Curt Swan

Mort Walker was born Addison Morton Walker in El Dorado, Kansas on September 3, 1923. He began selling cartoons to magazines at the age of 14 and became the chief editorial designer for Hallmark greeting cards at the age of 18. He was drafted into the Army in 1943 and continued his sketching while in Italy, working in intelligence and later commanding a camp holding German prisoners of war. He graduated from the University of Missouri in 1948. He moved to New York City and edited fan and humor magazines for Dell Publishing and sold cartoons of his own to leading magazines.

In 1950, King Features picked up Beetle Bailey for syndication. He also created Hi and Lois with Dik Browne, Boner's Ark, and Sam's Strip with Jerry Dumas, who later took over and renamed it Sam and Silo. In 1953, Walker received the National Cartoonists Society's award for outstanding cartoonist of the year. In 1974, he founded the International Museum of Cartoon Art. He was inducted into the Museum of Carton Art Hall of Fame in 1989 and received the Secretary of the Army's highest award to a civilian, the Distinguished Civilian Service citation in 2000.

He wrote several books on the art and history of comics, as well as children's books. He has published numerous collections of his comics work including The Best of Beetle Bailey. He died on January 27, 2018 at the age of 94.

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