Rick Yager
Encyclopedia
Richard Sidney Yager was an American cartoonist most famous for his work on the Buck Rogers
comic strip.
(which was also home to Frank Lloyd Wright
and had many homes designed by him), and were neighbors to the Hemingway (Ernest Hemingway
) and Burroughs (Edgar Rice Burroughs
) families. As a young man Yager spent several summers working on ranches in Wyoming. He attended Oak Park High School where he played halfback on the football team. After high school Yager attended the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago whose alumni include such notables as Walt Disney
, Bill Mauldin
, Georgia O'Keeffe
, John Cullen Murphy
, and Orson Welles
.
page. Thus Yager began a 25 year run in which he was to be the backbone of the popular newspaper comic strip. One of Yager's first contributions to the strip was a series of rocket ships that appeared in the last panel of each page - some of these designs would later be licensed by other companies and made into Tootsietoy rocket ships and balsa wood construction kits that sold by the tens of thousands during the Buck Rogers merchandising craze of the mid 1930's. Another of Yager's early creations was the famous "Spider Ship" which was featured in the popular pop-up book "Buck Rogers in Strange Adventures of the Spider Ship". By 1936 the multi-talented Yager was not only the strip's artist, but the feature's writer as well. Yager was responsible for many of the strip's most memorable story lines. These stories were invariably accompanied by the beautifully streamlined rocket ships that were his trademark. One such rocket was the "El Dorado", a ship made entirely of gold. Yager also dreamed up many of the feature's most beloved characters, notably "Admiral Cornplaster", the mischievous little green alien who could climb walls and hang from ceilings thanks to his vacuum-cupped hands and feet.
For the first decade of his work on Buck Rogers Yager worked as a "ghost artist", which was a common practice in that era. The pages were signed by Dick Calkins
, the newspaper strip's original artist, until 1943, then co-signed by Calkins & Yager until 1948. A good description of Yager's artistic technique:
For the last decade of his work on the strip Yager was finally allowed to sign his own name to his work. During this phase of his career Yager also took over the daily Buck Rogers strip - both art and story line; he was assisted by Len Dworkins from 1951-56. At the time Yager left the National Newspaper Syndicate in 1958 due to a dispute over contracts, the circulation of the Buck Rogers daily newspaper strip was at an all time high. After having been read by millions of people every day for decades, the Buck Rogers strip fell on hard times after Yager's departure. By 1965 the Sunday page was discontinued, and in 1967 the plug was pulled on the daily strip as well which by then was down to a handful of newspapers.
page from George Lichty
. This was too good to pass up as Grin and Bear It was syndicated in more than 300 newspapers, so Yager reluctantly decided to abandon Little Orvy in order to take the reins on Grin and Bear It beginning in 1963.
and Walt Disney.
As many of the early astronauts had cited the Buck Rogers comic strip to be a major influence on their dreams of going into space, Yager was a guest of NASA
for the launch of Apollo 11
, and was interviewed for a TV news show on splashdown day. He was once again invited by NASA to be a guest at one of the early launches of the Space Shuttle.
Despite being a consummate perfectionist (he was fond of saying, "If it's 99.9% right, it's 100% wrong!") Yager prided himself on meeting his deadlines and his work ethic has been cited as an inspiration by several in the younger generation of cartoonists as well, most notably Andrew Pepoy
:
Rick Yager was married for 60 years, and had children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
Buck Rogers
Anthony Rogers is a fictional character that first appeared in Armageddon 2419 A.D. by Philip Francis Nowlan in the August 1928 issue of the pulp magazine Amazing Stories. A sequel, The Airlords of Han, was published in the March 1929 issue....
comic strip.
Early life
Rick Yager was born in Alton, Illinois on the banks of the Mississippi River. Later the family moved to Oak ParkOak Park, Illinois
Oak Park, Illinois is a suburb bordering the west side of the city of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is the twenty-fifth largest municipality in Illinois. Oak Park has easy access to downtown Chicago due to public transportation such as the Chicago 'L' Blue and Green lines,...
(which was also home to Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
and had many homes designed by him), and were neighbors to the Hemingway (Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
) and Burroughs (Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
) families. As a young man Yager spent several summers working on ranches in Wyoming. He attended Oak Park High School where he played halfback on the football team. After high school Yager attended the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago whose alumni include such notables as Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
, Bill Mauldin
Bill Mauldin
William Henry "Bill" Mauldin was a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist from the United States...
, Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia Totto O'Keeffe was an American artist.Born near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, O'Keeffe first came to the attention of the New York art community in 1916, several decades before women had gained access to art training in America’s colleges and universities, and before any of its women artists...
, John Cullen Murphy
John Cullen Murphy
John Cullen Murphy was an American illustrator best known for his three decades of work on the Prince Valiant comic strip....
, and Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
.
Buck Rogers
Rick Yager was hired by the National Newspaper Syndicate in 1933 to work on the Sunday Buck RogersBuck Rogers
Anthony Rogers is a fictional character that first appeared in Armageddon 2419 A.D. by Philip Francis Nowlan in the August 1928 issue of the pulp magazine Amazing Stories. A sequel, The Airlords of Han, was published in the March 1929 issue....
page. Thus Yager began a 25 year run in which he was to be the backbone of the popular newspaper comic strip. One of Yager's first contributions to the strip was a series of rocket ships that appeared in the last panel of each page - some of these designs would later be licensed by other companies and made into Tootsietoy rocket ships and balsa wood construction kits that sold by the tens of thousands during the Buck Rogers merchandising craze of the mid 1930's. Another of Yager's early creations was the famous "Spider Ship" which was featured in the popular pop-up book "Buck Rogers in Strange Adventures of the Spider Ship". By 1936 the multi-talented Yager was not only the strip's artist, but the feature's writer as well. Yager was responsible for many of the strip's most memorable story lines. These stories were invariably accompanied by the beautifully streamlined rocket ships that were his trademark. One such rocket was the "El Dorado", a ship made entirely of gold. Yager also dreamed up many of the feature's most beloved characters, notably "Admiral Cornplaster", the mischievous little green alien who could climb walls and hang from ceilings thanks to his vacuum-cupped hands and feet.
For the first decade of his work on Buck Rogers Yager worked as a "ghost artist", which was a common practice in that era. The pages were signed by Dick Calkins
Dick Calkins
Dick Calkins , who often signed his work Lt. Dick Calkins, is a comic strip artist who is best known for being the first artist to draw the Buck Rogers comic strip....
, the newspaper strip's original artist, until 1943, then co-signed by Calkins & Yager until 1948. A good description of Yager's artistic technique:
For the last decade of his work on the strip Yager was finally allowed to sign his own name to his work. During this phase of his career Yager also took over the daily Buck Rogers strip - both art and story line; he was assisted by Len Dworkins from 1951-56. At the time Yager left the National Newspaper Syndicate in 1958 due to a dispute over contracts, the circulation of the Buck Rogers daily newspaper strip was at an all time high. After having been read by millions of people every day for decades, the Buck Rogers strip fell on hard times after Yager's departure. By 1965 the Sunday page was discontinued, and in 1967 the plug was pulled on the daily strip as well which by then was down to a handful of newspapers.
Little Orvy
After leaving Buck Rogers Yager created a new Sunday only comic strip entitled The Imaginary Adventures of Little Orvy in 1959. Little Orvy began running in newspapers across the United States including many major markets as the new decade began. The strip remained popular but shortly before it was to enter its 4th year, Yager received an offer to take over the Sunday Grin and Bear ItGrin and Bear It
Grin and Bear It is a daily panel created by George Lichtenstein under the penname George Lichty. Initially distributed by United Feature Syndicate, it was syndicated by Field Enterprises beginning in 1940. Field Enterprises was sold in 1986 to King Features Syndicate which continues to distribute...
page from George Lichty
George Lichty
George Lichty was an American cartoonist, creator of the daily and Sunday cartoon series Grin and Bear It. His work was signed Lichty and often ran without mention of his first name....
. This was too good to pass up as Grin and Bear It was syndicated in more than 300 newspapers, so Yager reluctantly decided to abandon Little Orvy in order to take the reins on Grin and Bear It beginning in 1963.
Grin and Bear It
Yager considered emulating Lichty's distinctively quirky art style to be the greatest challenge of his career. Few people realize, even today, that it was Yager at the helm of Grin and Bear It all those years and not Lichty himself. Yager ghosted the Sunday page for a quarter of a century, until he finally began signing the strip himself in 1988. This continued until 1992 when failing eyesight forced Yager's retirement from the strip and from cartooning altogether.Cappy Dick
From the early 1960s until the mid 1980s Yager also produced the "Cappy Dick's Young Hobby Club" page for children, which had a wide national syndication as well.Comic book work
During the 1930s and 1940s Yager created multiple comic book features in addition to his newspaper comic strip work. Among them were Land O' Nod, Mystery Island, Wild Bill, Buzz Balmer, and Ace Kelly. These were published in Krim Ko Komics, Tops in Comics, Komik Pages, and Bang Up Comics.Other artistic pursuits
Rick Yager was accomplished at watercolors, scrimshaw, wood carving and pursued many other artistic endeavors. His expert scrimshaw work was featured in William Gilkerson's seminal book entitled The Scrimshander, which was originally published in 1978. He was accomplished at the piano as well, and he entertained friends and relatives with popular tunes from the 1920s and 30's played in his unique improvised stride style.Outside interests
Among Yager's many and varied interests were archaeology and paleontology, which again were exhibited quite frequently in his comic strip work. He loved adventure, and made several trips deep into the jungles of the Yucatán to visit Mayan ruins in the late 1930s and early 1940s.Honors and legacy
During World War II he participated in war bond drives, taking part in morale building "chalk-talks" with other notable artists such as Milton CaniffMilton Caniff
Milton Arthur Paul Caniff was an American cartoonist famous for the Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon comic strips.-Biography:...
and Walt Disney.
As many of the early astronauts had cited the Buck Rogers comic strip to be a major influence on their dreams of going into space, Yager was a guest of NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
for the launch of Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
, and was interviewed for a TV news show on splashdown day. He was once again invited by NASA to be a guest at one of the early launches of the Space Shuttle.
Despite being a consummate perfectionist (he was fond of saying, "If it's 99.9% right, it's 100% wrong!") Yager prided himself on meeting his deadlines and his work ethic has been cited as an inspiration by several in the younger generation of cartoonists as well, most notably Andrew Pepoy
Andrew Pepoy
Andrew Pepoy is an American comic book artist writer and artist.-Early life:Andrew Pepoy was born on May 13, 1969 in Holland, Michigan.-Career:Pepoy began working as a professional artist while still in college at Loyola University Chicago....
:
Rick Yager was married for 60 years, and had children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.