View source for Dudley D. Watkins

{{Short description|English cartoonist (1907–1969)}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox comics creator

| image = 
| imagesize =
| caption = 
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1907|2|27}}
| birth_place = [[Prestwich]], [[Lancashire]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1969|8|20|1907|2|27}}
| death_place = [[Broughty Ferry]], [[Dundee]], Scotland
| area = 
| cartoonist = y
| artist = y
| notable works =  ''[[Oor Wullie]]'' and ''[[The Broons]]''
| nationality = British
| awards = [[British Comic Awards]] Hall of Fame (2015)
}}

'''Dudley Dexter Watkins''' (27 February 1907 – 20 August 1969) was an English [[cartoonist]] and illustrator. He is best known for his characters ''[[Oor Wullie]]'' and ''[[The Broons]]''; comic strips featuring them have appeared in the Scottish newspaper ''[[The Sunday Post]]'' since 1936, along with annual compilations. Watkins also illustrated comics such as ''[[The Beano]]'', ''[[The Dandy]]'', ''[[The Beezer]]'' and ''[[Topper (comic book)|Topper]]'', and provided illustrations for Christian stories. Watkins was posthumously inducted into the [[British Comic Awards]] Hall of Fame in 2015.<ref name=DTT20151002>Freeman, John. [https://downthetubes.net/british-comic-awards-shortlist-announced-beano-artist-dudley-d-watkins-enters-hall-of-fame/ "British Comic Awards Shortlist announced, Beano artist Dudley D. Watkins enters 'Hall of Fame.'"] DownTheTubes.net (OCTOBER 2, 2015).</ref>

==Early life==
Watkins was born in [[Prestwich]], Lancashire, England. However, the family moved to [[Nottingham]] while he was still a baby.<ref name="Bookpalacecom">{{cite web |url=http://www.bookpalace.com/acatalog/BioFull_DudleyWatkins.html |title=''Dudley Watkins (1907–1969)'' |publisher=Bookpalace.com |access-date=6 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220035700/http://www.bookpalace.com/acatalog/BioFull_DudleyWatkins.html |archive-date=20 December 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> His father was a [[Lithography|lithographic print artist]] who noted the boy's early artistic talent and ensured he received extra art classes at the [[Nottingham Trent University, School of Art and Design|Nottingham School of Art]]. By the age of 10, the local newspaper declared him a "schoolboy genius." He studied at [[Nottingham]] School of Art, and while working for [[Boots UK|Boots]] Pure Drug company in the early 1920s, Watkins' first published artwork appeared in Boots' staff magazine, ''The Beacon''.<ref>Titled ''Our Gymnasium Class'', it appeared in 1923.  See [http://www.lambiek.net/artists/w/watkins_dudley.htm Dudley D. Watkins (27/2/1907 – 20/8/1969, UK)]</ref>

==Work with D.C. Thomson==
In 1924 Watkins entered the [[Glasgow School of Art]].<ref name="Bookpalacecom" /> In 1925 the school principal recommended Watkins to the thriving publisher [[D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd|D.C. Thomson]], based in Dundee. Watkins was offered a six-month employment contract with D. C. Thomson, so he moved to their Dundee base and began providing illustrations for Thomson's "Big Five" story papers for boys (''Adventure'', ''Rover'', ''Wizard'', and later ''Skipper'' and ''Hotspur'').  The temporary employment turned into a full-time career; for several years he was just another illustrator, supplementing his small salary by teaching Illustration at [[Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design|Dundee College of Art]] c.1934-38.<ref>Dundee College of Art Prospectuses (University of Dundee Archives)</ref> 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.<ref name="Bookpalacecom" />

His workload was further increased when D.C. Thomson created ''[[The Beano]]'', an eight-page comic booklet, with Watkins being responsible for drawing the ''[[Lord Snooty]]'' strip.<ref>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.</ref> The Beano's first edition was dated 30 July 1938.<ref name="Bookpalacecom" /> When the ''[[The Beezer|Beezer]]'' and ''[[Topper (comic book)|Topper]]'' were launched in the 1950s, Watkins was responsible for illustrating the ''[[Ginger (comics)|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.<ref name="Bookpalacecom" />

Watkins was one of only two D. C. Thomson cartoonists who signed their work (beginning in June 1946),<ref name="Bookpalacecom" /> 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 [[Churches of Christ|Church of Christ]] in Dundee (where he met his wife). He contributed artwork for mission calendars, and from 1956 he produced (free of charge)<ref name="Bookpalacecom" /> the comic strips ''William the Warrior'' and ''Tony & Tina – The Twins'' for ''The Young Warrior'', a children's paper published by the [[WEC International|WEC Publications]]. These strips, filled with quotations from [[Scripture]], were collected into a series of booklets. In March 2008 a watercolour by Watkins depicting [[The Crucifixion]] was discovered in a house in [[Lochgelly]], Fife.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2008/03/21/newsstory11099197t0.asp |title=The Courier: Taking you to the heart of Tayside and Fife |access-date=2009-06-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821173439/http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2008/03/21/newsstory11099197t0.asp |archive-date=21 August 2009 |df=dmy }}</ref>

Watkins and his wife built a substantial house in [[Broughty Ferry]] which he named ''Winsterly''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scottish-places.info/people/famousfirst438.html|title=Dudley Dexter Watkins from The Gazetteer for Scotland|website=www.scottish-places.info}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://theconversation.com/how-beano-and-dandy-artist-dudley-d-watkins-made-generations-of-comic-fans-roar-with-laughter-121330|title=How Beano and Dandy artist Dudley D. Watkins made generations of comic fans roar with laughter|first=David|last=Anderson|date=20 August 2019|website=The Conversation}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thatsbraw.co.uk/Biog/DDW-Page.htm |title=Dudley D. Watkins' Page |publisher=Thatsbraw.co.uk |access-date=6 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514143343/http://www.thatsbraw.co.uk/Biog/DDW-Page.htm |archive-date=14 May 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.dcthomson.co.uk DC Thomson Website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060114124256/http://www.thatsbraw.co.uk/ ''Broons'' and ''Oor Wullie'' fan site]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090514143343/http://www.thatsbraw.co.uk/Biog/DDW-Page.htm Biography]
*[http://www.christiancomicsinternational.org/watkins_pioneer.html Dudley D. Watkins – Christian Comics Pioneer]

{{D. C. Thomson Comics}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Dudley D.}}
[[Category:1907 births]]
[[Category:1969 deaths]]
[[Category:Artists from Manchester]]
[[Category:Artists from Nottingham]]
[[Category:People associated with Dundee]]
[[Category:English cartoonists]]
[[Category:English comics artists]]
[[Category:British comic strip cartoonists]]
[[Category:English members of the Churches of Christ]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art]]
[[Category:The Dandy people]]
[[Category:The Beano people]]
[[Category:Christian comics creators]]