A cartoon character has the advantage of being able to stay the same, “timeless” over time. Tom and Jerry don’t change. They’re a cat and a mouse. But I’ve always found Beetle Bailey jarring. Boring, also, but putting that aside. The syndicate’s website explains that the strip’s army storyline started with Mort Walker, a WWII vet, making Beetle Bailey accidentally join the army during the Korean War “and the rest is comic-strip history.” Walker explains:

“It happened in 1951. He just walked by a sign that said ‘Uncle Sam Wants You’ and at that moment he felt like it would be nice to have somebody want. “

I guess there’s nothing wrong with a period piece in a comic strip. Still, don’t you wonder whether the cartoonist ever wants to tie in a comment to today’s events? From scrolling through a few recent strips I sense he doesn’t. Montykins has a theory that Otto the dog character has taken over the strip. You can see why! Oh wait, no you can’t. (Montykins’ theorem, by the way, is “Given enough time, comic strips inevitably tend to be about talking dogs”). Apparently Mort Walker, 82ish years old, doesn’t really draw it anymore, his son Greg does (it’s signed Greg + Mort Walker). Mort commented to a question about using the strip for commentary in that same interview:

“This is not an editorial cartoon, this is a cartoon that’s supposed to make people laugh and make their day a little brighter. The stuff you’re talking about belongs on the editorial page.”

I get his point, but it doesn’t make the strip good anymore than Doonesbury’s up-to-the-second topicality makes that good. Walker also created Hi and Lois. I wonder if that’s had more change.

Sometimes, though, Mort Walker would get racy with naked comic strip girls to publish in Sweden, where BB is very popular! Somehow the strip seems edgier in Swedish.

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