Even more art was lost when workers tried to repair damages from the first fire and accidentally started a second blaze.īollen also created the strip "Catfish" with Gary Peterman, and "Funny Business," which were also syndicated. It was in Kirtland Hills that he suffered a setback when a fire damaged his new studio in his half-million dollar estate in 1991, destroying much of his art. His first comic strip was "Animal Crackers," a series set around a group of animals living in a jungle called "Freeborn." The strip appeared in The Plain Dealer for many years.īollen lived in several cities in the Greater Cleveland area, including Moreland Hills, Shaker Heights and Kirtland Hills. I later was also doing three strips at once and he called and said 'Hey, you don't have to copy everything I do.'" "At one point he was doing three strips at once. He later told me he always turns down people the first two times to make sure they are serious."īatiuk said Bollen offered excellent advice and became a good friend. "I called and said I wanted to meet him and ask his advice on the comic business. "When I was in college at Kent State, I got his phone number," Batiuk said. Tom Batiuk, creator of the Funky Winkerbean comic strip, said Bollen was a friend and inspiration. He later created shows for the Disney Channel that included "Zenon, Girl of the 21st Century," "Handy Manny" and an animated version of "Animal Crackers."īollen was born in East Cleveland and graduated from Shaw High School and Kent State University, where he was given the Distinguished Alumni Award from the School of Art in 2000. Roger Bollen was the writer and illustrator of the "Animal Crackers" syndicated comic strip, artist of dozens of children's books and producer of television shows.īollen, who lived in Chagrin Falls, was a prolific creator who started out in newspaper comics strips and went on to illustrate more than 50 children's books with his second wife, Marilyn Sadler.
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