What was under Beetle Bailey’s cap?

According to Brian Chapman, over at the Legends & Rumors blog, Beetle Bailey was arguably “the syndicated comic strip most often copied in underground and anti-war papers during the Vietnam War era.” And the most-copied strip from Beetle Bailey was one that originated as a satire in Mad magazine. It was popular because it revealed what was under Beetle Bailey’s cap: a message written on his forehead saying, “Get out of Vietnam.”

Brian traces the many publications that this particular strip appeared in. Along the way, the strip was frequently redrawn, and eventually new forehead messages were substituted, such as "Go to hell Lifer" or "FTAF" (F the Air Force).

The original strip, from Mad magazine (Apr 1969)

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Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over forty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. Contact Us

Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 30, 2020
Category: Comics | 1960s

Comments

What he’s really hiding is his receding hairline.

Posted by Brian on 01/30/20 at 12:52 PM

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