Gordon G. Rogers (September 8, 1904,

Hobart, Oklahoma Hobart is a city in, and the county seat of, Kiowa County, Oklahoma, United States. It was named for Garret Hobart, the 24th Vice President of the United States. The population was 3,756 at the 2010 census, a decline of 6.0 percent from the figu ...

– February 6, 1996), better known as Boody Rogers, was an American

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

and

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

cartoonist who created the

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

''Sparky Watts''. Born in

, Rogers attended the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, the

Chicago Academy of Fine Arts The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...

and the

Chicago Art Institute The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and list of largest art museums, largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visit ...

. His artistic influences included

Walter Berndt Walter Berndt (November 22, 1899, – August 15, 1979) was a cartoonist known for his comic strip, '' Smitty'', which he drew for 50 years. Biography Bernt's job as an office boy at the ''New York Journal'' , which he took on after dropping o ...

Comic strips

In the late 1920s and through the 1930s, Rogers illustrated newspaper strips for such

syndicates A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French word ''syndicat ...

as the Newspaper Feature Service and the

Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate Tribune Content Agency (TCA) is a syndication company owned by Tribune Publishing. TCA had previously been known as the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (CTNYNS), Tribune Company Syndicate, and Tribune Media Se ...

. Rogers was

Zack Mosley Zack Terrell Mosley (December 12, 1906 - December 21, 1993) was an American comic strip artist best known for the aviation adventures in his long-running ''The Adventures of Smilin' Jack'' which ran in more than 300 newspapers from 1933 to 1973. ...

's assistant on ''

The Adventures of Smilin' Jack ''The Adventures of Smilin' Jack'' is an aviation comic strip that first appeared October 1, 1933, in the ''Chicago Tribune'' and ended April 1, 1973. After a run of 40 years, it was the longest-running aviation comic strip. The strip was created ...

'' when he sold his own strip, ''Sparky Watts'', to the

Frank Jay Markey Syndicate The Frank Jay Markey Syndicate was a small print syndication service that distributed comic strips and columns from the mid-1930s to c. 1950. Although small in size, the syndicate distributed strips by a number of notable cartoonists, including ...

, which distributed such strips as Ed Wheelan's ''Big Top'' and

Rube Goldberg Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970), known best as Rube Goldberg, was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor. Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadge ...

's ''Lala Palooza''. ''Sparky Watts'' debuted Monday, April 29, 1940 in some 40 newspapers. The strip ended when Rogers was drafted. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he gave

chalk talk A chalk talk is an illustrated performance in which the speaker draws pictures to emphasize lecture points and create a memorable and entertaining experience for listeners. Chalk talks differ from other types of illustrated talks in their use of r ...

s to servicemen. His World War II experiences are detailed in his autobiography, ''Homeless Bound'' (1984).

Comic books

Rogers had work published in

Dell Publishing Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...

's ''

The Funnies ''The Funnies'' was the name of two American publications from Dell Publishing (Dell Comics), the first of these a seminal 1920s precursor of comic books, and the second a standard 1930s comic book. ''The Funnies'' (1929–1930) In 1929, George ...

'', a seminal 1920s precursor of comic books. Rogers recalled his introduction to the job, taking place in 1929: During the 1930s, Rogers illustrated

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

comics for

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

and

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

. Because Markey was part owner of the Columbia Comics Group ('' Skyman'', ''

The Face The face is a part of the body, the front of the head. Face may also refer to: Film * ''The Magician'' (1958 film) or ''The Face'' * ''The Face'' (1996 film), an American television film * ''Face'' (1997 film), a British crime drama by Antonia ...

''), reprints of ''Sparky Watts'' turned up in Columbia's ''

Big Shot Comics ''Big Shot Comics'' was an American comic book series published by Columbia Comics during period in the 1940s that fans and historians refer to as the Golden Age of comic books. An anthology title, the series included a mix of superheroes, costum ...

'', which featured other strips distributed by either Markey or the

McNaught Syndicate The McNaught Syndicate was an American newspaper syndicate founded in 1922. It was established by Virgil Venice McNitt (who gave it his name) and Charles V. McAdam. Its best known contents were the columns by Will Rogers and O. O. McIntyre, the ' ...

(which distributed '' Mickey Finn'' and ''

Toonerville Folks ''Toonerville Folks'' ( ''The Toonerville Trolley That Meets All the Trains'') was a popular newspaper cartoon feature by Fontaine Fox, which ran from 1908 to 1955. It began in 1908 in the ''Chicago Post'', and by 1913, it was syndicated national ...

''). ''Sparky Watts'' began in ''Big Shot'' #14 (June, 1941), and the character starred in four issues of his own comic for Columbia, beginning November, 1942. Back from World War II, Rogers returned to syndication in 1946 with McNaught, and he drew new six-page stories for ''Big Shot'', plus in 1947, he created another six issues for Sparky's own title. Rogers also illustrated ''Babe'' and ''Dudley'' for

Prize Comics A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

.''Babe, Darling of the Hills''
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on March 19, 2012. Rogers retired from comics in 1952 and began operating a pair of art supply stores in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Bibliography

* Rogers, "Boody" Gordon. ''Homeless Bound''. Seagraves, Texas: Pioneer Book Publishing, 1984). * Yoe, Craig. ''Boody: The Bizarre Comics of Boody Rogers'' (Fantagraphics, 2009) Collection of the best ''Sparky Watts'', ''Babe'' and ''Dudley'' stories.

References

Sources

Fiveash, Chance. "Boody Rogers," ''The Comics Journal'' #275 (2006).

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Boody 1904 births 1996 deaths American comic strip cartoonists American comics artists Golden Age comics creators People from Hobart, Oklahoma