His best friend is Spud, who's kind of the neurotic - he's a weird kid. He's a - just an energetic, happy, very positive kid. Will Henry: The main character is Wallace. And there was like a click moment where I saw a path to a successful comic strip.ĭavid Wright: Very briefly, for those unfamiliar, here are the dramatis personae. And I thought that is - that's a moment I want to capture, fun, ocean, kids being kids. And he was laughing ear to - he was just so happy. And it was summertime and they were laughing.Īnd another kid came and just pushed him off of it. Will Henry: I was sitting in that drawing table in there, and looking out the window, and I saw - I just - I saw a kid on a pylon. Cartooning was something he used to do in his downtime.Īnd then how'd you come up with 'Wallace the Brave'? Will Henry: And, because I was trying to do cartoons, I would just - I brought my drawing desk down here.ĭavid Wright: That little drafting table under the wine rack his window onto the world. And he offered it to me at a discount price. He lived in Arizona, didn't really want to be here anymore. But the liquor store was kind of an opportunistic endeavor. Will Henry: It's the comic strip now, which is - it's a dream come true.

What pays the bills, the comic strip or the liquor store? But he's also a nationally syndicated cartoonist under the pen name Will Henry. By day, he owns and operates Grapes & Gourmet, a local wine shop. Like some of the great comic book superheroes, he has a secret identity. Will Henry, Creator, 'Wallace the Brave': Ah, well, I mean, I'm sure as most Rhode Islanders know, there's an actual Snug Harbor a little south of where we are, Jamestown.ĭavid Wright: That's William Henry Wilson. It's exactly the sort of scene you might find in the comic strip 'Wallace the Brave' set in a mythical seaside village called Snug Harbor. The story is part of our arts and culture series, Canvas.ĭavid Wright: Father and son dockside enjoying a bit of mischief in Jamestown, just across the water from Newport. William Brangham: Cartoonist Will Wilson's syndicated comic strip 'Wallace the Brave' appears in more than 100 newspapers nationwide.īut, as David Wright of Rhode Island PBS Weekly reports, Wilson finds his inspiration closer to home.

Sterling wallace the brave