Crock
Crock is an American comic strip created by Bill Rechin and Brant Parker depicting the French Foreign Legion. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, the strip began in 1975 and ended in May 2012. Don Wilder took over the writing duties in 1976 as Parker returned his focus to The Wizard of Id.
Crock
- Date
- 1975
- Language
- English
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Documentary connections
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q10261764
In this article
The object
The object
When Bill Rechin was stricken with esophageal cancer in 2010, his son Kevin Rechin began to assist him with drawing it and his son-in-law Bob Morgan became the writer. On Bill Rechin's death, Kevin Rechin and Morgan continued the strip until publication of new Crock strips ended with the May 20, 2012, Sunday comic. Reprints of older strips by Bill Rechin have continued to run.
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Crock • Creator — Brant Parker (1975–1976) Don Wilder (1976–2008) Bill Rechin (2008–2011) • Illustrator — Bill Rechin (1975–2010) Kevin Rechin (2011–2012) • Current — Bob Morgan (2010–2012) • Status — Concluded, in reruns • Syndicate — King Features Syndicate • Genre — Humor • First — October 26, 1975 • Last — May 20, 2012 • Website — Official website
Characters and story
Characters and story
King Features describes Crock as "the greatest and longest-running parody of the Foreign Legion classic, Beau Geste," written in 1924 by P. C. Wren and filmed several times. The comic strip is set in the middle of a barren desert at a desolate fort, where the tyrannical and corrupt Commandant Vermin P. Crock rules over a curious group of beleaguered legionnaires. The characters include: • the cowardly Captain Poulet (French for chicken), • Figowitz (who just wants a kind word), • the simple-minded Maggot who digs and digs, • Le Cesspool owner Grossie (Le Cesspool is a favorite though dilapidated hangout for the characters) who is married to Maggot, • Grossie and Maggot’s son Otis, • the narcissistic Preppie, • Mario the Bartender, • Jules Schmesse who is always about to be executed, • the Arab horde and their stone god Nebookanezzer, who resembles a moai, • the ancient sage, never seen, who lives in a cave and dispenses wisdom and sarcasm, • the men of Outpost 5, • the Bookmobile, • the men being punished in the heat boxes, • Quench the ever-dry camel, • the Lost Patrol who have been wandering the desert for 20 years, trying to find their way back to the fort.
TV appearance
TV appearance
A live action Crock sketch was included in the special Mother's Day Sunday Funnies broadcast May 8, 1983, on NBC.
Theme park
Theme park
Crock is featured in the Universal Studios Florida theme park Islands of Adventure, where Crock's fort is part of Toon Extra in Toon Lagoon.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- United States
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Crock (comic strip), revision 1328130069 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.The Comics Reporter. www.comicsreporter.com.
- 2.Zitz, Michael. 'Crock' strip coming to its end. The Free Lance-Star. May 9, 2012.
- 3.Rechin, Bill. Crock - Comic Kingdom. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. October 7, 2019.
- 4.Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936-2012, 2d ed. by Vincent Terrace
- 5.Zitz, Michael. 'Crock' strip coming to its end. The Free Lance–Star. May 9, 2012.
- 6.Cavna, Michael. RIP, Bill Rechin: Artist son memorializes 'Crock' cartoonist. The Washington Post. May 25, 2011.
- 7.'Crock' cartoonist Bill Rechin dies at age 80. The Virginian-Pilot. Associated Press. May 21, 2011.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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