Popular Literature Paper
James A. Jones
SOC/105
12/11/2012
Mercedes Doris Ruiz

Popular Literature Paper

Beetle Bailey is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Mort Walker. The setting is a fictional Military base and is one of the oldest comic strips still running today. Walker created Beetle Bailey on September 4, 1950. He has been assisted by Jerry Dumas, Bob Gustafson, Frank Johnson and Walker’s sons Neal, Brian and Greg Walker.
The characters in the strip were created after Walkers fraternity brothers at the University of Missouri. Beetle was a college student at Rock view University, he quit school in the first year and enlisted in the U.S Army on March 13, 1951 and has remained there ever since.
Beetle Bailey is a sort of lazy private who just think he can sleep his way through the army, he always wears his headgear below his forehead so you never get to see his eyes, in the rare instance he is without headgear his eyes are covered by his hair he a misfit and suffers through constant physical and verbal abuse from his company sergeant and nemesis sergeant first class Orville P. Snorkel.
Beetle Bailey was circulated in the stars and stripes newspaper which is a military paper to boost military morale but it was banned from the japan issue because it was said be disrespectful to officers. The civilian papers thought it was funny and it continues to run today.
The stories change to fit the times but beetle is still a private and still wears the same uniform. Beetle is one of the funniest comics strips that is still running to date and the only one to have family with their own comic series, Beetle’s sister Lois Flagston and her husband Hiram “HI” are the star characters of HI and Lois another famous comic strip created by Mort Walker Although beetle goes through such scrutiny, K.P duty, being beat up by Sgt. Snorkel all the time. Orville Snorkel was introduced in 1951, he is from Pork Corners Kansas although obese and wearing a crinkled up garrison cap the army keeps him around and he and beetle are always in each other’s way there seem to be an understanding or love hate relationship between the two that makes this comic what it is today. Beetle Bailey became so liked that he successfully appeared in the comic books from 1953-1982 published by (Dell Comics) and in the late 1960’s a parody in mad magazine sarge and Captain Scabbard wrestled the cap off beetles head and revealed the words get out of Vietnam across his forehead displaying feelings of a social ,economic event of the time. Taking Beetle Bailey home to where it all began Mort Walker with his son Neal who assisted in the sculpting unveiled a life sized bronze statue designed by Mort Walker himself at his Alma Mater, the University Of Missouri on October 23, 1992.