Issue 350 of the adult humour comic VIZ is on sale now, available from TG Jones, WHSmith Travel, select supermarkets and on subscription.
This landmark issue, featuring Bay City Steamrollers, includes the usual mix of comic strips by a wide range of comic creators, plus all the usual features: celebrity news and gossip, a reflection on the first quarter of the 21st century, and the chance to win a copy of the new Viz Annual 2026: The Wrestler’s Neck (or you could just buy a copy, it’s almost cheaper than a stamp to enter the competition).
Plus: thrill to the horror of “Nightmare on Woke Street”, and much, much more…
Initially independently published, VIZ was founded in 1979 by Chris Donald. Down the years it’s been home to characters such as Roger Mellie, the Man on the Telly, Nobby’s Piles, The Pedantic Sharks, Johnny Fartpants,mBuster Gonad, Sid the Sexist, Sweary Mary and Finbarr Saunders and his Double Entendres, has parodies British comics of the post-war period, notably The Beano and The Dandy.
Its content is direct and takes no prisoners (why should it?), with extensive profanity, toilet humour, black comedy, surreal humour and generally sexual or violent storylines.
It also sends up tabloid newspapers, with mockeries of articles and letters pages, features parody competitions and advertisements for overpriced ‘limited edition’ tat, as well as obsessions with half-forgotten kitsch celebrities from the 1960s to the 1980s, such as Shakin’ Stevens and Rodney Bewes.
Occasionally, it satirises current affairs and politicians, but it has no particular political standpoint. Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron is very much a fan.
Its success in the early 1990s led to the appearance of numerous rivals copying the format VIZ pioneered; none of them managed to attain its popularity.
Much of the non-cartoon material such as the newspaper spoofs are written by the editorial team – Graham Dury, Simon Thorp and Davey Jones. The title won the Sergio Aragonés International Award for Excellence in Comic Art in 2023.
The title is currently owned by the Metropolis Group, having previous been owned by Broadleaf Group, the holding company of Autovia, Expert Reviews and former publishers Dennis.
• Get a subscription to Viz here | VIZ is online at viz.co.uk
Don’t tell them we said this, but professional grapplers are notorious for “kayfabe” – pretending that their fake, pre-planned bouts are the genuine article. Well something that’s definitely 100% the real thing is Viz – The Wrestler’s Neck, a hulking, stiff-spined heavyweight that’s set to (very painfully) turn heads in bookshops this Christmas.
Crushed between its muscle-bound full-colour covers is an eye-popping 226 pages of cartoons, features, letters and top tips – enough side-splitting material to fill Big Daddy’s leotard and his top hat! Viz – The Wrestler’s Neck is guaranteed to bodysplash its way to the top of the bestseller lists … Easy! Inside, you will find A spectacular smackdown of cartoons: The Fat Slags, Johnny Fartpants, Mrs Brady Old Lady, Roger Mellie, Eight Ace, Nobby’s Piles, Biffa Bacon, Raffles the Gentleman Thug and many more. Educational features and topical news to dislocate your funny-bone: Top of the Plops, 10 Things You Never Knew About AI, Vicars vs Vets vs Vampires, and Everything You Need to Know About Leopards. Thrilling adventures that will have you seeing stars: The Cuckoo Clock Chalet Ballet School, ‘Big’ John Holmes and the Hendersons and International Plywood are GO! Enough Letters, Top Tips, spoof ads, and cut-out-and-keep free gifts to put you on the ropes and out for the count.
So this festive season, gird your spandex-clad loins into a half-Nelson and prepare to take on Viz – The Wrestle’s Neck.
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Current British Publishers, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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