Jings, crivens, help ma boab! Oor Wullie and The Broons turn 90

On 8 March 2026, Oor Wullie and The Broons, two of Scotland’s most beloved cultural icons, celebrate 90 remarkable years of mischief, family humour and unmistakably Scottish storytelling. 

To mark the milestone, a year-long programme of events, publications and community activities will honour Scotland's favourite schoolboy and best-loved family, whose adventures have helped shape the nation’s identity for generations. 

First appearing in The Sunday Post on 8 March 1936, Oor Wullie and The Broons created a uniquely Scottish universe that has endured for nine decades. Their stories chronicled working-class life with warmth, humour and a deep sense of community, becoming woven into Scotland’s cultural DNA. 

Since then, Oor Wullie has spent nine decades perched on his famous bucket, getting up to no good with his pals Bob, Wee Eck and Soapy Soutar, girlfriend Primrose Paterson and dodging his nemesis PC Murdoch around the fictional town of Auchenshoogle. 

Meanwhile, The Broons has portrayed the joys, chaos and heart of family life in 10 Glebe Street, from Maw’s wisdom to Paw’s blustering and from the antics of the bairns to the romances and mishaps of Hen and Daphne. 

The Broons and Oor Wullie were an instant hit, and the country quickly became enamoured with the comics’ cast of characters. Readers were particularly charmed by the distinctive Scots language in the strips. 

Festivities begin today with a commemorative comics supplement in The Sunday Post. Inside, readers will find details of the history of Oor Wullie and The Broons, a national comics competition, inviting fans young and old to create their own strip inspired by the world of The Broons to be published in a future edition of The Sunday Post and a step-by-step guide on how to draw Oor Wullie.   

For many, these comics weren’t just entertainment, they were a window into everyday Scottish life, reflecting everything from changing fashions and technologies to shifts in society across the decades. Few cultural exports capture the Scottish experience as honestly, or as affectionately, as Oor Wullie and The Broons. 

Thomas Hawkins, Editor of The Sunday Post, said: “Very few fictional characters have lived as vividly in Scotland’s imagination as Oor Wullie and The Broons. For 90 years they’ve mirrored Scotland back to itself - its humour, its grit and its sense of community. This anniversary is a chance to celebrate where they’ve come from, and the new stories still to be told. 

“This Sunday, to mark 90 years to the day since The Sunday Post’s very first Oor Wullie and The Broons comics, we are releasing a limited-edition souvenir supplement. Inside, we chart the history of the beloved characters, explain how they helped keep Scots language alive and in doing so shaped national identity.

“From boosting morale during the Second World War to putting a smile on readers’ faces during the Covid pandemic, Oor Wullie and The Broons have been a reassuring constant in a world in flux. 

“Throughout this anniversary year, we have fun activities and events planned plus a national competition to help find the next budding comic artist. So, get involved, we can’t wait to see what you will come up with.” 

Martha Burns Findlay, Head of Public Programmes at the National Library of Scotland, added: “The National Library of Scotland is proud to preserve and champion Scots language as an integral part of our nation’s cultural heritage. We care for rich collections in Scots dating back centuries, from the likes of Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott to Oor Wullie and The Broons, including the first ever Broons annual which was published in 1939.

“Oor Wullie and The Broons are truly national treasures, and we’re delighted to be working with DC Thomson to celebrate this special birthday.