Crock (comic strip)

Crock (1975 - May 20, 2012) 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. , it appeared in 250 newspapers in 14 countries.

Don Wilder took over the writing duties in 1976 as Parker returned his focus to The Wizard of Id. Following the death of Bill Rechin in May 2011, the strip was drawn by Kevin Rechin and written by Bob Morgan, who is Rechin's brother-in-law. Publication of new Crock strips ended with the May 20, 2012, Sunday comic, though reprints of older strips by Bill Rechin will continue to run until at least 2015.

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 Commandant Vermin P. Crock rules over a curious group of beleaguered legionnaires: the cowardly Captain Poulet, the simple-minded Maggot, Figowitz (who just wants a kind word), camp follower Grossie (who now owns Le Cesspool, a favorite, yet dilapidated hangout for the characters), Preppie, Mario the Bartender and the Lost Patrol.

Theme park
Crock is featured in the Universal Studios Florida theme park, Islands of Adventure, where Crock's fort is part of the "Toon Lagoon" attraction.