He is Scotland’s most famous son, a dungaree-wearing, spiky-haired scamp who has sown mischief in Auchenshuggle for 70 years — and first appeared in the Sunday Post on 8th March 1936.
Oor Wullie, who celebrates being “nine years auld” today was created by Dudley D Watkins who also illustrated The Broons, Korky Cat and Desperate Dan. Born in 1907, Dudley moved to Scotland in 1925 and started to work for publisher D.C. Thompson for a trial period of six months, and remained at this publisher until his death in 1969.
It was recently revealed that Wullie himself is based on Ron Low, the son of RD Low, former editor of the Sunday Post.
Staff at the DC Thomson headquarters in Dundee were struggling for inspiration for a new character when eight-year-old Ron, dressed in dungarees, strode into the office clutching a bucket of potatoes.
Watkins immediately set about sketching him sitting on the upturned bucket. The iconic image, drawn in 1935, defined the character who has remained unchanged ever since.
The early years clearly place Wullie and The Broons in Glasgow with a few mentions of Glasgow (or Glesca) appearing in the strips. Also, from May to October 1938, the characters made frequent visits to the Empire Exhibition which was held in Bellhouston Park, Glasgow.
Odd Facts about Wullie…
• In the early years Wullie had a wee brother but he mysteriously dissapeared never to appear again.
• In September 2005 the first Oor Wullie annual from 1940 sold at auction for £4,015. Only five copies are known to exist.
• A survey conducted in 2004 named Oor Wullie as Scotland’s Top Icon beating William Wallace and Sir Sean Connery into second and third place.
• He may be 70 but he’s still young enough to be on MySpace
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics - Current British Publishers