Thursday, July 22, 2010




Dudley D. Watkins galleries. Was delighted to discover these recent online galleries of original artwork by the icon of Scottish comic art Dudley D. Watkins. Some wartime Lord Snooty and 1950s Desperate Dan on show at this site but also more obscure DC Thomson published characters not seen since publication. Take a look here.

2 comments:

Ed Pinsent said...

I think panel four of Desperate Dan with the wolves is a tiny miracle. We usually tend to “read” a comic panel from left to right, and this is one example where the action unfolds like a miniature movie as we do so, starting with Dan sneezing, the wolves flying, and ending with the wolves running away - escaping to the foreground and background of the panel, creating additional depth. There aren't that many comics panels that do this (HergĂ© managed it about twice in his whole career), but I love it when they do. Watkins was one of those gifted geniuses who just seemed to think naturally in pure visual dynamics. If I could draw just one panel as good as this, I'd be happy!

John Bagnall said...

Yes, its almost three-dimensional!