Sad Sack

Last updated
Sad Sack
SadSackCBcover.jpg
Sad Sack #44 cover art by George Baker.
Publication information
Publisher Harvey Comics
First appearance Yank, the Army Weekly #1 (June 1942)
Created by George Baker

Sad Sack is an American comic strip and comic book character created by Sgt. George Baker during World War II. Set in the United States Army, Sad Sack depicted an otherwise unnamed, lowly private experiencing some of the absurdities and humiliations of military life. The so-called "unnamed private" was actually Ben Schnall, a true-life private in the US Army during World War II, member of Yank magazine and good curmudgeonly friend of Sgt. George Baker. The title was a euphemistic shortening of the military slang "sad sack of shit", common during World War II. The phrase has come to mean "an inept person" or "inept soldier". [1]

Contents

Comic strip

Originally drawn in pantomime by Baker, The Sad Sack debuted June 1942 as a comic strip in the first issue of Yank, the Army Weekly . It proved popular, and a hardcover collection of Baker's wartime Sad Sack strips was published by Simon & Schuster, Inc. in 1944, with a follow-up, The New Sad Sack (1946). The original book was concurrently published as an Armed Services edition mass market paperback, in that edition's standard squarebound, horizontal, 5 5/8" × 4" format, by Editions for the Armed Services, Inc., a non-profit organization of The Council on Books in Wartime; it was #719 in the series of Armed Service editions.

After the war ended, The Sad Sack ran in newspaper syndication in the United States from May 5, 1946, until 1958. [2] Baker then sold the rights to Harvey Comics, which produced a large number of commercial spin-offs. [3]

Comic book

Harvey Comics published original Sad Sack stories in the Sad Sack Comics comic book series, which ran 287 issues, cover-dated September 1949 to October 1982. Sack was a civilian until he re-enlisted in issue #22 (February 1953). Harvey also published the one-shot comic The Sad Sack Comes Home in 1951. [4]

Spin-off series were: [4]

Supporting characters included the Sarge (Sack's First Sergeant, the potbellied and tough but reasonable Sergeant Circle); Slob Slobinski and Hi-Fi Tweeter (Sack's bunk buddies); the General (Brigadier General Rockjaw, always drawn with dark glasses, cigarette holder and Ascot tie); Captain Softseat; [5] Muttsy the dog (whose dog tag # was K-9); Sadie Sack (Sad's redheaded female cousin in the WACs); Ol' Sod Sack (Sad's hillbilly uncle); and Little Sad Sack (Sad as a kid, before his army induction [6] ). The spin-off Sad Sack Navy, Gobs 'n' Gals had the supporting character Gabby Gob.

The army camp where most of the action took place was usually named Camp Calamity, [7] but was sometimes called Camp Browbeat. [8]

The Harvey Comics and newspaper strip were aimed at younger readers than Baker's wartime originals, and the style of the strip changed dramatically. In the newspaper strip, the pantomime style was abandoned in favor of a more conventional comic-story format.[ citation needed ]

In the mid-1950s, Harvey Comics and Baker brought in Paul McCarthy to draw the Sad Sack titles, followed by Fred Rhoads, Jack O'Brien, and Joe Dennett. Others who periodically drew for the titles include Warren Kremer and Ken Selig. Baker retained editorial control and continued to illustrate the covers of Sad Sack comics until his death in 1975.[ citation needed ]

La Prensa, a Mexican publisher, released the Spanish language editions of the Sad Sack comics under the title Tristán Tristón. In addition to Sad Sack strips, other strips within each Tristán Tristón issue included Tristána Tristóna (Sad Sack's cousin, Sadie Sack) and Capulín which was about a boy who had overly large feet. The latter two strips were often only one page and used as filler. Other filler strips included Firulais and Chiquilladas.

Litigation

George Baker's Sad Sack ("Change of Climate") for Yank Bakersadsackyank.jpg
George Baker's Sad Sack ("Change of Climate") for Yank

In late 2000, Alan Harvey (eldest son of Harvey Comics founder Alfred Harvey) sued Steve Geppi [9] (owner of Diamond Comics Distribution and many other properties), charging that Geppi had plundered Harvey's warehouses in the mid-1980s, specifically of original art from Harvey's Sad Sack comic books. [10] Geppi countersued, claiming that he had legal title to the original art [11] thanks to a 1984 agreement he had made with Steve Harvey—at the time President of Harvey Publications, Inc., as well as President of Sad Sack, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvey Publications, Inc. The suit was settled in late 2002; at the time of the settlement, the New York Supreme Court had dismissed Harvey's claims against Geppi. The settlement agreement allowed Geppi to keep the art, with no money changing hands. [12] [13]

The rights to Sad Sack are still owned by Alan Harvey, and have since been published under the name of Lorne-Harvey Publications and Re-Collections. [14]

Radio

Private Sad Sack (played by Mel Blanc) made an appearance with Bob Hope and Betty Grable on the April 29, 1944, episode of G.I. Journal. The voice Blanc used was a stuttering delivery similar to Porky Pig. The character as voiced by Blanc appeared in multiple other broadcasts of G.I. Journal.

Sponsored by Old Gold Cigarettes, The Sad Sack radio program ran in 1946 as a summer replacement series for The Frank Sinatra Show. [15] It starred Herb Vigran in the title role with Jim Backus, Sandra Gould, Ken Christy and Patsy Moran. Dick Joy was the announcer for the series which began June 12, 1946, with the episode "Sack Returns Home from the Army" and continued until September 4 of that year.

Film

Harvey Comics announced a forthcoming film in their Sad Sack issue #32 (March 1954). At Paramount Pictures, Baker's strip was adapted by screenwriters Edmund Beloin and Nate Monaster for George Marshall's film The Sad Sack (1957), in which WAC Major Shelton (Phyllis Kirk) has the assignment to turn bumbling Private Meredith C. Bixby (Jerry Lewis) into a good soldier. The supporting cast includes David Wayne, Peter Lorre and Joe Mantell.

Sad Sack nursing scholarships

In 1945 the AMVETS National Sad Sacks were formed to raise money for the Sad Sacks Nursing Scholarship Fund. [16] The scholarships, named after George Baker's Sad Sack cartoon character, are awarded to children of military veterans. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Beetle Bailey</i> American comic strip

Beetle Bailey is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Mort Walker, published since September 4, 1950. It is set on a fictional United States Army post. In the years just before Walker's death in 2018, it was among the oldest comic strips still being produced by its original creator. Over the years, Mort Walker had been assisted by Jerry Dumas, Bob Gustafson, Frank Johnson and Walker's sons, Neal, Brian and Greg Walker, who are continuing the strip after his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richie Rich (character)</span> Comics character

Richard "Richie" $ Rich Jr. is a fictional character in the Harvey Comics universe. He debuted in the comic book Little Dot #1, cover-dated September 1953, and was created by Alfred Harvey and Warren Kremer. Dubbed "the poor little rich boy", Richie is the only child of fantastically wealthy parents and is the world's richest kid. He is so rich, his middle name is a dollar sign, $.

<i>Amazing Heroes</i> Magazine about the comic book medium

Amazing Heroes was a magazine about the comic book medium published by American company Fantagraphics Books from 1981 to 1992. Unlike its companion title, The Comics Journal, Amazing Heroes was a hobbyist magazine rather than an analytical journal.

Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. They transport comic books and graphic novels, as well as other popular culture products such as toys, games, and apparel from comic book publishers or suppliers to retailers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey Comics</span> American comic book publisher

Harvey Comics was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfred Harvey in 1941, after buying out the small publisher Brookwood Publications. His brothers, Robert B. and Leon Harvey, joined shortly after. The company soon got into licensed characters, which, by the 1950s, became the bulk of their output. The artist Warren Kremer was closely associated with the publisher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitchen Sink Press</span> American comic book publisher

Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hardcover and softcover volumes. One of their best-known products was the first full reprint of Will Eisner's The Spirit—first in magazine format, then in standard comic book format. The company closed in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AMVETS</span> American military veterans organization

American Veterans (AMVETS) is a non-partisan, volunteer-led organization formed by World War II veterans of the United States military. It advocates for its members as well as for causes that its members deem helpful to the nation at large. The group holds a Federal charter under Title 36 of the United States Code. It is a 501(c)19 organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Baker (cartoonist)</span> American cartoonist

George Baker was a cartoonist who became prominent during World War II as the creator of the popular comic strip The Sad Sack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Direct market</span> Dominant distribution and retail network for American comic books

The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for American comic books. The concept of the direct market was created in the 1970s by Phil Seuling. The network currently consists of:

Paul Leroy Norris was an American comic book artist best known as co-creator of the DC Comics superhero Aquaman, and for a 35-year run as artist of the newspaper comic strip Brick Bradford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Rhoads</span> American cartoonist

Fred Rhoads was an American cartoonist best known for his contributions to George Baker's Sad Sack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarzan in comics</span>

Tarzan, a fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first appeared in the 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes, and then in 23 sequels. The character proved immensely popular and quickly made the jump to other media, including comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Cartoon Museum</span> American museum dedicated to cartoons, comic strips and animation

The National Cartoon Museum was an American museum dedicated to the collection, preservation and exhibition of cartoons, comic strips and animation. It was the brainchild of Mort Walker, creator of Beetle Bailey. The museum opened in 1974, and went through several name changes, relocations, and temporary closures, before finally closing for good in 2002.

Deluxe Comics was a short-lived comic book publishing company known for publishing one title, Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents. Lodestone Publishing, Inc., an imprint of Deluxe, published a few other series, notably taking over from other publishers such titles as Futurians and Evangeline.

New Media Distribution/Irjax Enterprises was a comic book distributor and publisher active from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. In 1978, the company's legal actions against the dominant distributor of the era, Sea Gate Distributors, widened the field for the direct market to expand. In 1982, when Irjax's distribution arm went out of business, its processing centers and warehouses formed the basis for Diamond Comics Distributors, the now-dominant comics distributor.

<i>Men of War</i> (comics) Series of comic books published by DC Comics

Men of War is the name of several American comic book series published by DC Comics. For the most part, the series was a war comics anthology featuring fictional stories about the American military during World War II.

Sad Sack Laugh Special is an American comic book series, published by Harvey Comics.

Sad Sad Sack World is an American comic book series, published by Harvey Comics. The series ran from October 1964 to December 1973; in all, 46 issues were released.

<i>Jumbo Comics</i> Adventure anthology comic book

Jumbo Comics was an adventure anthology comic book published by Fiction House from 1938 to 1953. Jumbo Comics was Fiction House's first comics title; the publisher had previously specialized in pulp magazines. The lead feature for Jumbo Comics' entire run was Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.

<i>Speakeasy</i> (magazine) British magazine of comics news and criticism

Speakeasy was a British magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. It published many interviews with both British and American comics creators.

References

  1. ↑ "sad sack". Merriam-Webster .
  2. ↑ Holtz, Allan (2012). American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 338. ISBN   9780472117567.
  3. ↑ Mike Kelley. Minor histories: Statements, Conversations, Proposals, The MIT Press, 2004 p.19 n.4. ISBN   0-262-61198-8, ISBN   978-0-262-61198-5
  4. 1 2 "Sad Sack" (title) at the Grand Comics Database
  5. ↑ "GCD :: Issue :: Sad Sack and the Sarge #74".
  6. ↑ "Little Sad Sack (1964) comic books".
  7. ↑ [ dead link ]
  8. ↑ "Sad Sack and the Sarge #140 (issue)".
  9. ↑ Dean, Michael (November 2000). "Newswatch: Sad Sack vs. Steve Geppi". The Comics Journal (228): 35. Archived from the original on 2011-12-15. Retrieved 2011-12-15.
  10. ↑ Dean, Michael (December 2000). "Newswatch: Geppi Accused of Plundering Harvey Warehouse". The Comics Journal (229): 5–6.
  11. ↑ "Newswatch: Geppi: I Had Legal Title to Both the Pre and Post-1955 Harvey Original Artwork". The Comics Journal (229): 7–8. December 2000.
  12. ↑ Dean, Michael (December 2002). "Newswatch: Sad Sack Suit Against Geppi; Countersuit Settled". The Comics Journal (249): 28.
  13. ↑ "Geppi and Harvey Settle Suit Over Sad Sack Art". ICv2.com. June 19, 2002. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011.
  14. ↑ Arnold, Mark (n.d.). "Harvey Comics History". The Harveyville Fun Times! (fan site). Archived from the original on July 24, 2008.
  15. ↑ Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 596. ISBN   978-0-19-507678-3 . Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  16. ↑ History of the Sad Sacks
  17. ↑ 'Sad Sack', York Daily Record, November 26, 1975, page 18

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.