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. 

Prog Preview: 2000AD Prog 2020

Here's your weekly preview pages of the upcoming issue of 2000AD, courtesy of the publishers Rebellion. On sale next Wednesday from newsagents and comic shops.

• UK & DIGITAL: 1 March 2017 £2.65
• NORTH AMERICA: 1 April 2017 $7.99
• DIAMOND CODE: JAN171931
• COVER: RYAN BROWN

In this issue:

Judge Dredd: Thick Skin by TC Eglington (w) Boo Cook (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)

Kingmaker by Ian Edginton (w) Leigh Gallagher (a) Ellie De Ville (l)

Kingdom: As It Is In Heaven by Dan Abnett (w) Richard Elson (a) Ellie De Ville (l)

The Order:  Wyrm War by Kek-W (w) John Burns (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)

Sinister Dexter: Electric Landlady by Dan Abnett (w) Steve Yeowell (a) John Charles (c) Simon Bowland (l)

Available in print from: UK newsagents and all good comic book stores via Diamond 

Available in digital from: 2000 AD webshop, 2000 AD iPad app, 2000 AD Android app, 2000 AD Windows 10 app

Jimmy Joy, the TV Boy (CHIPS, 1953)

Those of you around my age may remember a sixties strip called Charlie's Choice in Smash!, that featured a boy's magic TV set that enabled characters to enter our world. Well, there was a precedent of sorts in the 1950s with Jimmy Joy, the TV Boy, that ran in Chips from 1952 to the final issue in 1953. 

The difference was that Jimmy's set worked the other way; allowing Jimmy to enter through the screen into the TV programmes. The artwork was by Albert Pease, a long standing and excellent cartoonist for the Amalgamated Press comics. Here are a couple of examples from 1953. (Yes, Chips was printed on pink paper.)

...and for comparison, here's an episode of Charlie's Choice, with art by Brian Lewis, from Smash! No.109 (2nd March 1968)....

Fantastic PHOENIX cover

Sometimes, comics are worth buying just for the cover alone, so it's a bonus when the contents are good too. Case in point being the current issue of The Phoenix. A really nice stylish cover design by Lorenzo Etherington for the Von Doogan strip inside. That's bloomin' art that is, mate! 

Other contents include Part 2 of The Pie Thief by Faz Choudhury, the start of a new Mega Robo Bros adventure by Neill Cameron, Bunny vs Monkey by Jamie Smart, Squid Squad by Dan Boultwood, and more. 

The Phoenix No.268 is £3.25 from selected branches of W.H. Smith and Waitrose, and various comic shops. 
https://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk

Another BEANO free gift

There's a free Beano Top Trumps card featuring Pup Parade inside this week's issue! Nigel Parkinson did the art for that, while I drew the Pup Parade strip that relates to the gift. (Beano editor John Anderson wrote the script for this week's Pups story.) I've always liked strips that used the free gift as a theme so I jumped at the chance to do this one. 

There's a ton of other strips in the comic too of course, featuring Dennis and Gnasher, Billy Whizz, Minnie the Minx and all the favourites. There's another Ivy the Terrible by me too. 

Don't miss Beano No.3873, on sale now!