Ian Wheeler reflects on 90 years of Our Wullie, the latest annual on sale now…
Help ma Boab! Can it really be 90 years since Our Wullie entered the national consciousness? It is, and the character is still going strong, fighting fit for the 21st century.
Although I was born and raised in the North of England, my roots are Scottish. When I was growing up, my great uncle would come down from Scotland a couple of times a year bearing gifts from the auld country. He would bring bottles of Irn Bru, an exotic-tasting beverage for a child raised on lemonade and Coca Cola. And he introduced me to Our Wullie and The Broons.
I loved The Broons, but Our Wullie was my favourite. Somehow, his life seemed more interesting than my more mundane 80s existence. He had loads of pals, went on adventures, came up with many a money-spinning scheme and even had run-ins with the ‘polis’. But this was no arch criminal. The local bobby, PC Murdoch, knew that Wullie was a good lad – a mischief for sure, but a boy with a heart of gold.
I also loved the way Wullie dressed. Passing fashions were of no interest to him – his dungarees and spikey hair seemed timeless and, most iconically of all, he had his trusty bucket. Truth be told, I envied Wullie. His life was simpler and more fun than reality. Wallowing in nostalgia is not always a healthy thing, but in the case of Our Wullie I was happy to immerse myself in the (imagined?) past his adventures represented.
It is also worth mentioning that the Our Wullie books greatly improved my reading ability. I was so eager to devour them, that my reading improved at breakneck speed. It also left me with an ability to understand Scottish phrases that few other English kids of my age would have had! I’ve certainly never struggled to follow the dialogue on an episode of Taggart!
Up until this year, I had not read an Our Wullie book for over twenty five-years. But reading, via downthetubes, that the character was celebrating his 90th anniversary, I decided to purchase the latest annual. And there was no putting the book away until Christmas as I might have done when I was a child – I eagerly devoured the whole volume within a week!
So, how did I react to reading the latest Our Wullie book? Was I delighted or disappointed? Well, the books are still produced with the same care that they always were – like all the previous books, the latest version is a lavish volume. And the artwork remains of the highest standard, virtually indistinguishable from the style of years ago, to my eyes anyway. The humour is still razor-sharp (I did smile at one gag which appears to have been lifted from the first series of Blackadder!) and Wullie’s sense of morality is still there.
The problem that the writers have, as with all other long-running comic characters, is how much to update the character, and how much to leave it in the past. On the whole, I think they have got the balance right. Wullie and his parents still look as though they are from the 1950s at the latest, and that’s fine and is the way it should be. But other more modern elements such as mobile phones and computers are slipped in, and this keeps the strip up to date, preventing it from becoming an antiquated museum piece. Wullie’s occasional girlfriend, Primrose, seems slightly more modern in appearance and attitudes these days, which provides a nice contrast to Wullie.
There have been some other changes since I last read it. Wullie’s home town has gained a name – Auchenshoogle. It’s also nice to see the occasional celebrity cameo, such as Ed Sheeran. Being asked to guest-star in the strip must be considered quite an honour I would think.
Overall, I’m happy to report that Our Wullie is still enjoying rude health. And in this increasingly complex and changing world in which we all live, Wullie reminds us that having a good heart and a can-do attitude can still win the day.
Happy birthday Wullie and roll on the 100th anniversary! Anyone fancy mince and tatties for tea?
Ian Wheeler
• Buy the Oor Wullie Annual 2027 from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link) – packed with warm-hearted humour, spirited mischief and the timeless charm that has made Oor Wullie a national treasure since 1936
• Nuthin’ better than a sit doon wi’ a The Sunday Post – hae ye got yer copy? Ye can keep up wi’ The Broons and Oor Wullie wi’ a Sunday Post Subscription here
Head downthetubes for…
• downthetubes, 9th March 2026: A Belated Happy Birthday tae Oor Wullie and The Broons
• To find out how get a physical copy of the 90th anniversary Sunday Post special supplement, email letters@sundaypost.com
• Oor Wullie articles on The Sunday Post website
• National Museum of Scotland: Meet Oor Wullie
• BBC News: Real-life “Oor Wullie” PC revealed
Back in 2008, a photograph showing the policeman on whom Oor Wullie character PC Murdoch was based has been unveiled in Fife. Sandy Marnoch worked as a reserve constable in Kincardine along with cartoonist Dudley D Watkins, who also features in a police line-up. Police Scotland Fife has more information here on Facebook
Oor Wullie Creators
• Wikipedia: Dudley D. Watkins
• Follow Mike Donaldson on Instagram
• Stephen White aka Stref Official Website
Oor Wullie at 80
Back in 2016, downthetubes marked the celebrations around Oor Wullie’s 80th birthday in grander fashion thanks to Jeremy Briggs and the late Colin Noble
• downthetubes – Comics Dundee: Oor Wullie’s Bucket Trail (2016) by Jeremy Briggs (the trail went national for Summer 2019)
• downthetubes – On The Trail of the Lonesome Bucket in Dundee (2016) – article by Colin Noble
• downthetubes – Comics Dundee: Beyond The Bucket Trail (2016) by Jeremy Briggs
The Broons and Oor Wullie are ©️ DC Thomson
Our Wullie is ©️ DC Thomson Media
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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, British Comics - Newspaper Strips, Classic British Comics, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Reviews
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