Beetle Bailey stamp

A U.S. Postal Service postage stamp commemorating the Beetle Bailey cartoon strip was unveiled near the bronze Bailey statue at Reynolds Alumni Center on Friday.

The U.S. Postal Service is honoring a classic cartoon character with mid-Missouri roots at a ceremony Friday at MU.

A commemorative stamp of Beetle Bailey has been released this summer. At 11 Friday morning, a large framed picture of the stamp will be unveiled at the sculpture of Bailey next to the Reynolds Alumni Center. Private Bailey himself is expected to make an appearance, along with Chancellor Emeritus Richard Wallace and Bill Janocha, Mort Walker’s assistant. Beetle Bailey was created by MU alum Mort Walker.

Mort Walker, a 1948 MU graduate and creator of Beetle Bailey comics, will be honored in a ceremony at 11 a.m. Friday to present a U.S. Postal stamp featuring his comic.

The Friday ceremony will be held at the Reynolds Alumni Center, where a Beetle Bailey statue welcomes visitors.

The Shack's reincarnation will feature touches of the original, such as the classic Shackburger, while getting new amenities such as TVs and pool tables.

The Special Collections Library at Ellis Library houses a collection of materials about Beetle Bailey creator Mort Walker.

Mort Walker talks about why Beetle Bailey became a strip about the army and how America's military history affected the strip's development.