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Camera-ready comic art drawing for Beetle Bailey

National Museum of American History

Object Details

graphic artist
Walker, Mort
publisher
King Features Syndicate
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Beetle Bailey comic strip shows Beetle asking what the Chaplain thinks about sneaking naps after being told “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Addison Morton "Mort" Walker (1923- ) was first published at age eleven, and soon afterward was drawing a weekly cartoon for the Kansas City Journal. After U.S. Army service in World War II, Walker began drawing a cartoon named Spider for the Saturday Evening Post. King Features Syndicate later contracted with him for the related comic strip devoted to the character Beetle Bailey. Walker also wrote for Hi and Lois, considered to be a spin-off of Beetle Bailey. More recently Walker has drawn the strip with the help of his sons.
Beetle Bailey (1950- ), a private in the U.S. Army, is regularly looking for a way to avoid doing work. He is memorable because his eyes are always covered by a hat or helmet. The strip location originally took place on a college campus but after a year Walker reimagined the location of the strip as a U.S. Army base called "Camp Swampy," where the characters seem to be stationed in never-ending basic training.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Newspaper Comics Council, Inc., New York, NY
1966-09-24
ID Number
GA.22533
catalog number
22533
accession number
277502
Object Name
drawing
Object Type
Drawings
Other Terms
drawing; Pen and Ink
Physical Description
paper (overall material)
ink (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 15.8 cm x 48.7 cm; 6 1/4 in x 19 3/16 in
See more items in
Work and Industry: Graphic Arts
Popular Entertainment
Military
Family & Social Life
Cultures & Communities
Comic Art
Communications
Art
National Museum of American History
Record ID
nmah_797256
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-8969-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

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Comic art by Mort Walker, Beetle Baily (Copyright King Features Syndicate)
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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