a cartoon
character created by
American cartoonist Mort Walker (1923-) and first introduced in 1950 under the name Spider.
Beetle first appeared as a
college student and later as a soldier at
Camp Swampy, where he does his best to resist
authority, avoid
responsibility and
goof off. In addition to
Beetle, the strip features his archenemy, the
crude but lovable
bully Sergeant Snorkle, the ineffectual
General Halftrack and numerous others. The strip has won many awards, generated numerous paperback books, games, toys and animated cartoons.