Mort Walker is a connoisseur of empty space. His character design is wonderful, certainly, but with Walker the brilliance is that which is not drawn. A Walker page or cover (or word balloon) is never crowded, and unused space serves a master purpose: "Emptiness" pleases and guides the eye.
A few interesting facts about Mort Walker and Beetle Bailey:
- In 1954, Beetle Bailey was dropped from the Tokyo edition of Stars & Strips. Editors feared the character promoted a lack of respect for officers.
- In 1970, Walker introduced Lt. Jack Flap, thereby marking the first time a black character was integrated into a comic strip with an all white cast.
- Both the above bits of trivia resulted in a significant increase in the strip's popularity and circualation.
- In 2000, the United States Army awarded Mort Walker the Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service at the Pentagon. The decoration is the hightest honor given to a civilian by the U.S. Army.
Hi and Lois (Mort Walker and co-creator/artist Dik Browne) first appeared in 1954, when Beetle Bailey went home on Furlough to visit is sister, Lois, and his brother-in-law, Hi.
For some enjoyable minutes (or hours), please visit Mort Walker's website at http://www.mortwalker.com/
Not sure who did the covers and interiors for these and other Dell/Gold Key books for Walker, but it might have been one of his assistants. True to the Walker style, though.
ReplyDeleteGary: According to the Grand Comic Book Database both cover and stories for this King issue were all by Mort Walker (both art and script). If it was an assistant, they sure have his style down cold. Thanks for the comment!
ReplyDeleteI read Walker's book "Backstage at the Strips" years ago, and he stated that Bob Gustafson did much of the art for the Beetle comic books. (Gustafson drew the "Tillie the Toiler" strip in its last years.)
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