Deon Parson’s comic strip “Rosebuds” has found a home on some of the largest newspaper websites in North America, and it’s just getting started.
Parson, who goes by the pen name “$upr Dee,” is a cartoonist from Anderson.
In 2024, he signed a syndication deal with King Features, which distributes content — including comic strips — to newspapers across the country and around the world.
According to the Indianapolis Recorder, Parson is the first Black Hoosier cartoonist in more than a century to have his work nationally syndicated.
“Rosebuds” follows the adventures of three sisters — Rosa, Maria and Maricela — and the ups and downs they face as siblings.
The characters are based on friends and classmates Parson met at Anderson High School: Rosa Rodriguez, Maria Gomez and Maricela Montes.
Principal Pickett in the comic strip is named after Ellen Finney Pickett, one of Parson’s teachers and the current principal at Highland Middle School. The school the three sisters attend in “Rosebuds” is called Anderson High School.
The strip is currently published on about 50 newspapers websites, including USA TODAY, the Chicago Tribune and the Toronto Star.
Parson’s daily “Rosebuds” strip has been published in The Herald Bulletin’s Weekend Comics section, as well as in the weekend section of several other Indiana newspapers, since the summer of 2024. Today, “Rosebuds” debuts on THB’s daily comics page. All “Rosebuds” strips can also be found at heraldbulletin.com.
Parson is grateful for the success he has seen with his comics.
“I’m so honored,” Parson said. “I have been doing comic work professionally for about 10 years now. I’ve been doing this for so long, and this is the biggest it’s gotten. I think everything I had been learning and working toward has led up to this. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Strips for “Rosebuds” originally were released three times a week: Sundays for newspapers, and Tuesdays and Thursdays online. But as demand for his work has increased, Parson has begun producing the strip daily.
Through his comics, Parson said he tries to communicate an overall theme of love.
“‘Life with Kurami’ (Parson’s first strip) was about loving yourself, because it’s about a single mother raising her infant daughter and trying to overcome her own self-doubts and anxieties,” Parson said. “My comic book series, ‘Pen & Ink,’ was about two sisters who are artists and are just sharing their joy of art with themselves and those around them. Their theme was love what you do.
“With ‘Rosebuds,’ it’s about three sisters and their relationships with each other, the good and bad,” he added. “Their theme is love those around you.”
Parson, a 2013 Anderson High School graduate, was honored at the school Friday afternoon with the unveiling of a mural dedicated to a strip from “Rosebuds,” as well as a plaque with a short biography of Parson.
Alan Landes, the school’s principal, said AHS is excited to see what else is in store for Parson.
“As a graduate of Anderson High School, we are just so proud of what he’s accomplished,” Landes said. “I think this is really just the start of even bigger things to come, and we’re just glad to be a part of it. We wanted to recognize his efforts and just show him how much we appreciate him.”
Current AHS art students attended to witness the unveiling of the mural.
Parson described it as a “full-circle moment.”
“Anderson High School has been a tremendous support for me,” Parson said. “The characters originated from there. That’s how people knew about me. I would use these characters in the school newspaper.
“The school had put so much faith and love and support into me growing up, that it really inspired me to keep pushing forward into doing this career path,” he said.
To help celebrate his strip, Parson has created a book titled “Rosebuds: The Complete Web Comic Collection.” The book is a collection of everything pertaining to the comic from 2020 to 2023, before Parson was syndicated by King Features.
In the book, readers learn the origins of the comic and how the sisters came to be.
The digital version of the book is currently out for people to read, and the hardcover version of the book is set to be released March 30.
“Rosebuds” merchandise designed by Parson, including shirts, posters, mugs and blankets, is available online.
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.