Customer Reviews

Pvt. Murphy's Law

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It just goes to show that though Marines and soldiers are as different as apples and oranges, we are forever bound together in the cynical and painfully repetative experience called military life. We train and train and train for the day that we must go to war. War is a very serious business. I think that the appeal of Pvt Murphy is that he has the uncanny ability to always remind us that however grave the situation, we have to remember to crack a smile now and then. Otherwise, we'd all go crazy. The ironic reality of this book however is that it's nonfiction. It has happened to somebody at some point in time. You can't make this stuff up. Whatever our differences, whether Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines, Pvt Murphy is the reality that binds us all. Fortunatly, it's pretty hilarious. And I'd better not be getting any E-mails about how Marines can't spell!!

Private Murphy's Law makes fun of or should I say finds the humor in the Army. If my husband and I hadn't spent the last eight years in the Army, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. I'm sure everyone in the Army can relate to Private Murphy at some point. I know we can. It makes us laugh at our life!

I spent several months in Basic Combat Training, and let me tell you something, Pvt. Murphy's Law tells it like it is. There is not a single thing in here that is not true. Every soldier can relate to it! A MUST buy for any soldier or soon-to-be soldier in the family.

I had the priviledge to see Pvt. Murphy when he was first shown in public, in the Ranger Rick books at the local PX. When The 1st edition came out on post, it was snapped up off the shelfs so fast, i was lucky to get myself a copy. If you have ever been in the modern military, you love this book with all the memories that came with your time in the service.. good and bad, and things you never forget. Mr. Baker follows Pvt. Murphy from the recruiters office, thru basic and airborne school, to his 1st assignment. If you have ever served, or are just an afictionado, i highly recomment Pvt. Murphy's Law to you, he's the Beatle Bailey of the modern Military.

Humorous with an occasional biting edge, the cartoons in this book will appeal to the military funny bone. For decades, "Sad Sack" and "Beetle Bailey" have been the comics that have lampooned life in the military, but they often have more foolishness than fact in their depiction of life in the American military. My favorite cartoon in this collection is on page 94, where a group of soldiers are watching a war movie. Some of their comments are:

*) "He just called the lieutenant L. T. again, as if we call our officers by their rank instead of `sir'."
*) "Don't tell me he is going to fire that LAW inside the helicopter."
*) "Watching a war movie just isn't the same after you've served awhile."

My second favorite is on page 24, where the three dialog balloons have in sequence:

*) "Be! All that you can be!"
*) "Get an edge on life!"
*) "In the army!"

The soldier is cleaning a toilet. Very funny!

I recall fondly meeting Private Murphy for the first time in the Fort Bragg newspaper, The Paraglide, back in the mid-80s. I was an officer in a parachute infantry battalion, and I always looked forward to the latest installment of Warrior Murphy. In those days, almost all the strips had Murphy serving in an airborne unit. Mark Baker's humorous swipes at airborne operations always had me chuckling and saying, "How true, how true!" I never saw a situation in a Murphy cartoon strip that I had not encountered myself somewhere at one time or another! Granted, some situations weren't funny at the moment, but with all military humor, they are hilarious in retrospect, as depicted by Mark. I honestly don't think that a civilian can truly get the greatest appreciation for Mark Baker's wonderful humor; like the old saying goes, "Ya had to have been there!" Note the number of five-star ratings.

I love the Pvt. Murphy books! I first found them last summer at Ft. Gordan, GA
at the PX. I bought all they had and had some great laughs reading them. They
are a terrific item to send to deployed soldiers too!! Catmom5

Upon reading this book, it struck me how eerily similar Murphy's experiences were to my own...and to many other veteran's experiences. I've served in the Canadian Armed Forces in both the Infantry and the Navy and am delightedly surprised how army experiences are so similar - even across national and cultural divides...

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a good laugh and an honest-yet-lighthearted perspective on the military culture and what happens to young folks who volunteer to be groundpounders!

SFC Baker, author of "Pvt. Murphy's Law," has the talent to be a nationally syndicated cartoonist. I bought the book (individual cartoons also can be found in "The Army Times") at clothing & sales at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo., towards the end of almost five months of Basic Combat Training & Advanced Individual Training. The adventures of Pvt. Murphy echoed what I had just been through. Creating something readers can identify with is a hallmark of excellent cartoonists, and that's what Baker has done. ... Recruiting, the haircut, vaccinations, jargon, fire guard, drill & ceremony, buffers, NBC, weapons ranges, low crawls, details & trips to the PX -- it's all here as experienced by Murphy, whose saving grace is that despite a little naivity & a dose of healthy skepticism he wants to be a gung ho, squared-away soldier. Baker's talent lies in the humor he finds in widely shared experiences, the positive tone he keeps and his cartooning skills as demonstrated in his creative use of perspectives, frames and shading. "Pvt. Murphy's Law" is right on target as only an insider could be. It will be enjoyed by anyone with Army connections. If Baker broadened his subject matter beyond the Army, he has the talent for a national audience.

Cartoonist Mark Baker has penned a wickedly funny and accurate portrait of Army life. Through Murphy's mishaps, misadventures, trials and triumphs Baker sheds light and provides some telling insights about how the average Joe sees the world.

Pvt. Murphy represents a typical soldier. He starts off dumb and clueless, then learns the ropes of Army life and provides an often jaded but inevitably funny running commentary on everything that is wrong (and right) in the Army. He lampoons every target of opportunity in sight---incompetence, bureaucracy and the sheer inevitabilty of the fact that, despite his best efforts, Murphy always finds himself behind the eight-ball. The fact that Murphy maintains his optimism and patriotism against all odds is a tribute to Baker's skill as a cartoonist---and serves as well-deserved recognition to the real-life Murphys in uniform who get the job done in spite of every obstacle that fate throws in their path.

Some readers might have trouble translating Baker's cartoons, since they draw heavily on Army life in general and life in the Airborne in particular. I've shared this book with civilian friends, vets, and current and former paratroopers, and the responses range from "huh?" to "been there, done that," to "oh, man, remember when...". Everyone seems to connect with Murphy at some level, because there's some Murphy in all of us.

I hope this book goes back into print soon. Used copies are hard to come by, and I'm getting tired of having to wrestle my copy back from friends everyime I loan it out. Best of luck to Mark Baker, his loyal readers and all the Murphys out there who make the world go round.