{"id":39615,"date":"2020-09-06T17:49:30","date_gmt":"2020-09-06T17:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/09\/06\/beetle-bailey-turns-70-will-he-tackle-tiktok-next-or-join-space-force\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:40:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:40:08","slug":"beetle-bailey-turns-70-will-he-tackle-tiktok-next-or-join-space-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/2020\/09\/06\/beetle-bailey-turns-70-will-he-tackle-tiktok-next-or-join-space-force\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Beetle Bailey\u2019 turns 70 \u2014 Will he tackle TikTok next? Or join Space Force?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Writers and cartoonists Greg and Brian Walker, whose father launched the comic strip “Beetle Bailey” talk about trying to modernize the famed character.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

\u201cBeetle Bailey,\u201d the comic strip centered around the perpetual goof-off and disobedient Army private, celebrated its 70th anniversary on Sept. 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Created by Mort Walker as a college themed strip in 1950, the strip follows Pvt. James \u201cBeetle\u201d Bailey and his Army buddies at Camp Swampy. It first became military-themed at the dawn of the Korean War, when Walker decided it was time Bailey enlisted in the Army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Beetle Bailey started off as a college student. Image courtesy of Bill and Greg Walker.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The strip is now penned by Walker\u2019s sons, Brian, Greg, and Neal, who told Military Times they are about to sign a new 10-year contract with King Features to keep the strip going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military Times caught up with the brothers in a Zoom interview to discuss the history and future direction of the comic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Some questions and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.)<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MT:<\/b> Obviously, there have been a number of changes in the military <\/a>over the past 70 years. What\u2019s it like to keep up with all that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GW:<\/b> We don\u2019t try too hard. You have to try to keep up with some things because things look funny if you don\u2019t change, like rotary dial phones … now they have cell phones or, you know, office phones. But Camp Swampy is kind of stuck in time. You know, the Jeeps look old<\/a> and the tanks look old and it\u2019s kind of like the Pentagon has forgotten about them or something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MT:<\/b> Is it based on a real post?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GW<\/b>: My dad was at Camp Crowder in Missouri<\/a>. And if you look at pictures, some of it is preserved. But you look at some of the buildings … that\u2019s exactly the way my dad drew it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BW<\/b>: The Army used to send my father all this research material, like photographs of the latest tanks and Jeeps and things like that. And he realized after a while that that Camp Swampy isn\u2019t really a real Army camp. It\u2019s sort of a daydream of an Army camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\t