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Steve Roper and Mike Nomad
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Steve Roper and Mike Nomad
Steve Roper and Mike Nomad was an American adventure comic strip that ran under various titles from November 23, 1936, to December 26, 2004. Originally Big Chief Wahoo, the focus and title character of the strip changed over time to Chief Wahoo (1940–1945), Chief Wahoo and Steve Roper (1945–1946), Steve Roper and Wahoo (1946–1948), Steve Roper (1948–1969) and finally Steve Roper and Mike Nomad (1969–2004).
It was initially distributed by Publishers Syndicate, then by Field Newspaper Syndicate, before concluding at King Features Syndicate. Despite the changes in title, characters, themes, and authors, the entire 68-year run formed a single evolving story, from an Indian who teamed up with an adventurous young photojournalist to two long-time friends ready to retire after their long, eventful careers.
Created by Allen Saunders and Elmer Woggon, the strip was written by Saunders for more than forty years until it was taken over by his son John Saunders, who wrote it for another 24 years. Woggon illustrated the strip from its inception until the mid-1940s; other artists who spent considerable time on the strip included Pete Hoffman (11 years), William Overgard (31 years), and Fran Matera (19 years).
The strip was originally proposed by Elmer Woggon as The Great Gusto, illustrated by himself and written by Allen Saunders (who would also write Mary Worth and Kerry Drake). J. Mortimer Gusto was a freeloading opportunist based on the film persona of W.C. Fields. In his autobiography, Saunders said Fields was flattered. However, the syndicate preferred his sidekick Wahoo. The proposal was revamped to center on this sidekick, and the strip debuted on November 23, 1936, as Big Chief Wahoo.
Whitman Publishing produced three "Big Chief Wahoo" Big Little Books: Big Chief Wahoo (1938), Big Chief Wahoo and the Magic Lamp (1940) and Big Chief Wahoo and the Lost Pioneers (1942).
Wahoo was a short Native American in a ten-gallon hat who was played for laughs but showed courage, loyalty, and common sense. It was white people who were often the targets of the jokes, and the strip made vigorous defences of Native Americans. Wahoo, rich from discovering oil on his land back in Te-e-pee Town (spelled both ways in the strip), headed to New York City to find his girlfriend Minnie Ha-Cha, who had gone away to college and was now a nightclub singer. On the way, Wahoo was joined by Gusto, who continued as a support character through August 1939. Other original characters included Pigtails ("44 pounds of dynamite wrapped in calico!") and Lulu Hipps ("The bee-utiful belle of the boarding-house").
The strip initially revolved around humorous tales, such as stories about people trying to cheat Wahoo out of his money or fish-out-of-water tales of Wahoo in New York or Hollywood. From the beginning, the storyline maintained continuity, and had already moved into serious adventure by 1940 when a dashing young photojournalist named Steve Roper was introduced. By World War II, Roper was the lead in war-oriented adventures, and the strip was retitled Chief Wahoo and Steve Roper in 1945. The strip was rebranded many times in the following years, secondly as Steve Roper and Wahoo in 1946, and finally in 1948 as Steve Roper. Wahoo and Minnie were written out on February 21 and November 19, 1947, respectively. As the strip took on many different characters and backgrounds, its artwork changed; Some of the artists include Woggon's brother Bill Woggon, Don Dean, and (from December 1945 to July 1954) Pete Hoffman. Woggon remained the strip's letterer and researcher until sometime in 1975. He later passed in 1978.
After his World War II service in Navy intelligence, Roper got a job at Spotshot magazine (renamed Spotlight in 1950), and from then on the main action was set in New York City. As good with his fists as with his cameras and typewriter, he built a reputation as a racket-busting ace reporter and editor. The strip's popularity grew: after the March 1948 birth of a son to Roper's friends Sonny and Cupcake Brawnski, there was a national write-in of suggested names from readers.
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Steve Roper and Mike Nomad
Steve Roper and Mike Nomad was an American adventure comic strip that ran under various titles from November 23, 1936, to December 26, 2004. Originally Big Chief Wahoo, the focus and title character of the strip changed over time to Chief Wahoo (1940–1945), Chief Wahoo and Steve Roper (1945–1946), Steve Roper and Wahoo (1946–1948), Steve Roper (1948–1969) and finally Steve Roper and Mike Nomad (1969–2004).
It was initially distributed by Publishers Syndicate, then by Field Newspaper Syndicate, before concluding at King Features Syndicate. Despite the changes in title, characters, themes, and authors, the entire 68-year run formed a single evolving story, from an Indian who teamed up with an adventurous young photojournalist to two long-time friends ready to retire after their long, eventful careers.
Created by Allen Saunders and Elmer Woggon, the strip was written by Saunders for more than forty years until it was taken over by his son John Saunders, who wrote it for another 24 years. Woggon illustrated the strip from its inception until the mid-1940s; other artists who spent considerable time on the strip included Pete Hoffman (11 years), William Overgard (31 years), and Fran Matera (19 years).
The strip was originally proposed by Elmer Woggon as The Great Gusto, illustrated by himself and written by Allen Saunders (who would also write Mary Worth and Kerry Drake). J. Mortimer Gusto was a freeloading opportunist based on the film persona of W.C. Fields. In his autobiography, Saunders said Fields was flattered. However, the syndicate preferred his sidekick Wahoo. The proposal was revamped to center on this sidekick, and the strip debuted on November 23, 1936, as Big Chief Wahoo.
Whitman Publishing produced three "Big Chief Wahoo" Big Little Books: Big Chief Wahoo (1938), Big Chief Wahoo and the Magic Lamp (1940) and Big Chief Wahoo and the Lost Pioneers (1942).
Wahoo was a short Native American in a ten-gallon hat who was played for laughs but showed courage, loyalty, and common sense. It was white people who were often the targets of the jokes, and the strip made vigorous defences of Native Americans. Wahoo, rich from discovering oil on his land back in Te-e-pee Town (spelled both ways in the strip), headed to New York City to find his girlfriend Minnie Ha-Cha, who had gone away to college and was now a nightclub singer. On the way, Wahoo was joined by Gusto, who continued as a support character through August 1939. Other original characters included Pigtails ("44 pounds of dynamite wrapped in calico!") and Lulu Hipps ("The bee-utiful belle of the boarding-house").
The strip initially revolved around humorous tales, such as stories about people trying to cheat Wahoo out of his money or fish-out-of-water tales of Wahoo in New York or Hollywood. From the beginning, the storyline maintained continuity, and had already moved into serious adventure by 1940 when a dashing young photojournalist named Steve Roper was introduced. By World War II, Roper was the lead in war-oriented adventures, and the strip was retitled Chief Wahoo and Steve Roper in 1945. The strip was rebranded many times in the following years, secondly as Steve Roper and Wahoo in 1946, and finally in 1948 as Steve Roper. Wahoo and Minnie were written out on February 21 and November 19, 1947, respectively. As the strip took on many different characters and backgrounds, its artwork changed; Some of the artists include Woggon's brother Bill Woggon, Don Dean, and (from December 1945 to July 1954) Pete Hoffman. Woggon remained the strip's letterer and researcher until sometime in 1975. He later passed in 1978.
After his World War II service in Navy intelligence, Roper got a job at Spotshot magazine (renamed Spotlight in 1950), and from then on the main action was set in New York City. As good with his fists as with his cameras and typewriter, he built a reputation as a racket-busting ace reporter and editor. The strip's popularity grew: after the March 1948 birth of a son to Roper's friends Sonny and Cupcake Brawnski, there was a national write-in of suggested names from readers.