in some cases utilizing the same characters. Characters Master Sergeant Half-Mast and Connie Rodd (now a civilian) as well as Privates Dope and Fosgnoff were brought by Eisner from Army Motors. Dope and Fosgnoff served as cautionary tales while Half-Mast provided direct technical guidance. Following Army complaints about screw-ups Dope and Fosgnoff, both characters were permanently removed in 1955. As other combat support and combat service support elements joined the magazine, new characters were added to represent branch-specific issues: Bull Dozer for the engineers in 1954, Percy the Skunk for the Chemical Corps in 1960, Windy Windsock (and later Benjamin "Rotor" Blade) for aviation in 1962, and Macon Sparks for the signal corps in 1977. To better serve a diversifying demographic in the military audience, in 1970 an African-American civilian woman, Bonnie, was added. A Hispanic quartermaster sergeant, Pablo Hablo, was introduced in 1993 but was removed only five years later after being perceived as a racial stereotype. In 2001, On-Line Warrior was added to the PS line-up to communicate information about online resources. From the 1950s to the 1970s, Connie and Bonnie were played up as "cheesecake" targeted at the mostly male GIs to help interest them in using PS. Following an increased presence of females in the Army and at the urging of Congresswoman Bella Abzug as well as Senators William Proxmire and Orrin Hatch, the magazine updated Connie and Bonnie in March 1980 to a more modest and professional form. Sherry Steward has opined that the anthropomorphism of military equipment in the magazine helps the military audience "build serious relationships with technology... personified equipment often reflects emotions of anger, sadness, fear, and happiness to appeal to the reader's sense of responsibility." Through facial expressions, body language and dialogue, the anthropomorphized equipment reacts soldiers' activity, establishing empathy among those charged with maintenance of the Army's equipment. Citations References External links Army Motors online at the Virginia Military Preservation Association Army Motors online at Radionerds.com Online Archive of PS issues 1951-1971 at Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries PS Magazine free and full archive downloadable under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license at Radionerds.com PS Magazine archive at NSN Depot 1951 comics debuts Comics magazines published in the United States Monthly magazines published in the United States United States Army publications Comics by Will Eisner Magazines established in 1951 War comics Educational comics Magazines published in Alabama Military magazines published in the United