Comic book character published by
Harvey Comics from
1949 until 1982.
Sad Sack was originally created by Sgt. George Baker and
premiered in the U.S. Army weekly magazine Yank Magazine in
May of 1942. Sad Sack was a mopey draftee who could never do
anything right. He had a mean sergeant and the normal cast of
tag along characters. The character had a great deal in common with
Beetle Bailey. He appeared as well in the Sunday comics
for the civilian population of the U.S.
He became truly famous and popular years later during the Korean
War when he began to be published by Alfred Harvey's publishing
company Harvey Comics. The comic book had many spin-off titles
and Sad Sack was published by Harvey until the early 80s.
Sad Sack also crossed over from comics to both radio and movies.
In 1942, a short-live radio program aired with the voice of
Sad Sack being provided by Mel Blanc. A movie in 1957 called
The Sad Sack was produced starring Jerry Lewis as Sad Sack.
The character played well to Lewis's one-joke, slapstick persona.