![]() EDITORS BANNED WALKER FROM DRAWING BELLY BUTTONS.įor decades, comic strips were perceived as being an all-ages form of entertainment and were often subjected to extreme forms of censorship. The ensuing attention led to even more success for the cartoon, adding 100 newspapers to its roster. Again, Stars and Stripes decided to ban the strip for fear it would incite racial tension among servicemen some newspapers in the South also dropped the strip. In 1970, Walker “integrated” Beetle’s Camp Swampy by introducing Lt. IT WAS CRITICIZED FOR INTRODUCING A BLACK CHARACTER. The strip was eventually syndicated to more than 1800 papers. (Beetle was lazy and typically disinterested in following orders.) The prohibition lasted for a decade and was subjected to so much ridicule that Beetle became a recurring presence in newspaper headlines. military’s Stars and Stripes newspaper, which had been running the strip, banned it from its Tokyo editions over fears it might incite disrespect toward commanding officers. Then Walker got an unexpected promotional boost. In the 1950s, Beetle Bailey took its place as a steady but otherwise unremarkable addition to the comics pages. (Walker himself had been drafted, serving four years during World War II.) Debuting in 1950, Beetle Bailey set a record for the longest continuous work by a comic strip artist: Walker worked on it for 68 years. Inspired, he retrofitted the strip so that barracks would take the place of a dorm. Changing his name to Beetle Bailey-the surname was a nod to a supportive editor at the Post-Walker had him wander into an Army recruiting station. While drawing cartoons for The Saturday Evening Post, he decided to try creating a story around a university student named Spider who kept his hat pulled over his eyes and tried to navigate college life by doing as little as possible. Walker’s initial idea for a strip didn’t feature any fatigues or military equipment. Check out some facts about Beetle’s origins, his brush with seriousness, and why Walker got in trouble for drawing navels. ![]() ![]() In addition to the suburban family comedy Hi and Lois, Walker spearheaded the military farce Beetle Bailey, about a beleaguered recruit trying the patience of his commanding officer, the rather abusive Sergeant Snorkel. It’s exceptionally rare for a cartoonist to have one breakout strip, but the late Mort Walker (1923-2018) managed to have two. ![]()
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