Winker Watson
Encyclopedia
Winker Watson is a fictional character
who had his own comic strip
in the UK
comic
The Dandy
for almost half a century.
Winker first appeared in the 1961 Dandy Book (published September 1960), and then appeared in the weekly Dandy on April 1, 1961 in issue Number 1010, and was quickly established as a character of great wit and appeal. Probably modeled on the Greyfriars
stories and on Harry Wharton, Winker is a pupil of the Third Form of Greytowers Boarding School
, he is known as the "wangler" of the school, constantly playing tricks and avoiding unpleasant school activities, much to the chagrin of his teacher Mr Clarence Creep (known to the boys as Creepy). Creep also has a sister called Agnes, who runs the nearby Trinity Hall Girls School, constructed in 1989 after the previous one burnt down. Around that area there also seems to be a St Jennifer's School for Girls, though this may just be a continuity error. Greytowers is next door to a police
training school.
Winker Watson is a rare breed for a kids comic, as his stories are often continuous from issue to issue, including the long-running saga of his uncle Arnold arriving as Physical Training instructor and Winker's endless attempts to get rid of him. There was also the long-running story dealing with the unjust expulsion
of Winker's younger brother Wally, and the elder sibling's attempts to keep him in the school until the end of term so their parents would know nothing until he had been exonerated. A third example is that of Mr Creep's own secret stowaway; the teacher's good-for-nothing twin brother John, who was on the run and needed somewhere to stay, forced his brother to let him hide in his own quarters within the school. The early 90s saw perhaps the most bizarre running story of the strip's history, as Greytowers was invaded by aliens
, who used mind control powers to take over several characters and tried to cast the school adrift in space, until Winker used the aliens' allergy to pig swill to defeat them. Stories throughout 2003 and 2004 were reworkings of 1970s scripts concerning Winker's schemes to foil the plans of Robin Boodle, a consistently annoying rich boy, and who had been renamed Darby Doshman (in the late 1980s, there was a similar reworking in which the rich boy became Jonathan Dosh
). At the same time, Classics from the Comics
was reprinting the Robin Boodle strips, sometimes in the same week. An old days storyline of a circus moving in next to the school was also redone, although it is unknown if any specific strips were reworked.
Winker's best pal is a lad called Tim Trott (nicknamed "Trotty" by Winker), though, apart from Winker's other friend Sandy, no other characters have emerged with any great regularity, despite the number of boys within the school. The headmaster has made frequent appearances, but mainly with Creep rather than any of the boys. Also occasionally seen is the school cook, nicknamed Cookie. In the late-1970s and early-1980s, Winker have frequent run-ins with three Sixth Formers
called The Hoods. They dressed in long white coats and masks similar to the ones used by the Ku Klux Klan
to hide their identities. They would steal and play tricks on the lower years and occasionally beat up Winker and his friends. As they were older and bigger than the third form boys, Winker would have to use his wits rather than his fists to fight against them. Though Winker often got into trouble, he always managed to wangle his way out of getting caned, well almost. Just the once he did get "six".
The strip was drawn by Eric Roberts until his death in 1982. Afterwards, the strip ran mostly as reprints for the rest of the decade (though Tom Williams drew some strips for the Dandy annuals), until Terry Bave took over. For the first few years he drew in the style of Roberts (Though His style was still fairly noticeable), but as the 90's progressed his style became more and more noticeable. He was drawing the strip in his own style. Bave continued drawing it until 2002, and the final artist was Stephen White.
With the October 2004 Dandy relaunch, there were fears that the strip had been dropped after 43 years. This proved not to be the case when it reappeared from issue 3297, dated 5 February 2005- still drawn by Stephen White, though in a different style. However, it was finally dropped with the 2007 Dandy Xtreme relaunch.
He jumped at the chance to have fun at the 75th birthday party in the 2012 annual, featuring in 12 pages himself.
The strip also has been a target of satire with wordplay by alternative comedians
and other, involving phrases such as "Wanker
Watson", and playing on the perception of boarding schools being full of sexually frustrated teenage aristocrats. For instance, Viz comic ran a parody strip called Wanker Watson. There is also a British racehorse called Winker Watson after the character.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
who had his own comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comic
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
The Dandy
The Dandy
The Dandy is a long running children's comic published in the United Kingdom by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. The first issue was printed in 1937 and it is the world's third longest running comic, after Detective Comics and Il Giornalino...
for almost half a century.
Winker first appeared in the 1961 Dandy Book (published September 1960), and then appeared in the weekly Dandy on April 1, 1961 in issue Number 1010, and was quickly established as a character of great wit and appeal. Probably modeled on the Greyfriars
Greyfriars School
Greyfriars School is a fictional English public school used as a setting in the long running series of stories by the writer Charles Hamilton, who wrote under the pen-name Frank Richards. Although the stories are focused on the Remove , whose most famous pupil was Billy Bunter, other characters...
stories and on Harry Wharton, Winker is a pupil of the Third Form of Greytowers Boarding School
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
, he is known as the "wangler" of the school, constantly playing tricks and avoiding unpleasant school activities, much to the chagrin of his teacher Mr Clarence Creep (known to the boys as Creepy). Creep also has a sister called Agnes, who runs the nearby Trinity Hall Girls School, constructed in 1989 after the previous one burnt down. Around that area there also seems to be a St Jennifer's School for Girls, though this may just be a continuity error. Greytowers is next door to a police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
training school.
Winker Watson is a rare breed for a kids comic, as his stories are often continuous from issue to issue, including the long-running saga of his uncle Arnold arriving as Physical Training instructor and Winker's endless attempts to get rid of him. There was also the long-running story dealing with the unjust expulsion
Expulsion (academia)
Expulsion or exclusion refers to the permanent removal of a student from a school system or university for violating that institution's rules. Laws and procedures regarding expulsion vary between countries and states.-State sector:...
of Winker's younger brother Wally, and the elder sibling's attempts to keep him in the school until the end of term so their parents would know nothing until he had been exonerated. A third example is that of Mr Creep's own secret stowaway; the teacher's good-for-nothing twin brother John, who was on the run and needed somewhere to stay, forced his brother to let him hide in his own quarters within the school. The early 90s saw perhaps the most bizarre running story of the strip's history, as Greytowers was invaded by aliens
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
, who used mind control powers to take over several characters and tried to cast the school adrift in space, until Winker used the aliens' allergy to pig swill to defeat them. Stories throughout 2003 and 2004 were reworkings of 1970s scripts concerning Winker's schemes to foil the plans of Robin Boodle, a consistently annoying rich boy, and who had been renamed Darby Doshman (in the late 1980s, there was a similar reworking in which the rich boy became Jonathan Dosh
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
). At the same time, Classics from the Comics
Classics from the Comics
Classics from the Comics was a UK comic, published from March 1996 until October 2010. Published monthly, it was D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd's third all-reprint comic...
was reprinting the Robin Boodle strips, sometimes in the same week. An old days storyline of a circus moving in next to the school was also redone, although it is unknown if any specific strips were reworked.
Winker's best pal is a lad called Tim Trott (nicknamed "Trotty" by Winker), though, apart from Winker's other friend Sandy, no other characters have emerged with any great regularity, despite the number of boys within the school. The headmaster has made frequent appearances, but mainly with Creep rather than any of the boys. Also occasionally seen is the school cook, nicknamed Cookie. In the late-1970s and early-1980s, Winker have frequent run-ins with three Sixth Formers
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
called The Hoods. They dressed in long white coats and masks similar to the ones used by the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
to hide their identities. They would steal and play tricks on the lower years and occasionally beat up Winker and his friends. As they were older and bigger than the third form boys, Winker would have to use his wits rather than his fists to fight against them. Though Winker often got into trouble, he always managed to wangle his way out of getting caned, well almost. Just the once he did get "six".
The strip was drawn by Eric Roberts until his death in 1982. Afterwards, the strip ran mostly as reprints for the rest of the decade (though Tom Williams drew some strips for the Dandy annuals), until Terry Bave took over. For the first few years he drew in the style of Roberts (Though His style was still fairly noticeable), but as the 90's progressed his style became more and more noticeable. He was drawing the strip in his own style. Bave continued drawing it until 2002, and the final artist was Stephen White.
With the October 2004 Dandy relaunch, there were fears that the strip had been dropped after 43 years. This proved not to be the case when it reappeared from issue 3297, dated 5 February 2005- still drawn by Stephen White, though in a different style. However, it was finally dropped with the 2007 Dandy Xtreme relaunch.
He jumped at the chance to have fun at the 75th birthday party in the 2012 annual, featuring in 12 pages himself.
The strip also has been a target of satire with wordplay by alternative comedians
Alternative comedy
Alternative comedy is a term that originated in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era, and typically avoids relying on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt defines it as "comedy where the...
and other, involving phrases such as "Wanker
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
Watson", and playing on the perception of boarding schools being full of sexually frustrated teenage aristocrats. For instance, Viz comic ran a parody strip called Wanker Watson. There is also a British racehorse called Winker Watson after the character.
See also
- The DandyThe DandyThe Dandy is a long running children's comic published in the United Kingdom by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. The first issue was printed in 1937 and it is the world's third longest running comic, after Detective Comics and Il Giornalino...
- British comics