Marshall Rogers: Difference between revisions
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'''William Marshall Rogers III''' (January 22, 1950<ref name=CBG1650>{{cite journal|last=Miller |first=John Jackson |authorlink=John Jackson Miller |url=http://cbgxtra.com/knowledge-base/for-your-reference/comics-industry-birthdays |title=Comics Industry Birthdays |work=[[Comics Buyer's Guide]] |date=June 10, 2005 |location=Iola, Wisconsin |accessdate=December 12, 2010 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5trAbNQWw?url=http://cbgxtra.com/knowledge-base/for-your-reference/comics-industry-birthdays |archivedate=October 30, 2010|deadurl=yes|df=mdy-all}}</ref> – March 24, 2007),<ref name=ssdi>[https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JTXN-73K William Marshall Rogers III], [[Social Security Number]] 084-38-8742, at United States [[Social Security Death Index]] via FamilySearch.org. Accessed March 2, 2013.</ref> known professionally as Marshall Rogers, was an [[Americans|American]] [[comics artist]] best known for his work at [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] and [[DC Comics |
'''William Marshall Rogers III''' (January 22, 1950<ref name=CBG1650>{{cite journal|last=Miller |first=John Jackson |authorlink=John Jackson Miller |url=http://cbgxtra.com/knowledge-base/for-your-reference/comics-industry-birthdays |title=Comics Industry Birthdays |work=[[Comics Buyer's Guide]] |date=June 10, 2005 |location=Iola, Wisconsin |accessdate=December 12, 2010 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5trAbNQWw?url=http://cbgxtra.com/knowledge-base/for-your-reference/comics-industry-birthdays |archivedate=October 30, 2010|deadurl=yes|df=mdy-all}}</ref> – March 24, 2007),<ref name=ssdi>[https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JTXN-73K William Marshall Rogers III], [[Social Security Number]] 084-38-8742, at United States [[Social Security Death Index]] via FamilySearch.org. Accessed March 2, 2013.</ref> known professionally as Marshall Rogers, was an [[Americans|American]] [[comics artist]] best known for his work at [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] and [[DC Comics]]. |
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==Biography== |
==Biography== |
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[[File:Detective Comics 475.jpg|thumb|''[[Detective Comics]]'' #475 (Feb. 1978). Cover art by Rogers and [[Terry Austin (comics)|Terry Austin]]. The story "The Laughing Fish" is considered a Batman classic.<ref name=scifi />]] |
[[File:Detective Comics 475.jpg|thumb|''[[Detective Comics]]'' #475 (Feb. 1978). Cover art by Rogers and [[Terry Austin (comics)|Terry Austin]]. The story "The Laughing Fish" is considered a Batman classic.<ref name=scifi />]] |
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Rogers Born in Flushing, Queens, NY on Jan. 22, 1950,but grew up in upstate suburb of Ardsley, N.Y. He attended Kent State University in Ohio, where he studied architecture until 1971. In 1971 his family moved to Colorado, but Rogers returned to the New York region in order to work in comics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/29/obituaries/29rogers.html|title=Marshall Rogers, 57, Artist Who Drew Batman Comics, Dies|accessdate=January 11, 2017}}</ref> |
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William Marshall Rogers III<ref name=ssdi /> was born in the [[Flushing, New York|Flushing]] neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens,<ref>{{cite journal|title=From ''Detective'' to ''Detectives, Inc.'': An Interview With Marshall Rogers |work=[[The Comics Journal]] |number=54 |page=56 |date=March 1980 |publisher=Introduction, reprinted from 1979 New York [[Comic Art Convention]] program book |authorlink=Steve Englehart |first=Steve |last=Englehart |url=http://www.tcj.com/archive-viewer-issue-54/?pid=2393 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/62fehjAHU?url=http://www.tcj.com/archive-viewer-issue-54/?pid=2393 |accessdate=October 24, 2011 |archivedate=October 24, 2011|deadurl=yes|df=mdy-all}}</ref> and raised there and in [[Ardsley, New York]].<ref name=nytobit /> He took up [[mechanical drawing]] in high school,<ref name=tcj54p57>Rogers interview, ''The Comics Journal'' (54): [http://www.tcj.com/archive-viewer-issue-54/?pid=2394 57]. [https://www.webcitation.org/62feosgwH?url=http://www.tcj.com/archive-viewer-issue-54/?pid%3D2394 Archived] from the original on October 24, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2011.</ref> and then attended [[Kent State University]], in [[Ohio]],<ref name=swashbucklers>{{cite journal|url=http://www.marshallrogers.altervista.org/interview/misc_swash2.htm |title=An Interview With Marshall Rogers |work=Swashbucklers |number=2 |date=Spring 1980 |publisher=fanzine: Don Secrease, editor-publisher; reprinted at Marshall Rogers Fan Site |accessdate=October 24, 2011 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/62ffiyoEm?url=http://mrogers21.tripod.com/interview/misc_swash2.htm |archivedate=October 24, 2011|deadurl=no|df=mdy-all}}</ref> to study [[architecture]], feeling this |
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Rogers was to say about his early academic attempts at architecture and pursuit of such a career that his heart wasn't totally committed to it: |
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<ref name=swashbucklers>{{cite journal|url=http://www.marshallrogers.altervista.org/interview/misc_swash2.htm |title=An Interview With Marshall Rogers |work=Swashbucklers |number=2 |date=Spring 1980 |publisher=fanzine: Don Secrease, editor-publisher; reprinted at Marshall Rogers Fan Site |accessdate=October 24, 2011 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/62ffiyoEm?url=http://mrogers21.tripod.com/interview/misc_swash2.htm |archivedate=October 24, 2011|deadurl=no|df=mdy-all}}</ref> |
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{{quote|...(IT) would keep my parents happy, because it's a legitimate profession, and would allow me some artistic outlet as I worked. Well, I quickly found out that the world wasn't ready for another [[Frank Lloyd Wright]] ... and I would end up doing parking lots and designing heating / cooling systems. I had wanted to draw and be imaginative. And then there was one last stumbling block, and that was [[calculus]]. ... I just couldn't grasp those weird theories that were running around.<ref name=tcj54p57>Rogers interview, ''The Comics Journal'' (54): [http://www.tcj.com/archive-viewer-issue-54/?pid=2394 57]. [https://www.webcitation.org/62feosgwH?url=http://www.tcj.com/archive-viewer-issue-54/?pid%3D2394 Archived] from the original on October 24, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2011.</ref>}} |
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⚫ | His later work was characterized by this experience <!--preexisting text; holding onto for now until can find a cite for this observation:of characters with relatively human proportions rather than exaggerated musculature, and by --> with detailed rendering of buildings and structures.<ref name=nytobit>{{cite news|last=Tidwell |first=Beau |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/29/obituaries/29rogers.html |title=Marshall Rogers, 57, Artist Who Drew Batman Comics, Dies |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 29, 2007 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/62lL8geEC?url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/29/obituaries/29rogers.html |archivedate=October 28, 2011|deadurl=no|df=mdy-all|accessdate=December 13, 2010 |quote=Rogers drew highly detailed architectural features for the moody backdrops of Batman's exploits, down to the individual bricks in the buildings of Gotham.}}</ref> |
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==Comics Career== |
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⚫ | Rogers completed a 52-page story he had begun in college and presented it in 1972 as a sample to [[Marvel Comics]] production manager [[John Verpoorten]], who found Rogers' work wanting.<ref name=tcj54p57 /> To earn a living, Rogers did illustrations for men's magazines that he described as "[r]eal low-grade schlock sleazo magazines that had illustrations to precede the stories." When one client went bankrupt, owing him at least $1,000, a friend, Jim Geraghty, offered him a rent-free house for the winter in [[East Hampton (village), New York|Easthampton, New York]], on [[Long Island]], in exchange for "four or five illustrations" for a local art project.<ref name=tcj54p58>{{cite journal|url=http://www.tcj.com/archive-viewer-issue-54/?pid=2393 |title=From Detective to Detectives Inc." An Interview with Marshall Rogers |work=[[The Comics Journal]] |issue=54 |date=March 1980 |page=[http://www.tcj.com/archive-viewer-issue-54/?pid=2395 58] |accessdate=October 24, 2011 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/62fi76QmP?url=http://www.tcj.com/archive-viewer-issue-54/?pid=2395 |archivedate=October 24, 2011|deadurl=yes|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The following summer he worked in a hardware store for several months, was fired, and while living on unemployment benefits approached the short-lived [[Atlas/Seaboard Comics]] and |
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{{quote|...was given a couple of very small assignments. One was to design a costume for a [[kung-fu]] character they were going to establish, and another was to do a couple of illustrations for a back-up feature in a black-and-white monster book. The kung-fu costume I designed was rejected because they said, 'It was too good,' which meant, I felt, the costume was too intricate to draw over and over. The black-and-white illustrations were used. One appeared in the back of the black-and-white monster book on a little game-page they called 'Dr. Frankenstein's Brain Twisters.'"<ref name=tcj54p58 />}} |
{{quote|...was given a couple of very small assignments. One was to design a costume for a [[kung-fu]] character they were going to establish, and another was to do a couple of illustrations for a back-up feature in a black-and-white monster book. The kung-fu costume I designed was rejected because they said, 'It was too good,' which meant, I felt, the costume was too intricate to draw over and over. The black-and-white illustrations were used. One appeared in the back of the black-and-white monster book on a little game-page they called 'Dr. Frankenstein's Brain Twisters.'"<ref name=tcj54p58 />}} |
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Some of his first comic-book work appeared in the black-and-white magazine ''The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu'', where he worked with writer [[Chris Claremont]] on a story featuring the "[[Iron Fist (comics)|Iron Fist]]" supporting characters [[Misty Knight]] and [[Colleen Wing]] as the [[Daughters of the Dragon]]. He eschewed the grey wash that was used in other black-and-white comics stories in favor of applying [[screentone]]. |
Some of his first comic-book work appeared in the black-and-white magazine ''The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu'', where he worked with writer [[Chris Claremont]] on a story featuring the "[[Iron Fist (comics)|Iron Fist]]" supporting characters [[Misty Knight]] and [[Colleen Wing]] as the [[Daughters of the Dragon]]. He eschewed the grey wash that was used in other black-and-white comics stories in favor of applying [[screentone]]. |
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===Batman Interpretation=== |
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Writer [[Steve Englehart]], with [[Terry Austin]] on inks over Rogers pencils for [[Detective Comics]] #471-476 (Aug 1977 - Apr 1978) produced an acclaimed run on the character [[Batman]] <ref>{{cite book|last=McAvennie|first= Michael|last2=Dolan|first2=Hannah, ed.|chapter= 1970s|title = DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|year=2010|location= London, United Kingdom|isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9 |page=174 |quote = ...first-time collaborators Steve Englehart, and artist Marshall Rogers firmly entrenched Batman in his dark, pulp roots.}}</ref>. |
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⚫ | The Rogers, Austin, Englehart Detectives Comics provided one of the definitive interpretations of [[The Batman]] which influenced the design of the 1989 movie ''Batman'' and whose style would be adapted for the 1990s [[animated series]].<ref name=scifi>{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070709051154/http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=5&id=40748 |publisher=SciFi Wire, Syfy.com| date=March 28, 2007|archivedate=July 9, 2007|title= Batman Artist Rogers is Dead|deadurl=yes|df=mdy-all|quote= Even though their Batman run was only six issues, the three laid the foundation for later Batman comics. Their stories include the classic 'Laughing Fish' (in which the Joker's face appeared on fish); they were adapted for ''Batman: The Animated Series'' in the 1990s. Earlier drafts of the 1989 Batman movie with Michael Keaton as the Dark Knight were based heavily on their work. |url=http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=5&id=40748}}</ref> In their story "The Laughing Fish", the [[Joker (comics)|Joker]] is brazen enough to disfigure fish with a rictus grin. He then expects to be granted a federal [[trademark]] on them. When denied the trademark he starts killing bureaucrats who try to explain that obtaining such a claim on a natural resource is legally impossible.<ref>Greenberger and Manning, p. 163: "In this fondly remembered tale that was later adapted into an episode of the 1990s cartoon ''Batman: The Animated Series'', the Joker poisoned the harbors of Gotham so that the fish would all bear his signature grin, a look the Joker then tried to trademark in order to collect royalties."</ref> Rogers also redesigned supervillain [[Deadshot]] during this ''Detective Comics'' run.<ref>{{cite book|last= Manning|first= Matthew K.|last2=Dougall|first2=Alastair, ed.|chapter= 1970s|title= Batman: A Visual History|publisher= [[Dorling Kindersley]]|year= 2014|location= London, United Kingdom|page= 127|isbn= 978-1465424563|quote= After a total overhaul by artist Marshall Rogers, Deadshot developed the iconic look that would last for decades.}}</ref> |
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Afterwards, Rogers penciled the origin story of the [[Batman (Earth-Two)|Golden Age Batman]] in ''[[Secret Origins]]'' #6 (Sept. 1986) with writer [[Roy Thomas]] and inker [[Terry Austin (comics)|Terry Austin]].<ref>Manning "1980s" in Dougall, p. 162</ref> |
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They followed that up with a sequel miniseries, ''Batman: Dark Detective'',<ref>Manning "2000s" in Dougall, p. 281</ref> and had worked together on other series, external to the Batman such as ''The [[Silver Surfer (comic book)|Silver Surfer]]''. |
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⚫ | Englehart and Rogers' first Batman run was collected in the trade paperback ''Batman: Strange Apparitions'' ({{ISBN|1-56389-500-5}}), and the second run in ''Batman: Dark Detective'' ({{ISBN|1-4012-0898-3}}). Rogers remained as artist on ''Detective Comics'' for a few issues after Englehart's departure from the series. With writer [[Len Wein]], Rogers co-created the third version of the [[supervillain]] [[Clayface#Preston Payne|Clayface]].<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 179: "Writer Len Wein and artist Marshall Rogers vividly depicted Batman's battle with a third Clayface."</ref> Rogers' other Batman work included a story arc in ''[[Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight]]'' which was begun by writer [[Archie Goodwin (comics)|Archie Goodwin]] and completed by [[James Robinson (writer)|James Robinson]].<ref>Manning "2000s" in Dougall, p. 250: "Archie [Goodwin] was unable to complete the assignment for health reason. Writer James Robinson was hired to finish this interesting examination of the new mercenary Brass and the Wayne legacy. Aided by the art of Marshall Rogers, this story was a fine tribute to Goodwin's brilliant body of work."</ref> |
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===After Batman=== |
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Shortly after the run on Detective Comics, in 1977, Rogers moved on to do a short lived restart of [[Jack Kirby's]] [[Mister Miracle]] which ran from issues 19-24. <ref>{{cite web|url= https://comicspriceguide.com/titles/mister-miracle/vor|title=ComicsPriceGuide}}</ref> |
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An Englehart-Rogers story featuring [[Madame Xanadu]] that sat in inventory for a few years would be published as a [[One-shot (comics)|one-shot]] in 1981, in DC's first attempt at marketing comics specifically to the "[[direct market]]" of fans and collectors.<ref>{{cite journal|authorlink=Michael Catron|last=Catron|first=Michael|title=DC Taps Fan Market for ''Madame Xanadu''|work= [[Amazing Heroes]]|number=1 |date=June 1981|publisher= [[Fantagraphics Books]]|page= 25|quote= ''Madame Xanadu'', a 32-page/$1.00 comic that marks DC's first attempt at marketing comics specifically to fans and collectors, went on sale in early April. The book contains a 25-page tale by Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers entitled 'Dance for Two Demons' ... The tale was originally commissioned for ''Doorway to Nightmare'' but was put into DC's inventory when that title was cancelled.}}</ref> In 1986, Rogers drew a graphic novel adaptation of "[[Demon with a Glass Hand]]", an episode of ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'' television series, based on a script by [[Harlan Ellison]].<ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/40886/ ''Science Fiction Graphic Novel'' #5] at the Grand Comics Database</ref> It was the fifth title of the ''[[DC Graphic Novel|DC Science Fiction Graphic Novel]]'' series. |
An Englehart-Rogers story featuring [[Madame Xanadu]] that sat in inventory for a few years would be published as a [[One-shot (comics)|one-shot]] in 1981, in DC's first attempt at marketing comics specifically to the "[[direct market]]" of fans and collectors.<ref>{{cite journal|authorlink=Michael Catron|last=Catron|first=Michael|title=DC Taps Fan Market for ''Madame Xanadu''|work= [[Amazing Heroes]]|number=1 |date=June 1981|publisher= [[Fantagraphics Books]]|page= 25|quote= ''Madame Xanadu'', a 32-page/$1.00 comic that marks DC's first attempt at marketing comics specifically to fans and collectors, went on sale in early April. The book contains a 25-page tale by Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers entitled 'Dance for Two Demons' ... The tale was originally commissioned for ''Doorway to Nightmare'' but was put into DC's inventory when that title was cancelled.}}</ref> In 1986, Rogers drew a graphic novel adaptation of "[[Demon with a Glass Hand]]", an episode of ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'' television series, based on a script by [[Harlan Ellison]].<ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/40886/ ''Science Fiction Graphic Novel'' #5] at the Grand Comics Database</ref> It was the fifth title of the ''[[DC Graphic Novel|DC Science Fiction Graphic Novel]]'' series. |
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At [[Eclipse Comics]] during the early 1980s, he collaborated on the graphic novel ''Detectives, Inc.'' with writer Don McGregor; illustrated the ''Scorpio Rose'' series and the first ''[[Coyote (comics)|Coyote]]'' series written by Englehart, and wrote and drew his own whimsical series ''Cap'N Quick & A Foozle''.<!--Saturday--><!--New York Times obit does not give a cause of death--> In 1992, McGregor and Rogers crafted a two part story for Marvel in ''[[Peter Parker: Spider-Man|Spider-Man]]'' issues #27-28 dealing with bullying and gun violence.<ref>{{cite book|last = Cowsill|first = Alan|last2= Gilbert|first2= Laura, ed.|chapter= 1990s|title = Spider-Man Chronicle Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging|publisher = [[Dorling Kindersley]]|year = 2012|location= London, United Kingdom|page = 200|isbn = 978-0756692360|quote= Writer Don McGregor and artist Marshall Rogers created one of the most original Spidey stories of the year with this two-part tale. The story told of events that happened after bullied 12-year-old Elmo Oliver found a gun dropped by a bad guy during a shootout...Once again, a Spider-Man story provided a platform for real-life issues.}}</ref> |
At [[Eclipse Comics]] during the early 1980s, he collaborated on the graphic novel ''Detectives, Inc.'' with writer Don McGregor; illustrated the ''Scorpio Rose'' series and the first ''[[Coyote (comics)|Coyote]]'' series written by Englehart, and wrote and drew his own whimsical series ''Cap'N Quick & A Foozle''.<!--Saturday--><!--New York Times obit does not give a cause of death--> In 1992, McGregor and Rogers crafted a two part story for Marvel in ''[[Peter Parker: Spider-Man|Spider-Man]]'' issues #27-28 dealing with bullying and gun violence.<ref>{{cite book|last = Cowsill|first = Alan|last2= Gilbert|first2= Laura, ed.|chapter= 1990s|title = Spider-Man Chronicle Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging|publisher = [[Dorling Kindersley]]|year = 2012|location= London, United Kingdom|page = 200|isbn = 978-0756692360|quote= Writer Don McGregor and artist Marshall Rogers created one of the most original Spidey stories of the year with this two-part tale. The story told of events that happened after bullied 12-year-old Elmo Oliver found a gun dropped by a bad guy during a shootout...Once again, a Spider-Man story provided a platform for real-life issues.}}</ref> |
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==Legacy== |
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Rogers partner in the creation of the his signature Detective stories, Steve Englehart, explained Marshall Rogers influence on comics this way:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/29/obituaries/29rogers.html|title=Marshall Rogers, 57, Artist Who Drew Batman Comics, Dies|accessdate=January 11, 2017}}</ref> |
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{{quote|“You could draw a comic for 30 years and not have the kind of impact that we did,” }} |
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The Times, in their obituary claimed that Rogers work was the prototype for the later Batman movies and animated series in the late 1980's and 1990's. |
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The Englehart and Rogers pairing, was described in 2009 by comics writer and historian [[Robert Greenberger]] as "one of the greatest" creative teams to work on the Batman character.<ref>{{cite book|last = Greenberger|first = Robert|authorlink = Robert Greenberger|last2 = Manning| first2 = Matthew K.|author2-link = |title = The Batman Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the Batcave|publisher = [[Running Press]]|year = 2009|location= Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|isbn = 0-7624-3663-8|page= 27 |quote = Batman was now a true creature of the night, and every artist and writer team worth their creative salt wanted a piece of him. One of the greatest of such pairs consisted of writer Steve Englehart and artist Marshall Rogers...when Rogers joined Englehart in ''Detective Comics'' issue #471 (August 1977), their styles meshed with such ease that the result gave the impression of years' worth of collaboration.}}</ref> DC Comics writer and executive [[Paul Levitz]] noted in 2010 that, "Arguably fans' best-loved version of Batman in the mid-1970s, writer Steve Englehart and penciller Rogers's ''Detective'' run featured an unambiguously homicidal Joker...in noirish, moodily rendered stories that evoked the classic Kane-Robinson era."<ref>{{cite book|authorlink= Paul Levitz|last=Levitz|first= Paul|chapter= The Bronze Age 1970-1984|title= 75 Years of DC Comics The Art of Modern Mythmaking|publisher= [[Taschen]]|year=2010|location= Cologne, Germany|ISBN= 9783836519816|page= 489}}</ref> |
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
Revision as of 12:59, 17 January 2018
Marshall Rogers | |
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![]() Marshall Rogers, New York City, 1979 | |
Born | William Marshall Rogers III January 22, 1950 Flushing, New York |
Died | March 24, 2007 Fremont, California | (aged 57)
Nationality | American |
Area(s) | Penciller, Inker, Colourist |
Notable works | Detective Comics Detectives Inc. |
Awards | Extended list |
William Marshall Rogers III (January 22, 1950[1] – March 24, 2007),[2] known professionally as Marshall Rogers, was an American comics artist best known for his work at Marvel and DC Comics.
Biography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/28/Detective_Comics_475.jpg/220px-Detective_Comics_475.jpg)
Rogers Born in Flushing, Queens, NY on Jan. 22, 1950,but grew up in upstate suburb of Ardsley, N.Y. He attended Kent State University in Ohio, where he studied architecture until 1971. In 1971 his family moved to Colorado, but Rogers returned to the New York region in order to work in comics.[4]
Rogers was to say about his early academic attempts at architecture and pursuit of such a career that his heart wasn't totally committed to it: [5]
...(IT) would keep my parents happy, because it's a legitimate profession, and would allow me some artistic outlet as I worked. Well, I quickly found out that the world wasn't ready for another Frank Lloyd Wright ... and I would end up doing parking lots and designing heating / cooling systems. I had wanted to draw and be imaginative. And then there was one last stumbling block, and that was calculus. ... I just couldn't grasp those weird theories that were running around.[6]
His later work was characterized by this experience with detailed rendering of buildings and structures.[7]
Comics Career
Rogers completed a 52-page story he had begun in college and presented it in 1972 as a sample to Marvel Comics production manager John Verpoorten, who found Rogers' work wanting.[6] To earn a living, Rogers did illustrations for men's magazines that he described as "[r]eal low-grade schlock sleazo magazines that had illustrations to precede the stories." When one client went bankrupt, owing him at least $1,000, a friend, Jim Geraghty, offered him a rent-free house for the winter in Easthampton, New York, on Long Island, in exchange for "four or five illustrations" for a local art project.[8] The following summer he worked in a hardware store for several months, was fired, and while living on unemployment benefits approached the short-lived Atlas/Seaboard Comics and
...was given a couple of very small assignments. One was to design a costume for a kung-fu character they were going to establish, and another was to do a couple of illustrations for a back-up feature in a black-and-white monster book. The kung-fu costume I designed was rejected because they said, 'It was too good,' which meant, I felt, the costume was too intricate to draw over and over. The black-and-white illustrations were used. One appeared in the back of the black-and-white monster book on a little game-page they called 'Dr. Frankenstein's Brain Twisters.'"[8]
At some unspecified point, Rogers recalled, he "bounced in and out of a shipping clerk job" and did some retouching work for DC Comics, on reprints of 1940s Batman stories.[8] He continued showing samples to both Marvel and DC, and in 1977, his artwork began interesting Marie Severin and Vince Colletta, the two companies' respective art directors. "That got me my first job; it wasn't really the drawing ability," he said in 1980, "as much as my design capabilities."[6]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Marshall_Rogers_Portrait.jpg/220px-Marshall_Rogers_Portrait.jpg)
Some of his first comic-book work appeared in the black-and-white magazine The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, where he worked with writer Chris Claremont on a story featuring the "Iron Fist" supporting characters Misty Knight and Colleen Wing as the Daughters of the Dragon. He eschewed the grey wash that was used in other black-and-white comics stories in favor of applying screentone.
Batman Interpretation
Writer Steve Englehart, with Terry Austin on inks over Rogers pencils for Detective Comics #471-476 (Aug 1977 - Apr 1978) produced an acclaimed run on the character Batman [9]. The Rogers, Austin, Englehart Detectives Comics provided one of the definitive interpretations of The Batman which influenced the design of the 1989 movie Batman and whose style would be adapted for the 1990s animated series.[3] In their story "The Laughing Fish", the Joker is brazen enough to disfigure fish with a rictus grin. He then expects to be granted a federal trademark on them. When denied the trademark he starts killing bureaucrats who try to explain that obtaining such a claim on a natural resource is legally impossible.[10] Rogers also redesigned supervillain Deadshot during this Detective Comics run.[11]
Afterwards, Rogers penciled the origin story of the Golden Age Batman in Secret Origins #6 (Sept. 1986) with writer Roy Thomas and inker Terry Austin.[12] They followed that up with a sequel miniseries, Batman: Dark Detective,[13] and had worked together on other series, external to the Batman such as The Silver Surfer.
Englehart and Rogers' first Batman run was collected in the trade paperback Batman: Strange Apparitions (ISBN 1-56389-500-5), and the second run in Batman: Dark Detective (ISBN 1-4012-0898-3). Rogers remained as artist on Detective Comics for a few issues after Englehart's departure from the series. With writer Len Wein, Rogers co-created the third version of the supervillain Clayface.[14] Rogers' other Batman work included a story arc in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight which was begun by writer Archie Goodwin and completed by James Robinson.[15]
After Batman
Shortly after the run on Detective Comics, in 1977, Rogers moved on to do a short lived restart of Jack Kirby's Mister Miracle which ran from issues 19-24. [16]
An Englehart-Rogers story featuring Madame Xanadu that sat in inventory for a few years would be published as a one-shot in 1981, in DC's first attempt at marketing comics specifically to the "direct market" of fans and collectors.[17] In 1986, Rogers drew a graphic novel adaptation of "Demon with a Glass Hand", an episode of The Outer Limits television series, based on a script by Harlan Ellison.[18] It was the fifth title of the DC Science Fiction Graphic Novel series.
At Eclipse Comics during the early 1980s, he collaborated on the graphic novel Detectives, Inc. with writer Don McGregor; illustrated the Scorpio Rose series and the first Coyote series written by Englehart, and wrote and drew his own whimsical series Cap'N Quick & A Foozle. In 1992, McGregor and Rogers crafted a two part story for Marvel in Spider-Man issues #27-28 dealing with bullying and gun violence.[19]
Legacy
Rogers partner in the creation of the his signature Detective stories, Steve Englehart, explained Marshall Rogers influence on comics this way:[20]
“You could draw a comic for 30 years and not have the kind of impact that we did,”
The Times, in their obituary claimed that Rogers work was the prototype for the later Batman movies and animated series in the late 1980's and 1990's.
The Englehart and Rogers pairing, was described in 2009 by comics writer and historian Robert Greenberger as "one of the greatest" creative teams to work on the Batman character.[21] DC Comics writer and executive Paul Levitz noted in 2010 that, "Arguably fans' best-loved version of Batman in the mid-1970s, writer Steve Englehart and penciller Rogers's Detective run featured an unambiguously homicidal Joker...in noirish, moodily rendered stories that evoked the classic Kane-Robinson era."[22]
Personal life
Rogers' mother was Ann White Rogers. He had a sister, Suzanne, and adopted son, Russell Young.[7]
Rogers died on March 24, 2007,[2] at his home in Fremont, California.[7] His Batman collaborator Steve Englehart said he was told by Spencer Beck, Rogers' agent, that, "His son found him. They think it was a heart attack, and that he might have been dead for a while.”[23]
Awards
- 1978: nominated at the Eagle Awards for Favourite Artist, for Favourite Single Story for Detective Comics #472: "I am the Batman" with Steve Englehart and for Favourite Continued Story for Detective Comics #471-472 with Steve Englehart[24]
- 1979: Inkpot Award[25]
- 1979: nominated at the Eagle Awards for Favourite Comicbook Artist (US), for Best Continued Story for Detective Comics #475-476 with Steve Englehart, and for Best Cover for Detective Comics #476[26]
Bibliography
Comics work (interior pencil art, except where noted) includes:
DC Comics
- Action Comics #566 (cover only, with Jerry Ordway) (1985)
- All-Star Squadron #38 (three pages only) (1984)
- Atari Force #18, Special #1 (1985-1986)
- Batman Family #11-13 (pages 9–16 only in #13) (1977)
- Batman: Dark Detective, miniseries, #1-6 (2005)
- Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #132-136 (2000)
- DC Graphic Novel Demon With a Glass Hand, graphic novel (1986), 144 pages, ISBN 0-930289-09-9
- DC Special Series #15 (1978) (Batman)
- Detective Comics #466-468, 471-479, 481 (1976–1979)
- Green Lantern #187 (1985)
- Green Lantern: Evil's Might, miniseries, #1-3 (2002)
- Heroes Against Hunger (two pages only) (1986)
- House of Mystery #254, 274 (1977–79)
- Justice League America Annual #5 (1991)
- Justice League Europe #20-22, Annual #2 (1990–1991)
- Madame Xanadu #1 (1981) (originally produced for Doorway to Nightmare)
- Mister Miracle #19-22 (1977–78)
- Mister Miracle, vol. 3, #5-6 (1996)
- Mystery in Space #111 (1980)
- Realworlds: Batman (2000)
- Secret Origins (Golden Age Batman) #6 (1986)
- The Shadow vol. 3 #7 (1988)
- Superman #400 (1984)
- The Superman Family #182, 194 (1977–79)
- The Unexpected #191 (1979)
- Weird War Tales #51-52 (1977)
- Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #1-2, 5-7, 11-12, 15, 24 (1985-1987)
- World's Finest Comics #259 (1979)
Eclipse Comics
- Cap'n Quick & A Foozle #1-2 (1984–85), writer/artist
- Detectives Inc.: A Remembrance of Threatening Green, graphic novel (1980), 52 pages
- Eclipse Magazine #1 ("Slab"), #2-8 (Coyote feature) (1981–83)
- Eclipse Monthly #1-4 (Cap'n Quick feature) (1983–84), writer/artist
- Scorpio Rose #1-2 (1983)
Marvel Comics
- Amazing Fantasy #19 (2006)
- Avengers Annual #16 (among other artists) (1987)
- Bizarre Adventures #25 (1981)
- Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #32-33 (1977)
- Doctor Strange #48-53 (1981–82)
- Excalibur #10-11 (1989)
- Fantastic Four Roast #1 (among other artists) (1982)
- G.I. Joe #61, 75, 77, 82, 86
- Howard the Duck (black and white magazine) #8 (1980)
- The Incredible Hulk vol. 3 #94-95 (2006)
- Marvel Comics Presents (Hulk) #38, (Daredevil) #81 (1989-1991)
- Marvel Westerns: Strange Westerns Starring the Black Rider #1 (2006)
- Marvel Fanfare (Doctor Strange) #5 (1982)
- Silver Surfer vol. 3 #1-10, 12, 21 (1987–89)
- Spider-Man #27-28 (1992)
- What If vol. 2, #38 (Thor) (1992)
Books and compilations
- Batman: Dark Detective collects Batman: Dark Detective #1–6, April 2006, DC Comics, 144 pages, ISBN 978-1401208981
- Batman: Strange Apparitions includes Detective Comics #471–476 and #478–479, December 1999, DC Comics, 176 pages, ISBN 978-1563895005
- Coyote Volume 1 collects Eclipse Magazine #2–8 and Scorpio Rose #1–2, September 2005, Image Comics, 128 pages, ISBN 978-1582405193
- Legends of the Dark Knight - Marshall Rogers collects Detective Comics #468, #471–479 and #481, DC Special Series #15, Secret Origins #6, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #132–136 and Batman: Dark Detective #1–6, November 2011, DC Comics, 496 pages, ISBN 978-1401232276
- Shadow Of The Batman miniseries #1–5 (covers) (1985–1986), DC Comics
- Daughters Of The Dragon Special #1 (2005), Marvel Comics
- Silver Surfer Epic Collection #3: Freedom collects Silver Surfer #1–10 and #12, Marvel Comics
Portfolios
- Strange (1979), Schanes & Schanes, six plates, 1200 signed and numbered
- The Batman - Portfolio #1 (1981), S.Q. Productions Inc, five plates, s/n 1000[27]
- F.O.O.G. (Friends Of Old Gerber) (1982), one plate (Cap'N Quick & A Foozle)
- Heroines (1979), one plate (Pulp Heroine)
- Heroes, Heavies & Heroines (1981), one plate (Nightcrawler)
Comic strips
- In 1989, he was the first artist to work on the new Batman newspaper comic strip.[28] Rogers drew the strip from its launch on November 6, 1989 until the conclusion of its first storyline on January 21, 1990. The entirety of Rogers work on the strip was reprinted in Comics Revue #41-43.[29]
References
- ^ Miller, John Jackson (June 10, 2005). "Comics Industry Birthdays". Comics Buyer's Guide. Iola, Wisconsin. Archived from the original on October 30, 2010. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
{{cite journal}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b William Marshall Rogers III, Social Security Number 084-38-8742, at United States Social Security Death Index via FamilySearch.org. Accessed March 2, 2013.
- ^ a b "Batman Artist Rogers is Dead". SciFi Wire, Syfy.com. March 28, 2007. Archived from the original on July 9, 2007.
Even though their Batman run was only six issues, the three laid the foundation for later Batman comics. Their stories include the classic 'Laughing Fish' (in which the Joker's face appeared on fish); they were adapted for Batman: The Animated Series in the 1990s. Earlier drafts of the 1989 Batman movie with Michael Keaton as the Dark Knight were based heavily on their work.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Marshall Rogers, 57, Artist Who Drew Batman Comics, Dies". Retrieved January 11, 2017.
- ^ "An Interview With Marshall Rogers". Swashbucklers (2). fanzine: Don Secrease, editor-publisher; reprinted at Marshall Rogers Fan Site. Spring 1980. Archived from the original on October 24, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
{{cite journal}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Rogers interview, The Comics Journal (54): 57. Archived from the original on October 24, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ a b c Tidwell, Beau (March 29, 2007). "Marshall Rogers, 57, Artist Who Drew Batman Comics, Dies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 28, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
Rogers drew highly detailed architectural features for the moody backdrops of Batman's exploits, down to the individual bricks in the buildings of Gotham.
{{cite news}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b c "From Detective to Detectives Inc." An Interview with Marshall Rogers". The Comics Journal (54): 58. March 1980. Archived from the original on October 24, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
{{cite journal}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1970s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9.
...first-time collaborators Steve Englehart, and artist Marshall Rogers firmly entrenched Batman in his dark, pulp roots.
{{cite book}}
:|first2=
has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Greenberger and Manning, p. 163: "In this fondly remembered tale that was later adapted into an episode of the 1990s cartoon Batman: The Animated Series, the Joker poisoned the harbors of Gotham so that the fish would all bear his signature grin, a look the Joker then tried to trademark in order to collect royalties."
- ^ Manning, Matthew K.; Dougall, Alastair, ed. (2014). "1970s". Batman: A Visual History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 127. ISBN 978-1465424563.
After a total overhaul by artist Marshall Rogers, Deadshot developed the iconic look that would last for decades.
{{cite book}}
:|first2=
has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Manning "1980s" in Dougall, p. 162
- ^ Manning "2000s" in Dougall, p. 281
- ^ McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 179: "Writer Len Wein and artist Marshall Rogers vividly depicted Batman's battle with a third Clayface."
- ^ Manning "2000s" in Dougall, p. 250: "Archie [Goodwin] was unable to complete the assignment for health reason. Writer James Robinson was hired to finish this interesting examination of the new mercenary Brass and the Wayne legacy. Aided by the art of Marshall Rogers, this story was a fine tribute to Goodwin's brilliant body of work."
- ^ "ComicsPriceGuide".
- ^ Catron, Michael (June 1981). "DC Taps Fan Market for Madame Xanadu". Amazing Heroes (1). Fantagraphics Books: 25.
Madame Xanadu, a 32-page/$1.00 comic that marks DC's first attempt at marketing comics specifically to fans and collectors, went on sale in early April. The book contains a 25-page tale by Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers entitled 'Dance for Two Demons' ... The tale was originally commissioned for Doorway to Nightmare but was put into DC's inventory when that title was cancelled.
- ^ Science Fiction Graphic Novel #5 at the Grand Comics Database
- ^ Cowsill, Alan; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2012). "1990s". Spider-Man Chronicle Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 200. ISBN 978-0756692360.
Writer Don McGregor and artist Marshall Rogers created one of the most original Spidey stories of the year with this two-part tale. The story told of events that happened after bullied 12-year-old Elmo Oliver found a gun dropped by a bad guy during a shootout...Once again, a Spider-Man story provided a platform for real-life issues.
{{cite book}}
:|first2=
has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Marshall Rogers, 57, Artist Who Drew Batman Comics, Dies". Retrieved January 11, 2017.
- ^ Greenberger, Robert; Manning, Matthew K. (2009). The Batman Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the Batcave. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Running Press. p. 27. ISBN 0-7624-3663-8.
Batman was now a true creature of the night, and every artist and writer team worth their creative salt wanted a piece of him. One of the greatest of such pairs consisted of writer Steve Englehart and artist Marshall Rogers...when Rogers joined Englehart in Detective Comics issue #471 (August 1977), their styles meshed with such ease that the result gave the impression of years' worth of collaboration.
- ^ Levitz, Paul (2010). "The Bronze Age 1970-1984". 75 Years of DC Comics The Art of Modern Mythmaking. Cologne, Germany: Taschen. p. 489. ISBN 9783836519816.
- ^ Contino, Jennifer M. (March 26, 2007). "R.I.P. Batman Artist Marshall Rogers". The Pulse (column), ComiCon.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Eagle Awards Previous Winners 1978". Eagle Awards. 2013. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Inkpot Award Winners". Comic Book Awards Almanac. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Eagle Awards Previous Winners 1979". Eagle Awards. 2013. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ Kronenberg, Michael (February 2011). "How the Batman Nearly Stepped Out of the Mainstream and into Independent Comic". Back Issue! (46). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 26.
Marshall did a portfolio called 'Strange' in 1979 that had Batman-esque plates, sans Batman. ... It is also worth noting that in 1981, courtesy of Sal Quartuccio Publishing, Marshall Rogers released 'The Batman', a color portfolio consisting of four plates (if you purchased the signed edition of the portfolio, you received a fifth plate) that allowed Rogers to illustrate Batman and his world unencumbered by comic book panels.
- ^ Greenberger and Manning, p. 41: "Shortly after the 1989 feature [film], Batman even returned to the funny pages for a bit, in a comic strip by...legendary artist Marshall Rogers."
- ^ Norwood, Rick, ed. Comics Revue #41 (1989), #42 (1990), and #43 (1990) Fictioneer Books
External links
- Marshall Rogers at the Grand Comics Database
- "DC Profiles #26: Marshall Rogers" at the Grand Comics Database
- Marshall Rogers at the Lambiek Comiclopedia
- Marshall Rogers at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Marshall Rogers at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
- Marshall Rogers at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
- Marshall Rogers Fan Site, Cavalli, David, ed.