Elmer Woggon
Encyclopedia
Elmer Woggon who signed his art Wog, was the creator of an early newspaper comic strip that eventually developed into the long-running Steve Roper and Mike Nomad
.
Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio
, Woggon was interested as a child in American Indians. Developing his drawing skills through the Federal School
cartoon correspondence course, he got a job at the Toledo Blade
as cartoonist, commercial artist and eventually art editor. With the American public's fascination after World War I with airplanes and daring aviators, in 1929 he tried an aviation-themed comic strip called Skylark. It failed "because its creator had never been in a plane".
) to base it on a comical "windbag" (Waugh). He drafted samples he titled The Great Gusto, featuring opportunistic medicine-show impresario J. Mortimer Gusto (Saunders, ibid), and in 1935 he enlisted as his writer Allen Saunders
, a reporter at the rival News-Bee across the street. But their proposal and advance publicity were not accepted until they took the syndicate's advice to focus instead on Gusto's "cute" Indian sidekick, Chief Wahoo. This character, with his diminutive stature and 10-gallon hat, had little resemblance to the Cleveland Indians
' mascot Chief Wahoo
dating from 1946, but Dowd and others have assumed the mascot came from the comic character.
At last syndicated,Big Chief Wahoo took off in the newspapers on November 23, 1936, opening with Wahoo receiving a letter from his girlfriend Minnie Ha-Cha in New York and rushing to her. On the way (six days into the strip), he encountered Gusto, who now played second fiddle to Wahoo. The strip quickly became a hit, adding features such as reader-submitted "Indian slango" (e.g., credit = 'trustum-bustum') and spinning off products such as Wahoo chewing gum, coloring books and paper dolls. In fact, according to Saunders (ibid), their "sawed-off Seminole" (Wahoo was actually from the Southwest, not Florida) almost got into animated cartoons. The authors soon left their newspaper jobs as full-time authors of Big Chief Wahoo, taking a studio in downtown Toledo, and both joined the National Cartoonists Society
.
However, Woggon's "bigfoot" comic art style was not up to the strip's increasingly serious stories and wide-ranging settings. According to Harvey (1994, ch. 7), this was a common problem for cartoonists faced with the era's transition to photorealism
in adventure strips. As early as 1938, ghost artists were being called in for Big Chief Wahoo: Woggon's kid brother Bill Woggon
, Marvin Bradley, Don Dean, and (in 1945) Pete Hoffman
. This resulted in a jarringly inconsistent look as each ghost filled in around Woggon's Wahoo and Gusto figures, eventually took over the whole strip for a while, and then left for other strips.
With success, Elmer Woggon acquired a new home at 1650 North Cove Boulevard in Toledo, but on February 21, 1942, thieves ripped out a bay window of the house and made off with the refrigerator, bathroom fixtures and parts of an electric stove. Woggon estimated the loss at $500.
Elmer Woggon's role as ghosted artist finally ended in 1954, when William Overgard
took over as the strip's credited artist and imposed a consistent, attractively realistic look. Meanwhile, Saunders had delicately written out Woggon's early cartoonish figures (Gusto, Oscar the Octopus, Mooseface, horse Ammonia) to focus on a new character, a handsome young reporter named Steve Roper who on March 23, 1940, flew his plane into Wahoo's town (Woggon got his aviator) to get a story, and helped in a rescue mission. Wahoo joined him in his adventures, but as the strip followed Roper's career, Wahoo and Minnie (the only surviving members of the original cast) were increasingly out of place and were written out in 1947. The strip then became Steve Roper (and in 1969, Steve Roper and Mike Nomad). Wahoo and Gusto were never seen or mentioned again, except in a special Christmas 1976 strip that Overgard drew of the "Steve Roper Clan," picturing himself, Allen Saunders and son John, and Woggon with Roper, Nomad, Wahoo, Minnie and Gusto.
, where he recovered from an appendectomy in March 1968. He died in Fort Lauderdale in 1978, finally recognized for his work by an Inkpot Award
that same year.
Steve Roper and Mike Nomad
Steve Roper and Mike Nomad was an American adventure comic strip that ran under various earlier titles from November 1936 to December 26, 2004...
.
Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
, Woggon was interested as a child in American Indians. Developing his drawing skills through the Federal School
Art Instruction Schools
Art Instruction Schools, better known to many as Art Instruction, Inc., is a home study correspondence course providing training in cartooning and illustration...
cartoon correspondence course, he got a job at the Toledo Blade
The Blade (newspaper)
The Blade is a daily newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, first published on December 19, 1835.- Overview :David Ross Locke gained national fame for the paper during the Civil War era by writing under the pen name Petroleum V. Nasby. Writing under the pen name, Locke wrote satires ranging on topics from...
as cartoonist, commercial artist and eventually art editor. With the American public's fascination after World War I with airplanes and daring aviators, in 1929 he tried an aviation-themed comic strip called Skylark. It failed "because its creator had never been in a plane".
Woggon's Wahoo
Woggon then tried a gag strip, encouraged by Publishers Syndicate (later Publishers-Hall SyndicatePublishers-Hall Syndicate
Publishers-Hall Syndicate was a newspaper syndicate founded in 1944 by Robert M. Hall, the company's president and general manager.Hall had worked for The Providence Journal during high school, followed by three years at Northeastern Law School and four years at Brown University...
) to base it on a comical "windbag" (Waugh). He drafted samples he titled The Great Gusto, featuring opportunistic medicine-show impresario J. Mortimer Gusto (Saunders, ibid), and in 1935 he enlisted as his writer Allen Saunders
Allen Saunders
Allen Saunders was an American writer, journalist and cartoonist who wrote the comic strips Steve Roper and Mike Nomad, Mary Worth and Kerry Drake...
, a reporter at the rival News-Bee across the street. But their proposal and advance publicity were not accepted until they took the syndicate's advice to focus instead on Gusto's "cute" Indian sidekick, Chief Wahoo. This character, with his diminutive stature and 10-gallon hat, had little resemblance to the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
' mascot Chief Wahoo
Chief Wahoo
Chief Wahoo is a trademarked logo for the Cleveland Indians baseball team. The illustration is a Native American cartoon caricature.Although the club had adopted the name "Indians" starting with the 1915 season, there was no acknowledgment of this nickname on their uniforms until 1928...
dating from 1946, but Dowd and others have assumed the mascot came from the comic character.
At last syndicated,Big Chief Wahoo took off in the newspapers on November 23, 1936, opening with Wahoo receiving a letter from his girlfriend Minnie Ha-Cha in New York and rushing to her. On the way (six days into the strip), he encountered Gusto, who now played second fiddle to Wahoo. The strip quickly became a hit, adding features such as reader-submitted "Indian slango" (e.g., credit = 'trustum-bustum') and spinning off products such as Wahoo chewing gum, coloring books and paper dolls. In fact, according to Saunders (ibid), their "sawed-off Seminole" (Wahoo was actually from the Southwest, not Florida) almost got into animated cartoons. The authors soon left their newspaper jobs as full-time authors of Big Chief Wahoo, taking a studio in downtown Toledo, and both joined the National Cartoonists Society
National Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
.
However, Woggon's "bigfoot" comic art style was not up to the strip's increasingly serious stories and wide-ranging settings. According to Harvey (1994, ch. 7), this was a common problem for cartoonists faced with the era's transition to photorealism
Photorealism
Photorealism is the genre of painting based on using the camera and photographs to gather information and then from this information creating a painting that appears photographic...
in adventure strips. As early as 1938, ghost artists were being called in for Big Chief Wahoo: Woggon's kid brother Bill Woggon
Bill Woggon
William Woggon was an American cartoonist who created the comic book Katy Keene.Woggon was born the fourth of six children in Toledo, Ohio, and he grew up there. Fascinated by an art correspondence course that his older brother Elmer Woggon was taking, he became interested in drawing...
, Marvin Bradley, Don Dean, and (in 1945) Pete Hoffman
Pete Hoffman
Pete Hoffman is an American cartoonist. He is known for his work on the adventure strips Steve Roper and Jeff Cobb.-Early years:...
. This resulted in a jarringly inconsistent look as each ghost filled in around Woggon's Wahoo and Gusto figures, eventually took over the whole strip for a while, and then left for other strips.
With success, Elmer Woggon acquired a new home at 1650 North Cove Boulevard in Toledo, but on February 21, 1942, thieves ripped out a bay window of the house and made off with the refrigerator, bathroom fixtures and parts of an electric stove. Woggon estimated the loss at $500.
Elmer Woggon's role as ghosted artist finally ended in 1954, when William Overgard
William Overgard
William Overgard , was an American cartoonist and writer with a diverse opus, including novels, screenplays, animation, and the comic strips Steve Roper and Mike Nomad and Rudy. For a picture, see his biography card at ....
took over as the strip's credited artist and imposed a consistent, attractively realistic look. Meanwhile, Saunders had delicately written out Woggon's early cartoonish figures (Gusto, Oscar the Octopus, Mooseface, horse Ammonia) to focus on a new character, a handsome young reporter named Steve Roper who on March 23, 1940, flew his plane into Wahoo's town (Woggon got his aviator) to get a story, and helped in a rescue mission. Wahoo joined him in his adventures, but as the strip followed Roper's career, Wahoo and Minnie (the only surviving members of the original cast) were increasingly out of place and were written out in 1947. The strip then became Steve Roper (and in 1969, Steve Roper and Mike Nomad). Wahoo and Gusto were never seen or mentioned again, except in a special Christmas 1976 strip that Overgard drew of the "Steve Roper Clan," picturing himself, Allen Saunders and son John, and Woggon with Roper, Nomad, Wahoo, Minnie and Gusto.
Awards
Woggon continued as the strip's researcher (Brandenburg 1949) and letterer, and according to Saunders, he took his strip's complete transformation in good grace (Harvey 2004). During the 1960s, he moved to Fort Lauderdale, FloridaFort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
, where he recovered from an appendectomy in March 1968. He died in Fort Lauderdale in 1978, finally recognized for his work by an Inkpot Award
Inkpot Award
The Inkpot Award, bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International, is given to some of the professionals in comic book, comic strip, animation, science fiction, and related pop-culture fields, who are guests of that organization's yearly multigenre fan convention, commonly known as...
that same year.
Sources
- Brandenburg, George A. 1949. Soap Opera in Comics? Never, Says Saunders. Reprinted in Stripper's Guide May 2007.
- Harvey, R. C. 1994. The Art of the Funnies. University Press of Mississippi.
- Dowd, D. B. The Cleveland Stereotypes, Ulcer City Oct. 10, 2007.
- Harvey, R. C. 2004. Rants and Raves, opus 149.
- Waugh, CoultonCoulton WaughFrederick Coulton Waugh was a cartoonist, painter, teacher and author, best known for his illustration work on the comic strip Dickie Dare and his book The Comics , the first major study of the field.His father was the marine artist Frederick Judd Waugh, and his grandfather was the Philadelphia...
. 1947. The Comics. University Press of Mississippi.
