Beetle Bailey is still dodging duty 75 years later
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Camp Swampy celebrating Beetle Bailey's Birthday. Photo: Courtesy of "Beetle Bailey"
A Kansas City teenager's doodle of a lazy Army private who'd rather nap than salute is still appearing in the funny pages 75 years later.
Why it matters: "Beetle Bailey," created by Mort Walker in 1950, became one of the world's longest-running comic strips — a modest, often corny, slice of Midwestern humor built to make people smile. Today, Walker's sons keep the legacy going.
Catch up quick: Walker sold "Beetle Bailey" to King Features in 1950 as a college strip.
- Months later, with the Korean War underway, he had Beetle enlist, a shift that made the strip take off.
- The Army banned it from the Stars and Stripes publication for "insubordination," a controversy that doubled its readership.
- Today, Walker's sons Brian, Greg and Neal carry on the strip after decades of apprenticing under their dad.
What they're saying: "It's just amazing that it's still going after all these years," Greg told Axios. "Beetle has been part of our lives right from the beginning. I'm as old as him!"
- Brian recalled his father's approach: "He always wanted to make people feel comfortable and not be complicated or controversial. Just an entertainment break during the day."
- Neal added, "Beetle Bailey isn't really about the Army. It just happens to be funny people in that setting. They could just as easily be firemen or teachers."
State of play: Beetle Bailey endures at a time when newspaper comics — and the papers themselves — are vanishing. Just last month, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution announced it was ending its print edition after 157 years.
- Once-ubiquitous comic strips now face an uncertain future, with fewer outlets, tighter budgets and a shift to digital formats changing how (and whether) they reach readers.
The latest: The gag remains unchanged: Beetle as the everyman pushing back against authority. What has changed is the world around him.
- Cellphones, GPS and office politics now show up in jokes. Even Miss Buxley, once a secretary stereotype, has been rethought with more agency.
The big picture: Mort Walker's guiding principle was simple: "more funny pictures." His sons said he just wanted to "create smiles."
- That spirit is why readers still check in on characters like Sarge, who hides a soft side behind his bark, and Beetle, who refuses to be rattled.
What's next: The strip continues to run daily on Comics Kingdom. The family is marking the anniversary with retrospectives, including a new book, "75 Years of Smiles."