Rick Yager

Rick Yager was hired as an assistant on the 'Buck Rogers' newspaper strip by Dick Calkins and Russell Keaton in 1932. Yager had formal art training (especially in watercolors), and he quickly moved from inker and writer of the "substrip" (early Sunday strips had a small sub-strip running below) to writer and artist of the Sunday strip and eventually the dailies as well. When Russell Keaton moved over to 'Skyroads', Yager quickly took control of the Sundays. Yager probably had complete control of the 'Buck Rogers' dailies from about 1940 on.

Around 1958, there was a falling out between the artists and the syndicate over the strip, and the artists quit. After 'Buck Rogers', Rick Yager wrote and drew 'Little Orvy', and he did some advertising art as well (he introduced the "bent" Wrigley's Gum Man). After that, he drew the Sunday 'Grin and Bear it' (George Lichty's name was signed to these strips, even though Lichty had passed away), and he also drew 'Cappy Dick'.

Partly because of the way he and 'Buck Rogers' parted company, Rick Yager has been written out of the comic histories. But during the glory years of 'Buck Rogers', he was well known, and toured the country on bond drives and publicity drives. In one memorable incident, he and Walt Disney took the stage, and Walt tried to draw Buck Rogers, while Rick tried to draw Mickey Mouse. Neither succeeded!