History ComicStrip / BeetleBailey

* HenpeckedHusband

* InnerMonologueConversation

* KickedUpstairs / ReassignedToAntarctica: It is heavily implied that the reason why Halftrack is made the commander of the camp was so the Pentagon and other bases wouldn't have to deal with him. ReassignedToAntarctica has also happened to others in one-off gags whose effects didn't survive the often NegativeContinuity.

* LateToThePunchline

* MarsNeedsWomen / InterspeciesRomance: Otto usually sticks to female dogs, but he also has an attraction to human women (especially Ms. Buxley, like everyone else) which is clearly sexual. Then again, he has also been know to date ''cats'', so he's really not that picky.

* NegativeContinuity

* StuffedIntoATrashcan

* TheUnSmile

* WatchThePaintJob / TheAllegedCar: Sarge's jeep tends to dip into both of these tropes at times. If it's not breaking down or otherwise in a state of disrepair, its being abused by the main characters....which probably explains its condition in the first place.
* [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield Where the Hell Is Camp Swampy?]]

** Sarge does this often, usually to Beetle when about to beat him up. With Beetle's neck being thinner than Sarge's fingers, it sometimes involves the victim's neck being entirely enclosed within the first holding him up.

It's got an [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters incredibly diverse cast]] that increases as the years go by, possibly in attempts to boost low ratings or to keep up with the times. The comic used to deal with military issues that were either somewhat relevant, or were funny to those who were already in the army. The series is now run by Mort Walker's son, and much of the tone and theme of the strip over the last couple of years has divorced itself from reality in terms of having Beetle and his fellow soldiers remain stationed within the US, oblivious to the wars currently waging in the Middle East.

** Not to mention that if Camp Swampy is considered an embarrassment for the US Army, then the post Cold War wave of closures of US military bases in the 1990s would have been the perfect excuse to get rid of it while General Halftrack could be been retired by the Pentagon.

* EpicFail: Cookie manages to make soup that is too tough to cut with a knife... and steak that is too tough to cut with a machine gun and grenades.

* DubNameChange: Nearly all of the characters have different names in different countries. To use Beetle as an example, he's named "Billy" in Norway, "Jens Fup" in Denmark,"Knasen" in Sweden, "Masi" in Finland, "Flippie Flink" in the Netherlands and, funnily enough, "Zero" in Italy and Brazil. Said last countries focus on the American Zero's buck teeth instead, upon which his name is "Dentino" (Italy) and "Dentinho" (Brazil).

** Some strips have occasionally sneaked in a sexual joke, though the trope is also averted: Mort Walker drew several strips that threw the radar out the window as they contained nudity, blatant sexual jokes or even sexual ''actions'', but they were never allowed to go further than the drafting stage. In some countries, however, particularly Scandinavian ones, said drafts were released for fans to read under the label of "too risky" content. To give examples, one draft had Zero being implied to [[ADateWithRosiePalms masturbate]], while another had Louise Lugg appearing to give Sarge fellatio. Another featured Miss Buxley having a "nightmare" of fleeing naked from an equally naked General Halftrack while he had an erection. And the list goes on.

* SirSwearsALot: Sgt. Snorkel is heavily implied to be the worst swear offender in the camp. He does lose a swearing contest once when his opponent hits him with something rendered as '''CENSORED'''. That's right, they couldn't even show the {{symbol|Swearing}} for it.

* FatCat: Louise Lugg's Bella looks fat... although it's also been suggested that she's either just got thick fur, or is all muscle. Then again, to begin with, she doesn't even walk because her owner carries her around, so it's not like she's getting much exercise.

* NoSparks: Many readers see Beetle and Ms. Buxley's relationship this way. After they had been 'dating' for about a year, their relationship still never seemed to make it past third date or so. It may be due to 'StatusQuoIsGod', but you get the impression that the strip's possible ghostwriters don't know what to do with the relationship either. And now even she made a remark in-universe that hints at this.

* DubNameChange: Nearly all of the characters have different names in different countries. To use Beetle as an example, he's named "Billy" in Norway, "Jens Fup" in Denmark,"Knasen" in Sweden, "Masi" in Finland, "Flippie Flink" in the Netherlands and, funnily enough, "Zero" in Italy. Said last country focuses on the American Zero's buck teeth instead, upon which his name is "Dentino".

* IfItWasFunnyTheFirstTime: “But who dares to tell [[BadBoss the general]] that he made a mistake...?”

* LimitedAdvancementOpportunities: Nobody at Camp Swampy ever gets promoted. But then, nobody at Camp Swampy ''deserves'' to be promoted, either, and one of the few times somebody ''did'' get promoted [[spoiler: (freakin' Beetle!)]], he [[RefusalOfTheCall refused the call]].

* AmusingInjuries: Frequently suffered by Beetle at the hands of Sarge.

'''Zero:''' TheFool, a (male) DumbBlonde with buck teeth. His usual role is to be given an order by Sarge embellished with a careless metaphor, which he will proceed to carry out in the most literal manner possible (''e.g.'', if told to "Make it snappy," he will embellish the project with mouse-traps and snapping turtles).