Many of us take years to decide what we want to be when we grow up. For others, it just seems to come naturally. For instance, Mozart began composing his first pieces (Kochel catalogue 1-5) at the age of five. It’s not known when cartoonist Mort Walker created his first comic, but we do know that his first published work was at age 11 in 1934. On that date, Walker started a career which continues to this very day.After being drafted into the United States Army in 1943 (along with fellow cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, creator of Peanuts), Walker served in Europe and was discharged as a first lieutenant in 1947. He graduated from the University of Missouri in 1948, and then moved to New York to pursue his cartooning destiny. Within the next ten years, he would create his two most enduring works.The first came in 1950, when Walker took both his military experiences and his fond memories of his Kappa Sigma fraternity brothers and created Beetle Bailey. Unlike most military comics, the characters in the strip never seem to make it to the front lines. Instead, Beetle Bailey is a comedic look at life on a military base, Camp Swampy (modeled after Camp Crowder, where Walker himself was stationed). The main characters include: Beetle himself, who started out as a college student but quit to join the army; Sergeant 1st Class Orville P. Snorkel, the laughable drill sergeant who often appears at odds with Beetle; Brigadier General Amos T. Halftrack, the commander of the camp; and Miss Buxley, the general’s beautiful secretary. Many other characters have been introduced over the years, and many reappear when you least expect them.It’s not surprising that some characters go for long periods without being seenthe strip has survived for almost half a century. Walker continues to provide the art for the strip, although the scripts are now provided by his sons Brian and Greg Walker. The strip has been so popular over the years that a cartoon version was created in 1963.However, Beetle Bailey wasn’t Walker’s only success. His other creation, Hi and Lois, is also a comic strip staple. Created in 1954, the strip is a gentle pastiche of suburban life, following the Flagston family and their neighbors. Lois Flagston is Beetle Bailey’s sister and first appeared in that strip, and the strips have crossed over numerous times since. Hi and Lois have also appeared in the popular strip Blondie, created by Chic Young. Today, Brian and Greg Walker write the strip, while it’s illustrated by Robert “Chance” Browne.