Sally Forth by Wally Wood

Sally Forth is an interesting strip but the name is also very fascinating. It is a antiquated military term for embarking on a mission or leaving the current place you are in. I have always thought of it as more of a carry on and endure meaning but I guess they both work.

This strip was started by Wood in 1968 when he was approached by the military to create a strip for a tabloid newspaper for servicemen. Sally began as a recruit in a commando unit in 1968. The series was later continued in 1971 in Overseas Weekly for the military until 1974. The strip featured characters like Lt. Q.P.Dahl (kewpie doll), Wild Bill Yonder, Snorky the resident martian and a few other fun players.

Around the same time, from 1970 to 1973 Wood also created Cannon for the military in Overseas Weekly and it had a similar 2 page format as Sally Forth. The content artistically was similar with nudity but Cannon was more of an adventure strip in the vein of James Bond.

I have looked at Cannon and Sally Forth for years but had never found the right example at the right price. This one comes to me as part of a three way trade between friends and so it has that added dimension to it.

Although I have the Cannon reprint, I do not have the Sally Forth yet so this strip is a stand alone piece with out context for me. It is still fun. It has a lot of what I like about the strip including Sally, Snorky, Lt. Dahl and several other characters including the then serving president, Richard Nixon. So much to like about this one.

I am expecting to do a deep dive into Wood's art and career in this coming year so this is a good way to kick this off.