Cartoonist Bill Rechin dies

SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. -- Cartoonist Bill Rechin, known for the syndicated "Crock" strip that parodies life in a Foreign Legion desert outpost, has died at age 80.

Rechin's son-in-law, Bob Morgan, says the cartoonist died at home Saturday in Spotsylvania County of complications from esophageal cancer.

In 1975, Rechin, Don Wilder and Brant Parker created the "Crock" comic strip as a parody of the Foreign Legion classic "Beau Geste." The strip, which follows the adventures of Vermin P. Crock and an assortment of characters stationed at their grim desert outpost, is distributed by King Features Syndicate and appears in more than 200 newspapers in 19 countries.

Morgan says he and Rechin's son, Kevin Rechin, plan to continue producing the comic strip.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete.

-- AP