Winnie Winkle
Encyclopedia
Winnie Winkle was an American comic strip
which appeared over a 76-year span (1920-96). Created by Martin Branner
, who wrote the strip for over 40 years, Winnie Winkle was one of the first comic strips about working women. It was titled Winnie Winkle the Breadwinner until 1943. The main character, Winnie, was a young woman who had to support her parents and adopted brother, serving as a reflection of the changing role of women in society. It ran in more than 100 newspapers for several decades, and translations of the strip's Sunday pages
(focusing on her little brother and his gang) were made available in Europe.
The Chicago Tribune Syndicate
launched the comic strip on September 20, 1920. The strip's premise was conceived by Joseph Medill Patterson
, but the stories and artwork were by Branner, who had previously created two unsuccessful comic strips.
The eponymous character Winnie Winkle was a young, unmarried woman who had to support her parents, making it the first popular comic strip about working women. It was a reflection of the new role of women in society, as could also be seen in comics like Tillie the Toiler
from 1921. Writing for the Associated Press
in 1993, Hugh A. Mulligan noted, "After women got the vote and joined the work force, family-centered comics were joined by working-girl strips like Winnie Winkle, Tillie the Toiler, Dixie Dugan, Somebody's Stenog and Brenda Starr, which was drawn by a woman, Dale Messick
. Almost from the beginning, politics and a social conscience hovered over the drawing board."
evolved from simple gags to more complex humorous situations. A new character was introduced in the form of Perry, a little boy from the backstreets, whom the Winkles adopted in 1922. The focus of the Sunday pages then shifted to the adventures of Perry at home, school and on the streets. Although compelled to wear a duffel coat and fancy clothes, he continued to frequent his old neighborhood gang, the Rinkydinks, who, in contrast, still wore torn and patchy clothing and were regarded by Winnie as "loafers." One member of the Rinkydinks was the dunce, Denny Dimwit, who popularized the catch phrase
, "Youse is a good boy, Denny."
Other major plot elements were the 1937 marriage of Winnie to engineer Will Wright and the disappearance of Will during World War II
, leaving a pregnant Winnie behind. This realistic and unfortunate situation was too risqué for some newspapers: The Baltimore Sun
dropped the strip early in 1941 because of the pregnancy of Winnie. The comic strip changed significantly over the years; with Winnie working in the fashion industry after the war, seemingly as a widow until her husband returned after a few decades. She took on various other jobs and endeavors over the years, including a stint in the Peace Corps
.
Winnie Winkle ended July 28, 1996, after 76 years, one of the longest runs in American comic strip history. Tribune Media Service, the syndicate that distributed the comic strip, "felt that the Winnie Winkle character was not recognized as a contemporary role model for the '90s." At the time, the strip was carried by only a handful of newspapers.
Branner employed a number of assistants, including Royal King Cole (during the 1930s), Rolf Ahlson, Mike Peppe and Max Van Bibber (1938-1962). Another assistant was the young French author Robert Velter
, who on his return to Europe created the famous series Spirou et Fantasio
.
From 1941 until 1958, his assistant was John A. Berrill, who later created Gil Thorp
. After Branner suffered a stroke in 1962, Van Bibber continued the series until 1980, later followed by students from the Joe Kubert
school of cartooning and finally by veteran artist Frank Bolle
. Bolle recalled:
, where it was the predecessor of the long-running series Sjors en Sjimmie
by Frans Piët. In France, it was known as Bicot and published by Hachette in 14 albums between 1926 and 1939. In both countries, local artists made new comics about Perry when the number of weekly pages by Branner was no longer sufficient.
The Sunday page of Winnie Winkle was the first American comic published in a Yugoslavian daily newspaper, Jutarnji list from Zagreb. It first appeared on August 5, 1923 and lasted until April, 1941, the beginning of World War II in that country. Perry, the hero, was renamed Ivica (Johnny), and Winnie Suzana. The Rinkydinks were rechristened Rantanplanci, allegedly after a group of kids from a contemporary Hollywood film series. The title was Pustolovni Ivica (Adventurous Johnny). A single Christmas episode taking place in Zagreb was published, the work of unknown local authors. Three albums collected the stories published in the newspaper.
as director. Winnie Winkle was reprinted in Dell Comics, and for a time her face appeared on a cigar box lid.
Due to its originality and longevity, Winnie Winkle became a household name and an icon, inspiring even the Pop Art
artist Roy Lichtenstein
. It ran in more than 140 newspapers in 1939, and by 1970, it still ran in more than 150 newspapers. In retrospect, it is seen as one of the comic strips heralding a new, more independent role for American women after World War I
.
's Humor Comic Strip Division Award for Winnie Winkle.
, brush, pen and ink on illustration board measuring approximately 7 ¼ x 22 ½ inches.
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....
which appeared over a 76-year span (1920-96). Created by Martin Branner
Martin Branner
Martin Michael Branner , known to his friends as Mike Branner, was a cartoonist who created the popular comic strip Winnie Winkle...
, who wrote the strip for over 40 years, Winnie Winkle was one of the first comic strips about working women. It was titled Winnie Winkle the Breadwinner until 1943. The main character, Winnie, was a young woman who had to support her parents and adopted brother, serving as a reflection of the changing role of women in society. It ran in more than 100 newspapers for several decades, and translations of the strip's Sunday pages
Sunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
(focusing on her little brother and his gang) were made available in Europe.
The Chicago Tribune Syndicate
Tribune Media Services
Tribune Media Services is a syndication company owned by the Tribune Company.The company has two divisions, "News and Features" and "Entertainment Products"...
launched the comic strip on September 20, 1920. The strip's premise was conceived by Joseph Medill Patterson
Joseph Medill Patterson
Joseph Medill Patterson was an American journalist and publisher, grandson of publisher Joseph Medill, founder of the Chicago Tribune and a mayor of Chicago, Illinois.-Family:...
, but the stories and artwork were by Branner, who had previously created two unsuccessful comic strips.
The eponymous character Winnie Winkle was a young, unmarried woman who had to support her parents, making it the first popular comic strip about working women. It was a reflection of the new role of women in society, as could also be seen in comics like Tillie the Toiler
Tillie the Toiler
Tillie the Toiler was a newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Russ Westover who initially worked on his concept of a flapper character in a strip he titled Rose of the Office...
from 1921. Writing for the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
in 1993, Hugh A. Mulligan noted, "After women got the vote and joined the work force, family-centered comics were joined by working-girl strips like Winnie Winkle, Tillie the Toiler, Dixie Dugan, Somebody's Stenog and Brenda Starr, which was drawn by a woman, Dale Messick
Dale Messick
Dalia Messick was an American comic strip artist who used the pseudonym Dale Messick. She was the creator of Brenda Starr, which at its peak during the 1950s ran in 250 newspapers....
. Almost from the beginning, politics and a social conscience hovered over the drawing board."
Characters and story
During its first years, the daily Winnie WinkleDaily strip
A daily strip is a newspaper comic strip format, appearing on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays....
evolved from simple gags to more complex humorous situations. A new character was introduced in the form of Perry, a little boy from the backstreets, whom the Winkles adopted in 1922. The focus of the Sunday pages then shifted to the adventures of Perry at home, school and on the streets. Although compelled to wear a duffel coat and fancy clothes, he continued to frequent his old neighborhood gang, the Rinkydinks, who, in contrast, still wore torn and patchy clothing and were regarded by Winnie as "loafers." One member of the Rinkydinks was the dunce, Denny Dimwit, who popularized the catch phrase
Catch phrase
A catchphrase is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through a variety of mass media , as well as word of mouth...
, "Youse is a good boy, Denny."
Other major plot elements were the 1937 marriage of Winnie to engineer Will Wright and the disappearance of Will during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, leaving a pregnant Winnie behind. This realistic and unfortunate situation was too risqué for some newspapers: The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
dropped the strip early in 1941 because of the pregnancy of Winnie. The comic strip changed significantly over the years; with Winnie working in the fashion industry after the war, seemingly as a widow until her husband returned after a few decades. She took on various other jobs and endeavors over the years, including a stint in the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
.
Winnie Winkle ended July 28, 1996, after 76 years, one of the longest runs in American comic strip history. Tribune Media Service, the syndicate that distributed the comic strip, "felt that the Winnie Winkle character was not recognized as a contemporary role model for the '90s." At the time, the strip was carried by only a handful of newspapers.
Artists
Robert Velter
François Robert Velter , known by his pen-name Rob-Vel, was a French cartoonist. He is best known for creating the character Spirou in 1938.-Biography:...
, who on his return to Europe created the famous series Spirou et Fantasio
Spirou et Fantasio
Spirou et Fantasio is one of the most popular classic Franco-Belgian comic strips. The series, which has been running since 1938, shares many characteristics with other European humorous adventure comics like Tintin and Asterix...
.
From 1941 until 1958, his assistant was John A. Berrill, who later created Gil Thorp
Gil Thorp
Gil Thorp is a sports-oriented comic strip which has been published since September 8, 1958. The main character, Gil Thorp, is the athletic director of Milford High School and coaches the football, basketball, and baseball teams...
. After Branner suffered a stroke in 1962, Van Bibber continued the series until 1980, later followed by students from the Joe Kubert
Joe Kubert
Joe Kubert is an American comic book artist who went on to found The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman...
school of cartooning and finally by veteran artist Frank Bolle
Frank Bolle
Frank Bolle is an American comic strip artist, comic book artist and illustrator.-Career:-Children's books:...
. Bolle recalled:
- I did Winnie Winkle for 20 years, and when they told me, "You have 90 days to wrap it up," because they were discontinuing it, I felt terrible, but after I finished it, I didn't even miss it. I was depressed because I lost a good job, but I just didn't miss it. Maybe it was the routine of it every week I didn't miss, but I have a lot of good memories of doing that strip.
Internatioinal spin-offs and translations
In 1923, Winnie's adopted younger brother Perry Winkle and his friends the Rinkydinks became the focus of the Sunday pages. In Europe, only the Sunday pages were translated. The Dutch translated it as Sjors van de Rebellenclub which became very popular in the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, where it was the predecessor of the long-running series Sjors en Sjimmie
Sjors en Sjimmie
Sjors & Sjimmie is a Dutch adaptation of US-comic Perry Winkle. Difference is that Sjors forms a duo with Africa-born Sjimmie. They're raised by Sally and the Colonel who regularly finds himself on the receiving end of their pranks...
by Frans Piët. In France, it was known as Bicot and published by Hachette in 14 albums between 1926 and 1939. In both countries, local artists made new comics about Perry when the number of weekly pages by Branner was no longer sufficient.
The Sunday page of Winnie Winkle was the first American comic published in a Yugoslavian daily newspaper, Jutarnji list from Zagreb. It first appeared on August 5, 1923 and lasted until April, 1941, the beginning of World War II in that country. Perry, the hero, was renamed Ivica (Johnny), and Winnie Suzana. The Rinkydinks were rechristened Rantanplanci, allegedly after a group of kids from a contemporary Hollywood film series. The title was Pustolovni Ivica (Adventurous Johnny). A single Christmas episode taking place in Zagreb was published, the work of unknown local authors. Three albums collected the stories published in the newspaper.
Films
From 1926 to 1928, ten Winnie Winkle the Breadwinner movies were produced, written by Branner and starring Ethelyn Gibson as Winnie, with Billy WestBilly West (silent film actor)
Billy West was a film actor, producer, and director of the silent film era. He is best known as a Charlie Chaplin impersonator....
as director. Winnie Winkle was reprinted in Dell Comics, and for a time her face appeared on a cigar box lid.
Due to its originality and longevity, Winnie Winkle became a household name and an icon, inspiring even the Pop Art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
artist Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
. It ran in more than 140 newspapers in 1939, and by 1970, it still ran in more than 150 newspapers. In retrospect, it is seen as one of the comic strips heralding a new, more independent role for American women after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Awards
In 1958, Branner received the National Cartoonists SocietyNational Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
's Humor Comic Strip Division Award for Winnie Winkle.
Archives
Syrcause University houses the Martin Branner Cartoons collection of 300 original daily cartoons from Winnie Winkle (1920-1957). There is a complete week from each year represented, with additional random cartoons from each year. There are no holdings for 1946-47. The daily cartoons display traces of graphite, blue pencil, Zip-A-ToneScreentone
Screentone is a technique for applying textures and shades to drawings, used as an alternative to hatching. In the conventional process, patterns are transferred to paper from preprinted sheets, but the technique is also simulated in computer graphics...
, brush, pen and ink on illustration board measuring approximately 7 ¼ x 22 ½ inches.