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The Best of Beetle Bailey
Beetle Bailey has over 200 million daily readers and appears in almost 2,000 newspapers worldwide. Few strips have the popularity of staying power of Beetle Bailey , able to entertain readers for over five decades. As creator or co-creator of eight other popular comic strips, including Hi & Lois and Boner's Ark , Mort Walker is the most widely published cartoonist in comics history. It's a testament to Walker's genius and Beetles' Universal appeal. Walker created Beetle Bailey just before the Korean War, and the strip has evolved into a comics page staple where the fun, but ineffectual, denizens of Camp Swampy exist in a place long forgotten by the Pentagon. At the bottom of the heap is Beetle Bailey, the eternal private who sees his duty as sleeping whenever possible, needling Sarge, and avoiding work at all costs. But Sergeant Orville P. Snorkel has different ideas--he may beat up on "his boys," but he then takes them out for a beer. General Halftrack is more concerned with ogling Miss Buxley than running the camp. And with inept officers like Major Greenbrass, Lieutenant Fuzz, and Lieutenant Flap, nothing ever gets done. But that doesn't keep the troops from complaining, or getting into one hilarious mess after another. Beetle Bailey, the character, may never get a promotion, but Beetle Bailey , the comic strip, has made it to the top.
- GenresComicsComic Strips
242 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1984
30 people want to read
About the author
Mort Walker
406 books19 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."
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 29, 2019
For those of the younger generation, the cartoon character Beetle Bailey was the army's answer to the sheriff's Barney Fife. And if you are so young you still don't get it, Google it.
At age 11 Morton Walker had his first cartoon published. By age 14 he had sold more than 70 drawings. Those of us who grew up reading the Sunday 'funnies' in color will remember such icons as 'Hi and Lois', 'Boner's Ark', Gamin and Patches, Mrs. Fitz's Flats', The Evermores', 'Sam's Strip', 'Sam and Silo', and of course 'Beetle Bailey'. Those were all the brainchildren of Mort. Mort Walker was to the 'funnies' as Stan Lee was to the comic books. The man was a genius. When many cartoonists ran out of gags and fell to the wayside, Mort, like Beetle Bailey, soldiered on. When many cartoonists reran gags when they went on vacation, Mort churned out something new everyday, for some 33 years. Now that was some kind of achievement!
In today's world there are many who would find offense to some of his gags, just as the army did back in the day. That was because he, like many famous cartoonists and comedians, knew human nature and exaggerated it for us to show us how silly we were. Of course the craziest things were saved for the officers, the Pentagon, and other symbols of authority which made it all the funnier.
His characters came and went over the years. Heck, even Beetle Bailey, the star of the show, didn't even make it big till he left college and joined the army. That was when the strip took off. Sure, the characters were stereotypes, but they were in a way that was socially acceptable back then.
"Zero was the naïve farm boy with the innocent heart of a child." How could you not love him? Killer was the womanizer who's hat wiggled whenever a female came into view. Cookie naturally was the cook, a real slob who evidently could not cook and whom the army in all their wisdom therefore made a cook! General Halftrack can't run the camp, is afraid of his wife, loves golf, and is ignored by the Pentagon. Miss Buxley, the gorgeous doll, became the general's secretary whose good looks caused many a problem in one way or another. Lt. Flap was the Afro-American lieutenant whom Mort introduced to include blacks, but not in a way that seem racially offensive. The list goes on and on. And then there was Beetle Bailey and Sarge.
Sarge was Bailey's Sergeant who one minute could be pounding him into a pile of rubble with fists or words alone for being the laziest, biggest goof-off in the army, if not the world, and then taking him to the PX afterwards to make things right. In spite of what appeared to be cartoon violence on Sarge's part, Bailey often took Sarge home with him on leave, so that says something about the perceived violence.
It has been awhile since I have read the Sunday papers, with the inflation driving up the price of a paper while shrinking the size of it at the same time, so I don't know if any of Mort's cartoons are still carried or not. But this I do know, for many of us, Beetle Bailey will live on in our memories as probably one of the funniest things other than the WWII 'Willy and Joe' cartoons to ever come out of the army.
On closing I will share one of my favorite. Miss Buxley just finished sending out the day's orders for the camp. General Halftrack says to her that she should have let him proofread them first. She starts to cry and says he doesn't trust in her ability to do things right. In response he tries to comfort her and assures her that he has faith in her. In the last frame of the cartoon he is saying to himself that he still wishes he had checked those orders while outside his window you see Sarge marching the troops, each of whom has a flower pot on their head, another group is marching with balloons, while the jeep and barracks are being painted with funny designs. Well, it was pretty funny in print.
At age 11 Morton Walker had his first cartoon published. By age 14 he had sold more than 70 drawings. Those of us who grew up reading the Sunday 'funnies' in color will remember such icons as 'Hi and Lois', 'Boner's Ark', Gamin and Patches, Mrs. Fitz's Flats', The Evermores', 'Sam's Strip', 'Sam and Silo', and of course 'Beetle Bailey'. Those were all the brainchildren of Mort. Mort Walker was to the 'funnies' as Stan Lee was to the comic books. The man was a genius. When many cartoonists ran out of gags and fell to the wayside, Mort, like Beetle Bailey, soldiered on. When many cartoonists reran gags when they went on vacation, Mort churned out something new everyday, for some 33 years. Now that was some kind of achievement!
In today's world there are many who would find offense to some of his gags, just as the army did back in the day. That was because he, like many famous cartoonists and comedians, knew human nature and exaggerated it for us to show us how silly we were. Of course the craziest things were saved for the officers, the Pentagon, and other symbols of authority which made it all the funnier.
His characters came and went over the years. Heck, even Beetle Bailey, the star of the show, didn't even make it big till he left college and joined the army. That was when the strip took off. Sure, the characters were stereotypes, but they were in a way that was socially acceptable back then.
"Zero was the naïve farm boy with the innocent heart of a child." How could you not love him? Killer was the womanizer who's hat wiggled whenever a female came into view. Cookie naturally was the cook, a real slob who evidently could not cook and whom the army in all their wisdom therefore made a cook! General Halftrack can't run the camp, is afraid of his wife, loves golf, and is ignored by the Pentagon. Miss Buxley, the gorgeous doll, became the general's secretary whose good looks caused many a problem in one way or another. Lt. Flap was the Afro-American lieutenant whom Mort introduced to include blacks, but not in a way that seem racially offensive. The list goes on and on. And then there was Beetle Bailey and Sarge.
Sarge was Bailey's Sergeant who one minute could be pounding him into a pile of rubble with fists or words alone for being the laziest, biggest goof-off in the army, if not the world, and then taking him to the PX afterwards to make things right. In spite of what appeared to be cartoon violence on Sarge's part, Bailey often took Sarge home with him on leave, so that says something about the perceived violence.
It has been awhile since I have read the Sunday papers, with the inflation driving up the price of a paper while shrinking the size of it at the same time, so I don't know if any of Mort's cartoons are still carried or not. But this I do know, for many of us, Beetle Bailey will live on in our memories as probably one of the funniest things other than the WWII 'Willy and Joe' cartoons to ever come out of the army.
On closing I will share one of my favorite. Miss Buxley just finished sending out the day's orders for the camp. General Halftrack says to her that she should have let him proofread them first. She starts to cry and says he doesn't trust in her ability to do things right. In response he tries to comfort her and assures her that he has faith in her. In the last frame of the cartoon he is saying to himself that he still wishes he had checked those orders while outside his window you see Sarge marching the troops, each of whom has a flower pot on their head, another group is marching with balloons, while the jeep and barracks are being painted with funny designs. Well, it was pretty funny in print.
September 21, 2019
Mort Walker is one of those cartoonists who’s easy to take for granted. When I was a kid, just starting to get interested in the comics section of my parents’ newspaper, Beetle Bailey had already been around for about twenty-five years. Walker represented old school cartooning. I was more interested in the modern stuff: Bloom County, Doonesbury, the Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes, even Garfield. I certainly didn't hate Beetle or anything, just didn't think much of it one way or the other.
But then this book came along in the early 80's, and I got a look at the strip’s genesis, and at how Walker’s drawing style shifted over the years. There actually used to be more detail in the art. Heck, there used to be backgrounds. As the size of the average comic strip shrank, Walker dialed back on the artwork and on the amount of dialogue. The strip today--is it still running today? I haven't bought a newspaper in years--is decidedly different from what it once was. Still recognizable, sure, but different.
The fact is, for the first year or so, Beetle Bailey was a college student. After about a year of college gags, Walker decided to have him enlist in the army. The Korean War was just starting up at the time. The strip took off in popularity, so Walker stuck with the army theme, and the rest is history.
The book gives all sorts of behind the scenes details. We get a glimpse of the writing process, tons of classic strips including the first appearances of the various characters (as well as several characters who fell by the wayside), a selection of strips that were never run (mainly due to content issues), a look at various controversies over the years (Beetle was actually banned from the Tokyo edition of Stars and Stripes.) The book even includes a strip done for Mad magazine, in which Walker parodies soap opera style strips.
One interesting bit of trivia: Hi and Lois actually made their debut in Beetle Bailey. In a sequence in which Beetle returned home on leave for the holidays, his sister Lois is also there, along with her husband, Hiram--Hi, to his friends--and their baby. Obviously their appearance was tinkered with--and their family was expanded by two children--for their debut in their own strip.
Needless to say, this book gave me a new respect for Mort Walker’s talents. Yes, there are comic strips out there that I like better, but Beetle Bailey certainly deserves its classic status. Recommended!
But then this book came along in the early 80's, and I got a look at the strip’s genesis, and at how Walker’s drawing style shifted over the years. There actually used to be more detail in the art. Heck, there used to be backgrounds. As the size of the average comic strip shrank, Walker dialed back on the artwork and on the amount of dialogue. The strip today--is it still running today? I haven't bought a newspaper in years--is decidedly different from what it once was. Still recognizable, sure, but different.
The fact is, for the first year or so, Beetle Bailey was a college student. After about a year of college gags, Walker decided to have him enlist in the army. The Korean War was just starting up at the time. The strip took off in popularity, so Walker stuck with the army theme, and the rest is history.
The book gives all sorts of behind the scenes details. We get a glimpse of the writing process, tons of classic strips including the first appearances of the various characters (as well as several characters who fell by the wayside), a selection of strips that were never run (mainly due to content issues), a look at various controversies over the years (Beetle was actually banned from the Tokyo edition of Stars and Stripes.) The book even includes a strip done for Mad magazine, in which Walker parodies soap opera style strips.
One interesting bit of trivia: Hi and Lois actually made their debut in Beetle Bailey. In a sequence in which Beetle returned home on leave for the holidays, his sister Lois is also there, along with her husband, Hiram--Hi, to his friends--and their baby. Obviously their appearance was tinkered with--and their family was expanded by two children--for their debut in their own strip.
Needless to say, this book gave me a new respect for Mort Walker’s talents. Yes, there are comic strips out there that I like better, but Beetle Bailey certainly deserves its classic status. Recommended!
November 18, 2012
A great selection of strips from the past 33 years(as of 1984)of Beetle Bailey. Includes strips from Beetle's college life.
August 4, 2016
A NICE ASSORTMENT
I read this book aloud with my teen sons. I expected that "the best" meant "the funniest", but it wasn't any funnier than Beetle in other formats that we've read. Beetle is, after all, a consistently high-quality comic. Rather, they chose an assortment of comics focusing on various characters and themes and how they changed over time. It was also interesting to read about the cartoonist's experiences and artistic choices.
I read this book aloud with my teen sons. I expected that "the best" meant "the funniest", but it wasn't any funnier than Beetle in other formats that we've read. Beetle is, after all, a consistently high-quality comic. Rather, they chose an assortment of comics focusing on various characters and themes and how they changed over time. It was also interesting to read about the cartoonist's experiences and artistic choices.
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July 10, 2021Iz nekog razloga, ovo je omiljeni strip mog sina. Sviđa mu se više od Taličnog Toma, Iznoguda i Asteriksa, što mi je malo teško da prihvatim, ali očito Bili ima neki tajni recept za glasno dečačko smejanje i prepričavanje fazona.
May 26, 2025
Since it kind of slipped out of pop culture in the forty-odd years since this retrospective was published, it’s kind of easy to take Beetle Bailey for granted. Actually, my experiences with it began after this thirty-year look even happened, which is just odd to think. It has been taken for granted. And it’s as strong a testament to the art form as any other. It’s probably the grandfather of the form as we know it today. (Just have a read at Mort’s predictions for the future; Stephan Pastis could’ve written them.) A nice reminder of what can be so easy to forget.
May 7, 2015
Instantly recognizable style. Gags are ok, not anything special. I didn't really care for the characters. Most interesting thing was seeing some of the original college strips before it became an army comic.
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