The Broons
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The Broons is a comic strip within The Sunday Post, which is printed by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. It features the Brown (Broon in a Scottish accent) family, who live at 10 Glebe Street, in Scotland. The strip made its first appearance in the issue dated 8 March 1936. The Family Members include:
- Maw Broon - the mother of the 8 youngest Broons. She has to run every aspect of the household and keep Paw in line.
- Paw Broon - a working stiff who just tries to keep enough back for a bit of baccy and a bet on the horses. With his combover hairstyle and walrus moustache, he is the spitting image of A.C. "Archie" Brown, the chief editor of D.C. Thomson at the time The Broons originated.
- Granpaw Broon - Paw's father, he lives in his own house and spends most of his time sitting on a park bench with his mates. Shares Paw's preoccupation with having an ample supply of tobacco.
- Daphne Broon - the somewhat dowdy daughter who is always playing second fiddle to Maggie on double dates. Every few years she has a stroke of luck when the double dates get mixed up and she gets Maggie's man.
- Hen Broon - the lanky, awkward son. About 30 years old and an average guy who rarely gets the girl. He is often taken advantage of for his height, for example being made to act as a clothes stand to keep the washing line up.
- Joe Broon - a regular guy, usually noted for his strength and love of boxing.
- Maggie Broon - the beautiful, glamorous daughter with blonde hair. Has a steady stream of beaus.
- Horace Broon - a bookish schoolboy forever trying to learn poetry by rote amidst the chaos of a do-it-yourself chimney-sweeping mishap or other domestic turmoil.
- The Twins - rambunctious youngsters usually adding to the chaos with a fistfight or a good game of cowboys and Indians.
- The Bairn - basically a smaller version of Maw, she is getting in her practice of indignant moral pronouncements and pointing out the foolishness of the male Broons.
Most of the humour derives from the timeless themes of the 'generation gap', stretching the money as far as possible, and the constant struggle for each family member to live in a very small flat with 9 other Broons. In the end the family is always together through it all, getting through life with a gentle good humour as they argue amongst themselves.
Another distinguishing feature is that all the characters speak in the broad Scots vernacular.
In later years it is established that the Broons live in roughly the same area as Oor Wullie. In particular Wullie and his pals can be seen ogling Maggie as she walks through the town. It was drawn by Dudley D. Watkins until his death in 1969, and Peter Davidson is the current artist, succeeding Ken H. Harrison.
See also
List of DC Thomson publications
External links
- That's Braw! (http://www.thatsbraw.co.uk/), a fan-site dedicated to Oor Wullie and The Broons.