[2] Rogers was Zack Mosley's assistant on The Adventures of Smilin' Jack when he sold his own strip, Sparky Watts, to the Frank Jay Markey Syndicate, which distributed such strips as Ed Wheelan's Big Top and Rube Goldberg's Lala Palooza.
Rogers recalled his introduction to the job, taking place in 1929: A friend had told me that Dell Publications was starting a comic book.
Then I did some other things — "Deadwood Gulch," "Campus Clowns," "Sancho and the Don," and some puzzle pages.
Because Markey was part owner of the Columbia Comics Group (Skyman, The Face), reprints of Sparky Watts turned up in Columbia's Big Shot Comics, which featured other strips distributed by either Markey or the McNaught Syndicate (which distributed Mickey Finn and Toonerville Folks).
Sparky Watts began in Big Shot #14 (June, 1941), and the character starred in four issues of his own comic for Columbia, beginning November, 1942.
[4] Back from World War II, Rogers returned to syndication in 1946 with McNaught, and he drew new six-page stories for Big Shot, plus in 1947, he created another six issues for Sparky's own title.
[2][5] Rogers retired from comics in 1952 and began operating a pair of art supply stores in Arizona.