Oor Wullie - Characters and Story

Characters and Story

Wullie's home town is unnamed in the original Watkins strips, but it has been called Auchenshoogle since the late 1990s. In Watkins' earlier scripts, his attempt at Scots dialect was inaccurate, but later it became an accurate depiction of Dundee dialect. In 1970s' annuals, which reprinted earlier strips, Watkins' dialogue was anglicised somewhat, and the current scripts feature Scots of a more generic kind.

Wullie and his friends roam the streets of his town, though he is sometimes depicted at school which he finds confining. His adventures consist mostly of unrealistic get-rich-quick schemes that lead to mischief, to the despair of his parents Ma and Pa (Dave) and local policeman P.C. Joe Murdoch. Wullie's gang consists of Fat Boab (Eng: Fat Bob), Wee Eck (Eng: Little Alex), Soapy Soutar and Primrose Petterson (an annoying girl, who Wullie often does not want to be in the gang). Wullie is the leader, a position which is frequently disputed by the others. The gang meets in a caravan called Holly Rude. He used to have another friend called Ezzy, who has stopped appearing in the strips, along with Wullie's little brother. He owns a pet mouse named Jeemy and a pet dog called Harry. In the Ken Harrison strips he gained additional supporting characters, such as Doris Gow (who Wullie likes), her boyfriend Basher McKenzie and neighbour Moaning Mildew.

Wullie's age has not been consistent, in the early Watkins scripts he looked about 5 or 6, in later Watkins scripts he looked about 10 or 11, more recently he has become slightly younger. His catchphrases are of "Jings", "Crivvens", "Braw" and "Help ma Boab".

The Oor Wullie strips also appear in the form of a Christmas annual which alternates every second year with The Broons. A series of compilation albums has been published over the years featuring The Broons and Oor Wullie on alternate pages.

William Ross, Baron Ross of Marnock, Secretary of State for Scotland 1964-70 and 1974–76, was occasionally depicted in political cartoons seated on a bucket as Oor Wullie.

In March 2006, BBC Scotland documentary Happy Birthday Oor Wullie celebrated his 70th birthday with celebrity guests including Karen Dunbar, Sanjeev Kohli, Kaye Adams, Iain Robertson, Tony Roper, Tam Cowan, Stuart Cosgrove and Dominik Diamond, and was narrated by Lord of the Rings star Billy Boyd.

When The Topper launched in 1953, Oor Wullie appeared in the masthead, although not as a story in the comic. He often appeared sitting on his bucket, though other poses were used as well. The pose on Topper no. 1 had him wearing a top hat. He had the top hat in one hand and the other hand pointing at the Topper logo. Early annuals were undated, so this information is to help identify them. Later annuals had the copyright date inside them.