April 9th, 2017

Timeline – 1962 Part 4

by Mort Walker

Beetle Bailey Sunday page color proof, June 10, 1962.

This is a classic Beetle Bailey Sunday page. Why? There are a number of reasons.

It uses a minimum of dialogue, which is not easy to do. It has action scenes as Sarge is shown running through a forest, swimming above a waterfall, swinging on a rope over a chasm, inching his way along a narrow mountain ledge and finally climbing to the top of a mountain. The view in panel #8 is spectacular, particularly with the colorful sky in the background.

This episode also highlights the essential relationship between Beetle and Sarge. Although they are cast as antagonists, Beetle and Sarge are, ultimately, friends. Beetle wanted to share the sunset with his buddy Sarge.

Of course, in the end, everything returns to normal with Sarge assigning Beetle to KP. They may be friends, but they also have roles to play.

Next week, we move on to they year 1963, so stay tooned for more classic color Sunday pages from our archives.

– Brian Walker