Martin Branner
1888

 

Martin Branner is most famous for his newspaper comic 'Winnie Winkle', which was first published in 1920. He was already making two other newspaper comics when he first published 'Winnie Winkle' with the New York News Syndicate. These two comics were 'Looie the Lawyer' and 'Pete and Pinto'. Soon, however, he started working on 'Winnie Winkle' full-time. 'Winnie Winkle' is quite special. For the first time in comic history, it featured a working girl as protagonist. But Winnie also grew up in the comic. When the strip started, she was a little girl, but in time she got married, had a baby, and eventually widowed. She even had a career. Her little brother, Perry, eventually got his own strip as well: 'Perry and the Rinkydinks'. This comic caught on in Holland under the name 'Sjors van de Rebellenclub' and was made famous by artist Frans Piët.
In 1962 Branner retired and Max Van Bibber took over 'Winnie Winkle'. The strip ran until 1996 and was one of the longest-running comics around.

da Lambiek.net