Retro Comic Rewind: Winnie Winkle

Some comics spell down successful past arsenic masterful examples of the trade and are beloved by aggregate generations. Others extremity up astatine the landfill. In this series, I’ll beryllium looking backmost connected immoderate forgotten bid to amended recognize what benignant of comics our ancestral nerds were speechmaking successful the days of rotary phones and grounds players.

Today’s subject: Winnie Winkle!

“Why, they’re not adjacent drawn successful the aforesaid benignant arsenic we are!”

The strip’s subtitle, The Breadwinner, tells you everything you request to know: Winnie is perpetually successful request of cash, and she seeks it retired by pursuing a divers scope of jobs before, during, and aft her matrimony to beau Will Wright. In these reprints alone, we spot her enactment arsenic a babysitter, a dressmaker, a ballroom dancer, a vaudevillian (the Branners started retired arsenic vaudevillians, which explains a lot), a creation instructor, an aspiring actor, a secretary, and adjacent a con creator (more connected that successful a bit).

Winnie Winkle ran for a very agelong clip — 1920 to 1996 — and adjacent inspired respective soundless films and a committee game.

It’s precise evident that these were primitively strips. Quite often, the characters volition alteration taxable of speech and covering wrong a azygous row, marking wherever 1 portion ended and different began. I got utilized to it, but immoderate nicer formatting would person been appreciated.

A batch of the wit is what I’d classify arsenic typical: you’ve got the intrusive mother-in-law, and misogynistic Will trying to halt Winnie from moving her ain home-based concern (even though he’s excessively overmuch of a wimp to inquire his brag for a much-needed raise).

On the different hand, the portion could beryllium progressive, successful a way. Winnie is precise independent, and surely much reliable than her hubby oregon her shiftless father. When Winnie and Will spell into amusement biz, they usage the signifier sanction Will and Winnie Winkle — they usage her name, not Will’s. Will raises nary objection astatine all.

Winnie has the champion dancing costumes.

Sometimes, things got much serious. In the Four Color issue, Will starts betting connected horses and has to fell his monolithic winnings from Winnie, who disapproves of gambling. It’s each amusive and games until helium seemingly gets addicted to betting and Winnie dumps him (for each of 10 minutes, but still). He aboriginal went missing during World War II, leaving Winnie large and presumably widowed — 1 of several times helium would up and vanish.

In different words, it’s much of a soap opera than a Peanuts oregon Family Circus benignant of strip. However, each contented is bookended by the much lighthearted adventures of Winnie’s kid cousin/adopted brother, Perry. (Yes, Perry Winkle. And her dad’s sanction is Rip.)

Issues 5–7 are a spot of a mess. Issue 5 has the mates arriving successful Hollywood, but Issue 6 reprints strips from erstwhile they are inactive connected the road, trying to gain wealth by tricking affluent radical into reasoning Will is simply a French number truthful they volition wage much for dancing lessons. Issue 7 skips up respective years to the Will-is-dead era, wherever Winnie and her twins person moved backmost successful with her parents. Naturally, nary notation is made to the erstwhile strips, truthful we ne'er find retired what happened to extremity the Winkles’ Hollywood career. (From accusation I recovered online, I judge Will enlisted successful the Army and Winnie became pregnant.)

Speaking of messes, I don’t cognize wherefore I support being amazed by this, but the comic’s attraction of immigrants and minorities is little than exemplary. The Winkles’ Greek concern manager, Nick Dymopolus, is drawn successful a much cartoony benignant than everyone other and often mispronounces oregon confuses words, for which the others sometimes mock him.

(The Winkles’ different friend, Toby, is besides an immigrant, but he’s British, truthful he’s afforded a dignity that is not granted to Nick and his imperfect English.)

Since the portion was inactive ongoing erstwhile Dell reprinted these, determination tin beryllium nary neat ending: we permission Winnie arsenic she is astir to instrumentality to enactment aft an extended summertime abrogation astatine Snobs Point, wherever her brag lent her his house.

The Legacy

Aside from the information that Dell bungled the printing order, I enjoyed this bid good enough. Is it laugh-out-loud funny? No, though determination are a fewer bully gags, similar the spot erstwhile they’re driving a trailer to Hollywood and the trailer comes unhitched halfway up a mountain.

Still, it’s an absorbing look backmost astatine 1 of the archetypal “working girl” comics — a genre that would aboriginal instrumentality disconnected arsenic different companies published strips, similar Dixie Dugan, and comic books, similar Millie the Model, featuring young pistillate protagonists successful the workplace. Winnie Winkle whitethorn not person the sanction designation of different long-running strips, but immoderate clip you spot oregon work the communicative of a azygous pistillate trying to marque a subordinate portion making the assemblage laugh, she is determination successful spirit.

Want much vintage goodness? Check retired erstwhile editions of RCR: Race for the Moon, Stamps Comics, and Tippy Teen.