"Don't Be a Dope — Care for Your Sidearms" — 1945 WWII Maintenance Poster by Will Eisner

Joe Dope crawls ashore from his raft, sidearm in hand, only to discover the wild boars have the drop on him. "By fireball pilots like Joe," the poster warns, "sidearms are ignored as y'know. After years of neglect that caused rust to collect the dang thing is needed—oh woe!"

Created by comics legend Will Eisner in 1945 as part of his celebrated "Joe Dope" series for the U.S. Army, these tongue-in-cheek maintenance posters drove home critical equipment care lessons to troops who might otherwise treat their gear like disposable props. Eisner's cartoon everyman became a beloved (and occasionally dreaded) fixture in military training materials, reminding soldiers that readiness starts with the basics.

In this classic scene, Joe kneels in the surf, dripping wet and wide-eyed, as a pair of smug pigs lounge on the beach while his neglected pistol sits ready for its long-overdue moment of glory. The bold, colorful cartoon style captures the frustration of needing a tool only to find it ruined by rust and inattention.

Printed from a high-resolution Library of Congress scan onto archival paper — a faithful reproduction of the public-domain original, made for your wall and not for a vault.

Product features

- Giclée printing for bright, fade-resistant color

- Three paper choices: Fine art (textured archival), Semi-glossy (satin photo finish), Matte (low-glare art paper)

- Multiple sizes with horizontal and vertical orientations

- Paper weights: Fine Art 285 g/m²; Semi-Glossy 180–260 g/m²; Matte 189–200 g/m²

- Sourced blanks from USA (JONDO) and Japan (Printify Choice); adults only

Care instructions

- If the print does gather any dust, you may wipe it off gently with a clean, dry cloth.