Dudley D. Watkins

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Dudley D. Watkins
Born(1907-02-27)27 February 1907
Prestwich, Lancashire, England
Died20 August 1969(1969-08-20) (aged 62)
Broughty Ferry, Dundee, Scotland
NationalityBritish
Area(s)Cartoonist, Artist
Notable works
Oor Wullie and The Broons
AwardsBritish Comic Awards Hall of Fame (2015)

Dudley Dexter Watkins (27 February 1907 – 20 August 1969) was an English

Topper, and provided illustrations for Christian stories. Watkins was posthumously inducted into the British Comic Awards Hall of Fame in 2015.[1]

Early life

Watkins was born in

Boots Pure Drug company in the early 1920s, Watkins' first published artwork appeared in Boots' staff magazine, The Beacon.[3]

Work with D.C. Thomson

In 1924 Watkins entered the

Dundee College of Art c.1934-38.[4] In 1933 Watkins turned his hand to comic strip work, and soon his editor noticed that Watkins had a special talent as a cartoonist. In 1933 he drew The Rover Midget Comic and in 1934 he drew The Skipper Midget Comic. In 1935 Watkins' first regular comic strip, Percy Vere and His Trying Tricks appeared; the titular character was an inept magician whose tricks usually backfired on him. The strip ran for nearly two years, finally being replaced with another Watkins creation, Wandering Willie The Wily Explorer (Willie's hard-boiled characteristics would later re-appear in the form of Desperate Dan). While Percy was still appearing in Adventure, Watkins co-created, with writer/editor R. D. Low, what would become his most famous characters, Oor Wullie and The Broons. They were part of the first issue (8 March 1936) of a weekly eight-page pull-out 'Fun Section' of The Sunday Post. He was soon illustrating the Desperate Dan strip for The Dandy comic, launched in December 1937.[2]

His workload was further increased when D.C. Thomson created

Topper were launched in the 1950s, Watkins was responsible for illustrating the Ginger strip (based largely on Oor Wullie, but unlike that strip the text was written in standard English and not in Scots vernacular) and the Mickey the Monkey
strip for the two comics.

Watkins' most enduring adventure strip was Jimmy and his Magic Patch, which debuted in the 1 January 1944 issue of The Beano and ran for 18 years.[2]

Watkins was one of only two D. C. Thomson cartoonists who signed their work (beginning in June 1946),[2] which was known for its intricate detail and unique style. The other cartoonist to sign his work was Allan Morley and he was the first to do so.

Personal life

He was a devout Christian and an enthusiastic supporter of the

The Crucifixion was discovered in a house in Lochgelly, Fife.[6]

Watkins and his wife built a substantial house in Broughty Ferry which he named Winsterly.[7] He continued working with D. C. Thomson for the rest of his life. On 20 August 1969 he was found dead at his drawing board, the victim of a heart attack.[8]

D. C. Thomson continued to reprint Oor Wullie and Broons strips in The Sunday Post for seven years before a replacement was found. Watkins' Desperate Dan strips were reprinted in The Dandy for fourteen years.[9]

References

  1. ^ Freeman, John. "British Comic Awards Shortlist announced, Beano artist Dudley D. Watkins enters 'Hall of Fame.'" DownTheTubes.net (OCTOBER 2, 2015).
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Dudley Watkins (1907–1969)". Bookpalace.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  3. ^ Titled Our Gymnasium Class, it appeared in 1923. See Dudley D. Watkins (27/2/1907 – 20/8/1969, UK)
  4. ^ Dundee College of Art Prospectuses (University of Dundee Archives)
  5. ^ The first series of Lord Snooty ran until July 1949; after a 17-month break, the second series began, with a mostly-reworked cast of characters.
  6. ^ "The Courier: Taking you to the heart of Tayside and Fife". Archived from the original on 21 August 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  7. ^ "Dudley Dexter Watkins from The Gazetteer for Scotland". www.scottish-places.info.
  8. ^ Anderson, David (20 August 2019). "How Beano and Dandy artist Dudley D. Watkins made generations of comic fans roar with laughter". The Conversation.
  9. ^ "Dudley D. Watkins' Page". Thatsbraw.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2011.

External links

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