VIZ, which proudly claims to be Britain’s third or fourth funniest magazine, has been serving up its mix of sharp satire and black comedy since 1979, when it started as a 12-page magazine sold in local Newcastle pubs. Today, in its 40th anniversary year, it has a circulation of nearly 67,000 – and now it has its own card game, Honk My Horn.

Honk My Horn is based on Roger’s Profanisaurus, the swearing dictionary from VIZ. It has 300 cards and a Honkmaster 2000 car horn; the playing cards each feature three definitions from the Profanisaurus, each with a common word blanked out. The players take it in turns to read the definitions, replacing the word with a blast on the car horn included in the set.

The other players use their knowledge of bad language to guess the missing word. A correct guess wins the card, and failure means the reader retains it.

Honk My Horn enables you to test your own swearing knowledge as well as challenge others on their profanity prowess. The winner is the person with the most cards at the end of the game, or when it’s time to go to the pub, says VIZ.

“It’s a game of skill, strategy and swearing,” notes writer and cartoonist Graham Dury. “But mainly swearing. And not much skill or strategy.

“Please remember, swearing isn’t big and isn’t clever.”

VIZ expanded into e-commerce and retail in June 2017 with the launch of its online shop, selling prints, clothing and tea towels.

Dharmesh Mistry, Managing Director, Specialist division said: “VIZ is a fantastic example of how brands can stand the test of time and appeal to a new, younger audience whilst maintaining their loyal fanbase. We wanted to celebrate the 40th anniversary of VIZ with a bang – or a honk, if you will.

“Honk My Horn has been produced in true VIZ style, with that iconic British humour the brand is renowned for. The team have worked hard to make this launch come to life, and feedback so far from our manufacturers and readers has been hugely positive.”

• You can buy Honk My Horn here on AmazonUK, which will make us hugely rich*

* Well, you never know

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “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: downthetubes News, Games, Other Worlds

Tags: downthetubes News, Graham Dury, Honk My Horn, Humour Comics, Roger’s Profanisaurus, Viz