Roger Fletcher
Encyclopedia
Roger Fletcher is a prolific, award-winning Australian cartoonist and illustrator. His first comic strip, Torkan
first appeared in the Australian Sunday Telegraph
in June 1976 and his second comic strip, Staria, a tongue-in-cheek science fiction adventure, has appeared in the pages of the Australian Daily Telegraph
since May 1980. Fletcher has taught children and adults the art of cartooning in the east coast of Australia
and Ireland
.
, New South Wales
, in 1949, Fletcher was all but born with a pencil in his hand. He was captivated by newspaper comic strips and comic books from an early age. Fletcher cites inspiration from English comics like Battler Briton, Paul Wheelahan's The Panther and Monty Wedd
's Captain Justice.
Fletcher’s first job after leaving high school was in the shipping industry, but he had not given up his dream of becoming a professional comic artist. He studied art part-time at Julian Ashton
’s art school and took a course in scriptwriting at the Australian Film and Television School.
that had a profound impact on his future. In particular, the pair of characters called Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
influenced Fletcher greatly.
Fletcher put Nathan Cole aside and set about creating a sword and sorcery strip, titled Orn the Eagle Warrior, in 1974. Riding a giant eagle, sporting a beard and bristling with weapons, Orn’s adventures took place on a strange world with a dying sun and two moons. Not everyone, however, shared Fletcher’s enthusiasm for his grim barbarian hero.
Born into the warrior clans of Aquiona, Fletcher’s new hero, Torkan, was rarely bested in combat. Yet his broadsword could not protect him against his own fiery temper and weakness for comely wenches, both of which often landed him in trouble.
Torkan first appeared in Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper in June 1976 and immediately struck a chord with readers. Torkan continues to win new generations of readers; something which Flectcher believes is attributable to the character’s enduring appeal. Flectcher claims that "the paradigm for heroic adventure was first written in the Bible, as David and Goliath. Whether it’s in Arthurian legend or Harry Potter, the paradigm itself doesn’t change much - but fashions do change."
Levels of violence in the stories have, however, dropped since the strip’s early years.
Encouraged by the success of Torkan, Fletcher began work on his next comic strip idea in 1977 - a science-fiction series called Staria.
She may be a curvaceous blonde beauty, but Staria is no bimbo. As Captain of the Federation of Intergalactic Peace Keeping Organisation (FIPKO) patrol vessel Venus III, Staria and her crew roam the galaxies, fighting evil and protecting the innocent. Fletcher created his protagonist by taking the common sci-fi stereotypes - the hunky hero, the bimbo and the professorial type - and turned the bimbo into the hero, turned the hunk into a bird-headed Dromad named Kru (the ship’s flight engineer) and made the professor into a drunk, Dr. Umbo.
Still working full-time while producing the weekly Torkan strip, it took Roger several years to develop Staria and eventually sell it.
The success of Star Wars may have made it easier to sell Staria, but it was three years before the strip first appeared in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph
newspaper in 1980.
Like Torkan, Fletcher believes Staria’s continued popularity stems from her well-defined character.
Fletcher prefers the freedom of the Sunday format, which allows for more flexibility in drawing than the daily strip, but stories must be strong so that readers can remember them a week later.
Fletcher continues to write his strips today. Sydney film company Prodigy Movies is developing projects featuring both of Fletcher’s characters.
Torkan
Torkan is a heroic fantasy comic strip written and illustrated by Roger Fletcher. It first appeared in the Sunday Telegraph in 1976.During the early 1970s, Fletcher began developing a comic strip about an Australian soldier-of-fortune, titled Nathan Cole - until he was introduced to the world of...
first appeared in the Australian Sunday Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
in June 1976 and his second comic strip, Staria, a tongue-in-cheek science fiction adventure, has appeared in the pages of the Australian Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
since May 1980. Fletcher has taught children and adults the art of cartooning in the east coast of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Early years
Born in MurwillumbahMurwillumbah, New South Wales
Murwillumbah is a town of approximately 7,500 people in far north-eastern New South Wales, Australia in the Tweed Shire. It lies on the Tweed River, 848 km north-east of Sydney, 13 km south of the Queensland border and 132 km south of Brisbane. At the 2006 census, Murwillumbah had a...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, in 1949, Fletcher was all but born with a pencil in his hand. He was captivated by newspaper comic strips and comic books from an early age. Fletcher cites inspiration from English comics like Battler Briton, Paul Wheelahan's The Panther and Monty Wedd
Monty Wedd
Montague Thomas Archibald 'Monty' Wedd is an Australian comic artist, animator and author.Wedd was born in Randwick, New South Wales in 1921. As a school boy he was intructed in art by Oswald Brock...
's Captain Justice.
Fletcher’s first job after leaving high school was in the shipping industry, but he had not given up his dream of becoming a professional comic artist. He studied art part-time at Julian Ashton
Julian Ashton
Julian Rossi Ashton was an Australian artist and teacher, known for his support of the Heidelberg School and for his influential art school in Sydney....
’s art school and took a course in scriptwriting at the Australian Film and Television School.
Development of Torkan and Staria
During the early 1970s, Fletcher began developing a comic strip about an Australian soldier-of-fortune, titled Nathan Cole, until he was introduced to the world of sword and sorcery by science-fiction writer Fritz LeiberFritz Leiber
Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. was an American writer of fantasy, horror and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theatre and films, playwright, expert chess player and a champion fencer. Possibly his greatest chess accomplishment was winning clear first in the 1958 Santa Monica Open.. With...
that had a profound impact on his future. In particular, the pair of characters called Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are two seminal sword-and-sorcery heroes appearing in stories written by Fritz Leiber . They are the protagonists of what are probably Leiber's best-known stories....
influenced Fletcher greatly.
Fletcher put Nathan Cole aside and set about creating a sword and sorcery strip, titled Orn the Eagle Warrior, in 1974. Riding a giant eagle, sporting a beard and bristling with weapons, Orn’s adventures took place on a strange world with a dying sun and two moons. Not everyone, however, shared Fletcher’s enthusiasm for his grim barbarian hero.
- “The reaction of every editor I showed Orn to was, ‘What the hell have you been smokin’, boy?’ I was told in no uncertain terms that if I wanted to get it published, I’d have to tone it down more than a little. I wanted to be published in the Sunday comic pages, so I aimed for somewhere between Prince Valiant and Conan.”
Born into the warrior clans of Aquiona, Fletcher’s new hero, Torkan, was rarely bested in combat. Yet his broadsword could not protect him against his own fiery temper and weakness for comely wenches, both of which often landed him in trouble.
Torkan first appeared in Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper in June 1976 and immediately struck a chord with readers. Torkan continues to win new generations of readers; something which Flectcher believes is attributable to the character’s enduring appeal. Flectcher claims that "the paradigm for heroic adventure was first written in the Bible, as David and Goliath. Whether it’s in Arthurian legend or Harry Potter, the paradigm itself doesn’t change much - but fashions do change."
Levels of violence in the stories have, however, dropped since the strip’s early years.
Encouraged by the success of Torkan, Fletcher began work on his next comic strip idea in 1977 - a science-fiction series called Staria.
She may be a curvaceous blonde beauty, but Staria is no bimbo. As Captain of the Federation of Intergalactic Peace Keeping Organisation (FIPKO) patrol vessel Venus III, Staria and her crew roam the galaxies, fighting evil and protecting the innocent. Fletcher created his protagonist by taking the common sci-fi stereotypes - the hunky hero, the bimbo and the professorial type - and turned the bimbo into the hero, turned the hunk into a bird-headed Dromad named Kru (the ship’s flight engineer) and made the professor into a drunk, Dr. Umbo.
Still working full-time while producing the weekly Torkan strip, it took Roger several years to develop Staria and eventually sell it.
- “I started showing Staria around in 1977, but I was assured that sci-fi was dead as last week’s prawn heads. Then along came Star WarsStar Wars Episode IV: A New HopeStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
in 1977, and the pundits were proved wrong - as pundits often are.”
The success of Star Wars may have made it easier to sell Staria, but it was three years before the strip first appeared in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
newspaper in 1980.
Like Torkan, Fletcher believes Staria’s continued popularity stems from her well-defined character.
- “She is a strong and courageous woman, while still have a nurturing side - she’s a bit of a mother hen about her crew,” he says. “I started off with a tongue-on-cheek writing style, so the character hasn’t changed a great deal.”
Fletcher prefers the freedom of the Sunday format, which allows for more flexibility in drawing than the daily strip, but stories must be strong so that readers can remember them a week later.
Fletcher continues to write his strips today. Sydney film company Prodigy Movies is developing projects featuring both of Fletcher’s characters.