CHIPS cover (1939)

I'm a bit busy at present but I didn't want the week to pass by without posting something from the history of comics, so here's a quick scan of the cover to Chips No.2527, dated February 11th 1939 (published on Wednesday Feb.8th). It featured those long-running cover stars Weary Willie and Tired Tim and was drawn by Percy Cocking.

Comics only had 8 pages back then, so they really packed a lot in for the reader's money. A very busy cover with some smashing cartoon work. And yes, it really was printed on pink paper. Definitely a cheap and cheerful comic!

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While I'm at it, I'll give a plug for my other blog. (Hey, I promote the work of others often enough so why not plug my own?) Drop by there sometime and have a look:
http://lewstringercomics.blogspot.co.uk

ILLUSTRATED CHIPS of Easter 1937

Let's go back in time 80 years, to Easter 1937, when this issue of Illustrated Chips was on sale. Despite its limitations of only being printed in black ink on pink paper, the strips are bursting with fun and joy. The Holiday Antics of Weary Willie and Tired Tim is drawn by the ever-reliable Percy Cocking, the strip's regular artist. 

As with most comics of the period, the centre pages featured a busy mixture of short strips and cartoons. Here's a selection, starting with Ivor Klue, drawn by Albert Pease...

Again, as was the format of the times, only half of the comic featured strips. The other 50% being taken up by text stories. This page managed to fit in a prose story, the fictional office boy's weekly column, and two adverts...

The back page of this 8 page tabloid featured two very popular features; Casey Court, and Laurie and Trailer, both drawn by Albert Pease...

I hope you've enjoyed this Easter holiday trip back to 1937. Have a good weekend wherever and whenever you go! (Don't forget that the new series of Doctor Who starts on Saturday at 7.20pm.)

(This week's 2000AD preview will appear on Monday.)

The origin of Weary Willie and Tired Tim

The first Willie and Tim strip, 1896, scanned from The Penguin Book of Comics (1971).

Tom Browne was the most influential artist who worked in comics in the late 19th/early 20th Century. He created Weary Willie and Tired Tim, the two affable wandering tramps who were the cover stars of Illustrated Chips from 1896 to its final issue in 1953. Browne himself only drew the strip until 1909, (succeeded by Percy Cocking) but it inspired many imitators and Browne's art style was also imitated by numerous artists. 

Certain characteristics of his style; the body language and mannerisms, are still evident in British comics today because they've been handed down from artist to artist, whether consciously or not. I certainly recognise that some of the gestures and facial expressions of my characters stem back to Tom Browne's initial template, although I would never regard my abilities as anywhere near his league of course. 

In 1909 one of the Brush, Pen and Pencil series of books on artists focused on Tom Browne. I have the second edition, from 1930, and although it mainly covers Browne's other endeavours such as his paintings and magazine illustration, there is a mention of his famous Weary Willie and Tired Tim strip. I've scanned the relevant pages for you to read. Click to enlarge them...

It says that Tom Browne moved on from the strip in 1909, although it's worth bearing in mind that he sadly passed away a year later so illness may have played a part. We can only speculate on whether he would have returned to comics had he lived longer than his all-too-short 39 years. 

I wrote a longer piece on Tom Browne a few years ago, and you can read it here:
https://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/tribute-to-tom-browne.html

I was honoured to hear from Mr.Browne's great-grandson and family after I wrote that piece. 

I'll be showing more of Tom Browne's illustration work soon.