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Talk:Football games

I propose this article do two things:
 * list all the sports which anyone, anywhere has EVER called "football"
 * possibly also compare and contrast these games

--Uncle Ed 19:44 Feb 19, 2003 (UTC)

 * If it's about all the games which are called "football", shouldn't the title be, er, football...? I'm now going to run away very quickly before I get caught in any gunfire here... Goodnight! -- Oliver P. 01:47 Feb 20, 2003 (UTC)

That seems like a good idea to me. We could also expand this article so that the historical developement of the family of games called football can be explained. But most of the links now pointing to football mean to go to football (soccer). These links need to be fixed first. --dan

 * All the links in the main namespace have been changed. The only ones left are in articles beginning with "wikipedia:", "talk:" or "user:". The links were not all intended for the football page. Were Deacon Jones and Bronco Nagurski footballers (soccer)? How about O.J. Simpson? There were several other American or Canadian football players linked to the football page. A number of links were obviously intended for a football games page. A lot of the links would have been wrong if things had been left the way they were.

 * Although I initially didn't like the idea of an article entitled football games, the more I think about it, it's not too bad. I think that may be the best name for a general article about the various forms of football. (in other words, I'm not sure)Bluelion

Oliver, re: "running away very quickly" above, note that the football article ends as follows:

Violence
This has a bad side, as groups of fanatics have often caused disturbances and sometimes tragedies (see hooligans and Football War).

--Uncle Ed 16:23 Feb 20, 2003 (UTC)

Re: "Flag (or touch) football" -- I recommend dropping the parenthetical term, choosing one name and redirecting the other. This would facilitate accidental linking. -- Stephen Gilbert 19:32 Feb 27, 2003 (UTC)

 * I was thinking that, too. Just changed it.  I would also dispute the necessity of having a seperate Canadian one, especially as neither article yet exists.  Bagpuss

I agree. Canadian and American flag and touch football could all be discussed in a single article. Some leagues play both. A page explaining the major differences between Canadian and American football might not be a bad idea. Or maybe that should be done on the 'football' page. Bluelion 15:29 Mar 4, 2003 (UTC)

 * Differences: A page linked from both sounds best to me.

 * Flag: At the risk of losing ground in the whole name debate, seems that Flag football would be a reasonable place to put that article. That is, after all, what they call it and there's nothing else by that name. Bagpuss

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Football games


text:
Barnaby (comics)

Barnaby is a comic strip which began April 20, 1942, in the newspaper PM and was later syndicated in 64 American newspapers (for a combined circulation of more than 5,500,000).

Created by Crockett Johnson, who is best known today for his children's book Harold and the Purple Crayon, the strip featured a cherubic-looking five-year-old and his far-from-cherubic fairy godfather, Jackeen J. O'Malley, a short, cigar-smoking man with four tiny wings. With a distinctive appearance because of its use of typography, the strip had numerous reprints and was adapted into a 1940s stage production. The usually caustic Dorothy Parker had nothing but praise: "I think, and I'm trying to talk calmly, that Barnaby and his friends and oppressors are the most important additions to American Arts and Letters in Lord knows how many years."

Characters and story
One night after having been read a fairy tale involving a fairy godmother by his mother, Barnaby Baxter receives a visit through his bedroom window by the cigar-wielding and pink wings-wearing Jackeen J. (J. J.) O'Malley, who announced that he was Barnaby's fairy godfather. This begins a series of adventures with Mr. O'Malley that frequently got the pair of them into a fair number of scrapes. However, most of them were either of Mr. O'Malley's making or resulted in embarrassment of some sort for the rather clumsy fairy godfather, a member of the Elves, Leprechauns, Gnomes, and Little Men's Chowder & Marching Society. A number of their adventures have surprising results (such as uncovering a gang of criminals hiding their loot in a supposedly haunted house, Barnaby's winning a scrap iron contest while out searching for a leprechaun's pot of gold, and unmasking a spy working in Mr. Baxter's office).

Barnaby's parents deny that Mr. O'Malley is real and take Barnaby to a number of child psychologists. This denial continues even when O'Malley is seen flying past their picture window, when he walks into their living room, and even after he is elected their representative to Congress.

As time passes, more characters are added, including: Jane Schultz, the little girl from down the street who originally didn't believe in Mr. O'Malley until she sees him, Gorgon, Barnaby's talking dog (who never talks in front of the adults), Gus the timid and glasses-wearing ghost, Atlas the Mental Giant (who is physically Barnaby's size), and Lancelot McSnoyd, the annoying invisible leprechaun who speaks with a Brooklyn accent.

The strip ended when Barnaby reached his sixth birthday, the magical point beyond which he could no longer have a fairy godfather. With much regret, O'Malley leaves.

History
Barnaby was primarily a daily strip which began April 20, 1942, and later had a short-lived Sunday strip (December 1, 1946, to May 30, 1948). Instead of hand-lettering, Barnaby used typography in the balloons. The typeface is Italic Futura Medium, which was designed by the German typographer Paul Renner in the 1920s.

In 1946, when Johnson began to concentrate on his children's books, the strip was drawn by Johnson's Connecticut neighbor, artist Jack Morley, who had previously drawn editorial cartoons for the New York Journal American. For a year, Morley collaborated on the writing of the strip with Ted Ferro, who teamed with his wife for nine years on their scripts for the daytime comedy-drama radio serial, Lorenzo Jones. The Morley/Ferro strips ran from December 31, 1945, to September 14, 1947.

Starting September 14, 1947, Johnson began scripting again, with Morley doing the art. Johnson assisted Morley by giving him specific layouts for each panel, and the credit "Jack Morley and CJ" was then used on the strip. The final story reached a conclusion on February 2, 1952.

Revival and reprints
The strip was briefly revived, with adaptations of the early stories minus their World War II references, for a run from September 12, 1960, to April 14, 1962. These strips were redrawn in Johnson's style by Warren Sattler.

Barnaby received much critical praise when it first appeared, and it has been reprinted in Barnaby Quarterly (three issues, 1940s), by Henry Holt and Company (two hardcover books, with strips redrawn), Dover books (reprinting the first hardcover, 1960s), Ballantine Books (six paperbacks, 1980s) and in Comics Revue magazine. These reprints still command high prices from used book dealers.

Fantagraphics Books has begun publishing a five-volume series of collections designed by Daniel Clowes, reprinting the entire original run (1942–1952) of the strip. The first volume became available in June 2013, the fourth volume in December 2020, and the fifth and final volume is forthcoming.

Theater
Jerome Chodorov wrote a stage adaptation, Barnaby and Mr. O'Malley, which was produced in 1946 by Barney Josephson and James D. Proctor. The play was not a success, with four total performances before it "closed for repairs", never to return. J. M. Kerrigan starred as O'Malley, Iris Mann played Jane, and Royal Dano had the role of the leprechaun Launcelot McSnoyd. Barnaby was portrayed by child actor Thomas William Hamilton, who would later become the namesake for the asteroid 4897 Tomhamilton.

The play was later adapted for television as a 1959 episode of the General Electric Theater, hosted by Ronald Reagan and starring Bert Lahr and Ron Howard.

1942

 * 1. Mr. O'Malley, Q1, B1, BB1, S, 60, CR, F1
 * 2. Blackout, BB1, F1
 * 3. Spies, BB1, F1
 * 4. Ogre, Q1, BB1, F1
 * 5. Psychologist, Q1, B1, BB1, 60, CR, F1
 * 6. Air Raid Warden, B1, BB1, F1
 * 7. McSnoyd, Q2, B1, BB1, F1
 * 8. Scrap Drive, Q2, B1, BB1, F1
 * 9. Jane, Q2, B1, BB2, 60, CR, F1
 * 10. Gorgon, Q2, B1, BB2, S, 61, CR, F1

1943

 * 11. Gus, Q3, B1, BB2, S, 61, CR, F1
 * 12. The Hot Coffee Ring, Q3, B1, BB2, 61, CR, F1
 * 13. Quartet, Q3, B2, BB2, F1
 * 14. Garden, B2, BB2, 61, CR, F1
 * 15. Lion, B2, BB2, 61, CR, F1
 * 16. Giant, B2, BB2, 61, CR, F1
 * 17. Gorgon's Father, B2, BB2, 61, CR, F1
 * 18. Kiddie Camp, BB2, F1
 * 19. O'Malley for Congress, B2, BB3, F1
 * 20. Investigating Santa, BB3, F1

1944

 * 21. In Training, BB3, F2
 * 22. Washington, BB3, F2
 * 23. Book on Pixies, BB3, 61, CR, F2
 * 24. Pop's Business, BB4, 61, CR, F2
 * 25. Pirate Treasure, BB4, F2
 * 26. Election 1944, BB4, F2
 * 27. Thanksgiving, BB4, F2
 * 28. Ermine Hunters, BB4, F2

1945

 * 29. Soap Salesman, BB5, F2
 * 30. Wizard of Wall Street, BB5, 62, CR, F2
 * 31. Witch, BB5, F2
 * 32. Aunt Minerva, BB5, F2
 * 33. Thanksgiving Dinner, BB6, F2
 * 34. Movie, BB6, F2
 * Crockett Johnson leaves the strip

1946

 * 35. Lectures, BB6, F3, written by Ted Ferro, drawn by Jack Morley
 * 36. Refrigerator Thief, BB6, F3
 * 37. Baseball), BB6, F3
 * 38. A House for Gorgon, F3
 * 39. School Board, F3
 * 40. A New Car, F3
 * 41. A Chemical Set for Christmas, F3

1947

 * 42. Shoes for Industry, F3
 * 44. O'Malley's Brother Orville, F3
 * 45. The Dog Show, F3
 * 46. At the Beach, F3
 * 47. Spraying, F3, Crockett Johnson writes some strips, which are signed Jack Morley and initialed CJ
 * 48. A Visit to Aunt Minerva, F3, CJ

1948

 * 49. The United Nations, F4, CJ
 * 50. Mother Baxter's Swamp Oil Eyewash, F4, CJ
 * 51. The License, F4, CJ
 * 52. The Little Theater, F4, CJ
 * 53. Kindergarten, F4, CJ
 * 54. The Exorcism, F4, CJ
 * 55. Jack Frost, F4, CJ

1949

 * 56. Fafnir the Dragon, F4, CJ
 * 57. The Hospital, F4
 * 58. The Museum, F4
 * 59. "The O'Malley Story", F4
 * 60. The Beach, F4
 * 61. College, F4
 * 62. Television, F4
 * 63. Pixies, F4

1952

 * Final Story: The Birthday, CR 188

title: Barnaby (comics)


text:
Beetle Bailey

Beetle Bailey is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Mort Walker, published since September 4, 1950. It is set on a fictional United States Army post. In the years just before Walker's death in 2018 (at age 94), it was among the oldest comic strips still being produced by its original creator. Over the years, Mort Walker had been assisted by (among others) Jerry Dumas, Bob Gustafson, Frank Johnson and Walker's sons, Neal, Brian and Greg Walker, who are continuing the strip after his death.

Overview
Beetle was originally a college student at Rockview University, as of September 4, 1950. Although he was as lazy in college as he would be in the service, he did have a broken down jalopy and was the star of the track team (apparently on a scholarship). He had four friends: Bitter Bill; Diamond Jim; Freshman and Sweatsock. He also smoked a pipe. The characters in that early strip were modeled after Walker's Kappa Sigma fraternity brothers at the University of Missouri. On March 13, 1951, during the strip's first year, Beetle quit school and enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he has remained ever since. His reason for enlisting was because he was running away after being nearly trapped by both his angry jealous first girlfriend "Buzz" and a second girl who was chasing him.

Most of the humor in Beetle Bailey revolves around the inept characters stationed at Camp Swampy (inspired by Camp Crowder, where Walker had once been stationed while in the Army), which is located near the town of Hurleyburg at "Parris Island, S.C." (a real-life Marine Corps base). Private Bailey is a lazy sort who usually naps and avoids work, and thus is often the subject of verbal and physical chastising from his senior NCO, Sergeant Snorkel. The characters never seem to see combat themselves, with the exception of mock battles and combat drills. In fact, they seem to be in their own version of stereotypical comic strip purgatory (initially basic training, they now appear to be stuck in time in a regular infantry division).

The uniforms of Beetle Bailey are still the uniforms of the late 1940s to early 1970s Army, with green fatigues and patrol caps as the basic uniform, and the open jeep as the basic military vehicle. Sergeant First Class Snorkel wears a green dress uniform with a heavily wrinkled garrison cap; the officers wear M1 helmet liners painted with their insignia. Despite this anachronism, modern weapons and equipment do make rare appearances. While Beetle Bailey's unit is Company A, one running gag is that the characters are variously seen performing activities associated with different types of units in the Army, such as artillery, armor, infantry and paratroops. Occasionally dream sequences have appeared where the characters see themselves as seasoned combat veterans, such as Sarge having a dream he was General "Storming Snorkel" briefing on Operation Desert Shield, or Beetle imagining himself leaving the Army and returning to school on the G.I. Bill, where female students all know him as "Bombshell Bailey, the famous war hero".

Beetle is always seen with a hat or helmet which covers his forehead and eyes. Even on leave, his "civvies" include a pork pie hat worn in the same style. He can be seen without it only once—in the original strip, when he was still a college student. The strip was pulled and never ran in any newspaper. It has been printed only in various books on the strip's history. One daily strip had Sarge scare Beetle's hat off, but Beetle was wearing sunglasses. In a 3/27/1966 dream sequence by Sgt. Snorkel (a parody of the 1960s Batman, with Sgt. Snorkel as "Fatman" and Beetle as "Slobber"), the heroes try to stop the infamous "Pizza Pete"; Beetle/Slobber wears a mask but his eyes can be seen The only acknowledged picture of Beetle Bailey's eyes (two black dots on a piece of paper held by Beetle and Snorkel) was published in 2000.

One running gag has Sergeant Snorkel hanging helplessly from a small tree branch after having fallen off a cliff, with the first instance running on August 16, 1956. While he is never shown falling off, or even walking close to the edge of a cliff, he always seems to hold on to that same branch, yelling for help.

Publication history
During the first two years of Beetle Bailey's run (1950–1952), Walker did all work on the strip himself, including writing, penciling, inking and lettering; however, in 1952 he hired cartoonist Fred Rhoads as his first assistant. After that, numerous people would assist Walker on the strip through the years.

As of 2016, the strip was being syndicated (by King Features) in 1,800 papers in the United States and the rest of the world.

In Sweden, the strip received a dedicated magazine in 1970, with a Norwegian version being added the following year, which is published to this day as of 2020. Denmark also has dedicated (albeit not exclusive) magazine, named "Basserne", first published in 1973.

Main characters

 * Private Carl James "Beetle" Bailey—the main character and the strip's namesake, a feckless, shirking, perpetual goof-off and straggler known for his chronic laziness and generally insubordinate attitude. Slack, hapless, lanky and freckled, Beetle's eyes are always concealed, whether by headgear or, in the rare instance of not wearing any (e.g., in the shower), by his hair. He is an expert in camouflage as he is often hiding from Sarge. He is also a better card player than Sgt. Snorkel when he won Snorkel's stripes in a poker game. His nickname was given to him by his aunt who thought his freckles made him look like a ladybug beetle. In early strips, it was revealed that he is the brother of Lois Flagston (née Bailey) of the Hi and Lois comic strip, which Mort Walker wrote, and Dik Browne drew. Although many of the early comics show Beetle et al are from "Company A", by 2014 the designation had been changed to "Kilo Company" 3rd Battalion of the 9th Infantry Regiment, in the fictional 13th Division. Beetle's and Lois's grandmother came from Dublin, Ireland. He has an enforced chef's palate from being forced to taste Cookie's questionable preparations. A running gag is that Beetle is sent to peel potatoes as punishment for screwing up - after 38 years in the army, as of 8-21-1989, he has peeled 50,000 potatoes. On one occasion on field exercises when his "782 gear" was supposed to be laid out for inspection by Halftrack, Beetle was the only soldier to have none of his gear with him; a running gag is Beetle lying down to take a nap anywhere, even in front of Sgt Snorkel. A second gag is Beetle's bungling of any simple assignment, even trying to fill the sugar bowls in the mess hall during his first year (the only reason Snorkel didn't beat Beetle up is that he felt Beetle should be in the US Navy!)
 * Sergeant 1st Class Orville P. Snorkel—Beetle's platoon sergeant and nemesis, introduced in 1951. Sarge is known to frequently beat up Beetle for any excuse he can think of, leaving Beetle a shapeless pulp. Once, in the February 2, 1971 strip, he even shoved Beetle through a knothole in the floorboard. Sarge is too lovable to be a villain, however. Obese, snaggle-toothed and volatile, Sarge can be alternately short-tempered and sentimental. He and Beetle seem to have a mutual love/hate relationship; much of the time there is an implied truce between them. They share an uneasy alliance that sometimes borders on genuine (albeit unequal) friendship. Sarge is also a helpless foodie, loves food like crazy and does not miss even a single chance where he can lay his hands on food. He is seen gobbling up cookies and cakes that Beetle's mother lovingly sends him. Sarge is sometimes also seen at a pub drinking several glasses of beer. In some early strips Sarge was married, but he was later retconned into an unmarried army lifer, who knows next to nothing about civilian life. Despite his grouchiness and bossiness, Sarge does have a soft side, which he usually keeps concealed. He is from Pork Corners, Kansas. He was also known to be very foul-mouthed, even compared to the rest of the cast. Sarge's mother's maiden name is "Papadopoulos", suggesting that he is of Greek heritage.
 * Otto—Sgt. Snorkel's anthropomorphic, look-alike bulldog whom Sarge dresses up the same as himself, in an army uniform. Otto is fiercely protective of Sarge and seems to have a particular antipathy toward Beetle. His first appearance was July 17, 1956; originally he was a regular dog who walked on all fours, but Mort Walker finally decided to make him more human-like. As Walker put it, "I guess he's funnier that way." Otto got his army uniform in the June 6, 1958 strip.
 * Brigadier General Amos T. Halftrack—the inept, frustrated, alcoholic commander of Camp Swampy, introduced in 1951. He is 78 years old, from Kenner, Louisiana—though according to Capt. Scabbard he was born in China (April 28, 1971). As of April 26, 1980 he was married to his wife Martha for 30 years (Halftrack says ruefully after being married to his wife for so long that she must take mental telepathy lessons as she knows what he's thinking. ) He loves to golf, much to his wife Martha's dismay; although he is a terrible golfer and scored a hole in one only once likewise his golfing clothes are so ridiculous his wife compares him to clown Ronald McDonald. He sometimes dreams about his secretary, Miss Buxley. At his home, the only one who likes him is his pet dog. He also has a "General Halfrack Fan Club" (1 member) An actual "Half-track" is a military vehicle.
 * Miss Buxley—Halftrack's beautiful, blonde, buxom civilian secretary—and occasional soldier's date (as well as a constant distraction for Halftrack). Miss Buxley has an apparent interest in Beetle and later becomes his girlfriend, but is constantly pursued by Killer. Although she officially became part of the comic strip 11-17-1971; she made an earlier cameo in 1964 as that of a beautiful blond who refused to date Killer because she dated officers only.
 * Lieutenant Sonny Fuzz—very young (with noticeably pointy eyebrows and very little facial hair), overly earnest, anal-retentive and "by the book" and highly susceptible to squeaky furniture. The apple-polishing Fuzz is always trying to impress uninterested superiors (especially Halftrack), and "rub it in the noses" of his subordinates. He was introduced March 7, 1956 and even then he was so naive that Pvt Cosmo actually won Fuzz's uniform in a dice game. Mort Walker said he modeled the character and personality of Lt. Fuzz on himself, having taken himself too seriously after completing Officer Training. Lt. Fuzz has also managed to get on Sarge's bad side, albeit not as much as the enlisted men. A strip had Lt. Fuzz discussing with Sarge about the fact that Beetle Bailey has been a private for a long time and recommends he be sent before a promotion board. Sarge flashes back to all of Beetle's errors, then yells in fury at Lt. Fuzz, who has no idea what he did to infuriate Sgt. Snorkel.
 * Lieutenant Jackson Flap—the strip's first black character, often touchy and suspicious but effortlessly cool, introduced in 1970. Originally wore an afro hairstyle, but later shaved it off as later regulations disallowed many hairdos. Has often been seen with a beard, and is in most ways the total opposite to Lt. Fuzz, even though they share the same rank. Walker created Flap due to critique of the all-White crew of the comic strip, and was immediately censored by US Army newspaper Stars and Stripes until criticism made the publication revert the decision and publish strips with Flap in them along with the rest.
 * Cookie (Cornelius) Jowls—the mess sergeant, who smokes cigarettes while preparing the mess hall's questionable menu (infamous for rubbery meatballs and tough-as-rawhide steaks). He practices no sanitary food preparation measures aside from wearing a chef hat, and is almost always seen wearing a tank top. Walker once described him as "the sum of all Army cooks I've met in my life." He bears a striking resemblance to SFC Snorkel and has also been known to occasionally beat up on Beetle. Like Sarge, he also loves food, though he is not above using Beetle as a guinea pig (which Beetle loathes). Although similar to Sarge, Cookie has had the most tension with Snorkel, particularly when Sarge raided the mess hall after Cookie stopped working and the kitchen was off-limits. In the strip of February 8, 2022, he reveals his real first name to be Cornelius. He also revealed that his sense of taste was nonexistent.
 * Private "Killer" Diller—the notorious ladies' man and Beetle's frequent crony—introduced in 1951. His garrison cap wiggles whenever he gets excited about a woman.
 * Private Zero—the buck-toothed, naïve farm boy who takes commands and comments literally and misunderstands practically everything. Sometimes Zero, although not lazy (and therefore never assaulted as Beetle often is), infuriates Sarge more than anyone else. He was raised in Cornpone, Nebraska and worked as a farmhand; A running gag that Zero can't do anything right-he literally painted Sarge's jeep black and white checkered; on a parachute practice jump he ended up upside down; on a routine route march he got separated from his company and asked a farmer if he'd seen a military company missing a rifleman "who looks just like me"; on Sentry Duty he can't remember to give the traditional challenge "Halt! Who Goes there-Friend or Foe"-Whats the Password?
 * Private Plato—the Camp's resident intellectual; bespectacled, given to scrawling long-winded, analytical, often philosophical graffiti. Named after Plato but based on Walker's pal, fellow cartoonist Dik Browne. Plato is the only character other than Beetle to evolve from the early "college" months of the strip. (unlike Beetle he actually graduated from Rockview University before enlisting in the army) Asked his full name, he tells Beetle "Aristotle Anaximenes Heraclitus Papagelis".

Supporting characters

 * Private Blips—Gen. Halftrack's competent, jaded, not-at-all-buxom secretary ("blips" are small points of light on a radar screen). She resents Halftrack's constant ogling of Miss Buxley, and though envious of the latter's beauty maintains a polite working relationship with her.
 * Chaplain Stainglass —"He's praying... he's looking at the food... he's praying again!" According to Mort Walker's Private Scrapbook, Walker based the chaplain on Irish actor Barry Fitzgerald's priest character from Going My Way (1944). He often tries to get Sarge to not beat up Beetle or the men but his efforts either backfire or are futile.
 * Martha [Knips] Halftrack—the General's formidable, domineering wife. She is 70 years old and is from Morganfield, Kentucky. she also has a pet cat that ignores General Halftrack Her brother Sgt Knips is the senior NCO at Camp Swampy
 * Private Rocky—Camp Swampy's long-haired, disgruntled social dissident, a former biker gang member (with a sideline as a shady used car salesman [see comic below]) and rebel-without-a-clue, introduced in 1958. Is the editor of the "Camp Swampy Muckateer".
 * Private Cosmo—Camp Swampy's sunglass-wearing, resident "shady entrepreneur" and huckster. Loosely based on William Holden's Sefton character from Stalag 17.
 * Captain Sam Scabbard—hard-nosed, flat-top wearing officer, commander of A Company and usually depicted as competent. Can be firm with Sarge, but also trusts him. Mort Walker has said that there needed to be at least one normal person in the comic.
 * Major Greenbrass—staff officer and golf partner of Gen. Halftrack. He is most often simply a sounding-board for the general, reacting to his superior's shenanigans instead of causing his own. In March 2023 he was redesigned with dark skin, making him Black.
 * Private Julius Plewer—fastidious fussbudget, who eventually became Halftrack's chauffeur.
 * Corporal Yo—the strip's only Asian character, introduced in 1990, who tries to help Sarge bring efficiency to Company A. Like Major Greenbrass' relationship to General Halftrack, Cpl. Yo is most often a conversation partner for Sarge or one of the lieutenants. He is rarely presented as a goof like the other enlisted men frequently are. After 30 years in the strip he was redesigned with an olive complexion and less slanted eyes.
 * Dr. Bonkus—Camp Swampy's staff psychiatrist.
 * Sergeant 1st Class Louise Lugg—a tough soldier who hopes to be Sarge's girlfriend, introduced in 1986. Lt. Flap wondered why Lugg was sent to the camp; Halftrack commented that she showed up after he called the Pentagon to request an overseas assignment—"I asked them to send me abroad." Has romantic interest in Sarge.
 * Bella—Sgt. Louise Lugg's female cat.
 * Specialist Chip Gizmo— Camp Swampy's resident computer geek, was named by a write-in contest in 2002. The contest, sponsored by Dell Computer Corp., received more than 84,000 entries. It raised more than $100,000 for the Fisher House Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides housing for families of patients at military and veterans hospitals. Due to his expertise in information technology, he was often seen working near General Halftrack's office aiding him and Miss Buxley.

Retired characters

 * Bunny Piper—Was Beetle's seldom-seen girlfriend (from 1959 ), before he started dating Miss Buxley.
 * Buzz—Was Beetle's girlfriend before 1959.
 * Canteen (early 1950s)—always eating.
 * Snake Eyes (early 1950s)—the barracks gambler, replaced by Cosmo, Rocky and others.
 * Big Blush (early 1950s)—tall, innocent, and a great attraction to the girls; many of his characteristics incorporated into both Sarge and Zero.
 * Fireball (early 1950s)—neophyte who always seems to be in the way, forerunner of both Zero and Lt. Fuzz.
 * Bammy (early 1950s)—the southern patriot from Alabama who is still fighting the Civil War.
 * Dawg (early 1950s)—the guy in every barracks who creates his own pollution.
 * Ozone (late 1950s)—Zero's bigger, even more naïve friend. Appeared in a January 6, 1971 cartoon of Company A having an official group photograph
 * Moocher (early 1960s)—stingy and always borrowing things.
 * Pop (1960s)—married private: gets yelled at by Sarge all day and goes home at night for more abuse from his wife.
 * Sergeant ("Glotis") Webbing—variously described as being from either B Company or D Company. He somewhat resembles Snorkel, except that he lacks the trademark wrinkles in Snorkel's garrison cap and has wavy hair and thick eyebrows. He has pointy teeth. On at least two separate occasions, Webbing engaged Sgt. Snorkel in a cussing duel. He also attempted to one-up Snorkel in anthropomorphizing dogs, leading to Otto's first appearance in uniform, and was most recently seen (recognizably, but not mentioned by name) in 1983. On one occasion Beetle tried to win [but failed] a 5 cent bet by having a sleeping Sgt Snorkel outsnore the loudest snoring by Sgt "Glotis" on one occasion Sgt Snorkel was shocked that Beetle was "cheating" when Beetle allowed himself to be beaten up by Sgt Webbing instead of Sgt Snorkel
 * Rolf (early 1980s)—civilian tennis instructor, very popular with the female cast (including both Mrs. Halftrack and Miss Buxley, much to General Halftrack's consternation). Originally introduced in response to complaints about the constant ogling of Miss Buxley by the male characters. First appearance was in the September 9, 1982 strip, disappeared completely by the mid-1980s.

The early strip was set at Rockview University. When Beetle joined the army, all of the other characters were dropped (although both incarnations of the strip include a bespectacled intellectual named Plato). Four characters from the original cast (Bitter Bill, Diamond Jim, Freshman, and Sweatsock) made at least one appearance, in the January 5, 1963 strip.

Extras, one-shots and walk-ons
Beetle's family, etc.:

Camp Swampy: Numerous one-shot characters have appeared over the years, mostly unnamed, including an inspector general who looks like Alfred E. Neuman, and various officers and civilians. Among the few to be given names is Julian, a nondescript chauffeur eventually replaced by Julius.
 * Mr. and Mrs. Bailey, parents of Beetle, Lois, and Chigger. (The 2/7/52 strip names Beetle's father as Gurney.)
 * Lois Flagston (née Bailey), Beetle's sister; she and her husband are the title characters of the Hi and Lois comic strips. Beetle was shown in a crossover where he is first telling Zero and Plato he has taken leave to visit his sister and brother-in-law. He then appears the next day in Hi & Lois, wearing civilian clothes.
 * Chigger, the younger brother of Beetle and Lois. In a March 2023 appearance, he is short and looks pre-teen.
 * Hiram "Hi" Flagston, Beetle's brother-in-law and Lois's husband.
 * Chip, Dot, Ditto, and Trixie Flagston, Hi and Lois's children, Beetle's nephews and nieces.
 * Mr. and Mrs. Piper, Bunny's parents
 * A camp doctor whose appearance is consistent, but who is unnamed
 * An unnamed officers' club bartender, frequent intermediary between the Halftracks
 * An unnamed Secretary of Defense who has made numerous appearances.
 * Popeye the Sailor once made an indirect appearance in the form of a Halloween mask worn by Zero. He made a one-time appearance in a strip dated July 16, 2012.
 * 2012 NCS Cartoonist of the Year Tom Richmond made an appearance in a Sunday page.

Censorship

"For the most part, Walker's relationship with the real-life US Army has been cordial. But not always. During the early 1950s, the strip was dropped from the Tokyo edition of Stars and Stripes because it allegedly encouraged disrespect for officers. The civilian press made a huge joke of that, and the ensuing publicity gave the young strip its first big boost in circulation.
 * — Don Markstein"

In 1962, the comic strip was censored because it showed a belly button, and in 2006, the description of Rocky's criminal past was replaced with a non-criminal past.

Self-censoring
Sometimes Mort Walker created strips with raunchy subject matter for his own amusement. This was done at the sketch stage, and those strips were never meant to be published in the U.S. They "end[ed] up in a black box in the bottom drawer", according to Walker. These sketches were sometimes published in Scandinavia, however, with a translation underneath. In Norway, they appeared in the Norwegian Beetle Bailey comic book, Billy, with the cover of the comic marked to show it contained censored strips. To offset any possible negative reaction, the publisher experimented with "scrambling" the strips in the mid-1990s. To see them, the reader had to view them through a "de-scrambling" plastic card. This was discontinued soon afterward, and the strips later were printed without scrambling. In Sweden, some of these strips were collected in the Alfapocket series.

Animation
A television series based on the strip, consisting of 50 six-minute animated cartoon shorts produced by King Features Syndicate, was animated by Paramount Cartoon Studios in the U.S. and Artransa Film Studios in Sydney, Australia. The series was first broadcast in 1963 as part of The King Features Trilogy. 50 episodes were produced.

The opening credits included the sound of a bugle reveille, followed by a theme song specifically composed for the cartoon. In the closing credits Geoff Pike was listed as Director.

Beetle was voiced by comic actor and director Howard Morris with Allan Melvin as the voice of Sarge. Other King Features properties, such as Snuffy Smith and Krazy Kat, also appeared in the syndicated series, under the collective title Beetle Bailey and His Friends. June Foray did the voice of Bunny, plus all of the female characters involved.

Beetle and Sgt. Snorkel were featured prominently in the animated television film Popeye Meets the Man Who Hated Laughter, which debuted on October 7, 1972, as an episode of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie. In the beginning of the show, General Halftrack, and Lt. Flap also appeared in the Chinese Restaurant scene.

1989 special
A 30-minute animated TV special co-written by Mort Walker and Hank Saroyan was produced for CBS in 1989, but did not air due to management changes at the CBS network. It has been released on DVD alongside the 1960s cartoons. Greg Whalen played Beetle, Bob Bergen portrayed Killer, Henry Corden was Sgt. Snorkel, Frank Welker was both Zero and Otto, Linda Gary voiced both Miss Buxley and Ms. Blips and General Halftrack was Larry Storch. This special was one of a number of specials made in the same timeframe by King Features/Hearst for TV as potential series pilots; others included Blondie & Dagwood (co-produced with Marvel Productions, who had also collaborated with King Features for the Defenders of the Earth series a few years before) and Hägar the Horrible (co-produced with Hanna-Barbera Productions).

Musical theatre
In 1988, a musical based on the comic strip premiered at Candlewood Playhouse in New Fairfield, Connecticut for a limited run. Music and lyrics were by Neil and Gretchen Gould. In addition to the familiar characters from the strip, the plot introduced a wayward computer that promoted Bailey to three-star general.

Licensing

 * Over the years, Beetle Bailey characters have been licensed for dolls, T-shirts, salt and pepper shakers, toys, telephones, music boxes, handpuppets, coffee mugs, cookie jars, neckties, lunchboxes, paperback books, games, bobblehead nodders, banks, lapel pins and greeting cards. The Multiple Plastics Corporation manufactured a 1964 Camp Swampy playset, a tie-in with the cartoon TV show, with character figures accompanying the usual MPC toy GIs and military vehicles.
 * In 2000, Dark Horse Comics issued two collectible figures of Beetle and Sarge as part of their line of Classic Comic Characters—statues No. 11 and 12, respectively. In honor of the strip's 50th anniversary, DHC also produced a boxed PVC figure set of seven Beetle Bailey characters (Beetle, Sarge, Gen. Halftrack, Miss Buxley, Otto, Lt. Flap and Cookie).
 * BCI Eclipse has released 20 episodes of Beetle Bailey as part of Animated All Stars, a 2-DVD set (BCI 46952). Rhino Home Video also released a DVD containing 10 episodes, along with a couple of Hägar the Horrible and Betty Boop cartoons. In 2007, Beetle Bailey: The Complete Collection was released to DVD, containing all 50 shorts grouped randomly into 13 episodes, plus a previously unaired 1989 TV special.
 * For Beetle Bailey's 50th anniversary in 2000, Gate offered a 1/18th Willys MB with figurines of Beetle, Sarge and Otto. The figures were the same scale as the Jeep and were molded in seated poses, so they could be placed in the seats of the model. The Jeep could also be ordered without the figures, with figurines of Laurel and Hardy, or figurines of Laurel and Hardy in sailor suits.
 * In 2010, fashion designer Dr. X and Bloomingdale's unveiled a limited edition retro/punk rock style line of clothing including T-shirts, leather jackets, Beetle-themed Chuck Taylors shoes and various accessories.
 * In 2012, Rolex and Bamford Watch Department created a Beetle Bailey Rolex watch.

Beyond the strip

 * Beetle Bailey also successfully appeared in comic books from 1953 to 1980. The first series was published by Dell Comics, then Gold Key Comics, King Comics and Charlton Comics. Harvey Comics ran a much-later second series from 1992 to 1994.
 * The comic strip Hi and Lois, co-created by Mort Walker and Dik Browne, is a spin-off from Beetle Bailey (Beetle's sister is Lois Flagston). Hi and Lois, also syndicated by King Features, debuted in 1954. Characters from one strip occasionally make guest appearances in the other.
 * A Beetle Bailey parody in Mad from the late 1960s portrays Sarge and Captain Scabbard finally wresting the cap off Beetle's face—revealing the words "Get Out of Viet Nam!" tattooed on his forehead.
 * Beetle again appeared in a 1988 issue of Mad, alongside Sarge, in a segment explaining human anatomy according to cartoonists. Sarge's head shape was used as an example of a "sloping, subhuman skull type" which was also noted in Michael Patterson of For Better or for Worse. Beetle was featured in the section on eyes about having concealed eyes; beetlus yardbirdus.
 * Beetle and Sarge guest-starred in the 75th anniversary party of Blondie's Blondie and Dagwood in 2005.
 * An animated segment featuring Beetle Bailey and his company was seen during the 1970s and 1980s on Sesame Street, demonstrating to young viewers the concept of "first" and "last".
 * A life-size bronze sculpture of Beetle designed by Mort Walker with his son Neal assisting in the sculpting was unveiled at Walker's alma mater, the University of Missouri, on October 23, 1992.

title: Beetle Bailey


text:
Magical thinking

Magical thinking, or superstitious thinking, is the belief that unrelated events are causally connected despite the absence of any plausible causal link between them, particularly as a result of supernatural effects. Examples include the idea that personal thoughts can influence the external world without acting on them, or that objects must be causally connected if they resemble each other or have come into contact with each other in the past. Magical thinking is a type of fallacious thinking and is a common source of invalid causal inferences. Unlike the confusion of correlation with causation, magical thinking does not require the events to be correlated.

The precise definition of magical thinking may vary subtly when used by different theorists or among different fields of study. In anthropology, the posited causality is between religious ritual, prayer, sacrifice, or the observance of a taboo, and an expected benefit or recompense. In psychology, magical thinking is the belief that one's thoughts by themselves can bring about effects in the world or that thinking something corresponds with doing it. These beliefs can cause a person to experience an irrational fear of performing certain acts or having certain thoughts because of an assumed correlation between doing so and threatening calamities. In psychiatry, magical thinking defines false beliefs about the capability of thoughts, actions or words to cause or prevent undesirable events. It is a commonly observed symptom in thought disorder, schizotypal personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Direct effect
Bronisław Malinowski's Magic, Science and Religion (1954) discusses another type of magical thinking, in which words and sounds are thought to have the ability to directly affect the world. This type of wish fulfillment thinking can result in the avoidance of talking about certain subjects ("speak of the devil and he'll appear"), the use of euphemisms instead of certain words, or the belief that to know the "true name" of something gives one power over it, or that certain chants, prayers, or mystical phrases will bring about physical changes in the world. More generally, it is magical thinking to take a symbol to be its referent or an analogy to represent an identity.

Sigmund Freud believed that magical thinking was produced by cognitive developmental factors. He described practitioners of magic as projecting their mental states onto the world around them, similar to a common phase in child development. From toddlerhood to early school age, children will often link the outside world with their internal consciousness, e.g. "It is raining because I am sad."

Symbolic approaches
Another theory of magical thinking is the symbolic approach. Leading thinkers of this category, including Stanley J. Tambiah, believe that magic is meant to be expressive, rather than instrumental. As opposed to the direct, mimetic thinking of Frazer, Tambiah asserts that magic utilizes abstract analogies to express a desired state, along the lines of metonymy or metaphor.

An important question raised by this interpretation is how mere symbols could exert material effects. One possible answer lies in John L. Austin's concept of performativity, in which the act of saying something makes it true, such as in an inaugural or marital rite. Other theories propose that magic is effective because symbols are able to affect internal psycho-physical states. They claim that the act of expressing a certain anxiety or desire can be reparative in itself.

Causes
According to theories of anxiety relief and control, people turn to magical beliefs when there exists a sense of uncertainty and potential danger, and with little access to logical or scientific responses to such danger. Magic is used to restore a sense of control over circumstance. In support of this theory, research indicates that superstitious behavior is invoked more often in high stress situations, especially by people with a greater desire for control.

Another potential reason for the persistence of magic rituals is that the rituals prompt their own use by creating a feeling of insecurity and then proposing themselves as precautions. Boyer and Liénard propose that in obsessive-compulsive rituals — a possible clinical model for certain forms of magical thinking — focus shifts to the lowest level of gestures, resulting in goal demotion. For example, an obsessive-compulsive cleaning ritual may overemphasize the order, direction, and number of wipes used to clean the surface. The goal becomes less important than the actions used to achieve the goal, with the implication that magic rituals can persist without efficacy because the intent is lost within the act. Alternatively, some cases of harmless "rituals" may have positive effects in bolstering intent, as may be the case with certain pre-game exercises in sports.

Some scholars believe that magic is effective psychologically. They cite the placebo effect and psychosomatic disease as prime examples of how our mental functions exert power over our bodies. Similarly, Robin Horton suggests that engaging in magical practices surrounding healing can relieve anxiety, which could have a significant positive physical effect. In the absence of advanced health care, such effects would play a relatively major role, thereby helping to explain the persistence and popularity of such practices.

Phenomenological approach
Ariel Glucklich tries to understand magic from a subjective perspective, attempting to comprehend magic on a phenomenological, experientially based level. Glucklich seeks to describe the attitude that magical practitioners feel what he calls "magical consciousness" or the "magical experience". He explains that it is based upon "the awareness of the interrelatedness of all things in the world by means of simple but refined sense perception."

Another phenomenological model is that of Gilbert Lewis, who argues that "habit is unthinking". He believes that those practicing magic do not think of an explanatory theory behind their actions any more than the average person tries to grasp the pharmaceutical workings of aspirin. When the average person takes an aspirin, he does not know how the medicine chemically functions. He takes the pill with the premise that there is proof of efficacy. Similarly, many who avail themselves of magic do so without feeling the need to understand a causal theory behind it.

Anthropology
In religion, folk religion, and superstitious beliefs, the posited causality is between religious ritual, prayer, meditation, trances, sacrifice, incantation, curses, benediction, faith healing, or the observance of a taboo, and an expected benefit or recompense. The use of a lucky charm or ritual, for example, is assumed to increase the probability that one will perform at a level so that one can achieve a desired goal or outcome.

Researchers have identified two possible principles as the formal causes of the attribution of false causal relationships:

 * the temporal contiguity of two events
 * "associative thinking", the association of entities based upon their resemblance to one another

Prominent Victorian theorists identified associative thinking (a common feature of practitioners of magic) as a characteristic form of irrationality. As with all forms of magical thinking, association-based and similarities-based notions of causality are not always said to be the practice of magic by a magician. For example, the doctrine of signatures held that similarities between plant parts and body parts indicated their efficacy in treating diseases of those body parts, and was a part of Western medicine during the Middle Ages. This association-based thinking is a vivid example of the general human application of the representativeness heuristic.

Edward Burnett Tylor coined the term "associative thinking", characterizing it as pre-logical, in which the "magician's folly" is in mistaking an imagined connection with a real one. The magician believes that thematically linked items can influence one another by virtue of their similarity. For example, in E. E. Evans-Pritchard's account, members of the Azande tribe believe that rubbing crocodile teeth on banana plants can invoke a fruitful crop. Because crocodile teeth are curved (like bananas) and grow back if they fall out, the Azande observe this similarity and want to impart this capacity of regeneration to their bananas. To them, the rubbing constitutes a means of transference.

Sir James Frazer (1854–1941) elaborated upon Tylor's principle by dividing magic into the categories of sympathetic and contagious magic. The latter is based upon the law of contagion or contact, in which two things that were once connected retain this link and have the ability to affect their supposedly related objects, such as harming a person by harming a lock of his hair. Sympathetic magic and homeopathy operate upon the premise that "like affects like", or that one can impart characteristics of one object to a similar object. Frazer believed that some individuals think the entire world functions according to these mimetic, or homeopathic, principles.

In How Natives Think (1925), Lucien Lévy-Bruhl describes a similar notion of mystical, "collective representations". He too sees magical thinking as fundamentally different from a Western style of thought. He asserts that in these representations, "primitive" people's "mental activity is too little differentiated for it to be possible to consider ideas or images of objects by themselves apart from the emotions and passions which evoke those ideas or are evoked by them". Lévy-Bruhl explains that the indigenous people commit the post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy, in which people observe that x is followed by y, and conclude that x has caused y. He believes that this fallacy is institutionalized in native culture and is committed regularly and repeatedly.

Despite the view that magic is less than rational and entails an inferior concept of causality, in The Savage Mind (1966), Claude Lévi-Strauss suggested that magical procedures are relatively effective in exerting control over the environment. This outlook has generated alternative theories of magical thinking, such as the symbolic and psychological approaches, and softened the contrast between "educated" and "primitive" thinking: "Magical thinking is no less characteristic of our own mundane intellectual activity than it is of Zande curing practices."

Cultural differences
Robin Horton maintains that the difference between the thinking of Western and of non-Western peoples is predominantly "idiomatic". He says that the members of both cultures use the same practical common-sense, and that both science and magic are ways beyond basic logic by which people formulate theories to explain whatever occurs. However, non-Western cultures use the idiom of magic and have community spiritual figures, and therefore non-Westerners turn to magical practices or to a specialist in that idiom. Horton sees the same logic and common-sense in all cultures, but notes that their contrasting ontological idioms lead to cultural practices which seem illogical to observers whose own culture has correspondingly contrasting norms. He explains, "[T]he layman's grounds for accepting the models propounded by the scientist are often no different from the young African villager's ground for accepting the models propounded by one of his elders."

Along similar lines, Michael F. Brown argues that the Aguaruna of Peru see magic as a type of technology, no more supernatural than their physical tools. Brown says that the Aguaruna utilize magic in an empirical manner; for example, they discard any magical stones which they have found to be ineffective. To Brown—as to Horton—magical and scientific thinking differ merely in idiom. These theories blur the boundaries between magic, science, and religion, and focus on the similarities in magical, technical, and spiritual practices. Brown even ironically writes that he is tempted to disclaim the existence of 'magic.'

One theory of substantive difference is that of the open versus closed society. Horton describes this as one of the key dissimilarities between traditional thought and Western science. He suggests that the scientific worldview is distinguished from a magical one by the scientific method and by skepticism, requiring the falsifiability of any scientific hypothesis. He notes that for native peoples "there is no developed awareness of alternatives to the established body of theoretical texts." He notes that all further differences between traditional and Western thought can be understood as a result of this factor. He says that because there are no alternatives in societies based on magical thought, a theory does not need to be objectively judged to be valid.

In children
According to Jean Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development, magical thinking is most prominent in children between ages 2 and 7. Due to examinations of grieving children, it is said that during this age, children strongly believe that their personal thoughts have a direct effect on the rest of the world. It is posited that their minds will create a reason to feel responsible if they experience something tragic that they do not understand, e.g. a death. Jean Piaget, a developmental psychologist, came up with a theory of four developmental stages.

Children between ages 2 and 7 would be classified under his preoperational stage of development. During this stage children are still developing their use of logical thinking. A child's thinking is dominated by perceptions of physical features, meaning that if the child is told that a family pet has "gone away to a farm" when it has in fact died, then the child will have difficulty comprehending the transformation of the dog not being around anymore. Magical thinking would be evident here, since the child may believe that the family pet being gone is just temporary. Their young minds in this stage do not understand the finality of death and magical thinking may bridge the gap.

Grief
It was discovered that children often feel that they are responsible for an event or events occurring or are capable of reversing an event simply by thinking about it and wishing for a change: namely, "magical thinking". Make-believe and fantasy are an integral part of life at this age and are often used to explain the inexplicable.

According to Piaget, children within this age group are often "egocentric", believing that what they feel and experience is the same as everyone else's feelings and experiences. Also at this age, there is often a lack of ability to understand that there may be other explanations for events outside of the realm of things they have already comprehended. What happens outside their understanding needs to be explained using what they already know, because of an inability to fully comprehend abstract concepts.

Magical thinking is found particularly in children's explanations of experiences about death, whether the death of a family member or pet, or their own illness or impending death. These experiences are often new for a young child, who at that point has no experience to give understanding of the ramifications of the event. A child may feel that they are responsible for what has happened, simply because they were upset with the person who died, or perhaps played with the pet too roughly. There may also be the idea that if the child wishes it hard enough, or performs just the right act, the person or pet may choose to come back, and not be dead any longer.

When considering their own illness or impending death, some children may feel that they are being punished for doing something wrong, or not doing something they should have, and therefore have become ill. If a child's ideas about an event are incorrect because of their magical thinking, there is a possibility that the conclusions the child makes could result in long-term beliefs and behaviours that create difficulty for the child as they mature.

Related terms
"Quasi-magical thinking" describes "cases in which people act as if they erroneously believe that their action influences the outcome, even though they do not really hold that belief". People may realize that a superstitious intuition is logically false, but act as if it were true because they do not exert an effort to correct the intuition.

title: Magical thinking