Werner WOW Wejp Olsen

Werner Wejp-Olsen blev født i 1938. I 1959 blev han færdiguddannet som journalist. Som tegner er han selvlært.
WOW, som han signerede sine ting, fik afsat sin første vittighedstegning i 1955. Siden har han produceret et ikke ringe antal af slagsen, ligesom han også har været leverandør af aktuel humor til det danske satiriske årshæfte Svikmøllen.
WOWs første tegneserie debuterede i dagbladet Jyllands-Posten i 1966. Den bar titlen Peter og Perle og var en humoristisk spændingsserie om en kvik dreng, som tager sig af diverse internationale skurke. Med sin hund, Perle, i hælene minder han ikke så lidt om Tintin, men WOW's væsentligste inspiration er 60ernes agentfilm. Peters "assistent" er da også en James Bond-kariatur.
WOW's anden episke serie blev Felix, som han i 1972 overtog fra ophavsmanden Jan Lööf og fortsatte indtil 1979. Dermed ændrede serien også karakter. De politiske overtoner forsvandt, og i stedet blev Felix en underholdende og munter karikatur af diverse fiktionsgenrer.
Afsluttede, humoristiske strips begyndte WOW så småt at arbejde med i 1974, hvor han leverede Krimi-quiz til ugebladet Billedbladet. I 1983 kunne disse små krimigåder læses i tegneseriehæftet Seriemagasinet, og siden 1989 er der udgivet en række hæfter med serien. I 1995 blev den desuden lanceret som fortsat dagstrip i Ekstrabladet med titel efter sin hovedperson, politiinspektør Dick Danger.
WOWs første, gennemarbejdede humorstrip debuterede i dagbladet Berlingske Tidende som søndagsserie i 1975. Titlen var Fridolin, og her fortsatte WOW den bløde satiriske linie, som bl.a. kendes fra Jørgen Mogensens Poeten og Lillemor. I Fridolin drejer det sig dog om hverdagens fortrædeligheder i og omkring et skolemiljø præsenteret i en streg, som har hentet inspiration både fra Jørgen Mogensen og Basserne's tegner, Mort Walker.
WOW udtalte i et interview i 1976: "Jeg er ikke nogen særlig dansk tegner som Storm P. og Engholm, der er runde og hyggelige. Jeg er mere inspireret af den amerikanske Connecticut-skole, der arbejder med intellektuel humor (Mort Walker, Dik Browne m.fl.). Jeg vil gerne gi' serien en drejning, så man kan finde noget af det, vi allesammen slås med, nogle af de problemer, vi går og tror, vi er så alene med. For kan man først se det humoristiske i sin egen afmagt, kan man også begynde at gøre noget ved den."
Det kunne være sagt om Fridolin, men anledningen var nu en anden. Den 12. juni samme år var hans Granny and Slowpoke nemlig startet i 25 amerikanske aviser, syndikeret af Field Newspaper Syndicate i Chicago. Få måneder senere gik den kun i 5-6 aviser i USA, hvorefter WOW trak den tilbage. Måske var den for dansk for amerikanerne. WOW mener selv, at den var for skrap. Ihvertfald fortalte den om en hjertensgod, men bestemt og skarptandet bedstemor, som ikke er bange for at sige sin mening samtidig med, hun er sine børnebørns bedste legekammerat.
Fra starten sigtede serien ikke umiddelbart mod det danske marked. Men i 1977 blev det nu alligevel danskerne, der tog Momsemor, som den nu kom til at hedde, til sig. Siden har den været en daglig foreteelse i det danske dagblad Ekstrabladet.
Momsemor adskiller sig væsentligt fra andre humoristiske familieserier. WOW siger selv: "Jeg er træt af alle de kujonerede ægtemænd og deres dominerende koner. Mange af disse serier er dygtigt lavet, men de er også fantastisk reaktionære. Jeg har sagt "væk med autoriteterne", og derfor er Momsemor blevet en meget ukonventionel bedstemor, en pensionistrevolutionær. Hun gør oprør. Hvad naboerne siger, er hende totalt ligegyldigt. Hun er enke, hun tager sig af børnene, og hun bliver en slags åndelig guru for hele familien, et talerør for de glemte pensionister."
I 1988 startede WOW med strip'en Den grimme ælling en række tegneseriegenfortællinger i karikeret, humoristisk streg efter H.C.Andersens eventyr. I ubrudt række - både på søndage og hverdage - blev det til bl.a. Kejserens nye klæder, Den flyvende kuffert, Store Claus og Lille Claus, Nattergalen og Den lille havfrue.
I 1995 startede WOW's TRENDZ i Jyllands-posten - en dagstrip med satirisk indfaldsvinkel til tidens trends.
I 2003 udgav Nyt Nordisk Forlag hans lærebog i tegneserier og tegneseriemageri, Lær at tegne striber og streger.
Siden 1989 har WOW været bosat i USA, hvor hans avisserier endelig har fundet et marked - ud over det danske.

Litt: Ole (Munk) Rasmussen: Werner Wejp Olsens Felix (i: Kulørte Sider nr. 8/1976). Interview med Werner Wejp Olsen (i: Serieekspressen nr. 13/1986).

Werner Wejp-Olsen was born in 1938. In 1955, while still in high school he had his first gag cartoon published in Ekstra Bladet, a major Danish newspaper. Educated as a journalist, but self-taught as a cartoonist he worked as an editor at a newspaper syndicate, while marketing his gag cartoons worldwide on a freelance-basis with WOW as his signature.
His first comic strip Peter og Perle debuted in the daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 1966. It was a humourous adventure strip with Peter as the smart kid and Perle as his faithful dog, fighting various international villains. It was inspired partly by Tintin and partly by the James Bond-movies of the 60’s.
WOW’S second epic comic strip was Felix, that he took over in 1972 from Jan Lööf, its originator and he continued doing this strip until 1979. With Jan Lööf’s blessings WOW changed the political left-wing overtones. Instead he focused on major issues such as pollution, energy crisis, the third world, new energy sources, and food distribution as the basis for a funny, whimsical, and satirical plot.
In 1974 he launched Crime-Quiz (Krimi-Quiz) in Billedbladet, a Danish weekly magazine. It is a crime puzzle, challenging the reader’s talent as an armchair sleuth. Today it appears in Ekstra Bladet and the Danish weekly magazine SE & HØR as well in many parts of the world from Finland to Korea, from Italy to Brazil, from New Zealand to USA. Since 1989 Egmont has published Krimi-Quiz as a booklet first in Denmark, but now in Norway, The Baltic States., Romania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. With a grant from EU a pilot for a Krimi-Quiz animated TV-show has been made by A-Film in Copenhagen. In 1995 WOW launched Crime-Quiz as a daily strip, titled Dick Danger in Ekstra Bladet. It is not a crime puzzle, but a humourous detective-strip.
WOW’s first gag-a-day-strip Fridolin started in 1974 in the Sunday edition of Berlingske Tidende, another major Danish newspaper. The main characters are a high school kid and his arrogant cat, Fridolf. Gentle satire on everyday issues in a drawing style inspired by the socalled Connecticut-School (Mort Walker, Dik Browne etc.). In recent years Fridolin has been used by the information department of the EU to tell about the many aspects of the European Union in a popular way, both as an animated cartoon as well as a comic strip feature.
In 1976 WOW launched Granny and Slowpoke in USA, syndicated in about 40 American newspapers by Field Newspaper Syndicate in Chicago. A year later it was down to a handful of papers, so WOW decided to cancel it in this part of the world. Instead he launched it as Momsemor in 1977 in Ekstra Bladet, and it did not take the Danes long to take Momsemor to their hearts. Today it also appears in Hjemmet, a Danish weekly magazine and in newspapers, magazines, and comic books all over Scandinavia.
Momsemor differs substantially from other humourous family strips. WOW himself states: Too many family strips focus on the negative side of married life, the hen-pecked or plain stupid husband, the dominating and consuming wife. I am trying to show family values in a positive way without becoming sentimental and "soapy", and Momsemor is a perfect vehicle for targeting this concept. Momsemor, the granny in a family with three generations under one roof is a non-conformist who pokes fun at all kinds of authority, she is a rebel, but she also takes good care of her grandchilren, teaching them some rather unorthodox middleclass values. She is the family’s spiritual guru, a down-to-earth Mother Earth, signalling warmth and security.
In 1988 a US newspaper syndicate launched WOW’s The Tales of Hans Christian Andersen (H. C. Andersens Eventyr) in about 50 American newspapers. It was also used in the NIE-program (Newspapers in Education), teaching American school children about the famous Danish storyteller and his works. In Denmark this feature was published in Ekstra Bladet. WOW stopped the feature two years later after having featured the most famous of these tales.
In 1995 WOW launched his latest venture: TRENDZ, a daily comic strip that pokes satirical fun at everyday issues from cellular phones, fashion, cars to TV, organic food and UFOs. It debuted in Jyllands-Posten, but it is now published all over Scandivia and has just been launched in USA.
In 1989 WOW moved to USA where he has been living ever since.