European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 19, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Kiazin Beetle Bailey 40 years As a professional privately Mik Genalo new York Bureau some soldiers count the Days until their three years Are up. Not Beetle Bailey. He joined the army a and the comics pages a 40 years ago. Somehow he s managed to hang in there surviving the frequent beatings from sgt. Snorkel. Yet after All those years of Loyal service the pathetic private still has t been promoted. Although beetles military career May Border on tragedy he a a super Success As a comic strip character. In a recent Telephone interview Mort Walker Beetle s creator discussed the origins of the loveable Soldier As Well As his other comic strip characters. Beetle was originally introduced in 1950 As spider a College Cut up attending Rockview University. The characters in that Early strip were modelled after walkers fraternity Brothers at the University of Missouri. In 1951, with the korean War raging Beetle realizing All his Campus buddies were in uniform decided to join the army. Walker admits that Beetle was never Happy with that decision. A live had strips where Beetle was ready and anxious to get out Quot Walker said a but he never seems to do  Walker a Veteran of world War ii was drafted in 1942 and served his first 11/2 years As an enlisted Man. The army then sent him to officers candidate school and he was commissioned a second lieutenant. He was not a Quot ninety Day wonder As they were then known. A actually i was a 120-Day wonder. By the time i got to the school they had extended the course Quot he said. Again drawing on life a experiences Walker patterned his characters after people he knew while in the military. Sgt. Snorkel was based on a sergeant he had known during his Early Days in the service. He looked and acted just like snorkel and a believe it or not a he wrote poetry. Every Holiday the men in the unit would find one of his poems on their pillows. Many of the characters have names that fit their image the Young baby faced it. Fuzz the ladies Man killer the Genius essayist Graffiti artist Plato and the dim witted Zero. Other characters have names that relate to the military such As scabbard and Hal track. With the armistice in Korea Walker Felt that there would be limited interest in the Beetle strip so he sent him Home on furlough to visit his sister Lois and her husband. After Only a few weeks the letters started pouring in asking when Beetle was going to be Back in uniform. Walker sent Beetle Back to Camp swampy where he has remained Ever since. The furlough led to the creation of a new strip Walker in cooperation with Dik Browne the creator of Hagar went on to Syndicate the adventures of i and Lois. Walker who lives and works out of his Home studio in Connecticut is the Only cartoonist in the world with four comics in syndication simultaneously. In addition to Beetle and his collaboration with Browne on i amp Lois he has a hand in Boner s Ark under his first name Addison and a strip with Jerry Dumas called Sam amp silo. Walker has been adding new characters to the Beetle strip Over the years but Camp swampy has pretty much remained the same As it was 40 years ago. In 1970 he integrated the strip with the introduction of a Black Man it. Flap. The lieutenant came on the scene when he walked up to Sarges desk and asked a How come there s no Blacks in this Hankie outfit Quot this introduction of Flap caused a a Flap of sorts for Walker. While some Southern papers dropped the strip More than i00 others picked it up. There was also some criticism from the Black Community Over stereotyping. Walker has also found himself the target of charges of sexism and Lack of respect to military officers. In response to a letter to the editor of the stars and stripes charging him with sexism Walker replied a i attempt in my strip to show the stupidity of sexist attitudes. Perhaps in the depiction of these attitudes some readers May feel i m promoting the attitude. Not  in further defense he Points out a a Huxley always wins and the general always looks foolish in the  As for the treatment of military officers Walker had this to say. Quot everybody in my strip is stupid the least stupid Guy is Captain scabbard and he s an  in addition to the four strips Walker has also authored several books on the comics. There Are 26 Beetle Bailey books in print plus others featuring characters made popular by the strip. Beetle also appears in several european publications. Walker s work is meant to be enjoyed by All members of the family. He avoids topical controversy which he feels is not meant for the comics. He s just trying to entertain and amuse his readers a i think i just like to portray the Good human spirit Quot he said. / Aow saturday May 19, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 13