BEETLE BAILEY 70TH

Happy 70th anniversary to comic strip, Beetle Bailey! It's actually a special week because cartoonist Mort Walker was born yesterday, in 1923! Mort is best known for comic strips Beetle Bailey and Hi & Lois, but in fact he was constantly creating new strips and projects he thought might benefit others (and maybe make a buck, too). He described himself to me as a “human inventing machine” and quipped “Seven days without laughter makes one weak.” Mort was a child prodigy who was endlessly enthusiastic about comics and jokes. He was selling work by 12, editorial designer at Hallmark by 18, humor mag editor in college, top magazine cartoonist by 27 -with Beetle syndicated that same year.

He loved the form and constantly fought to elevate comics, whether through battles over rights and contracts, leading the NCS, launching the comic US postage stamps, lending his talents to a variety of causes, or through his persistent dream to see a major comic museum thrive in the States. Mort was a great supporter of young cartoonists, sponsored new members in the NCS, and welcomed all into his life with a friendly, Huckleberry Hound voice (as Chance Browne once characterized it) and with a kind heart that seemed to say “the more the merrier.”

He sure loved the laughs, the wisecracks, but he could also listen when he needed to; his understanding and attitudes evolved. Trina Robbins told me this great story: “In about 1979 or 80, he came to the San Diego Comic Con and we women underground cartoonists all came to see his panel and challenge him. When I asked him about his in famous remark [about women not having a sense of humor], his reply showed how stereotyped his thinking was. He said (I’m paraphrasing) that he was surprised that there were so few women cartoonists because drawing comics was something you could do while the baby is sleeping or the laundry was getting done. We women walked out. But I’ll say this for him: he was good natured and open minded about it. Next time I saw him was at the SF Cartoon Art Museum, where I told him that I had considered pie-ing him, so that when he got mad I could tell him he had no sense of humor. My conversation with him opened his mind a little and he put on the first ever show of women cartoonists at his museum. And when he wrote to me announcing the show and asking my participation (remember letters?) he ended the letter by writing, ‘Next time we meet, I want the pie.’”

I began my book, Talking Mort Walker: A Life in Comics before he died in January 2018 and I was able to launch it in honor of his birthday that year. The book grew into a massive 700+ page anthology covering his entire career and it includes everything, from his first interviews to his memorial service, as well as articles, unpublished photos, college-era cartoons, and correspondences. After Mort’s passing, the cartoon community gathered in support and also contributed many tributes and memories, including Jim Davis, Patrick McDonnell, Jeannie Schulz, Lynn Johnston, Jenny Robb, R.C. Robert Harvey, Rick Marschall, Dave Astor, Cullen Murphy, Bill Griffith, Cathy Guisewite, Chance Browne, Guy Gilchristt, Jim Keefe, Rick Kirkman, Ray Billingsley, Mike Lynch, Jerry Scott, Mike Peters, Greg Evans, Blitz, Brian and Greg Walker, and many others.

Time marches on and I see my students discover the creative works of their own time (some of them now are even publishing in The New Yorker!). But I hope the cartooning community will always save a special place for that enthusiastic kid named Mort, who perpetually nurtured his first great love- the funnies. Happy Birthday, Mort! We miss you. Below: celebrating a couple of fun 1960s topical stories from Beetle Bailey.

Mort's character, Sarge, had an on-going series of gags that featured various fantasy and pop-culture inspired dreams caused by his culinary indulgences. One of the key moments for Spy Vibers was this fun August 1966 homage to James Bond and Thunderball.

Beetle Bailey #38 appeared on the newsstands one year after the construction of the Berlin Wall. The issue featured a memorable cover design that depicted Beetle roasting marshmallows over a campfire and the bold title, Beetle Bailey in West Berlin by Mort Walker. Released in 1962, the same year as Deighton's The Ipcress File and the first 007 film, Dr No, the lead story in the comic addressed themes that would become popularized later with Le Carre's The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1963), Deighton's Funeral in Berlin (1964), and Trevor's The Quiller Memorandum (1965). 

Summary: The 8-page story begins with a simple delivery to General Halftrack. As Beetle makes his way through the compound with a box of food, Colonel Grimshaw shows the General a photograph of top Russian spy, Boris Popoffsky. Of course, the enemy agent is a dead ringer for Beetle and our poor hero is quickly arrested and threatened with the firing squad! Luckily the real Russian agent is captured on a jet bound for Germany, and interrogators go to work on him off-screen to get useful information about his operation. With Beetle's identity cleared, the government boys realize they can now use him to trap Popoffsky's network. Beetle finds himself on a mission to Berlin! 

Beetle's contact man leads him to a secret rendezvous, where the enemy is hiding in a tunnel under the wall. Agent Beetle doses them with tear gas and helps the Secret Service and Military Police capture the spy ring. The story includes some elements that function well as a time capsule, like US agents in black suits and hats, spies in trench coats, Beetle's disguise as a European sailor-type, and early commentary on the quality of life at the Wall. As Beetle looks at an East Berlin checkpoint, sporting the slogan of the so-called "Workers' Paradise" and teeming with barbed wire, water hoses, and a tank, he declares, "It's a mighty grim-looking paradise!" He seems to capture the popular response that many had at the time, suggesting that East Germany couldn't have been such an ideological utopia if its citizens were desperate to escape.

Spy Vibers can find my book, Talking Mort Walker, at all Amazon sites. Here are links to Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Amazon Australia. Enjoy! Below: Mort in his studio. No matter what age we found him, he was always that enthusiastic kid at the drawing table following his bliss. 

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CHARLES SCHULZ MODERN

Cartoonist Charles Schulz was born on this day in 1922. Mr. Schulz got his start doing spot illustrations and found he had a special knack for drawing kids. His early series of gags, under the title Li'l Folks, later evolved into Charlie Brown and the gang as he worked to develop a serialized project for syndication. Peanuts made its debut in 1950, the same year as Beetle Bailey, and Charles Schulz was soon brought into the National Cartoonists Society by his colleague, Mort Walker (see my 700+ page book about Walker here). The rest is, well, history and a whole lot of creative genius and ink! Mr. Schulz's strip offered an unusually candid look into the depths of human emotions, and his insights were coupled with universal, down-to-earth observations and groundbreaking inventiveness. As a kid I loved Snoopy's Walter Mitty-like adventures, and I could identify with the child characters as they navigated the complex world. Even as an adult I sometimes understand my own emotional landscape and ways of dealing with life's challenges through the truths he explored on paper. Charles Schulz was -and is still- my hero. More below. 

One of the great benefits of living on the west coast is being near the Charles Schulz Museum. There was an exhibit a few years back that really offered me a new perspective into Mr. Schulz's life that I hadn't seen before. My own background was growing up in New England and knowing cartoonists Dik Browne (Hagar, Hi and Lois) and Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey). I was used to seeing artists working in those cozy, colonial-style settings that are common on the east coast. So when I looked at the simplicity of Peanuts interiors, for example, I saw it more as a minimalist choice in the drawings. But here was a museum show entitled "Mid-Century Modern" that focussed on design and Mr. Schulz's life. I attended a special preview for members -and boy, was it a thrill! The central rotating gallery had been transformed into a stylish tour through the post-war lifestyle that Mr. Schulz and so many others embodied. In partnership with the Eames family, Herman Miller, and local designers, the museum was able to display many vintage pieces. Staged rooms and artifacts from the Schulz family circa 1955 came together to illustrate elements of the growth of leisure culture in America during that period. The exhibit featured evidence of Mr. Schulz's pastimes, such as bowling, billiards, abstract art, listening to records, riding bicycles with the kids, and spending time by the pool. His first wife, Joyce, was famously enthusiastic about architecture and design. From the early 1950s through the later building of their Sebastopol home, Joyce had a keen eye for modern drapery, furniture, and what the Saturday Review called "simplicity amid sophistication." Here are two snapshots below to give readers a taste of the rooms in the exhibit. One really had to be there, taking in the many displays and small collection of comics -all set to the sounds of Dave Brubeck (see my last post!), Stan Getz, and Miles Davis- to truly appreciate what the museum had achieved.

The museum's gift shop featured some cool new products inspired by the exhibit, including Mid-Century Modern Peanuts handkerchiefs, shirts, and coasters (see below).

As a cartoon art teacher I always include a brief history of comic strips and comic books in my classes. Students are often amazed to see original Sunday pages from the early days because newspapers printed the strips so large! Even if kids don't know the comics, it's impressive to see an entire newspaper page devoted to the likes of Dick Tracy, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers. To the students, the art seems more akin to comic books than the strips they saw growing up. I ask them why, and with a little prodding they start to notice the details in the backgrounds, the figures, and the shading. What lovely cross-hatching! Around the mid-century, editors wanted to increase readership by printing more strips -but without devoting any more pages to the funnies. The solution, of course, was to shrink down the size of the art and crowd more titles onto each page. Deprived of the full space, all that cross-hatching and careful detail blocked up and became obsolete. The design approach had to change to express not only the size limitations of printing, but ultimately to catch up with the sensibilities of the post-war. After all, this was not the era of Deco parlors weighted down by heavy, ornate furniture. It was a new generation ushering in aesthetics based on clean, minimal forms and reflecting what Hefner called the "personal utopia." Along with innovators in architecture and design, comic creators also needed to join this shift to survive (and fit!) on the page. The two groundbreaking strips that began in 1950 were perfectly tailored for modern demands: Beetle Bailey by Mort Walker and Peanuts by Charles Schulz. 

As mentioned above, The Mid-Century exhibit brought viewers into Mr. Schulz's living room via period furniture and decor; it also featured strips from the era that, within this context, helped me to recognize that the world of Peanuts was not simply "minimal" as an aesthetic choice. In fact, Mr. Schulz designed and decorated the strip's environment to echo his own California modernism. His work was autobiographical, once again! Well, Mr. Schulz did once say that if we really wanted to know him, all we had to do was to look at his strip. Below: March 1953 Sunday strip and detail.

In the museum's brochure, Trope Group owner Christina Pratt pointed out that Mr. Schulz's panels offer us a window into the cartoonist's home itself. In one comic printed for the show, she pointed out that we can see Bonet's BKF Chair (1938) and the famous Molded Plywood/Low Side Chair by Eames (1946). Pratt wrote that the exhibit featured other Herman Miller licensed designs by Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi, George Nelson, and others. I think visitors saw not only a time-capsule of Mid-Century Modern design, but also how Mr. Schulz (and Mort Walker) created comics during that same wave of simple and playful lines. Time capsules in both form and content. And with that, Happy Birthday to Charles Schulz. I hope he knows somehow that we are still curious, still looking, still learning about him -and through his work, also learning about ourselves. 

I was the artist-in-residence at the Charles Schulz Museum a while back. You can see a photo of my boyhood dream coming true- to sit at Mr. Schulz's drawing table- here (thanks to Brian Fies!). Trivia: check out the art school my family started back in 1916: the New York School of Interior Design. Related post: Cold War Comic Strips, Mort Walker Celebration, Beetle Bailey in Berlin, Mort Walker's James Bomb, Comics Week: Archie, Cold War Archie, Archie: Man From Riverdale, Cold War Materials, Atomic Art, Spyman, Jimmy Olson: Agent Double 5, 1966 PEP Spies. Enjoy! Below: March 1952 Sunday panel detail. 

Selected Spy Vibe Posts: Paul Desmond, Python 50th, Randall Hopkirk 50th, Thunderbirds Day, Lazenby Returns to MI6, Dr. John R.I.P., Spy Vibe Radio: Lupin III, Lupin Ska, Spy Vibe Prime, Zigomar Translation, The Village: Part 1, Monkey Punch R.I.P., Bubble Girl 63, ITC Soundtracks, Spy Vibe Radio: Public Eye, UFO Prime, Spaceship to Mars, Modesty Blaise Companion, Spy Vibe Radio: Fantomas, George Day, Fantomas Blu, Dark Shadows Doc, Bedazzled Blu-ray, Mary Quant Exhibit, Laika Calypso, Lost in Space Japan, Spy Dust Calypso, Atomic Cafe, John Barry Mono, Interview: John Barry Book, Land of the Giants Score, Skyfall Concert, Dearest Emma, Spy Vibe Radio: Upperseven, Ogilvy at Elstree, Mabuse Propaganda, Bond Beatles Day, Spy Vibe Radio: Liquidator, Diabolik LP, Fab Dresses, Eurospy Music Collection, Beetle Bailey in West Berlin, Why Mort Walker?, Spy Vibe radio: The Beatles Help!, Avengers Critical Guide, The Spotnicks, Benny Spies, James Pond 0017', Satire Stones, Annette Andre Book, Cat Day, Spy Vibe Radio: Get Smart, Caine: My Generation, Interview: Ian Ogilvy, Horror of Party Beach, Sylvie Vartan Renown, Ringo At 78, Dark Shadows Strips, Spy Vibe Radio: Flint, Archie Batman 66, Paul at 76, Beatles Pac-Man, Spy Vibe Radio: Jerry Cotton, The Invaders, 007 Horowitz Book Tour, McGoohan/Prisoner Event at Elstree, The Prisoner Interviews Vol 1, British Underground Press, Interview: Fab4 Mania, Bond Cocktail Book, Bond at Bletchley, Spy Smasher, Spy Vibe Radio: Peter Gunn, Agent Zero M, New Prisoner Comic, Dr. No Villains Edition,  Spy Vibe Radio: Danger Diabolik, Dr. No 60th, Oy-Oy-Seven, Spy Vibe Radio (UFO), Cold War Comic Strips, Thunderball Event, Mission to India, Mort Walker Celebration,  Peter Wyngarde Celebration, Batman 66 Exhibit, Prisoner Fifty Event, Ian Fleming Publications 2017-2018, Interview: Ed Hulse Pulp, Avengers Audio Drama, Interview: Callan At 50, Interview: Playboys, Spies, Private Eyes, TWA Returns, Spy Vibe Radio 8, Interview: Ryan Heshka, Mid-Century Modern Schulz, Agent Werewolf, Johnny Sokko 50th, Interview: Trina Robbins, Eddie Izzard, The Prisoner Capt Scarlet 50th, Hugh Hefner R.I.P., Jack Good R.I.P., Interview: Shaken Not Stirred, Callan 50th, Spy Vibe Radio 7, The Prisoner 50th Event, Spy-Fi Event, Kaho Aso 007, Two Million, Bo Diddley, Carnaby Pop, Le Carre Events, Billy Bragg Skiffle, Elvis 68, Jack Kirby The Prisoner, Casino Royale Concert, Review: The Prisoner Vol 2, Interview: The Prisoner Essential Guide, Maud Russell Mottisfont, Spy Vibe Radio 4, Batman Gallants, Adam West R.I.P., Village Triangle, Roger Moore R.I.P., Spy Vibe Radio 3, Sgt Pepper 50th, Satanik Kriminal OST, 60s Overdrive, Make Love in London, Spy Vibe Radio 2, Spy Vibe Radio 1, James Bond Strips, Propaganda Mabuse, Interview: Police Surgeon, XTC Avengers, 1966 Pep Spies, Batman Book Interview, Exclusive Fleming Interview, Avengers Comic Strips, Robert Vaughn RIP, UNCLE Fashions, Thunderbirds Are Pop!, Interview: Spy Film Guide, Lost Avengers Found, The Callan File, Mission Impossible 50th, Green Hornet 50th, Star Trek 50th, Portmeirion Photography 1, Filming the Prisoner, Gaiman McGinnins Project, Ian Fleming Grave, Revolver at 50, Karen Romanko Interview, Mod Tales 2, Umbrella Man: Patrick Macnee, New Beatles Film, The Curious Camera, Esterel Fashion 1966, Exclusive Ian Ogilvy Interview, 007 Tribute Covers, The Phantom Avon novels return, Ian Fleming Festival, Argoman Design, Sylvia Anderson R.I.P., Ken Adam R.I.P., George Martin R.I.P., The New Avengers Comics, The Phantom at 80, 007 Manga, Avengerworld Book, Diana Rigg Auto Show, The Prisoner Audio Drama Review.