The Fifties

Beetle Bailey daily strip, November 25, 1953.

Mort Walker, in the anthology collection, The Best of Beetle Bailey, published in 1984, talked about the first decade of his creation. “My comic strip is much different today than it was thirty years ago. Back then people had more time and editors gave you more room. I used to draw more big scenes, more detail and more dialogue.”

Beetle Bailey daily strip, May 25, 1954.

“Today readers devote about seven seconds to the average strip,” Mort continued. “If it looks too wordy or complicated they’ll skip it. My style now is as crisp and to the point as I can make it. No fooling around with the fun.”

Beetle Bailey daily strip, August 21, 1958.

Stay tooned for more classic 1950s daily strips from our archives.

– Brian Walker