Sunday Funnies : 2010

2010-Jul-16 Columbus OH

2010-Jul-16, Columbus, Ohio, the Postal Service issued a 44-cent, Sunday Funnies commemora-tive stamp in five designs, designed by Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, Maryland.

The Sunday Funnies stamp pane honors five of our most beloved comic strips: Archie, Beetle Bailey, Dennis the Menace, Garfield, and Calvin and Hobbes.

The Beetle Bailey stamp features Beetle, smiling calmly while Sarge loses his cool.

The Calvin and Hobbes stamp captures the precocious 6-year-old and his tiger pal making scary and ridiculous faces.

The Archie stamp features Archie sharing a chocolate shake with brunette Veronica Lodge on his right and blonde Betty Cooper on his left.

The Garfield stamp features the crabby tabby standing back to back with Odie, a carefree, energetic dog.

The Dennis the Menace stamp features 5-year-old Dennis, dressed in red overalls and striped shirt, running off to some new adventure.

USPS Bulletin PB 22287 June 17, 2010

Special Dedication Postmarks - Only the following pictorial postmark is permitted for the Sunday Funnies stamp. The word “Station” or the abbreviation “STA” is required somewhere in the design, because it will be a temporary station. Additional pictorial postmarks used at various Post Offices around the country can be found Pages: Classic Comic Stamps - 1995

Beetle Bailey : 2010 Sunday Funnies

2010-Jul-16 Columbus OH

Addison Morton Walker (1923 – 2018) American comic strip writer, best known for creating the newspaper comic strips Beetle Bailey in 1950 and Hi and Lois in 1954. He signed Addison to some of his strips.

Beetle Bailey was first published September 4, 1950. It is set on a fictional United States Army post. 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). 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).

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.

Commemorative postmark used 2010-Jul-16 California State Fair Sacramento CA and

2010-Aug-27 Columbia MO

Jerry Dumas - Sam and Silo

I received this card in the early 1990's from Jerry Dumas. 

Although Dumas passed in November 12 2016, The Walker's ran a tribute strip in Beetle Bailey on March 3, 2017.

Jerry Dumas was best known for the daily comic strip Sam and Silo, which was created by Mort Walker, which started out as Sam's Strip (1961-1963). Sam and Silo, a continuation of Sam's premiered in 1977, with Jerry Dumas taking full control in 1995.

Sam and Silo are sheriff and deputy of the small town of Upper Duckwater, a town so safe the pair spend their time sleeping in their police car behind the billboards.

2013

1962 (Crazy Kat and Ignatz reference)

I have always enjoyed comics strips acknowledging other comic strips...

Dumas also worked on the comic strip Benchley with Mort Drucker and Rabbits Rafferty and McCall of the Wild, with Mel Crawford. Dumas also did illustration work for The Washington Post, The New Yorker and the New York Times. As a writer he contributed essays to the Atlantic Monthly and the Smithsonian. He published a childhood memoir, An Afternoon in Waterloo Park...

Mort Walker - Beetle Bailey

Mort Walker...Beetle Bailey 2010.10.20

Walker created the Beetle Bailey comic strip in 1950 ... Beetle was originally created as a college student, who would leave college to enlist in the US Army. Stationed at Camp Swampy, Beetle is a lazy character always trying to avoid work and his fellow soldiers offer a variety of different characters. Sgt. Snorkel is Beetle's main nemesis, who is frequently seen beating up Beetle for any minor infraction. Although the villain, Snorkel is still a lovable character. Walker himself was drafted into the US Army in 1943, Walker served in Europe during world War II, discharged as a first lieutenant in 1947.

Walker has been assisted by Jerry Dumas, Bob Gustafson, Frank Johnson and his sons Neal, Brian and Greg Walker .

In 1963, 50 animated episodes of Beetle's adventures were broadcast on television. From 1953-1980 Beetle saw publication in comic book format through Dell Comics, Gold Key, King Comics and Charlton Comics. 1992-94 Harvey Comics published a Beetle Bailey comic, as well.

Walker also created the comic strip Hi and Lois in 1954, a spin-off of Beetle Bailey. Beetle is the brother of Lois Flagston. Hi and Lois was written by Walker and drawn by Dik Browne who also created Hagar the Horrible. Walker has also created the comic strips Boner's Ark (with Frank Johnson), Gamin & Patches, Mrs. Fitz's Flats, The Evermores, and Sam and Silo (with Jerry Dumas)

Mort Walker - Beetle Bailey

1997.11.01 New York..Mega Event Stamp Show, Javits Center

When my first son was born I started a journal to keep track of all the events we would do together as a family (vacations, train rides, important family events), this way we would have a record of our children's growth.

When the Mega Event Stamp Show was held at the Javits Center, we went as a family, the boys being 3 and 1. The main event of the show for me was the last day of issuance of the Classic Comics stamps. The USPS figured they could get an extra bang for their buck not only if they held a ceremony for the issuance of a stamp, but now included a celebration of the stamp being removed from sale.

Mort Walker was the guest of honor, and graciously signed covers for all in attendance. I placed my journal in front of him and asked if he could provide a sketch for my boys. He stated he wasn't supposed to take the time to provide sketches, only to sign. In the time he had taken to say this he was completing a sketch of Beetle Bailey. I was impressed and realized he could do this in his sleep without any effort. After thanking Mr. Walker, I went to have the Yellow Kid stamp canceled at the bottom of the sketch.

The Yellow Kid was the lead character in Hogan's Alley, drawn by Richard F. Outcault, which became one of the first Sunday comics in an American newspaper, the New York World in 1885, later moving to the New York Journal American.