80,000+ Books in-stock in NZ ๐Ÿ“š

Blog updates โœ๏ธ Shirlโ€™s May Reads & Book Briefing

Beetle Bailey

75 Years of Smiles
Brief Description
A handsome coffee-table career retrospective of one of the most respected, dedicated, and prolific cartoonists in the history of comics, Beetle Bailey's Mort Walker. "Old cartoonists never die. They just erase away..." This was one of Mort Walker's favourite sayings, and until his final days, he... Read More
Format: Hardback
$12399
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 3-4 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

A handsome coffee-table career retrospective of one of the most respected, dedicated, and prolific cartoonists in the history of comics, Beetle Bailey's Mort Walker.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A handsome coffee-table career retrospective of one of the most respected, dedicated, and prolific cartoonists in the history of comics, Beetle Bailey's Mort Walker.

"Old cartoonists never die. They just erase away..." This was one of Mort Walker's favourite sayings, and until his final days, he lived by his motto, engaging millions of readers through his beloved comics. Walker had the longest tenure of any cartoonist on his original creation in the history of comics. He produced Beetle Bailey for 67 years, 3 months, and 12 days โ€“ that's 24,576 strips. He penciled his last week of daily strips on December 16, 2017.

Mort Walker's Beetle Bailey: 75 Years of Smiles is a coffee table retrospective commemorating Mort Walker's long and dedicated commitment to cartooning, spotlighting the anniversary of his most popular and beloved creation. In addition to the 75 Sunday pages reproduced from colour syndicate proofs, 135 daily and Sunday strips scanned from original artwork, and close to 200 additional images, this beautifully designed volume, impeccably researched and written by his son Brian, also includes rare photographs, historic debut character appearances, syndicate promotional materials, posters, merchandise, personal drawings and memorabilia from the family archives, as well as biographical sketches and anecdotes.

Dubbed "The Dean of American Cartooning," Walker was one of the most prolific cartoonists in the comics business, with the creation of nine different syndicated strips during his lifetime, including Beetle Bailey, one of the most widely syndicated strips in the world. Beetle Bailey remains a popular feature in newspapers today and is currently produced by his sons Greg, Brian, and Neal.

Full-colour and black-and-white illustrations.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9798875001338

Publisher: Fantagraphics

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 16 September 2025

Country: United States

Imprint: Fantagraphics

Illustration: 272 Illustrations

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 236.0mm

Height: 311.0mm

Weight: 300g

Pages: 272

About the Author

Brian Walker has a diverse background in professional cartooning and cartoon scholarship. He is a former director of the Museum of Cartoon Art, where he worked from 1974 to 1992. Since 1984, he has been part of the creative team that produces the comic strips, Beetle Bailey and Hi and Lois. He has written, edited or contributed to forty-five books on cartoon art, served as curator for seventy-five cartoon exhibitions and is the founder and current chairman of the Connecticut Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society.

Also by Brian Walker

View all

More from Graphic Novels

View all

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.