artist, best known for creating the newspaper comic strips Beetle Bailey in 1950 and Hi and Lois in 1954. ... is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... King Features 1951 Christmas card King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers around the world. ... The webcomic genres are the types of themes a webcomic can take. ... Image File history File links Beetle_Bailey_Comic_Panel. ... Image File history File links Beetle_Bailey_Comic_Panel. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... The United States Army is the largest and oldest branch of the armed forces of the United States. ... Addison Morton Walker (born September 3, 1923), more popularly known as Mort Walker, is an American comic artist, best known for creating the newspaper comic strips Beetle Bailey in 1950 and Hi and Lois in 1954. ...

History and origins

In 1948 and 1949, Mort Walker submitted his comics to magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post. The editor of the SEP, John Bailey, suggested he draw some comics in a college setting, having seen some of Mort Walker's work during college. Walker did so, and Bailey suggested that he feature one character, who wore a hat down over his eyes. Walker named him Spider, after a fraternity brother. Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... There have been many publications called the Saturday Evening Post; several were/are local British newspapers. ... The terms fraternity and sorority (from the Latin words and , meaning brother and sister respectively) may be used to describe many social and charitable organizations, for example the Lions Club, Epsilon Sigma Alpha, Rotary International, Optimist International, or the Shriners. ...

Walker then decided to do a comic strip about college, putting all of his fraternity brothers from the University of Missouri–Columbia in it. Changing the name from Spider to Beetle, King Features Syndicate bought it; it was the last comic strip personally approved by William Randolph Hearst. Bailey was added as a last name in honor of John Bailey. Beetle Bailey first ran in twelve newspapers on September 4, 1950, the day after Mort Walker's birthday. University of Missouri redirects here. ... For other people named William Randolph Hearst, see William Randolph Hearst (disambiguation) William Randolph Hearst I (April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper magnate. ... is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

On March 13, 1951, during the Korean War, Walker had Beetle Bailey enlist in the Army. All characters other than Beetle were dropped, and new ones created. The struggling comic strip (King Features was considering not renewing the one-year contract) soon appeared in more newspapers, beginning Beetle's rise to popularity. is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants United Nations:  Republic of Korea,  Australia,  Belgium,  Luxembourg,  Canada,  Colombia,  Ethiopia,  France,  Greece,  Luxembourg,  Netherlands,  New Zealand,  Philippines,  South Africa,  Thailand,  Turkey,  United Kingdom,  United States Medical staff:  Denmark,  Australia,  Italy,  Norway,  Sweden Communist states:  Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,  Peoples Republic of China,  Soviet Union Commanders...

Walker received the Reuben Award for 1953, as well as the National Cartoonist Society Humor Strip Award for 1966 and 1969 for the strip. King Features Syndicate is the distributor. A TV version was made in 1963. The Reuben Awards, named for Rube Goldberg, are presented each year by the National Cartoonists Society. ... The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists created in 1946. ... King Features 1951 Christmas card King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers around the world. ... TV redirects here. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The strip

Most of the humor revolves around the mostly inept characters stationed at Camp Swampy, inspired by Camp Crowder, where Walker had been stationed while in the Army. Private Bailey is a lazy sort and usually naps and avoids work, and thus is often the subject of verbal and physical chastising from his Sergeant. Fort Crowder, now Camp Crowder, was established south of the city of Neosho in southwestern Missouri in 1941 as the U.S. Army Signal Corps Training Center. ...

The comic strip currently takes place in present day. The characters in Beetle Bailey have never seen combat themselves, with the exception of mock battles and combat drills. In fact, they seem to be in their own version of stereotypical comic strip purgatory (initially basic training, they now appear to be stuck in time in a regular infantry division). The uniforms of Beetle Bailey are still the uniforms of the 1950s Army, with green fatigues and baseball caps as the basic uniform, and the open jeep as the basic military vehicle. Sgt. Snorkel wears a green dress uniform with heavily wrinkled garrison cap; the officers wear M1 helmet liners painted with their insignia. Illustration for Dantes Purgatorio (18), by Gustave Doré, an imaginative picturing of Purgatory. ... For other uses, see Jeep (disambiguation). ... This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

Beetle's sister is Lois Flagston of the comic strip Hi and Lois, a spinoff which debuted in 1954. Best of Hi and Lois cover Hi and Lois is a comic strip about a suburban family. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Beetle is always seen with a hat or helmet over his head, forehead, and eyes. He was only seen without it once in the real strip, when he was still in college; the strip never ran in any newspaper, and is only seen in various books on the history of the strip. In a Mad Magazine parody in the 1960s, Beetle's hat is removed and on his forehead is written "Get out of Vietnam". Harvey Kurtzmans cover for the first issue of the comic book Mad Mad is an American humor magazine founded by publisher William Gaines and editor Harvey Kurtzman in 1952. ...

Over the years, Mort Walker has been assisted by (among others) Jerry Dumas, Bob Gustafson, Frank Johnson, and his sons Brian and Greg Walker, of whom the latter is credited on the strips today. Jerry Dumas (1930) is an American comic strip writer and artist, best known for Sam and Silo. ... Bob Gustafson is a cartoonist whose work includes a 8 years on Tillie the Toiler and a 27 year run on the Beetle Bailey comic books. ...

Beetle and Sarge guest-starred in the 75th anniversary party of Blondie and Dagwood in 2005

Cast

Beetle Bailey is unusual in having one of the largest and most varied permanent casts of any comic strip. While many of the older characters are rarely seen, almost none have been completely retired.

• Beetle Bailey, the main character, known for his chronic laziness. Always has hat over his eyes, because he is always sleeping.
• Sergeant 1st Class Orville P. Snorkel ("Sarge") - Beetle's nemesis; known to frequently beat up Beetle for any excuse he can think of; overeater, introduced in 1951
• Otto - Sgt. Snorkel's anthropomorphic dog
• Brigadier General Amos T. Halftrack - the inept, semi-alcoholic, and sexist commander of Camp Swampy; introduced in 1951
• Martha Halftrack - the General's domineering wife
• Miss Buxley - Halftrack's beautiful ("buxom") civilian secretary, and occasional soldier's date. In recent months it's been pointed out that she inexplicably appears in every Wednesday strip, for no discernable reason
• Private Blips - Halftrack's competent secretary (not at all "buxom" - blips are small points of light on a Radar screen)
• Bunny - Beetle's rarely seen girlfriend
• Lieutenant Jack Flap - the strip's first black character, introduced in 1970
• "Killer" Diller - the ladies man and resident pervert, introduced in 1951
• Zero - the uneducated, buck-toothed country boy who takes everything literally
• Lieutenant Sonny Fuzz - very young (with very little facial hair), over-earnest, by the book, always trying to impress uninterested superiors, and rubbing it in with his subordinates, introduced 1956
• Cookie - the cook, who smokes cigarettes while preparing the mess hall's questionable menu; except for the presence of cauliflower ears, bears a striking resemblance to Sgt. Snorkel and has also been known to occasionally beat up on Beetle.
• Plato - the intellectual (as Tom Lehrer might say, "brings a book to every meal"); named after Plato
• Corporal Yo - the strip's first Asian character, introduced in 1990
• Captain Sam Scabbard - flat-top wearing officer, often as mean to Sarge as Sarge is to Beetle.
• Major Greenbrass, straight man and golf partner to Gen. Halftrack
• Chaplain Staneglass - "He's praying... he's looking at the food... he's praying again!"
• Julius Plewer - fastidious fussbudget, who eventually became Halftrack's chauffeur
• Cosmo - Camp Swampy's resident "shady entrepreneur"; almost forgotten in the 1980s
• Rocky - Camp Swampy's resident "rebel-without-a-cause", introduced 1958
• Dr. Bonkus - Camp Swampy's staff psychiatrist, whose sanity is questionable.
• Specialist Chip Gizmo - Camp Swampy's resident computer geek, named by a write-in contest in 2002
• Sergeant Louise Lugg - wants to be Sarge Snorkel's girlfriend, introduced in 1986
• Bella - Sgt. Louise Lugg's pet female cat
• Beetle's unnamed parents and younger brother Chigger
• A camp doctor whose appearance is consistent, but who is apparently unnamed
• An unnamed officers' club bartender, frequent intermediary between the Halftracks
• An unnamed Secretary of Defence who has made numerous appearances.

Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... An anthropomorphic character; a cat ascribed human characteristics. ... M3 Half-track A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels on the front for steering, and caterpillar tracks on the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Radar (disambiguation). ... Year 1970 ([[Rf 1970 == January 1 - The Unix epoch begins at 00:00:00 UTC January 2 - The last studio performance of The Beatles oman numerals|MCMLXX]]) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A car from 1956 Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cauliflower ear (or perichondrial hematoma) is a condition common among rugby players - particularly forwards, boxers, martial artists and wrestlers. ... Thomas Andrew Tom Lehrer (born April 9, 1928) is an American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, and mathematician. ... For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword or other large blade. ... H.R. Haldeman wearing a typical flattop A flat-top is a type of hairstyle similar to the crew cut, with the exception that the hair on the top of the head sticks up(typically no more than a few inches) and is cut to be flat, resulting in a... Verdigris is the common name for the chemical Cu(CH3COO)2. ... Strictly speaking, stained glass is glass that has been painted with silver stain and then fired. ... A chauffeur in Japan A driver in Kerala A chauffeur is one who drives an automobile as a job. ... The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... Jan. ... The word geek is a slang term, noting individuals as a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, especially one who is perceived to be overly intellectual.[1] Formerly, the term referred to a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ...

Unseen

• Colonel Cohen, CEO
• Major Burk, CFO
• General Snead, CIO
• Captain Finn, COO

Retired

• Canteen (early 1950s) - "always eating",
• Snake Eyes (early 1950s) - "the barracks gambler," replaced by Cosmo, Rocky, and others
• Big Blush (early 1950s) - "tall, innocent, and a great attraction to the girls"; many of his characteristics incorporated into both Sarge and Zero
• Fireball (early 1950s) - "neophyte who always seems to be in the way"; forerunner of both Zero and Lt. Fuzz
• Bammy (early 1950s) - "the southern patriot who is still fighting the Civil war"
• Dawg (early 1950s) - "the guy in every barracks who creates his own pollution"
• Ozone (late 1950s) - Zero's bigger, more naive friend
• Moocher (early 1960s) - "stingy and always borrowing things"
• Pop (1960s) - married private: "gets yelled at by Sarge all day and goes home at night for more abuse from his wife"
• The entire cast, except for Beetle, of the early strip as set at Rockview University (although both incarnations of the strip include a spectacled intellectual named Plato). Four characters from the original cast ("Bitter Bill," "Diamond Jim," "Freshman," and "Sweatsock" made at least one appearance, in the January 5th strip from either 1962 or 1963.^[1]
• Sergeant Webbing, variously described as being from either B Company or D Company. He somewhat resembles Snorkel, except that he lacks the trademark wrinkles in Snorkel's garrison cap, and has wavy hair and thick eyebrows. On at least two separate occasions, Webbing engaged Sgt. Snorkel in a cussing duel.^[2] He also attempted to one-up Snorkel in anthropomorphizing dogs, leading to Otto's first appearance in uniform, and was most recently seen (recognizably, but not mentioned by name) in 1983.^[3]
• Rolf (early 1980s), civilian tennis instructor, very popular with the female cast (including both Mrs. Halftrack and Miss Buxley, much to the General's consternation). First appearance was in the September 9, 1982 strip, and he disappeared completely by the mid 1980s.^[4]

the first thing that was invented was the automatic DILDO. Education grew explosively because of a very strong demand for high school and college education. ... the first thing that was invented was the automatic DILDO. Education grew explosively because of a very strong demand for high school and college education. ... the first thing that was invented was the automatic DILDO. Education grew explosively because of a very strong demand for high school and college education. ... the first thing that was invented was the automatic DILDO. Education grew explosively because of a very strong demand for high school and college education. ... the first thing that was invented was the automatic DILDO. Education grew explosively because of a very strong demand for high school and college education. ... the first thing that was invented was the automatic DILDO. Education grew explosively because of a very strong demand for high school and college education. ... the first thing that was invented was the automatic DILDO. Education grew explosively because of a very strong demand for high school and college education. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969. ... Look up Profanity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ...

Extras, one-shots, and walk-ons

Numerous one-shot characters have appeared over the years, mostly unnamed, including an inspector general who looks like Alfred E. Neuman, and various officers and civilians. Among the few to be given names is Julian, a nondescript chauffer eventually replaced by Julius.^[5] Inspector General is a fact finding officer whose responsibility is to investigate charges of corruption, fraud, waste and abuse and other complaints regarding government officials. ... For other persons named Neumann, see Neumann (disambiguation). ...

TV version

A TV version, in shorts by King Features Syndicate, aired in 1963. The introduction included the sound of a reveille, followed by a song specifically made for the cartoon. Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Reveille (British and Canadian English: ; American English: ) is most often associated with the military; it is chiefly used to wake military personnel at sunrise. ...

DVDs

BCI Eclipse has released 20 Episodes as part of
Animated All Stars 2 DVD BCI 46952

• Everything's Ducky
• Leap No More My Lady
• "V" for Visitors
• Son of a Gun of a Gun
• Halftrack's Navy
• Hoss Laffs
• Geronimo
• For Officers Only
• Shutterbugged
• Bye Bye Young Lovers
• Breaking the Leash
• 60...Count 'Em...60
• Sweet Sunday
• The Spy
• Sgt. Snorkle's Longest Day
• The Sergeant's Master
• Cosmo's Naught
• Operation Butler
• We Love You Sgt. Snorkle
• Welsh Rabbit

Rhino Home Video also released a DVD containing 10 skits along with a couple of Hagar the Horrible and Betty Boop skits: Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label, owned by Warner Music Group. ... Hägar the Hørrible is the title and the name of the main character of a syndicated comic strip, created in 1973, by Dik Browne, distributed to 1,900 newspapers in 58 countries, in 13 languages. ... Betty Boop from the opening title sequence of the earliest entries in the Betty Boop Cartoons Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character appearing in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop series of films produced by Max Fleischer and released by Paramount Pictures. ...

• Camp Invisible
• Lucky Beetle
• Grab Your Socks
• Is This Drip Necessary
• The Diet
• Et Tu Otto
• The Jinx
• Courage Encourager
• Go Yeast, Young Man
• Psychological Training

Camp Invisible is an animated short created in 1964 by King Features Syndicate and stars Beetle Bailey. ... Grab Your Socks is a 1963 animated short made by King Features Syndicate and stars Beetle Bailey. ... The Diet is a 1963 animated short from King Features Syndicate that stars Beetle Bailey. ...

Parodies

In the webcomic Nate Speed, Nate drew the comic strip Beagle Bailey, which starred Beetle Bailey in the role of the beagle. This article is about the dog breed. ...

On July 6th, 2007, in the comicstrip Pearls Before Swine, Beetle and Zero are talking to Pig with Beetle informs Pig that Zero will be going away for a while. When Zero is about to leave, Beetle gives Zero a hug and tells him to take care of himself. Unknown to them, Rat takes a picture of the two hugging and places in his tabloid newspaper with the caption "Don't ask, Don't tell" as if to indicate Beetle and Zero were homosexual lovers. Sarge is seen on the front page of the newspaper expressing his disdain towards Beetle and Zero's alleged relationship. Look up cast pearls before swine in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Pig is a character in the comic strip, Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis Pig is a good-natured pig. ... Rat Rat is a character in the comic strip, Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis. ...

External links

• Beetle Bailey at King Features
• BeetleBailey.com
• Mort Walker's website
• Toonopedia
• NCS Awards
• The TV version at IMDB

References