What do you think?
Rate this book
Beetle Bailey #3
At Ease, Beetle Bailey
Book by Walker, Mort
Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
23 people want to read
About the author
Mort Walker
405 books18 followersAddison Morton Walker, more popularly known as Mort Walker, was an American comic artist, best known for creating the newspaper comic strips Beetle Bailey in 1950 and Hi and Lois in 1954.
Born in El Dorado, Kansas, he grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. He had his first comic published at the age of 11, and sold his first cartoon at 12. At 15 he worked as a comic-strip artist for a daily newspaper and by 18 he became chief editorial designer at Hall Brothers. After graduating from Northeast High School in the Kansas City, Missouri School District, he attended the University of Missouri, where a life size bronze statue of Beetle Bailey sits in front of the alumni center.
In 1943 he was drafted into the United States Army where he spent time in Europe during World War II. He was discharged as a First Lieutenant four years later. After military service and graduation from University of Missouri in 1948, where he was president of the local Kappa Sigma chapter[1], he went to New York to pursue his cartooning career. His first 200 cartoons were rejected, but he was slowly gaining recognition among the editors for his talent. His big break came with Beetle Bailey and another success followed with Hi and Lois. Other noteworthy cartoons he has created include Boner's Ark, Gamin & Patches, Mrs. Fitz's Flats, The Evermores, Sam's Strip and Sam & Silo (the last two with Jerry Dumas).
After more than 50 years in the business, Mort Walker still supervises the daily work at his studio, which also employs 6 of his children.
In 1974 he founded The National Cartoon Museum, and in 1989 he was inducted into the Museum of Cartoon Art Hall of Fame. He received the Reuben Award of 1953 for Beetle Bailey, the National Cartoonist Society Humor Strip Award for 1966 and 1969, the Gold T-Square Award in 1999, the Elzie Segar Award for 1977 and 1999, and numerous other awards for his work and dedication to the art.
In his book The Lexicon of Comicana (1980), written as a satirical look at the devices cartoonists use in their craft, Walker invented a cartoon vocabulary called Symbolia. For example, Walker coined the term "squeans" to describe the starbusts and little circles that appear around a cartoon's head to indicate intoxication. The typographical symbols that stand for profanities, which appear in dialogue balloons in the place of actual dialogue, Walker called "grawlixes."
Born in El Dorado, Kansas, he grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. He had his first comic published at the age of 11, and sold his first cartoon at 12. At 15 he worked as a comic-strip artist for a daily newspaper and by 18 he became chief editorial designer at Hall Brothers. After graduating from Northeast High School in the Kansas City, Missouri School District, he attended the University of Missouri, where a life size bronze statue of Beetle Bailey sits in front of the alumni center.
In 1943 he was drafted into the United States Army where he spent time in Europe during World War II. He was discharged as a First Lieutenant four years later. After military service and graduation from University of Missouri in 1948, where he was president of the local Kappa Sigma chapter[1], he went to New York to pursue his cartooning career. His first 200 cartoons were rejected, but he was slowly gaining recognition among the editors for his talent. His big break came with Beetle Bailey and another success followed with Hi and Lois. Other noteworthy cartoons he has created include Boner's Ark, Gamin & Patches, Mrs. Fitz's Flats, The Evermores, Sam's Strip and Sam & Silo (the last two with Jerry Dumas).
After more than 50 years in the business, Mort Walker still supervises the daily work at his studio, which also employs 6 of his children.
In 1974 he founded The National Cartoon Museum, and in 1989 he was inducted into the Museum of Cartoon Art Hall of Fame. He received the Reuben Award of 1953 for Beetle Bailey, the National Cartoonist Society Humor Strip Award for 1966 and 1969, the Gold T-Square Award in 1999, the Elzie Segar Award for 1977 and 1999, and numerous other awards for his work and dedication to the art.
In his book The Lexicon of Comicana (1980), written as a satirical look at the devices cartoonists use in their craft, Walker invented a cartoon vocabulary called Symbolia. For example, Walker coined the term "squeans" to describe the starbusts and little circles that appear around a cartoon's head to indicate intoxication. The typographical symbols that stand for profanities, which appear in dialogue balloons in the place of actual dialogue, Walker called "grawlixes."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 30, 2025
Tempo put out a whole slew of comic strip reprint paperbacks in their day. This one is a classic example, a top-tier strip that ran in well over a thousand newspapers, back when print ruled. Tempo pumped out many volumes of Beetle Bailey, this one presents a great collection of Sundays. Six panels spread over two pages in paperback format. Every character that I can remember gets at least a couple of panels, including a few I’d forgotten like Cosmo.
Sgt. Snorkel imagines himself as a Superman-type hero in a couple of dream strips, and in a campy Batman send-up as Fat Man, with Beetle as his sidekick Slobber. The strip maintains a high standard throughout with Mort Walker’s stellar cartooning chops, and is always entertaining if not hilarious with its character-driven situations and gags.
The collection provides a rare glimpse of Snorkel sans 100 pounds upon his return from a “fat farm.” And a rival Sargent Webbing, who tangles with Snorkel is a “curse-off.”
Nostalgic, but still solid in its own right, I’ll be happy to dig up more of Walker’s Camp Swampy (and its contemporaries ) courtesy of Tempo.
Sgt. Snorkel imagines himself as a Superman-type hero in a couple of dream strips, and in a campy Batman send-up as Fat Man, with Beetle as his sidekick Slobber. The strip maintains a high standard throughout with Mort Walker’s stellar cartooning chops, and is always entertaining if not hilarious with its character-driven situations and gags.
The collection provides a rare glimpse of Snorkel sans 100 pounds upon his return from a “fat farm.” And a rival Sargent Webbing, who tangles with Snorkel is a “curse-off.”
Nostalgic, but still solid in its own right, I’ll be happy to dig up more of Walker’s Camp Swampy (and its contemporaries ) courtesy of Tempo.
October 23, 2014
Beetle gets a fabulous idea that will wipe out war, but forgets it before he can find a pencil. Zero gets an idea and is so amazed that he stays up all night staring at the results. Sarge gets good ideas in his dreams; he's Super Sarge! This collection from the 1960's shows the wacky side of Army life, the peculiarities of soldiers from privates to generals. Mort Walker knows how to tickle funny bones, especially of ex-GIs like me.
March 18, 2019
Funny, and it is a good filler in between homework assignments.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews