The Jamestown Press talked to Will Henry about fans saving Wallace the Brave in The Providence Journal:
A comic strip drawn by a Jamestown man will remain in the pages of Rhode Island’s largest newspaper following a response from fans to save the cartoon after the editor suggested scrapping the comic.
“Wallace the Brave,” created by Will Wilson under the pen name Will Henry, was moved from the comics page of the Providence Journal to Page 2A beginning with the Jan. 16 edition. The comic was reported to have been removed from both the Journal and the Newport Daily News, both owned by Gannett, as part of an initiative to revamp the funny pages across the chain.
Said Will:
“I write it for a national audience, but I specifically highlight our little corner of the globe, because it’s beautiful, it’s quirky and it’s home to me,” Wilson said. “It was also special for Rhode Islanders because they get all the Easter eggs that I think the rest of the world wouldn’t really notice.”
Local fans of “Wallace” became concerned about the strip’s future in the Providence Journal following a Jan. 7 column by Sullivan. That same day, Wilson, on his Facebook page, posted a letter to Sullivan from a fan of “Wallace” asking for the strip to remain in the paper. The story was then picked up by the Daily Cartoonist, a website covering the industry, which reported the changes were part of an initiative by Gannett that affects newspapers nationwide.