Winnie Winkle
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''Winnie Winkle'' is an American comic strip published during a 76-year span (1920–1996). Ten film adaptations were also made. Its premise was conceived by
Joseph Medill Patterson Joseph Medill Patterson (January 6, 1879 – May 26, 1946) was an American journalist, publisher and founder of the '' Daily News'' in New York. At the time of his death the ''Daily News'' maintained a Sunday circulation of 4.5 million copi ...
, but the stories and artwork were by Martin Branner, who wrote the strip for over 40 years. It was one of the first comic strips about working women. The main character 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 and translations of the strip's Sunday pages were made available in Europe, focusing on her little brother Perry Winkle and his gang. Due to its originality and longevity, ''Winnie Winkle'' became a household name and inspired
Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein ( ; October27, 1923September29, 1997) was an American pop artist. He rose to prominence in the 1960s through pieces which were inspired by popular advertising and the comic book style. Much of his work explores the relations ...
. It was reprinted in
Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...
, and some see it as heralding a more independent role for American women after
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.


Publication history

The Chicago Tribune Syndicate launched the comic strip on September 20, 1920. By 1939, ''Winnie Winkle'' was running in more than 140 newspapers. It was titled ''Winnie Winkle the Breadwinner'' until 1943. By 1970, ''Winnie Winkle'' still ran in more than 150 newspapers. ''Winnie Winkle'' had a topper strip on the Sunday page, originally called ''Looie Blooie'' when it debuted on January 11, 1931, and shortened to ''Looie'' on May 6, 1934. This was based on Branner's short-lived 1919 daily strip, ''Looie the Lawyer''. As a topper, ''Looie'' ran for three decades, until 1962. From 1935 to 1936, there was also a paper-doll panel in the topper with several different titles: ''Winnie Winkle Fashion Cut-Outs'', ''Winnie Winkle Style Story'' and ''Winnie Winkle Fashion Film Cut-Out''. ''Winnie Winkle'' ended July 28, 1996, after 76 years, one of the longest runs in American comic strip history.
Tribune Media Services Tribune Content Agency (TCA) is a syndication company owned by Tribune Publishing. TCA had previously been known as the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (CTNYNS), Tribune Company Syndicate, and Tribune Media ...
, 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.


Characters and story

The eponymous character Winnie Winkle was a young, unmarried woman who had to support her parents, making it the second popular comic strip about working women (after '' Somebody's Stenog'', which debuted in 1918). It was a reflection of the new role of women in society, as could also be seen in comics such as '' Tillie the Toiler'' from 1921. Writing for the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
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." During its first years, the daily ''Winnie Winkle'' 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 duffle coat and fancy clothes, he continued to frequent his old neighborhood. The local gang, the Rinkydinks, 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 A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) 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 word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
"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 or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, leaving a pregnant Winnie behind. This realistic and unfortunate situation was too risqué for some newspapers: ''
The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...
'' 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 The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
.


Artists

Branner employed a number of assistants, including
Royal King Cole Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...
(during the 1930s),
Rolf Ahlson Rolf is a male given name and a surname. It originates in the Germanic name ''Hrolf'', itself a contraction of ''Hrodwulf'' ( Rudolf), a conjunction of the stem words ''hrod'' ("renown") + ''wulf'' ("wolf"). The Old Norse cognate is ''Hrólfr''. ...
,
Mike Peppe Mike Peppe (March 10, 1898 – September 2, 1979) was a Hall of Fame swim coach for Ohio State University from 1931 to 1962, where he led the team to 11 NCAA, 12 Big Ten, and 10 AAU Championships. With an exceptional winning percentage at Ohio S ...
, and
Max Van Bibber Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ( ...
(1938–1962). Another assistant was the young French author
Robert Velter François Robert Velter (; 9 February 1909 – 27 April 1991), known by his pen-name Rob-Vel (), was a French cartoonist. He is best known for creating the character '' Spirou'' in 1938. Biography Like ''Spirou'', Velter began his career as ...
, who on his return to Europe created the famous series ''
Spirou et Fantasio ''Spirou & Fantasio'' (), commonly shortened to ''Spirou'', is one of the most popular classic Franco-Belgian comics. The series, which has been running since 1938, shares many characteristics with other European comics, European humorous adventu ...
''. From 1941 until 1958, Branner's 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 Cartoon and Graphic Art and finally by veteran artist Frank Bolle. Bolle (who enlisted
Leonard Starr Leonard Starr (October 28, 1925 – June 30, 2015) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist, and advertising artist, best known for creating the newspaper comic strip ''Mary Perkins, On Stage, On Stage'' and reviving ''Little Orphan Annie'' ...
to write the strip in 1985) 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.


International 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. In The Netherlands and France, local artists made new comics about Perry when the number of weekly pages by Branner was no longer sufficient. * The Dutch translated the strip as ''Sjors van de Rebellenclub'' which became very popular in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, 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 Flanders, Belgium the series ''De Vrolijke Bengels'' by
Willy Vandersteen Willebrord Jan Frans Maria "Willy" Vandersteen (15 February 1913 – 28 August 1990) was a Belgian creator of comic books. In a career spanning 50 years, he created a large studio and published more than 1,000 comic albums in over 25 series, sel ...
and '' De Lustige Kapoentjes'' by
Marc Sleen Marcel Honoree Nestor ( ridder) Neels (30 December 1922 – 6 November 2016), known as Marc Sleen, was a Belgian comics artist. He was mostly known for his humorous adventure comic '' The Adventures of Nero and Co.'', but also created gag comic ...
were directly inspired by this strip. * 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, eleven ''Winnie Winkle, the Breadwinner, and the Rinky Dinks'' movies were produced by Weiss Brothers Artclass Pictures, written by Branner and starring Ethelyn Gibson as Winnie, with
Billy West William Richard Werstine (born 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor, comedian, radio personality, impressionist and musician. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'', the title characte ...
as director. # ''Happy Days'' (1926) # ''Working Winnie'' (1926) # ''Winnie's Birthday'' (1926) # ''Oh! Winnie Behave'' (1926) # ''Winnie's Vacation'' (1927) # ''Winnie Wakes Up'' (1927) # ''Winnie Steps Out'' (1927) # ''Winnie Be Good'' (1927) # ''Winning Winnie'' (1927) # ''Winnie's Winning Ways'' (1928) # ''Weary Winnie'' (1928) (Ethelyn, as Winnie, doesn't appear in this one, Bobby Nelson plays her brother Perry Winkle. The West Brothers produced this one for Weiss Brothers Artclass Pictures)


Awards

In 1958, Branner received the
National Cartoonists Society The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) 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 ...
's Humor Comic Strip Division Award for ''Winnie Winkle''.


Archives

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
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-Tone, brush, pen and ink on illustration board measuring approximately 7 ¼ x 22 ½ inches. The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History has 28 volumes of Branner's proofs for the strip.Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History
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References


Further reading

"After 75 years, we bid Winnie goodbye." ''
Connecticut Post The ''Connecticut Post'' is a daily newspaper located in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It serves Fairfield County and the Lower Naugatuck Valley. Municipalities in the Post's circulation area include Ansonia, Bridgeport, Darien, Derby, Easton ...
'' July 24, 1996, p.B3.


External links


Barnacle Press: ''Winnie Winkle the Breadwinner''


{{good article Comics characters introduced in 1920 1920 comics debuts 1996 comics endings American comic strips Fictional American people American comics characters Gag-a-day comics American comics adapted into films Comic strips formerly syndicated by Tribune Content Agency Female characters in comics Comics about women