Briggs brings back the popular characters of Jim Bloggs and his wife Hilda in
this heartbreaking cautionery tale in which they must prepare for nuclear winter.
The Bloggs naively follow feeble government instructions to the letter and
eventually, horribly, they succumb to the effects of fall-out...

'This House welcomes the publication of 'When The Wind Blows'
by Raymond Briggs as a powerful contribution to the growing
opposition to nuclear armament and hopes that it will be widely read'

            - Motion put down in the House of Commons by Labour M.P.
              Mr John Garrett. Hansard 15.2.1982 No. 57

Jim and Hilda Bloggs first appeared in: Gentleman Jim. Here, Briggs juxtaposes
a precise, miniature panel size for the Bloggs' home life with giant double-page
intrusions when depicting the gathering forces of darkness. Each panel featuring
Jim and Hilda in Sussex is minutely observed and utilizes a sunny pallette of colours.
Meanwhile, those missile silos, bombers and nuclear submarines are stark black
silhoettes against steel skies and seas. The contrast slaps you in the face.
Here is the Little Man about to be utterly overwhelmed by The Powers That Be.

After the bomb goes off the Bloggs' palette is washed out with sickly greens,
and off-colour yellows. And the detail is still there, but oh boy, we wish that 
it wasn't...



The first panel of the book shows Jim Bloggs arriving home. If you take a closer
look you'll see it's actually depicting the crossroads between Westmeston and
Clayton, on the South Downs of Sussex, with Brighton signposted to the south.
In the background (not shown here) are the Clayton Windmills - This is where
Raymond Briggs lives in real life...

5 panels on, Trivia Hounds will note that the Bloggs' house is called
'Jimilda' - a combination of their first names...



The story has been adapted for the stage, with performances held
 around the world. Most famously, TVC adapted 'When The Wind Blows'
into an animated feature in 1986.

 See also: Filmography - When The Wind Blows
                 Movie Toon Guide - When The Wind Blows


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