List Of Viz Comic Strips
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The following is a list of recurring or notable one-off strips from the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
adult spoof
comic magazine Comic magazine may refer to: * Comics anthology * ''Comic Magazine'', a 1986 Japanese film * Comic Magazines, the parent company of Quality Comics * Franco-Belgian comics magazines * Japanese manga magazines * A periodical containing comic strips, ...
'' Viz''. This list is by no means complete as with each issue new characters/strips/stories are introduced.


A–E

*Abel Unstable – A man convinced he will suddenly catch fire at any moment, but never does. The strip often ends with someone else spontaneously combusting or exploding, leading Abel to grumble and remark "lucky sod" or similar. *
Acker Bilk Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk, (28 January 1929 – 2 November 2014) was a British clarinetist and vocalist known for his breathy, vibrato-rich, lower-register style, and distinctive appearance – of goatee, bowler hat and striped waistc ...
– See
Jimmy Hill James William Thomas Hill, OBE (22 July 1928 – 19 December 2015) was an English footballer and later a television personality. His career included almost every role in the sport, including player, trade union leader, coach, manager, director ...
. * Abraham Lincoln - A strip about the 16th president of the USA feeling so envious about Isambard Brunel having a taller hat than him. * Abraham Linked-in - A strip about
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
constantly getting messages on his smartphone from the app
LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job se ...
. * Adam and the Aunts -
Adam Ant Stuart Leslie Goddard, better known as Adam Ant (born 3 November 1954), is an English singer, musician, and actor. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK top ten ...
receives help from his four elderly aunts. * Afternoon tea with Mr Kiplin – About Mr Kiplin (a parody of cake manufacturer
Mr Kipling Mr Kipling is a brand of cakes, pies and baked goods made in Carlton, South Yorkshire and Stoke-on-Trent, and marketed in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and North America. It was introduced in May 1967 (at a time when cakes were more of ...
) inviting someone over for tea but because he eats so much cake, he eventually vomits for the whole night. * Aladdin and his Magic Tramp - A parody of Aladdin with a homeless person instead of a genie. * Albert Einstein – About
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
and the antics of his three nephews, Hughlich, Dewlich and Loulich (a parody of Huey, Duey and Louie from Walt Disney's
Ducktales ''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four sea ...
). * Albert Gordon - Traffic Warden – A strip from the Big Hard Number Two annual about a corrupt traffic warden who assaults members of the public and gives them fines for the most extraordinary reasons. * Albert O' Balsam and his Magic Hat – A man who claims his hat has magic powers, but who annoys everyone he sees. *
Alcan Alcan was a Canadian mining company and aluminum manufacturer. It was founded in 1902 as the Northern Aluminum Company, renamed Aluminum Company of Canada in 1925, and Alcan Aluminum in 1966. It took the name Alcan Incorporated in 2001. During t ...
Foil Wrapped Pork Stock Warrior – a young boy who becomes a "superhero" (in reality, completely useless) with the aid of tinfoil and pork stock. * Aldridge Prior – a
pathological liar Pathological lying, also known as ''mythomania'' and ''pseudologia fantastica'', is a chronic behavior in which the person habitually or compulsively lies. These lies often serve no obvious purpose other than to paint oneself as a hero or victi ...
whose lies are ludicrous, such as
The Nolan Sisters The Nolans are an Anglo-Irish girl group who formed in Blackpool in 1974 as the Nolan Sisters, before changing their name in 1980. Often referred to as Ireland's ''First Family of Music'', they were the first Irish performing family to achie ...
living in his
fridge A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...
or he is related to some very famous person. Prior is instantly recognizable for his unfashionable dress, usually a tartan jacket with a sheepskin collar and a pair of uncomfortable-looking platform shoes. * Alexander Graham Bell-End – a crazy inventor who continually rubs his penis on things and then tricks his assistant into touching them with his hands or mouth, at which point Alexander laughs uproariously whilst exclaiming "I TOTALLY rubbed my bell-end on that!" A pun on
Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...
. * Anna Reksik – a model who repeatedly vomits in order to keep her thin shape. Most strips involve Anna resorting to extreme lengths to lose weight (encouraged by her friend Belle Emia, a fellow model); only to unwittingly eat something (usually very small, such as a potato crisp) that causes her to instantly put on an unrealistically huge amount of weight. The strip attracted press controversy because of the strip's portrayal of eating disorders and
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...
. * Archie McBlarter – Everyday Farting Dilemmas – A newer strip featuring a middle-aged and rather obese man who has almost permanent trouble with his guts. He is his own worst enemy, as he loves the various types of food which cause extreme flatulence, such as scotch eggs, curries, beans, etc. Sometimes he comes to grief in the most extreme way, for example, he has a giant fart at the same time a bolt of lightning hits his house, and the fart explodes spectacularly, destroying the home and he ending up in hospital. The last frame has him ordering his breakfast – scotch eggs. * Arse Farm – About a farmer who cultivates human
buttocks The buttocks (singular: buttock) are two rounded portions of the exterior anatomy of most mammals, located on the posterior of the pelvic region. In humans, the buttocks are located between the lower back and the perineum. They are composed ...
on his land. * Arsehole Kate – One-off parody of ''
Keyhole Kate ''Keyhole Kate'' was a 1930s British comic strip series in ''The Dandy''. The strip featured a nosy young girl who liked to look through people's keyholes. She appeared in ''The Dandy''s first issue, drawn by Allan Morley back in 1937. She contin ...
'' in which Kate instead likes to look up people's bottoms. * As If By Tragic - A parody of
Mr Benn Mr Benn is a character created by David McKee who originally appeared in several children's books. The first, ''Mr Benn Red Knight'', was published in 1967, followed by three more; these became the basis for an animated television series of the ...
, in which the shopkeeper dies of a heart attack while Mr Benn is on the moon, leading to astronauts finding his body fifty-years later wondering how he got there. * Auntie Cockwise – An old lady who can tell the size of a man's penis just by looking at him, much to the amusement of her little nephew. * Bad Bob, the Randy Wonder Dog – About a policeman who visits a retirement home on Christmas Day with his
Jack Russell terrier The Jack Russell Terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting in England. It is principally white-bodied and smooth, rough or broken-coated and can be any colour. Small tan and white terriers that technically belong to ot ...
Bad Bob, who proceeds to have sex with one of the resident's legs causing him to have a heart attack (with Bad Bob doing the same to the thigh of the matron who bends down to try and revive him). * Bad Girl Ballet
Borstal A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school. Borstals were run by HM Prison Service ...
at the Bottom of the Sea – A girl is sent to an underwater
borstal A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school. Borstals were run by HM Prison Service ...
and forced to do ballet lessons all day. She discovers that the establishment is part of an elaborate scheme to send the borstal inmates to a zoo as food for tigers. The girl attempts to raise the alarm, but is trapped by the homicidal ghost of
Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...
, with the strip abruptly ending on an explanation that had it continued she would have been miraculously rescued by police in a submarine. * Badly Drawn Man – a poorly drawn character. * Badly Overdrawn Boy – a parody of the pop singer
Badly Drawn Boy Damon Michael Gough (born 2 October 1969), known by the stage name Badly Drawn Boy, is an English indie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Gough chose his stage name from a character in the show ''Sam and his Magic Ball'', which he saw ...
, who is seen
busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...
outside his local bank because he is broke (issue 126) * Balsa Boy – a take on ''
Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...
'', in which a lonely old
pensioner A pensioner is a person who receives a pension, most commonly because of retirement from the workforce. This is a term typically used in the United Kingdom (along with OAP, initialism of old-age pensioner), Ireland and Australia where someone of p ...
makes a "son" from
balsa ''Ochroma pyramidale'', commonly known as the balsa tree, is a large, fast-growing tree native to the Americas. It is the sole member of the genus ''Ochroma''. The tree is famous for its wide usage in woodworking, with the name ''balsa'' being ...
wood. While Balsa Boy does have dialogue, all the speech bubbles unambiguously emanate from the old man. The strip ends with the old man being sent to a
mental institution Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
after burning down the house while trying to dry off Balsa Boy in front of the fire, but by the last frame he is busy working on making another "boy" out of
scone A scone is a baked good, usually made of either wheat or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often slightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component ...
s. *
Barbara Cartland Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland, (9 July 1901 – 21 May 2000) published as Barbara Cartland was an English writer, known as the Queen of Romance, who published both contemporary and historical romance novels, the latter set primarily duri ...
's ... – Barbara Cartland pays a visit somewhere (such as a farmyard or barber salon) and ends up inadvertently foiling criminals. * Barnaby's Spelling Bees – A strip about a boy called Barnaby Bixby who owns a swarm of African Killer Bees who can sting anyone if their owner says a word beginning with the second letter of the English alphabet. * Barny the Complete Bastard - A strip featured in The Big Stiff One annual about some guy getting falsely accused of doing bad things for no reason. * Barney Brimstone's Biscuit Tin Circus – a boy who owns a miniature circus inside a biscuit tin. * Barry the Cat – a one-off parody of ''
The Beano ''The Beano'' (formerly ''The Beano Comic'', also known as ''Beano'') is a British anthology comic magazine created by Scottish publishing company DC Thomson. Its first issue was published on 30 July 1938, and it became the world's longest-runn ...
''s acrobatic crimefighter Billy the Cat. Unlike his ''Beano'' equivalent, Barry is incompetent, hopelessly uncoordinated, and is immediately recognised despite his "cat-suit" disguise. The final panel shows him in hospital, suffering from multiple injuries, being told that he has acted "very foolishly". * Bart Conrad – a store detective who takes his job far too seriously. * Bassey Come Home – in which a young boy who lives on a farm has
Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...
as a pet, and must fight to keep her from being sold when the farm falls on hard times. * (Sir) Baxter Basics – an extremely amoral and sexually deviant
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
(and later
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
) MP who first appeared at around the same time as
John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...
's Back to Basics campaign, and a transparent statement on the hypocrisy of politicians. Drawn by Simon Thorp.Who farted? British comic art
.
Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...
, 1 May 2010. Retrieved 15 March 2014
* Becky Thump – a girl from the
North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
who hates southerners so much she even assaults a supermarket delivery man for bringing her southern fried chicken. Is also shown reading a book entitled '1001 reasons to hate Southerners'. Her name is a parody of the Northern expletive 'Ecky-Thump!'. * Beddley Wetterton - A strip about a man who attempts to wet his bed, but his various flatmates keep preventing him to do so. * Beeny of the Lamp – An '' Aladdin'' parody in which
Sarah Beeny Sarah Lucinda Beeny (born 9 January 1972) is an English broadcaster and entrepreneur, best known for presenting '' Property Ladder'', ''Property Snakes and Ladders'', ''Streets Ahead'', ''Britain's Best Homes'', ''Sarah Beeny's Selling Houses, Ho ...
comes out of a magic lamp to help a young couple wishing for advice on buying a property. * Ben and the SpaceWalrus – a one-off strip centred on a fat kid named Ben who finds a SpaceWalrus and eats his dog Bunny. * Benny's Hedges – a one-off strip featuring a boy who walked round with two hedges on wheels, helping various members of society. This included a peeping tom who used the hedges to hide behind, and leer at passing ladies. Benny also created a 'maze' to entertain two unruly children, one of which exclaimed 'Tee-hee, help, I'm lost! The name is a play on words of the cigarette brand Benson and Hedges. * Bert Midler, Biddy-Fiddler – a pervert with a fetish for very elderly women. After he finally gets a date with a 92-year-old, he is disappointed to be told that she has died; only to cheer up again when he is invited to her funeral with all her friends of similar age. * Bertie Blunt (His Parrot's A Cunt) – a boy who owns an extremely violent, foul-mouthed
parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoide ...
that insults everyone and encourages him to commit suicide. When the parrot kills Bertie's grandmother, who leaves them all her money, Bertie fights back by spending his inheritance on a
microwave oven A microwave oven (commonly referred to as a microwave) is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces polar molecules in the food to rotate and produce t ...
which he then uses to cook the parrot alive. Chris Donald, creator of ''Viz'', has said that in the early days of the magazine he would not permit the "c word" to be used, until an outside artist (Sean Agnew) sent him this strip which he found to be so good he decided to use it anyway. * Bicycle Bellend – a man on a bicycle berating drivers for 'showing him disrespect' even though he is actually the dangerous road user (often not looking and causing accidents, and at one point he rides the wrong way up a one-way street), getting his comeuppance when he tells off a burly driver who subsequently beats him up. * Biffa Bacon – An icon of VIZ, featuring Biffa (shortened from Bifferidge) and his family – Mutha and Fatha (real names Vermintrude (née Haystacks) and Billy or Basha Bacon) – hail from the
Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as publishe ...
region of
North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...
and speak in the
Geordie Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitut ...
dialect. Biffa is constantly subjected to
abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...
by his parents – even being kicked in the groin by both of them. Biffa is a visual parody of the character
Bully Beef Bully beef (also known as corned beef in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia and other Commonwealth countries as well as the United States) is a variety of meat made from finely minced corned beef in a small amount of ge ...
from ''
The Dandy ''The Dandy'' was a British children's comic magazine published by the Dundee based publisher DC Thomson. The first issue was printed in December 1937, making it the world's third-longest running comic, after '' Il Giornalino'' (cover dated 1 O ...
''. His mother, who is rough-looking and masculine, resembles
Desperate Dan Desperate Dan is a wild west character in the now-defunct Scottish comic magazine ''The Dandy'', and became its mascot. He made his appearance in the first issue which was dated 4 December 1937. He is apparently the world's strongest man, ...
. The characters were allegedly inspired by a real family observed by ''Viz'' editor
Chris Donald Chris Donald (born 25 April 1960 in Newcastle, England) is the founder of, and one of the principal contributors to, the British comic magazine '' Viz''. Biography Donald attended West Jesmond Primary School,http://www.communitychannel.org/c ...
in
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
city centre, where the son began an unprovoked assault on another boy; the parents, rather than intervening, began shouting encouragement to their child. As soon as it appeared the victim of the assault was able to defend himself, the father joined in the attack, ceasing only when
police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
officers intervened. Some characters who have extended the Bacon family include Biffa's new baby brother Basha and a dog called Knacka (a pun on Dennis The Menace's dog
Gnasher Gnasher () is a fictional comic strip character that appears in the British comic magazine ''The Beano''. He is the pet dog of Dennis the Menace, who meets him in 1968's issue 1362, and is also the star of three spin-off comic strips. Gnasher ...
and the slang word "
knacker A knacker (), knackerman or knacker man is a person who removes and clears animal carcasses (dead, dying, injured) from private farms or public highways and renders the collected carcasses into by-products such as fats, tallow (yellow grea ...
"), Biffa's uncle Dekka, Biffa's grandfather (on his father's side) who is bald, and also Biffa's grandma. * Big Fuckin' Dave – a big, burly and mentally unstable man with his name often tattooed across his forehead, sometimes back-to-front, who beats people up for being ' queeahs' because he believes they are drinking only a half-pint of beer, not drinking the full ten pints before having a slash or smoking less than full-strength cigarettes. Usually egged on by his much smaller, trouble-making (unnamed) friend ("Come on Dave - I just seen a guy in the lounge drinkin' halves!" "THE BLOODY QUEEAH!!"). Has been part of other strips, notably Sid the Sexist. * Big Jobs – a one-off strip in which
Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; a ...
unveils the iPoo, a portable toilet which he demonstrates by
defecating Defecation (or defaecation) follows digestion, and is a necessary process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid waste material known as feces from the digestive tract via the anus. The act has a variety of names ranging f ...
and
vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the Human nose, nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like Food-poisoning, foo ...
into it. It is revealed that the waste is sent to another dimension (rendered, unusually for ''Viz'', in full colour) where it is eaten by the inhabitants who do not care where it comes from since it is free. * Big Vern – an
East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
gangster. Almost every strip follows the same story, in which Vern and his friend Ernie will begin an ordinary activity but with Vern convinced they are actually committing a criminal 'job', believing Ernie's protests that they are not is just a cover story. At some point, a person will make an innocent remark which makes Vern shoot the person in the head believing he is the police (while shouting something along the lines of "No bastard copper's gonna take me alive!" or "Get dahn, Ernie, he's going for his piece!") before then shooting Ernie (sometimes believing Ernie 'grassed' him up, while other times doing it to save him from prison) and occasionally others, and finally himself. The shootings are always shown in an extremely graphic fashion (blood, gore and goodness-knows what-else in every direction - but because the strip is in black-and-white much of the impact is lost!), but despite this both are always resurrected for the next issue. Vern's second name is Dakin, a reference to the notably violent 1971 British crime thriller ''
Villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...
'', whose anti-hero (played by
Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...
) is named Vic Dakin. *Billy Banana Head - An early strip about a man with said fruit for a head. * Billy Bloater – an extremely fat and greedy schoolboy whose gut is so vast that it distorts
gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
and pulls stray bank notes into his reach, allowing him to indulge in an 'all you can eat' feast which increases his density until he effectively becomes a
black hole A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravitation, gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other Electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts t ...
and the artist realises that he does not know how to complete the strip. * Billy Bottom and his Zany Toilet Pranks – a literal
toilet humour Toilet humour, or potty or scatological humour (compare scatology), is a type of off-colour humour dealing with defecation, diarrhea, constipation, urination and flatulence, and to a lesser extent vomiting and other bodily functions. It see ...
strip, based around a man and his attempts to defecate whilst various factors and circumstances conspire to prevent him from doing so. The first strip carried a spoof certificate of the type given to films by the
BBFC The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of fi ...
, classifying the strip as "puerile". One of the latest has him as a caveman who is caught by the incoming Ice-Age, and is frozen solid for two million years. He is eventually freed by two archaeologists but the stink is so atrocious that he advises them 'I'd leave it for ten minutes if I were you!' Conceived by Tom Bambridge. * Billy Bound (It's Always His Round) – a man whose friends constantly trick him into offering to buy the next round of drinks. * Billy's Bollocks – A one off strip from The Big Hard Number 2 annual about a person called Billy Baxter who found a pair of large spherical fossils in a rubbish bin outside a natural history museum and uses them for a game of Conkers. He ends up throwing them into some man's car and gets ten pounds from him and then flies away using his balls as a helicopter to escape a bully. * Billy Britain – a right-wing ultra-nationalist resembling
Enoch Powell John Enoch Powell, (16 June 1912 – 8 February 1998) was a British politician, classical scholar, author, linguist, soldier, philologist, and poet. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (1950–1974) and was Minister of Health (1 ...
who appeared in two very early strips. Chris Donald considers him an early prototype of Major Misunderstanding. He also made a one-off reappearance in the September 2002 issue satirising the issue of
asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and mi ...
, where after he spends the strip making several futile attempts to round up illegal immigrants, the local authorities turn his home into a detention centre for refugees. * Billy Bumble Beard – A man who has a beard of bees, who consequently can't attract ladies. The one lady he finally got off with was Marjorie Wasp-Fanny, but ended up with a large bandage on his private area for obvious reasons. * Billy the Fish – A very long-running and iconic VIZ strip featuring Billy who is half man, half fish, he is a star
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
despite being drawn with no legs (he does apparently own a pair of
football boots Football boots, called cleats or soccer shoes in North America, are an item of footwear worn when playing association football. Those designed for grass pitches have studs on the outsole to aid grip. From simple and humble beginnings football ...
, but it is not clear why). The strip is a satire of, or homage to, the popular football comics of the 1960s and 1970s such as ''
Roy of the Rovers ''Roy of the Rovers'' is a British comic strip about the life and times of a fictional footballer and later manager named Roy Race, who played for Melchester Rovers. The strip first appeared in the ''Tiger'' in 1954, before giving its name to a ...
'', and also satirises topical football incidents. Starred in a spinoff cartoon, voiced by
Harry Enfield Henry Richard Enfield (born 30 May 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer and director. He is known in particular for his television work, including '' Harry Enfield's Television Programme'' and ''Harry & Paul'', and for the creation and ...
. According to ''Viz'' cartoonist Graham Dury, "half the readers thought he stripwas shit, and the other half thought it was really shit." Undaunted, ''Viz'' cheerfully called one installment "Billy the Shit". Each episode ends with an 'on the brink' promising to resolve in the next publication...but never does. * Billy No-Mates – a miserable, asocial teenage boy who spends most of his time alone in his dark room playing
video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
. If anyone disturbs him he becomes extremely irritated. He also has an obsession with
masturbating Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinati ...
, collecting large numbers of
pornographic magazines Pornographic magazines or erotic magazines, sometimes known as adult, sex or top-shelf magazines, are magazines that contain content of an explicitly sexual nature. Publications of this kind may contain images of attractive naked subjects, as is ...
and calling
sex hotline Phone sex is a conversation between two or more people by means of the telephone which is sexually explicit and is intended to provoke sexual arousal in one or more participants. All parties participate voluntarily; it is typically accompanied ...
s. * Billy Quiz – a man who constantly acts like a
game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...
host in everyday situations. * Bipolar Bear – a polar bear who suffers from severe
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
. * Biscuits Alive! – some
biscuit A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be ...
s that mysteriously come to life to help their boy owner out of some trivial problem. * Black Bag – "The faithful border bin liner". A black
bin liner A bin bag, rubbish bag (British English), garbage bag, bin liner, trash bag (American English) or refuse sack is a disposable bag used to contain solid waste. Such bags are useful to line the insides of waste containers to prevent the insides ...
which lives the exciting life of a
sheepdog A sheep dog or sheepdog is generally a dog or breed of dogs historically used in connection with the raising of sheep. These include livestock guardian dogs used to guard sheep and other livestock and herding dogs used to move, manage and co ...
; a parody of ''The Dandy'''s Black Bob and the
anthropomorphism Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
of animals. Black Bag was drawn by Graham Murdoch, under the pen name of Snoddy (his
cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
). Black Bag rescued
Brotherhood of Man Brotherhood of Man are a British pop group who achieved success in the 1970s. They won the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with "Save Your Kisses for Me". Created in 1969 by songwriter and record producer Tony Hiller, Brotherhood of Man was initia ...
from a well. * Bo and Luke Brummell – A parody of ''
The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television serie ...
'' in which the two main characters are
Regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
-era
dandies A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle desp ...
. * Bob-a-Mob - A man who becomes violently enraged and attacks others he perceives as paedophiles, always due to some kind of misunderstanding or his own paranoia. * Bob-Faced Betty of the Biscuit Shop Ballet - A young ballerina who, after plastic surgery gone wrong, is stuck with the face of TV presenter
Bob Holness Robert Wentworth John Holness (12 November 1928 – 6 January 2012) was a British-South African radio and television presenter and occasional actor. He presented the British version of '' Blockbusters''. Early life Holness was born in Vryheid, ...
. * Bodley Basin – "He's On The Square". The adventures of a "strict
Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
". This one-off strip ended with the apparent murder of the cartoonist. * Boswell Boyce - He Throws His Voice - An incompetent
ventriloquist Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is v ...
who repeatedly tries and fails to become famous. * The Bottom Inspectors – based on the
traffic warden A parking enforcement officer (PEO),United S ...
s of Newcastle. The Bottom Inspectors were also influenced by a single editorial comment made by John Brown, the original publisher of ''Viz Comic'': "The only editorial comment I ever made", explains Brown, "was in the early days, when I told Chris that I thought one issue was particularly 'bottomy'. He didn't say much at the time, but The Bottom Inspectors appeared for the first time in the next issue." Considerable overtones of Orwell's
Nineteen Eighty-four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...
as well as more than a hint of the Nazis (their ranks sound very Nazi: 'Herr Oberbottomführer!', etc.). * Boy Scouse – a gang of delinquent schoolboys from
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
who earn Boy Scout badges for mugging pensioners, spraying
graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
and other such antisocial activities. MP
Louise Ellman Dame Louise Joyce Ellman ( Rosenberg; born 14 November 1945) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool Riverside from 1997 to 2019. She is a member of the Labour Party. Ellman was elected as a councillor o ...
complained that it set a bad example and petitioned to have it banned. * Boyz R Uz - A stereotypical
boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...
who are constantly being ripped off by their handler. They do not sing or dance - only mime. * Brian's Bannister – An early strip about a boy who owned a bannister who tries to take it to the local park, only to find out that bannisters are not allowed in public. * Brian Cunt – a representative from a gas supply company, who, when called out to a suspected
gas leak A gas leak refers to a leak of natural gas or another gaseous product from a pipeline or other containment into any area where the gas should not be present. Gas leaks can be hazardous to health as well as the environment. Even a small leak in ...
, does nothing to help and instead pressures the customer to buy a new
central heating system A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. It is a component of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (short: HVAC) systems, which can both cool and warm interior spaces. ...
they don't need (resulting in the house blowing up). * The Broon Windsors – a parody of the Royal Family in the style of ''
The Broons ''The Broons'' (English: The Browns) is a comic strip in Scots published in the weekly Scottish newspaper ''The Sunday Post''. It features the Brown family, who live in a tenement flat at 10 Glebe Street in (since the late 1990s) the fictiona ...
'' and referring to Brown Windsor soup. * Brown Bottle – a reporter (sometimes a bank clerk) who thinks he becomes a superhero when he is drunk on
Newcastle Brown Ale Newcastle Brown Ale is a brown ale, originally brewed in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Launched in 1927 by Colonel Jim Porter after three years of development, the 1960 merger of Newcastle Breweries with Scottish Brewers afforded the beer natio ...
. In reality, all that happens is that he becomes viciously drunk and passes out, but the twist in the story is that he manages to save the day anyway, by sheer accident. The character is based on Davey Graham, a musician friend of Chris Donald's, who made a similar transformation under the influence. Brown Bottle's enemy Ciderwoman (a "supervillain" who gets her powers from drinking
cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, ...
) appeared in this strip and her own occasional strips in the magazine. * Brucey's Magic Flying Carpet – A strip about
Bruce Forsyth Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series '' Sunday Nig ...
who goes around on his magic flying carpet helping some guy with his thatched cottage roof. * Buffalo Jill – a strip narrated in the style of 1950s–60s girls' comics, where a typical heroine from such comics (politely spoken and
pony A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...
-loving) becomes a
stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
robber in the
Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
, earning a vicious gang's respect by gorily shooting several people in the head. A reference to Buffalo Bill. * Busted – who, until they disbanded in 2005, occasionally appeared in strips (as well as spoof interviews and other features in the magazine) portraying them as
pyromania Pyromania is an impulse control disorder in which individuals repeatedly fail to resist impulses to deliberately start fires, to relieve some tension or for instant gratification. The term ''pyromania'' comes from the Greek word (''pyr'', 'fi ...
cs/
arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...
ists who would set anything on fire "for a laugh".
James Bourne James Elliot Bourne (born 13 September 1983) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is known as the co-founder of pop punk bands Busted and Son of Dork, and he also created his own electronic project: Future Boy. From 2013 to 2015 ...
would always be referred to by the wrong name, making fun of his status as the "least famous" of the group. * Buster Gonad and his Unfeasibly Large Testicles – An iconic VIZ strip featuring a boy who somehow manages to always solve people's problems with his ridiculously large
testicles A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testostero ...
. Featured regularly in early editions, but since has faded out, however still appears every now and then. * Buz - A parody of Kes where the titular kestrel is replaced with a bluebottle fly. * Camberwick Greggs – a very bleak parody of ''
Camberwick Green ''Camberwick Green'' is a British children's television series that ran from January to March 1966 on BBC1, featuring stop motion puppets. ''Camberwick Green'' is the first in the ''Trumptonshire'' trilogy, which also includes ''Trumpton'' and ...
'', where Mickey Murphy the baker is driven out of business after a branch of
Greggs Greggs plc is a British bakery chain. It specialises in savoury products such as bakes, sausage rolls, sandwiches and sweet items including doughnuts and vanilla slices. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is listed on t ...
opens across the road. See also 'Trumptown' * Calvin and the Chipmunks – A rip-off of a very famous chipmunk trio strip featuring
John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...
and some mischievous chipmunks who get him into trouble with
King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...
. * Captain Morgan and his Hammond Organ – a
pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
who sails round the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
inviting people to sing along with him as he plays a
Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...
. His character was cut when legal action was threatened over the copyright of some of the songs; according to creator Chris Donald in his book, he did not think that making the character sing royalty-free hymns or nursery rhymes would have quite the same comedic effect. * Captain Captured – the man who's constantly caught. At the start of each strip, Captain Captured would get captured in a mysterious
Bond villain The following is a list of primary antagonists in the ''James Bond'' novels and film series. Novel villains by author Ian Fleming Kingsley Amis (writing as Robert Markham) Christopher Wood John Gardner Raymond Benson ...
-like fashion. He would then escape only to get captured again, and again, and again, and... * Captain Magnetic – A strip about a man who claims to be a superhero with magnetic powers, only to find out his powers are useless. * Captain Oats – a one-off strip lampooning the real Antarctic explorer
Captain Lawrence Oates Lawrence Edward Grace "Titus" Oates (17 March 188017 March 1912) was a British army officer, and later an Antarctic explorer, who died from hypothermia
. An explorer obsessed with pornography and
masturbation Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...
, he is depicted skiing across the icy wastes, dragging a wardrobe on its own set of skis upon which is hidden his stash of pornographic magazines. However, his efforts to masturbate are continually frustrated by the presence of his companions. Eventually he gives his famous line "I'm just going outside, I might be some time', and ends up in the latrine with his fingers freezing off. * Captain Unreliable – A superhero who fails to save the day because of oversleeping, his car breaking down, etc. * Careless McKenzie – A strip about a man who does all kinds of jobs in a reckless way. * Cilla
Blackbeard Edward Teach (alternatively spelled Edward Thatch, – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Little is known abou ...
– a strip portraying
Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer, actress and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her ...
as a vicious pirate captain who evades and defeats the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
, led by Admiral
Noel Edmonds Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948) is an English television presenter, radio DJ, writer, producer, and businessman. Edmonds first became known as a disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg before moving to BBC Radio 1 in the UK. He has presente ...
and his crew of rival TV presenters. * Chadwell O'Cheese and his Cormorants of Futility - A strip about a boy who keeps cormorant birds and tries to save the mayor's balloon which got stuck in a tree, only to have him change his mind and so Chadwell hangs himself from the branch of the tree where the balloon is. * Champion the Wonder Arse – Young Chip McCain had befriended a magnificent wild hairy arse named Champion, which roamed the plains around the little town of Windy Creek in Arizona. * Charitable Chester – an unintelligent boy who constantly tries to raise money for charity, but either fails or raises very little, leaving his father (who has to foot the bill for either damages to a dairy or catering for a pop concert) seriously out of pocket. * Charlie and the Sportswear Factory - A parody of
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka. The story was originall ...
where Charlie Buckett and his Grandpa Joe are hereby invited to Mickey Wonga's Sportswear factory where the workers are treated very cruelly. * Charlie and Chubby Telly Voyeurs - a pair of security guards who misuse the CCTV cameras to leer at women rather than look for any wrongdoing - during which a robbery takes place. * Charlie Christ - A one off strip about
Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
depicted as Jesus Christ. * Chester Thing – The comic character with no attribute. * Christ on a Bender – a strip which depicts
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
as a family man who keeps trying to escape the house to get "crucified" with his friends but is thwarted at every turn by his wife forcing him to stay home with her and look after their children. * Christ on a Bike – a strip which depicts Jesus's life riding a magical bicycle.
Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of J ...
has him crucified due to envy since Pilate only has a girl's bike. * Christ School – A parody of the Bash Street Kids depicted as Jesus Christ. * Cindy Francis and her Kitty Cat
Majorettes A majorette is a baton twirler whose twirling performance is often accompanied by dance, movement, or gymnastics; they are primarily associated with marching bands during parades. Majorettes can also spin knives, fire knives, flags, light-up ba ...
- A woman who thinks she has trained a team of cats to perform as majorettes. In reality, the cats just attack her or run away when she tries to get them to perform. * Closet Casey Jones - A strip about an American train driver who fancies married women but secretly fancies muscular men. *
Cockney Wanker Cockney Wanker is a character created by Graham Dury and Simon Thorpe10 funniest Londoner ...
– a swaggering, bigoted
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
er who speaks in
rhyming slang Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymin ...
which is often concocted in his speech. The character is based on actor Mike Reid. He wears much cheap
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
jewellery or
Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...
bling Bling-bling, often shortened to just bling, is "flashy jewelry worn especially as an indication of wealth or status; broadly: expensive and ostentatious possessions" such as grills and designer bags. The term arose as slang, but grew into a cu ...
and
East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
gangster dark glasses, and is often seen smoking a
cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...
. Wanker's speciality is the buying and selling of cars, often buying one, selling it back to the same person at the same price and then waving his wad of cash declaring the transaction to have been "a nice little earner", although he has appeared in a considerable number of other enterprises, some of which actually work - at least for a while. He is the personification of the 'Northerners' impression of the -'
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
/Southern' personage. His name, as it contains an obscenity, is " spoonerised" whenever featured on the front page of an issue of ''Viz'', as it would be easily read by children who are otherwise not entitled to buy the magazine. Hence he becomes "Wockney Canker", or it's covered by a picture element. * Colin the Amiable Crocodile – strips centred on a small
crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...
named Colin. In one strip he was shot by a
birdwatcher Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...
because he said "hello" to the man. The character also appeared later on front covers of other issues, such as with a
skinhead A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in th ...
who tells people to buy the comic or he shoots the croc. Overtones of Loopy-de-Loop * Colin and his Conker – a boy obsessed with playing
conkers Conkers is a traditional children's game in Great Britain and Ireland played using the seeds of horse chestnut trees—the name 'conker' is also applied to the seed and to the tree itself. The game is played by two players, each with a conke ...
. * The Conference Kids - two children who work with their father in organising business conferences on mundane subjects. * Cop Her Knickers – an elderly woman's dealings with a gang of policemen who are constantly, and inexplicably, trying to steal her underwear (issue 126) * Copper Kettle – quoted as "The PC who loves his PG" (PG meaning tea brand
PG Tips PG Tips is a brand of tea in the United Kingdom manufactured by Ekaterra. Brand name In the 1930s, Brooke Bond launched PG Tips in the tea market in the United Kingdom under the name ''Pre-Gestee'' - a variant of the original name "Digestive Tea. ...
), the strip follows the life of the policeman and his futile attempts to obtain some
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
– his favourite beverage – while on his beat. * Corky the Twat - a cat that is hired by ''Viz'' to get up to amusing comic-style antics and make readers laugh. Unfortunately, Corky is a normal cat and would rather scratch the furniture or hunt mice than do anything funny. The editor ends up taking him back to the pet shop to ask for something "more
anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
." The strip is a parody of ''
Korky the Cat ''Korky the Cat'' is a character in a comic strip in the British comics magazine The Dandy. It first appeared in issue 1, dated 4 December 1937, except for one issue, No. 294 (9 June 1945) when Keyhole Kate was on the cover. For several decad ...
''. * Courier of the Track - One-off strip about a parcel delivery courier who is recruited for the Olympics when a coach sees how fast he runs back to the van after posting a 'Sorry we missed you' card through his letterbox. * Crap Jokes – a diverse range of verbal and visual puns or one-liners, usually deliberately corny or old-fashioned. The best known of the Crap Jokes are seemingly endless "Doctor, Doctor" gags, with the reader's sympathy drawn to the endlessly hapless
straight man The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically, the straight man is expected to maintain composure. The direct contribution to the ...
Doctor. * Crawford Crayon – He's Quick On The Sketch – a one-off story about a brilliant and mischievous quick-sketch artist, whose 'harmless fun' leads to the death of the hapless Bully Smith. * The Critics – pretentious and shallow high-culture critics who lampoon the perceived
elitism Elitism is the belief or notion that individuals who form an elite—a select group of people perceived as having an intrinsic quality, high intellect, wealth, power, notability, special skills, or experience—are more likely to be constructi ...
of the " chattering classes". They work for ''The Sunday Chronicle'', though they have done freelance work with the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
, writing elitist and sometimes sycophantic articles on contemporary art. The artists they admire are all fictional, but are clearly inspired by real-life artists such as
Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...
and
Tracey Emin Tracey Karima Emin, CBE, RA (; born 3 July 1963) is a British artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. Emin produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, neon text and ...
. A frequent plot device involves Natasha and Crispin mistaking some everyday object – like a
fire extinguisher A fire extinguisher is a handheld active fire protection device usually filled with a dry or wet chemical used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergencies. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which ha ...
, puddle of
vomit Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenterit ...
or even some
public toilet A public toilet, restroom, public bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils ...
s – as a piece of modern art. In other episodes, they don't grasp the concept of art at all. They once received a
booby prize A booby prize is a joke prize usually given in recognition of a terrible performance or last-place finish. A person who finishes last, for example, may receive a booby prize such as a worthless coin. Booby prizes are sometimes jokingly coveted a ...
at the Critics' Awards for bringing the reputation of critics into disrepute for writing a review that was not only positive, but actually made sense! * Crypto Nige – A man who tries to get his uninterested friends and family to invest in
cryptocurrency A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. It i ...
, only to end up losing all his money. * Daley Starr – a schoolboy aspiring to be a journalist, who turns his family's and classmates' misfortunes into exaggerated "scoops". His name is a play on the ''Daily Star'' tabloid newspaper. * Danny Davis and the Robot Pimp – a young boy whose best friend is an android pimp from outer space. * Danny's District Council – a one-off story parodying
General Jumbo General Jumbo is a British adventure story character from the comic magazine ''The Beano''. He starred in the eponymous adventure story series, as well as the 1971 spin-off series ''Admiral Jumbo'', and was illustrated by a variety of ''Beano ...
of ''The Beano'', in which a young boy commands his own electronic radio-controlled district council. The tiny robotic council workers are all lazy, corrupt and incompetent and eventually switch their allegiance to the villains. The comic occasionally features other parodies of ''General Jumbo'', including "Jimbo Jumbo's Robo Jobos", " Oliver's Army" and "Drill-Sergeant Jumbo". * Darren Dice – a young man who is obsessed with
gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...
. Sadly, he often chooses to gamble with the wrong crowd. The character is allegedly based on, and bears a remarkable resemblance to, retired Scottish footballer
Darren Jackson Darren Jackson (born 25 July 1966) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played predominantly as a forward. Jackson played for several clubs in Scotland and England, including Newcastle United, Dundee United, Hibernian, Celtic ...
. Jackson spent a couple of seasons at Newcastle United in the late 1980s and became a familiar face in bookmakers' shops in the city. * D.C. Thompson The Humourless Scottish Git – created in retaliation after D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd threatened legal action over a variety of ''Viz'' spoofs based on characters from ''The Beano'' and ''The Dandy'', including Biffa Bacon, Black Bag, "Roger the Lodger", "Wanker Watson", "Arsehole Kate" and many more. The title character was portrayed as a miserly stereotypical
Scotsman The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded t ...
(complete with tam o’shanter,
kilt A kilt ( gd, fèileadh ; Irish: ''féileadh'') is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Hi ...
and sporran) who goes about looking for breaches of copyright he can report, such as threatening to sue a woman who calls her son Dennis a "menace" in his earshot, and demanding that a pet shop owner remove an advertisement for "Three Bears for the Price of Two" from the shop window. Eventually, he becomes so enraged that he urinates in his kilt. Not to be outdone, ''The Dandy'' responded by resurrecting an old strip ''
The Jocks and the Geordies ''The Jocks and the Geordies'' was a British comic strip which appeared in the magazine ''The Dandy'' and was drawn by Jimmy Hughes. It ran from 1975 to 1990, when artist Jimmy Hughes retired, with occasional appearances after that date. Concept ...
'' – representing the Scottish-based D.C. Thomson and Newcastle upon Tyne-based ''Viz''. In the strip, the rival gangs of schoolboys are asked to produce a comic. The Jocks' comic is better, of course, but the underhand Geordies decide to copy them. ''Viz'' responded in kind by parodying
Korky the Cat ''Korky the Cat'' is a character in a comic strip in the British comics magazine The Dandy. It first appeared in issue 1, dated 4 December 1937, except for one issue, No. 294 (9 June 1945) when Keyhole Kate was on the cover. For several decad ...
as "Corky the Twat" in the next issue. * Debt of Honour – a Mafia hitman is tasked with buying cement from a DIY store for a mob assassination, but fails due to the unhelpful shop staff, problems with the self-checkout, etc. * Dench's Benches – A strip where Dame
Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...
lounges all over a pair of park benches and chases away a man who wanted to sit on one of them. * Denis Helium – a boy who believes he is as light as a feather, but is in fact quite obese. * Dennis the Red Menace – a Communist-themed parody of '' Dennis the Menace''. * Derek's Boots – A one off strip about a boy called Derek Hobson who wore a big pair of Doctor Marten boots and went around and kicked everyone, only to get a new pair of smaller shoes and then get kicked by the people he once harmed. * Desert Island Desk – a dialogue-free strip about an office desk which has been
marooned Marooned may refer to: * Marooning Marooning is the intentional act of abandoning someone in an uninhabited area, such as a desert island, or more generally (usually in passive voice) to be marooned is to be in a place from which one cannot escape ...
on a
desert island A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereot ...
; the title refers to ''
Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...
'' and the Topper comic story ''Desert Island Dick''. * Desert Island Teacher – a teacher stranded on a windswept rock. He has decided that "once a teacher, always a teacher", and inflicts monotonous lectures on the
seagulls Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, ...
and
molluscs Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estim ...
. A major feature of the strip is that he never actually says anything of any academic value, but instead spends all his time saying iconic teacher's statements like "Face the front" and "I will not start until I have absolute quiet". He is rescued by a navy
search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
team, only to admonish them as if they were a delinquent pupil, saying: "You think you're so clever, being able to fly a helicopter, but it's not going to help you in the real world." The rescue crew throw him off the helicopter for insulting them. * Desperately Unfunny Dan – parody of barrel-chested
Desperate Dan Desperate Dan is a wild west character in the now-defunct Scottish comic magazine ''The Dandy'', and became its mascot. He made his appearance in the first issue which was dated 4 December 1937. He is apparently the world's strongest man, ...
who tries too hard to amuse people with his superhuman feats of strength. * Diane Abbott and Costello – A strip where Diane Abbott and
Lou Costello Louis Francis Cristillo (March 6, 1906 – March 3, 1959), professionally known as Lou Costello, was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known for his double act with straight man Bud Abbott and their routine " Who's on First? ...
are guest presenters of ''
Question Time A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be ca ...
'', but argue over the seating plan, with Costello constantly misunderstanding Abbott's instructions in the style of his famous routine
Who's on First? "Who's on First?" is a comedy routine made famous by American comedy duo Abbott and Costello. The premise of the sketch is that Abbott is identifying the players on a baseball team for Costello. However, the players' names can simultaneously ...
* Dickie Beasley – a schoolboy who wants to be an ad executive. His attempts to advertise or improve something menial (e.g. a church
jumble sale A jumble sale (UK), bring and buy sale (Australia) or rummage sale (U.S and Canada) is an event at which second hand goods are sold, usually by an institution such as a local Boys' Brigade Company, Scout group, Girlguiding group or church, ...
) and fails because he puts too much thought and planning into it (treating as something more complex). * Dickie's Disappointing Grandpa - A one off strip about a boy whose grandfather is an inventor who makes the most boring contraptions ever. * Doctor Poo – a spoof of ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' depicting the title character, utterly desperate to move his bowels, unable to find a toilet in the whole of space–time. He eventually relieves himself in
Davros Davros () is a character from the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was created by screenwriter Terry Nation, originally for the 1975 serial ''Genesis of the Daleks''. Dav ...
's "private shitehouse" on the planet
Skaro Skaro is a fictional planet in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was created by the writer Terry Nation as the home planet of the Daleks. In ''The Daleks'' (1963–64), Skaro is described as being the twelfth pl ...
. The story was animated with the Dr Who theme incorporating considerable farts in the notes. * Doctor Poolittle – a spoof of ''
Doctor Dolittle Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting starting with the 1920 '' The Story of Doctor Dolittle''. He is a physician who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in th ...
'' depicting the title character severely constipated and attempting to learn how to defecate from zoo animals. After a lion roars at him, he soils his trousers. * Doctor Sex – "He has the power of all sex." * Doctor Theodore Gray and his Fantastic Growth Ray – A one off strip about a scientist who invented a formula to make things increase in size. However, when he tries it on a local policeman, it all backfires. * Doctor Wholittle - a parody of ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' and ''
Doctor Dolittle Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting starting with the 1920 '' The Story of Doctor Dolittle''. He is a physician who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in th ...
'' where the Doctor travels back in time to speak to dinosaurs before their extinction. * Dom and Jerry – a once-only parody of ''
Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...
'' where a
BDSM BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...
-obsessed cat is trying to catch the mouse to perform his twisted sexual acts on it. * Drake's Cake - He's Got a Cake For Heaven's Sake - A strip about
Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 ( ...
trying to protect a cake. * Driving David Beckham or Driving Mister David – a spoof of ''Beezer'' and (later) ''Beano'' comic strip "
The Numskulls ''The Numskulls'' is a comic strip in ''The Beano'', and previously in ''The Beezer'' and ''The Dandy'' – UK comics owned by D.C Thomson. The strip is about a team of tiny human-like technicians who live inside the heads of various people, ...
" in which we see the inner thought processes – or lack thereof – of
David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...
. The title is based on the film ''
Driving Miss Daisy '' Driving Miss Daisy'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Alfred Uhry, based on his 1987 play of the same name. The film stars Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, and Dan Aykroyd. Freeman reprised his ro ...
''. * Drooly-Doo - a parody of ''
Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animation, animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative List of Scooby-Doo media, media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the orig ...
'' set during the
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
. *Drum Miner – a drummer who can only play in confined spaces, made redundant by the closure of his local coal mine. He attempts to find work, but fails due to his niche abilities and finally commits suicide by jumping off his bass drum with a noose around his neck. Tragically, an eccentric millionaire appears minutes later looking to offer permanent employment to someone who can play drums inside his cupboard. A spoof of the films of
Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty ('' Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessn ...
. * Drunken Bakers – a darkly-hilarious, long-running strip about two
alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...
bakers A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...
who, because of their affliction, hardly ever manage to bake anything, and if they actually do it is almost always spoiled by one of them vomiting over it. Their shop is run down, and is often burnt down due to a left-on stove, and has few customers; the pair sometimes look back to more prosperous, happier times, but are always brought back to their dismal present-day reality. See the link for a fuller description. * Eight Ace – an alcoholic who drinks "Ace" beer (eight cans for £1.49) and struggles to stay on the right side of his wife and many children as a consequence, not being allowed to live in the house, and ending up in a shed in the front garden. Many of the strips involve Ace being entrusted with or somehow managing to acquire exactly £1.49 which he inevitably uses to buy "Eight Ace" from Patel's 'Twenty-four-hour nano-mart'. His real name has been mentioned as "Octavius Tinsworthy Federidge Ace", the "Federidge" in his name being derived from the now-defunct Federation Brewery which brewed "Ace" lager, and "Octavius" being derived from ''octo'', Latin for "eight". The 'Tinsworthy' refers to the cans (or "tins") of beer. Hence his name parallels 'eight tins of Federation Ace'. Has been unofficially voted 'Patron Saint of Dead Losses'. * Eight Ball Joe – An early strip from the early 1980s where the titular character is portrayed with no intelligence. * Electric Space Copter Kid – A boy who thinks he is a superhero with an "electric space copter" that is actually just a
space hopper A space hopper (also known as a moon hopper, skippyball, kangaroo ball, bouncer, hippity hop, hoppity hop, sit and bounce, or hop ball) is a rubber ball (similar to an exercise ball) with handles which allow one to sit on it without falling off ...
. He accidentally stops a fleeing robber (who crashes his getaway vehicle, distracted by the space hopper) and wins an award from the police. *
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
's... – a series of strips have the pop star portrayed as a petty scamster. The strips typically open with Elton engaged in a stereotypical celebrity activity like launching a new album, being interviewed for a celebrity magazine, or partying with fellow A-listers. But they soon descend into the surreal when, despite his enormous wealth and fame, John embarks on a small-scale con to make trivial amounts of cash. Scams include Baccy Run, Dole Fiddle, Hooky Videos, Electrical Goods Scam, Bandit Beater, Lottery Syndicate Diddle (consisting of himself,
Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...
,
Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
and
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
), Roofing Racket, Marked Note Con, Window Cleaning Scam and Compen Con. At the end of each strip John, having been rumbled through bad luck or incompetence, (or both) is normally shown to have been beaten at his own game by other celebrities, often in disguise, mostly his "enemies", e.g.
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
,
The Bee Gees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
, Rod Stewart,
Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...
and the Supremes or "the surviving members of
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
", who are shown launching more successful small-scale scams of their own, often singing iconic lines from their own songs. * Embarrassing Wife – One-off quarter-page strip featuring a two-faced husband attending a party with his wife. Just as they ring the bell the husband warns the wife 'not to do anything stupid'. He then goes on to behave disgustingly, drinking to excess, slobbering over another female party-goer, vomiting in the flowers, bashing the host and finally ending up with his trousers around his ankles and a lamp-shade on his head, dead drunk, and with the wife carefully saying (probably in a whisper) 'I think maybe its time we made tracks dear.' He responds with heavy sarcasm, 'DO you!' In the car back home he berates her: 'I hope you're satisfied! You made me look like a right fool back there!' * Eminemis The Menace – starred in a one-off strip, a cross between
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
and Dennis the Menace. * Eric Daft – "His IQ is less than 2" – An early Terry Fuckwitt prototype.


F–J

* Farmer Palmer – a paranoid, money-grabbing farmer with an inbred son and daughter (who go on to marry each other) whose
catch phrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
is "Get orf moi laaaand!". He frequently berates and physically threatens (usually with a double-barrelled shotgun) innocent members of the public for encroaching on his property, yet he hypocritically treats the countryside with complete disdain. He has a habit of shooting every dog he sees with a shotgun, claiming "'Ee wuz worrying moi sheep." or words to that effect. In one extreme example, the dog's owner claimed his dog was on public property and thus well within its right to be there. Farmer Palmer then had his son Jethro transport the dog to his own farm with a
tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...
, to get an excuse to shoot it. Farmer Palmer and Jethro later appear in an episode of The Fat Slags animated series. Often he will go out of his way to make someone's life miserable, such as waiting until a car nears the gate at which his tractor is parked. He gets Jethro to stop the car while he drives out in front, then with Jethro on board he drives away very slowly, with a sign saying 'No Overtaking for the Next 25 miles' showing in the last frame. Twice he has hosted a huge music festival just like
Max Yasgur Max B. Yasgur (December 15, 1919 – February 9, 1973) was an American farmer who was the owner of a dairy farm in Bethel, New York, where the 1969 Woodstock musical festival was held from August 15–18, 1969. He sold his farm in 1971 and ...
who hosted the original Woodstock, once in a full two-page feature, which as you look at it, it becomes obvious that it is nothing but a money-grabbing venture, and in the other he introduces
Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...
as the star, only to go backstage and grab his gun. As Snoop is introducing his first song, Palmer shoots him with the usual phrase "E were worrying moi shizzles!" (Snoop is a 'dog' after all!) Then he stands in the middle of the stage and thunders to the enormous but now silent crowd, "Now Get Orf Moi Laaand!" * Farting Dilemmas with Archie McBlarter - see "Archie McBlarter" * Father McFiddly – "He Loves Diddling Kiddies" - about the antics of a priest trying to peek up the altar-boys'
cassock The cassock or soutane is a Christian clerical clothing coat used by the clergy and male religious of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, in addition to some clergy in certain Protestant denomi ...
s, etc. A skit on the
Catholic sex abuse cases There have been many cases of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, nuns, Popes and other members of religious life. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the cases have involved many allegations, investigations, trials, convictions, a ...
scandal. * The Fat Slags – A long-running and iconic strip featuring two enormous sluttish women living in Mansfield. San (Sandra Burke) and Tray (Tracey Tunstall), have huge appetites for both sex and food. Starred in a spinoff cartoon and a live-action movie. * Fat Sod – a one-off greedy character who steals a large pie from the windowsill of one Farmer Palmer (possibly the same character described above, despite physical dissimilarity), only to be ruthlessly shot dead and baked in a pie by Palmer, who hides inside the false pie initially stolen to do so. * Father Christmas – a man so obsessed with
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
he believes that it is the festive season in the middle of August. * Fatty and Skinny, Susannah and Trinny – A strip portraying
Susannah Constantine Susannah Caroline Constantine (born 3 June 1962) is an English former TV fashion 'guru', fashion writer, style advisor, television fashion presenter, author and clothes designer. Her second book, ''What Not to Wear'', co-written with her fa ...
and
Trinny Woodall Sarah-Jane Duncanson "Trinny" Woodall (born 8 February 1964) is a British beauty Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur, Businessperson, businesswoman, Fashion journalism, fashion and makeover expert, television presenter and author. Woodall initially ...
as school bullies who ridicule classmates for their unfashionable clothes, only to end each cartoon forced to wear a horrendously uncomfortable outfit for detention or gym class. This strip prompted legal action from Woodall and Constantine themselves. * Feet and Two Reg – Two neighbours (who as the title suggests are called Reg) who are due to enter a competition where their diseased feet are to be judged where one of them trying to ruin the other's chances by curing his bad feet, but failing. * Felix and his Amazing Underpants – a boy with
underpants Underpants are underwear worn on the lower body. In British English the term is often shortened to pants and refers to men’s clothing only. Types of underpants Long underpants Long underpants are the bottom half of a style of two-piece unde ...
which he believes have amazing powers. They are in fact completely ordinary, albeit being a bizarrely large size. Occasionally, he manages to do good deeds with his underwear in order to help out someone in need, for example, using his underpants as a container for a French salesman's
onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...
s. Often he removes his underwear and appears naked, but is never done for obscenity; fig-leaved by a lifted leg, his rather large stomach, or picture element, or turned away from the viewer. The comic strip was created by editor Chris Donald, but is now drawn by
Lew Stringer Lew Stringer (born 22 March 1959 in England) is a freelance comic artist and scriptwriter. Biography Stringer began his career from the late 1970s with a series of fanzines, many featuring his popular '' Brickman'' character; these were read by ...
. * Ferdinand the Foodie – a self-proclaimed culinary expert and restaurant critic. * Finbarr Saunders and his
double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...
s – a boy with a good ear for
homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (p ...
s. The strip almost always revolves around his liaisons with his neighbour, Mr Gimlet, whose manner of speech is always interpreted by Finbarr as graphically sexual in nature (in fact, it is deliberately scripted this way), usually when Gimlet is reminiscing about everyday situations with Saunders' mother. However, at the end of each strip, Mr Gimlet and Finbarr's mother invariably do end up having sex and make blatantly obvious verbal references to their doing so, but Finbarr interprets these as being nothing untoward. Finbarr's creator, Simon Thorp, described the character as a cross between a small boy and Sid Boggle (
Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series. Born to a mid ...
) from ''
Carry On Camping ''Carry On Camping'' is a 1969 British comedy film, the 17th release in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). It features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Terry Scott, Hattie Jacques, Bar ...
''. He is sometimes visited by his mother's
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n friend, Sergei, whose
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
pronunciation is very bad, which results in his sentences being corrupted in often lewd ways (for instance, "Your mother wants me to fetch her
aerosol An aerosol is a suspension (chemistry), suspension of fine solid particles or liquid Drop (liquid), droplets in air or another gas. Aerosols can be natural or Human impact on the environment, anthropogenic. Examples of natural aerosols are fog o ...
" becomes "Your mother wants me to felch her
arsehole The word ''asshole'' (in North American English) or arsehole (in all other major varieties of the English language), is a vulgarism used to describe the anus, and often used pejoratively (as a type of synecdoche) to refer to people. History ...
"). * Fixed-Odds Betty – a sombre one-off strip depicting a woman selling her possessions and emptying her bank account to buy her grandson a bike for his birthday, only to end up being waylaid by his mother and spending it all at a fixed-odds betting machine in a
bookmakers A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...
while the boy waits outside in the rain. This strip guest-starred the main character from fellow Viz strip "We ..." * Flash Harry – a man who is constantly trying to indecently expose himself to women but regularly fails. * Foodie Bollocks – a man obsessed with artisan food who goes into a
fish and chip Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
shop or bakery or other very ordinary shop and asks a string of annoying questions about the food as if he's ordering from a
Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...
-starred restaurant. One strip has him ordering an ice-cream from an ice cream van wanting to know about the story of all the ingredients and getting punched in the face by the man behind the queue as he is taking ages to decide - a happening which is by no means unique. One edition had him refusing to go back to work post-lockdown because 'his regime (to make sourdough bread) is at a critical phase'. *The Folkie - a man who tends to sing everything like a folk song annoying everybody (even other folk singers), even having an appearance of a folk singer (sporting a beard, wearing clogs and a thick woollen jumper). * Foul-Mouthed Super-Obese Mobility Scooter Woman – a lazy, benefit-dependent woman who blames her total lack of work ethic on her morbid obesity; which requires her to use a mobility scooter. * Friar Fuck – a monk with
Tourette's syndrome Tourette syndrome or Tourette's syndrome (abbreviated as TS or Tourette's) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) ...
. * Frankenstein's Cock – a parody of ''
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...
'' in which the scientist has created a giant, sentient penis which comes to life and is hunted through the town by the traditional torch-wielding mob. Prompted follow-ups and sequels in the comic including "Frankenstein's Turd" and "Frankenstein's Cock Must Be Destroyed". * Frankie Feel - an early strip featuring a man who is always grabbing women's breasts. * Frugal Sharkey - a miser who goes to extreme lengths to cut costs. His name and appearance are based on the singer
Feargal Sharkey Seán Feargal Sharkey (born 13 August 1958) is a singer from Northern Ireland most widely known as the lead vocalist of punk band The Undertones in the 1970s and 1980s, and for solo works in the 1980s and 1990s. His 1985 solo single "A Good ...
. * Fru T. Bunn – a "Master Baker" who makes his own
sex doll A sex doll (also love doll, fuck doll or blowup doll) is a type of anthropomorphic sex toy in the size and shape of a sexual partner. The sex doll may consist of an entire body, or just a head, pelvis, or other body part (vagina, anus, mouth, ...
s out of gingerbread and then attempts to have sex with them. Often he actually succeeds, only to be discovered in the last frame by his wife and daughter (Little Chelsea - ref to the Chelsea Bun)!! * Garry and Barry the Identical Twins – a boy convinced that a tree in his garden is actually his identical twin brother. *
George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest p ...
is a Cinema Pest – a one-off strip featuring George Best prematurely disclosing the final twists of notable movies such as ''
The Sixth Sense ''The Sixth Sense'' is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose patient ( Haley Joel Osment) claims he can see and talk to the dead. Released ...
'' and ''
The Usual Suspects ''The Usual Suspects'' is a 1995 neo-noir mystery thriller film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Chazz Palminteri, Pete Postlethwait ...
'' to incensed cinema goers. * George Bestial – a George Best lookalike who, as his name implies, enjoys committing bestiality. After the death of the real Best, the strip was redesigned so that it became longer (full-page), the title character looks less like Best, and his
zoophilia Zoophilia is a paraphilia involving a sexual fixation on non-human animals. Bestiality is cross-species sexual activity between humans and non-human animals. The terms are often used interchangeably, but some researchers make a distinction b ...
is merely the most obvious symptom of his clearly very disturbed mind. * Gilbert Ratchet – a boy who can invent anything, usually to solve people's bizarre "problems" as he comes across them. However, his inventions invariably cause far more problems of their own. Usually, the entire premise of the strip turns out to be a highly contrived misunderstanding. Gilbert's creator, Davey Jones, describes the character as "like (the ''Dandy'''s) Screwy Driver—only with more genital mutilation of vicars". * Gin Damon – A man who is obsessed with gin yet fails to realise how much he has drunk. * God Save the Queen – A one off strip about God trying to watch a football match when he keeps getting interrupted by an old woman because her
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
clones roam rampant on a building site and he has to save them. * God, You're Embarrassing – A strip which depicts God, embarrassing his son, Jesus in front of his disciples. * Goldfish Boy – a schoolboy who lives in a
goldfish The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild have ...
bowl and is raised by the Reverend Brown. * Gordon's Grandad – one-off strip about a boy who believes his perfectly ordinary grandfather has magical powers. The strip ends with the death of the grandfather, devastating Gordon who believes that Grandad was about to build him a
time machine Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
. * Gordon Zola and Cheddar George – * Graffiti Art - a young man desperately trying to offend others with obscene
graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
but only succeeds in being recognised as a talented street artist pushing boundaries. * Grandfather Clock - A strip about a senile old man who insists on living inside a grandfather clock, much to his grandson's dismay. The clock is stolen by burglars, and the police retrieve Grandpa, who moves into a
cuckoo clock A cuckoo clock is, typically, a pendulum clock that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo call and has an automated cuckoo bird that moves with each note. Some move their wings and open and close their beaks while leaning forwards ...
instead. * Granny Smith - an old woman who has a habit of murdering people. * Grassy Knollington – a nerdy, bespectacled schoolboy
conspiracy theorist A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...
who would spend every strip putting together and explaining long, complicated and outlandish theories (mostly lasting the whole strip) behind certain events (such as 9/11 and the
death of Princess Diana In the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died from injuries sustained earlier that day in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Dodi Fayed, Diana's partner, and Henri Paul, their chauffeur, were found d ...
) often to the exasperation of his friends/mother. Typically, at the end of the strip, it would be revealed that Grassy was actually correct!! His name is a pun based on the 'Grassy Knoll' where it is said a gunman was hiding who shot JFK. * The Green Grass – a one-off, quarter-page strip where
Orville the Duck Orville the Duck was the most famous puppet often used by the ventriloquist Keith Harris (1947–2015) and was named after Orville Wright (one of the Wright Brothers). Orville is a green duckling who wears nothing but a nappy with a large s ...
is caught and destroyed by a Government respond unit during a
bird flu "Bird Flu" is an urumee melam-dance song by recording artist M.I.A. on her second studio album '' Kala'' (2007). It was released as a digital download in 2006 through XL Recordings under exclusive license to Interscope Records in the US. Cr ...
epidemic after being betrayed by
Cuddles the Monkey Cuddles the Orangutan was one half of Keith Harris's puppet act, the sidekick and nemesis of Orville the Duck. The ape Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though ...
who is identified in the final frame. * Guy's Pie - A strip about a person called Guy with a pie which gets stolen by Low Self Esteem Larson the neighbourhood bully, only to find out the pie maker put teeth in it. * Harold and Fred - they make ladies dead! – A one-off strip in which serial killers
Harold Shipman Harold Frederick Shipman (14 January 1946 – 13 January 2004), known by the public as Doctor Death and to acquaintances as Fred Shipman, was an English general practitioner and serial killer. He is considered to be one of the most prolif ...
and
Fred West Frederick Walter Stephen West (29 September 1941 – 1 January 1995) was an English serial killer, who committed at least twelve murders between 1967 and 1987 in Gloucestershire, most of them with his second wife, Rose West. All the victi ...
compete to be the first to murder a new female neighbour; only to discover that she is actually
Ed Gein Edward Theodore Gein (; August 27, 1906 – July 26, 1984), also known as the Butcher of Plainfield or the Plainfield Ghoul, was an American murderer and body snatcher. Gein's crimes, committed around his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin, ga ...
wearing the skin of one of his victims. This strip created controversy in the media, including complaints from the families of some of Shipman's victims. * Harry Quartz, Para-Dental Hygienist – A
dental hygienist A dental hygienist or oral hygienist is a licensed dental professional, registered with a dental association or regulatory body within their country of practice. Prior to completing clinical and written board examinations, registered dental hygien ...
who patrols a war zone and drags injured soldiers away to have dental work done. * Helpful Herbert – A boy whose good deeds always land him in big trouble. * Hector the collector and his metal detector – strips about a boy named Hector who finds big and small things with his
metal detector A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. The unit itself, consist of a control box, and an adjustable shaft, ...
. In one strip he found a key that according to a passing rich man opened up a chest with gold inside and gave him £500. The character later returned in the 30th edition comic. * Hell Below Zero – One-off strip depicting a man on a zero-hours contract called in by his boss first thing in the morning and made to wait around all day while only being paid for thirty-seven minutes work. This same concept was used as an episode of 'We...' and a separate although related strip, 'My Workfare Lady' (which see). * Hen Cabin – A takeaway run by two scruffy, dishonest men who cut corners by making their takeaways from chicken utterly unfit for consumption or using easily obtained birds (such as pigeons or in one episode, seagulls!) instead of chicken. Their product is quite unpalatable, but they keep doggedly on making it. Often, they go out of their way to make their opposite numbers (on the same street or very close by) to appear worse than themselves. Mostly they fail. * Hermit the Frog - A one-off three-paneled strip about
Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'', as well ...
from
The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a s ...
living in a shed with the curtains closed. * High Wire Building Society – A strip about a building society located in a circus. * Hikaru Nikkoro – A Japanese businessman attempting to steal women's used underwear. * The Hippopotamus Man – A paedophile who believes he is a hippopotamus. He infuriates everyone around him by informing them that he is a hippopotamus, while continuing to try to abuse children. This strip guest-starred The Parkie (which see) * Honour-Bound – A strip about a Samurai trying to defecate. * Hubble and Bubble - "They're looking for trouble". This strip portrays two policemen, one appearing normal and the other a caricature of a pig. They are out to make as much trouble as possible, even concocting situations for their own 'entertainment'. One episode has an elderly lady bewailing her cat up a tree. H & B come on the scene and immediately accuse her of using the tree ('This big lump of wood') to attack them. Both woman and cat finally are murdered, and the two 'cover their badges' and leave. * Hugh Phemism – He is unable to communicate in anything other than circumlocutory language, leading to predictable misunderstandings. * Hugo Hall - He Makes Things Small - A strip about a kid who discovered a unique shrinking device with which he was able to reduce objects in size. * Hula-Hoop Emergency Ward – A one off strip about surgeons who attempt to save a man's life while at the same time, whirling hula hoops around their waists. *
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story of ...
's Got Talent – A strip where "Quasiboylo" (a cross between
Quasimodo Quasimodo (from Quasimodo Sunday) is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the novel '' The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (1831) by Victor Hugo. Quasimodo was born with a hunchback and feared by the townspeople as a sort of monster, but ...
and Susan Boyle) fights to win a talent contest (playing a washboard!) and gain the honour of performing at the King's wedding. * Hurricane Heather (She Changes the Weather) – A girl who has a magic ring that is supposed to change the weather, but actually transports her to a desert island, while her ring ends up in the clutches of a fish (which Heather says is silly and ends the strip there.) * Ignatius Manatee's Dixieland Jazz Band - A group of
manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living speci ...
s who are a jazz band but are often having their gigs stolen by a group of Ragtime playing
dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest m ...
s, but always get the last laugh. * Il Duce, Old Duce – A strip featuring
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
who wants the people of the town to bow down to his fascist dictatorship, but his hippie father keeps ruining his day. * Incontinent Boxing Tortoise Hero – a senile old man who believes he is a superhero with
tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...
-themed powers. In reality he fails to defeat a gang of robbers and wets himself again. * Insane Clown Posse and the Church Jumble Sale Mystery – a strip in which
Violent J Joseph Frank Bruce (born April 28, 1972), known by his stage name Violent J, is an American rapper, record producer, professional wrestler, and part of the hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse. He is a co-founder of the record label ''Psychopathic R ...
and Shaggy 2 Dope investigate theft at a church
jumble sale A jumble sale (UK), bring and buy sale (Australia) or rummage sale (U.S and Canada) is an event at which second hand goods are sold, usually by an institution such as a local Boys' Brigade Company, Scout group, Girlguiding group or church, ...
. * The Intern - A strip telling the story of Tom Golightly, who dreams of being an advertising executive and in 1981 manages to get himself a one-year unpaid internship. The internship ends up lasting decades, as Tom waits to get a paid position at his firm even as he is constantly passed over for jobs (despite making the company a fortune with successful advertising campaigns, with his bosses taking all the credit) due to
nepotism Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...
. Finally in March 2020 Tom's patience pays off and he is finally given a paid job at the firm, albeit as a mere teaboy. Unfortunately on the day Tom is due to begin his actual employment with the company at which he has worked at unpaid for almost 40 years (which is also his 61st birthday) he is told he is being furloughed due to the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
pandemic, with the firm folding a couple of months later. * Ivan Jelical – an evangelistic
fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishi ...
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
whose proselytising is spectacularly unsuccessful. He is only ever happy when he is God-bothering, "comforting" grieving widows with descriptions of their husbands' (supposed) sufferings in
Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
, and getting himself beaten-up in the process. On one occasion, after failing to convert a single person all day he hung himself (though this didn't stop him reappearing alive in a new strip a few months later). He (and his fellow evangelists) are often portrayed with 'spinning' eyes, a display of their unawareness of the real world. * Ivor the Skiver – "His dad's a bad driver". One-off strip in which a boy begs his father for a lift as he is too lazy to walk to school. Due to Ivor's dad having poor road sense, they are involved in a crash and end up seriously injured in the hospital, where they are reminded that it was Saturday and Ivor didn't have to go to school anyway. * Jack Black and his dog Silver – a young amateur detective staying with his Aunt Meg on an eternal school holiday. Often gets well-meaning people, who have done nothing wrong, arrested (or worse) on a minor technicality or obscure law for his own benefit, sometimes with another awful crime being committed right under his nose which he completely fails to notice. The first strip was apparently "traced by Chris Donald", according to fellow ''Viz'' cartoonist Davey Jones, "out of an old copy of ''
Whizzer and Chips ''Whizzer and Chips'' was a British comics magazine that ran from 18 October 1969 to 27 October 1990, when it merged with the comic '' Buster''. As with most comics of the time, ''Whizzer and Chips'' was dated one week ahead of the day it actu ...
''". As the strip has progressed, Jack has been increasingly portrayed as a
racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
and a xenophobe among other major faults. Jack's adventures are regularly drawn in the style of other comics (such as ''Tintin'' or ''
Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...
''), taking place in other countries (such as a
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
-style strip relocating the action to
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
) and even in different time periods (including the Victorian era, the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, the Future Space Era and the
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
). * Jack in the Box – A strip about the titular character who sets about doing cardboard box related pranks, only to be involved in a car accident. * Jasper the Gasper – A homeless man who is desperate for a
cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...
. * Jamie Bond 007 – A child parody of
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
. Rather than go with the plot that Jamie is just a regular child who is delusional about his secret agent alter ego and that his next door neighbour is not really a global villain out for world domination. The latter is indeed revealed to be one, whose plot Jamie foils and then makes his escape with the story's
Bond girl A Bond girl is a character who is a love interest or female companion of James Bond in a novel, film or video game. Bond girls occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as Pussy Galore, Plenty O'Toole, Xenia Onatopp, o ...
. *
Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician and radio presenter. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp, he became a figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Following P ...
's Quest for Knockers – A one-off strip in which Jarvis Cocker is a pervert desperately trying to look for a pair of breasts to ogle. * Jellyhead – The girl with no brain. A one-off superhero parody about a girl born with lime jelly instead of a
brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...
. Jellyhead spends her entire time in this story in a catatonic state, yet still manages to foil an armed robbery. The one-off strip was the work of
Charlie Higson Charles Murray Higson (born 3 July 1958) is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer. He has also written and produced for television and is the author of the ''Enemy'' book series, as well as the first five novels in the ''Young Bo ...
. * The Adventures of
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...
, the Petrolhead Motormouth – One-off strip featuring former ''
Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
'' presenter
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...
talking extensively about cars to an uninterested ''
Big Issue ''The Big Issue'' is a street newspaper founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991 and published in four continents. ''The Big Issue'' is one of the UK's leading social businesses and exists to offer homeless people, or individ ...
'' salesman. * Jeremy Futcher - His Dad's a Butcher – - A strip about the titular boy who goes around solving problems with his father's select cuts of meat, only to have him being butchered. * Jimbo Jones – a parody of ''
General Jumbo General Jumbo is a British adventure story character from the comic magazine ''The Beano''. He starred in the eponymous adventure story series, as well as the 1971 spin-off series ''Admiral Jumbo'', and was illustrated by a variety of ''Beano ...
'' where a boy owns a different army of remote-control robots in every strip, from Jehovah's Witnesses to beauty pageant contestants. * Jimmy Hill – The bespectacled and bearded television presenter. He has become something of a cult following as his caricature has turned up in all shapes and sizes, hiding in many of the strips, and often spotted by write-ins, claiming money for discovering him. * Joe, 90 - A once-only spoof of the iconic character who is now in his nineties, and therefore is totally beyond any abilities. He is briefed, or at least they attempt to brief him, (but it is obvious that he is beyond help), then he is placed in the 'Big Rat' and promptly dies in the last frame. The fellow who runs Intelligence remarks, "I'll call International Rescue.' * Joe Blogs – a teenager trying, and spectacularly failing, to become famous from his online
blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
. * Joe Robinson Crusoe – a thinly disguised parody of flamboyant Newcastle pub and nightclub operator Joe Robertson. * John Logie Baird – A strip about the Scottish inventor who makes a machine that spouts out faeces. His rival from next door, the Italian inventor known as Guglieimo Marconi, is envious, so tries to outdo the Scottish inventor by making a machine that spouts out testicles. The strip ends with the two surprised by the English inventor Tim Berners-Lee and his machine that spouts out male and female reproductive systems. * Johnny Condor - A boy who thinks he can fly, but invariably can't. * Johnny Fartpants – An iconic and long-running strip about a boy afflicted with extreme
flatulence Flatulence, in humans, is the expulsion of gas from the intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environm ...
. (Not to be confused with Archie McBlarter) Tagline: There's always a commotion in his trousers. He suffers from extreme, excessive
flatulence Flatulence, in humans, is the expulsion of gas from the intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environm ...
which is not only offensive to the nose and ears, but destructive to those around him. His gaseous emissions have been known to destroy houses and other hard-surfaced articles, as well as injure people. He is always apologetic, and constantly reminds people that his colonic expulsions are beyond his control - despite his insistence on "keeping to a strict pump diet", which often includes beans,
brussels sprouts The Brussels sprout is a member of the Gemmifera cultivar group of cabbages (''Brassica oleracea''), grown for its edible buds. The leaf vegetables are typically 1.5–4.0 cm (0.6–1.6 in) in diameter and resemble miniature cabbag ...
and "cabbage water". In ''Viz'' ''166'' (June/July 2007), Johnny was forced by his father to attend a lecture on global warming, presented by none other than
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...
, so that he would learn about the impact his farting was having on the environment. When Johnny intentionally farted during the applause for Gore (so that nobody would hear it), the former Vice President became violently ill, causing Johnny to observe that Gore was now "greener" than his environmental message. *Jonathon Ringpiece - A one off strip about a man who wants to cause controversy. * Jump Jet Fanny and her Hawker-Siddeley Twat – A woman who can perform
VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-win ...
(vertical take-off and landing) with her vagina. Other strips using the same premise included " Hawker Siddeley Harriet" and "Colin
Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...
Cock". * June and Terry Sitcom - A parody of
Terry and June ''Terry and June'' is a BBC television sitcom, which was broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The show was largely a reworking of '' Happy Ever After'', and starred Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-aged, middle-class suburban couple, T ...
where a couple constantly find themselves in very contrived
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
-style situations. * Junior Cop - a boy who acts like a policeman, informing a mother that her son has died (annoying her as it's not true, as her son is watching TV in the other room) and battering a confession out of his own mother (with the support of his father who is actually a policeman himself). * Just Williams – a parody of the ''
Just William ''Just William'' is the first book of children's short stories about the young school boy William Brown, written by Richmal Crompton, and published in 1922. The book was the first in the series of William Brown books which was the basis for ...
'' stories by
Richmal Crompton Richmal Crompton Lamburn (15 November 1890 – 11 January 1969) was a popular English writer, best known for her ''Just William'' series of books, humorous short stories, and to a lesser extent adult fiction books. Life Richmal Crompton Lambu ...
, with Archbishop
Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bish ...
in the place of Crompton's boy-hero. Williams steals buns from the kitchen and allows his pet
mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...
to escape during a
General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church of ...
meeting, whilst maintaining a William-esque self-justificatory monologue.


K–O

* Kewl Chix – shallow, vacuous and materialistic teenage girls, whose names often end in IX, such as Bix, Vix, etc. who only care about their social life. Initially presented as bimbo/
dumb blonde Blonde stereotypes are stereotypes of blonde-haired people. Sub-types of this stereotype include the " blonde bombshell" and the "dumb blonde". Blondes are stereotyped as more desirable, but less intelligent than brunettes. There are many blo ...
caricatures but in recent years the strip has primarily served as a satire of
social networking sites A social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, act ...
and text messaging. Often their observed lives have nothing to do with reality, which leads to considerable clashes with their surrounds. * Kid Politician – a child who speaks and behaves like a politician (for example, producing dubious statistics to "prove" that he wasn't late for school.) * The Kipling Kid and his Cake Trolley of Justice – a tea boy with a secret identity as a superhero. Despite not actually having any powers, he foils a masked villain who turns out to be
Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...
. White is sentenced to play a benefit concert so he can repay the townspeople; and spends over £100 on cake, to the delight of the Kipling Kid. * Kiss and the Kingdom of the Robot Ants - A strip about the rock band Kiss travelling into the future to stop a colony of robotic ants by playing their music. * Krystle's Big Chance – an American teenage girl bullied for having one very slightly crooked front tooth; until she goes to an orthodontist, whereupon her classmates award her
prom queen A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school ye ...
and hail her as beautiful despite her now wearing huge, ungainly dental braces. A parody of Americans who aspire to orthodontics while stereotyping British people as having bad teeth. * The Lager Lads – somewhat like the Real Ale Twats, these are a group of clean-cut, upstanding beer aficionados who like lager more than anything. Inevitably,
barmen Barmen is a former industrial metropolis of the region of Bergisches Land, Germany, which merged with four other towns in 1929 to form the city of Wuppertal. Barmen, together with the neighbouring town of Elberfeld founded the first electric ...
tell them to "piss off" or urinate in their beer. The Lads never seem to notice there's anything wrong with their drinks after this happens, both highlighting the weak flavour of lager compared to other beer and showing the Lads up to be idiots. The strips were inspired by a series of advertisements for McEwan's lager, in which - Chris Donald noted - a group of smiling, happy young men drink copious amounts of lager but never "got pissed or glassed anybody". * Large-Breasted Wet T-Shirt Pneumatic Drill Girl – A masked superheroine, dressed for a
wet T-shirt contest A wet T-shirt contest is a competition involving exhibitionism, typically featuring young women contestants at a nightclub, bar, or resort. Wet T-shirt contestants generally wear white or light-colored T-shirts without bras, bikini tops, or ot ...
, who works at the roadside with a
pneumatic drill A pneumatic drill may refer to a: *Jackhammer, a tool used to break up rock and pavement *Drill A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a bit, either a drill or driver chuck. Hand-operated types ...
and fights crime. * Larry Ladd and his Ambitious Dad – A boy whose father aggressively pushes him to become famous, forcing him to play different sports and try out for a drama school. When that fails, the father sells Larry to a producer who promises to make him a "film star"; unaware that it is for a company making pornographic
snuff films A snuff film, or snuff movie, or snuff video, is a type of film that shows, or purports to show, scenes of actual homicide. The concept of snuff films became known to the general public during the 1970s, when an urban legend alleged that a cland ...
. * Last Tan&Go in
Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...
– Bleak one-off strip about a young woman who develops an addiction to
indoor tanning Indoor tanning involves using a device that emits ultraviolet radiation to produce a cosmetic tan. Typically found in tanning salons, gyms, spas, hotels, and sporting facilities, and less often in private residences, the most common device is a ...
and subsequently dies from
skin cancer Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are three main types of skin cancers: basal-cell skin cancer (BCC) ...
after her friends make fun of her pale appearance. The title is a pun on ''
Last Tango in Paris ''Last Tango in Paris'' ( it, Ultimo tango a Parigi; french: Le Dernier Tango à Paris) is a 1972 erotic drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. The film stars Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider and Jean-Pierre Léaud, and portrays a recently w ...
''. * Laurie Driver – the
schizophrenic Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...
long-distance driver of an articulated
lorry A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
, who murders female hitchhikers and dumps their bodies by the roadside. Initially the strip focused on Laurie's serial killing, but later strips show him having other vices such as drinking on the job or involvement in people smuggling. * Last-Minute Man – One-off strip where a man, despite having months to prepare, doesn't start
Christmas shopping The economics of Christmas are significant because Christmas is typically a high-volume selling season for goods suppliers around the world. Sales increase dramatically as people purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies to celebrate. In the ...
until 3:45pm on
Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...
resulting in him giving his family presents that he bought in a local garage. * Lazy Disinterested ic16-Year-Old Photo Shop Girl – a teenage girl who works in a local photo supply shop. She has a very unenthusiastic attitude, and is unhelpful to her customers; preferring to chew
bubblegum Bubble gum or bubblegum is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble. Bubble gum flavor While there is a bubble gum "flavor" – which various artificial flavorings including esters are mixed to obtain – it ...
and
text Text may refer to: Written word * Text (literary theory), any object that can be read, including: **Religious text, a writing that a religious tradition considers to be sacred **Text, a verse or passage from scripture used in expository preachin ...
on her
mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
for hours on end. Similar strips have the "Lazy Disinterested 16-Year-Old" working in a supermarket, a shoe shop and a chip shop - the latter seeing her rather talk to a friend (possibly her boyfriend) than serve anyone, and being extremely slow and deliberately uninterested when she does serve someone. Later strips have corrected the title to "Lazy Uninterested 16-Year-Old". Her equally unhelpful counterparts are sometimes featured, including "Ugly Miserable Butch Bus Driver Lady" and "34-Year-Old Obsessive War Workshop Assistant" (an older man so obsessed with
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
s that when a boy tries to buy two sets of figures from different sets, he will only sell one or the other, but not both as they "are from different scenarios"). * Lenny Left – a one-off strip featuring a "radical"
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
alternative comedian whose hackneyed "
street theatre Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves, college or university c ...
" routines about
Thatcherism Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character and general style of manag ...
arouse complete non-interest from the public. Lenny eventually sells out, and the last frame of the strip shows him doing a sexist and homophobic stand-up routine in a
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
club. * Lidl Richard - A middle-aged man who goes shopping but always come back with useless junk, much to his wife's frustration. * Little Big Daddy – A schoolboy who thinks he is 1970s wrestler Big Daddy. * Little Old Man – A young boy who acts like a stereotypical elderly man and at the end of the strip ends up being taken to a retirement home. He was introduced as the counterpart of Playtime Fontayne, but, unlike Playtime, he has so far only been a one-off strip. * Little Plumber – Spoof of ''Beano'' comic strip
Little Plum Little Plum (full name revealed to be Little Plum Stealing Varmint) is a British humoristic western comics series about a little Native American, originally created by Leo Baxendale and published in the magazine ''The Beano''. Concept The epon ...
, in which the American Indian is a jobbing
plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, and for sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.
. * Lonely Sidney Sidebottom – A one off strip from the early 1980s (also featured in The Big Hard One annual) about a single man who has difficulties talking to women. * Lord Shite and Nanny No-Dumps – a one-off strip which draws upon the
urban myth An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
that the
aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...
do not poo. It's about an
aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...
who wishes to defecate "like
common people A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...
" and his former
nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...
who is determined to stop him. After several rather blunt episodes the strip finishes with him locking Nanny in a cage and downing his pants, intending to have a 'really big smelly shite!' Unfortunately he has kept his load in his guts for so long that it has solidified into a big (and uninteresting) diamond, and Nanny is shown in fits of laughter! * Lucky Frank – A young boy who seems to have bad luck turned into good luck. An earlier (and later revived) version of Spawny Get. * Luke O'Like - He is One – A strip about the titular character who gets mistaken for someone else. * Lumberjack Veterinarian – A lumberjack takes on the duty of making people's pets better, only to get fired for murdering them. * Luvvie Darling – a melodramatic and self-important
thespian Thespian may refer to: * A citizen of the Ancient Greek city of Thespiae * An actor or actress ** Thespis, the first credited actor * A member of the International Thespian Society The International Thespian Society (ITS) is an honor society ...
who is completely talentless. He presents himself as an
A-list An A-list actor is a major movie star, or one of the most bankable actors in a film industry. The A-list is part of a larger guide called ''The Hot List'', which ranks the bankability of 1,400 movie actors worldwide, and has become an industry ...
actor but is only offered very minor (and ultimately humiliating) roles. Darling is depicted as an exaggerated parody of old-school British
Shakespearian William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
stage actors: pompous, bombastic, profligate and pretentious in his use of literary quotes, and habitually referring to famous, real-life actors in familiar terms (such as "Dear old Larry" for Sir
Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...
). Darling's name is a
pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...
on the insincere and over-affectionate terms, ''"luvvie"'' and ''"darling"'' that actors and actresses are
stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...
d as employing with each other. (for a good example see 'Absolutely Fabulous' starring Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders)
Each ''Viz'' episode begins with Luvvie "resting between jobs" - a showbiz term for being out of work. His manager Louie is as useless as himself, drives (very badly) in a big American car, smokes a huge cigar, and drinks from a bottle marked "Eau de Tap" ''(pig French for "Tap Water")'' - obviously unable to afford anything stronger. Darling is in his forties, dresses in a ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
''-style period costume with embroidered tunic, frilled collar and cuffs, high boots and short ornamental cape. He has an
Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...
moustache and pointed goatee beard to offset his receding hairline. His appearance is based on stereotypical images of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. Darling auditions constantly for roles which are often completely unsuited to him. In one strip a director casting for ''
Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
'' was hard-put to convince Luvvie that the role of Romeo required a man half his age.
Darling's ludicrous ham acting style and overbearing personality result in him gaining only bit (walk-on) parts at best; at worst, his only theatre employment is cleaning the theatre's toilets. In several episodes, Darling ends up having to perform in
pornographic Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,
films, yet he often has trouble remembering his lines and so has the need for a
prompt Prompt may refer to: Computing * Command prompt, characters indicating the computer is ready to accept input * Command Prompt, also known as cmd.exe or cmd, the command-line interpreter in some operating systems * Prompt (natural language), instr ...
from a lowly stage hand. In one episode, to his delight he is offered the "leading role" in "
Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...
", and goes all out to produce himself as the ideal leading man, complete with a huge nose. However when he appears it turns out that the "role" he thought he was in is actually to play the opening "roll" on the kettledrum for the opening announcement. He passionately believes in promoting the cultural value of theatre, is ecstatic at any chance to show off his self-proclaimed (and utterly non-existent) acting talent (once even in a prison, where he comes (horribly) to grief). In another episode he is interviewed by "Michael Perkinson" (a blatant reference to another very famous interviewer) and with every question he reveals more and more how much of a total and utter failure he is. * Major Misunderstanding – As his name suggests, he almost always misunderstands situations, and is seemingly unable to interpret incidents in their own context, instead viewing them through the prism of his own prejudices, typically centred on inter-war upper-class values. For example, he once believed that a
blood donor A blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn and used for transfusions and/or made into biopharmaceutical medications by a process called fractionation (separation of whole blood components). Donation may be of whole bloo ...
van was a
chip Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a type of immunoprecipitation experimental technique used to investigate the interaction between proteins and DNA in the cell. It aims to determine whether specific proteins are associated with specific genom ...
van, and berated the nurse operating the van for trying to bring "unwanted custom" (i.e. proles) to his "close-knit community". The Major has mistaken hooded
monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicat ...
for Asbos and vendors at a church fete for
asylum seeker An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and m ...
s. He is apparently a retired
major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
who dresses in the regimental
blazer A blazer is a type of jacket resembling a suit jacket, but cut more casually. A blazer is generally distinguished from a sport coat as a more formal garment and tailored from solid colour fabrics. Blazers often have naval-style metal buttons ...
,
cravat Cravat, cravate or cravats may refer to: * Cravat (early), forerunner neckband of the modern necktie * Cravat, British name for what in American English is called an ascot tie * Cravat bandage, a triangular bandage * Cravat (horse) (1935–1954), a ...
,
slacks Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and d ...
and has a bushy
walrus moustache The walrus moustache is characterized by whiskers that are thick, bushy, and drop over the mouth. The style resembles the whiskers of a walrus, hence the name. History Reportedly an ethnic trait of Celts and Gauls, the walrus moustache enj ...
and proudly wears his
medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...
s on his chest for all to see; characteristics which suggest a very pompous individual. He walks with a stiff upper back, and displays signs of senility in his disregard of others opinions and actions. This satire of an old school gentleman soldier set in his ways emphasises his ranting against anything that he believes goes against his dearly held traditionalist right wing moral values. He reads the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' and is always drawn by the cartoonists with his fists tightly clenched at his waist. The major's personality and manner is similar to that of earlier ''Viz'' characters, including the early Billy Britain and
Victorian Dad The following is a list of recurring or notable one-off strips from the British adult spoof comic magazine '' Viz''. This list is by no means complete as with each issue new characters/strips/stories are introduced. A–E *Abel Unstable – ...
. He has never been shown with his family, and like Victorian Dad, is often presented as dogmatic, but ultimately as a
hypocrite Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another or the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform. In moral psychology, it is the ...
with no self-awareness or idea of his own position as a social relic. * The Male Online – A middle-aged (as-yet un-named) man who spends most his time in his study looking at and posting on the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' website. He always believes and endorses everything the ''Daily Mail'' says, often screaming an extended version of "GAAAAAAH" before ranting about
health and safety Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wo ...
, foreigners coming to Britain and other
right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
paranoia to his long-suffering wife Beryl, who will occasionally try and reason with him (always to no avail) but will inevitably just walk away exasperated. The Male will also spend his time on the website looking at (and often masturbating to) revealing photos of female celebrities with an appropriate comment ("Yes, she certainly is all grown up", "Ooh, you shouldn't go around in public like that!" etc.). A very recent episode has him on his (newly-acquired) smartphone trying to refute Titus Appleton's party on Twitter; only to have his wife, after noting he has no followers (three zeros under his name!) reply on her cell, calling him a 'Dickhead', to the accompaniment of the usual 'GAAAAAAH!' * Max Power – a breakdown mechanic who, instead of repairing cars, rebuilds them into hot-rods. His name is a parody of '' Max Power'' magazine, which is aimed at people who are into "pimping" up cars. * Maxwell Straker – Record Breaker. Maxwell spends most strips making increasingly futile attempts to appear in the
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
, only to end up in a bad situation where he inadvertently gets his wish: such as falling into the world's longest
coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...
, getting the longest ever prison sentence, or breaking the record for "the world's daftest
cunt ''Cunt'' () is a vulgar word for the vulva or vagina. It is used in a variety of ways, including as a term of disparagement. Reflecting national variations, ''cunt'' can be used as a disparaging and obscene term for a woman in the United Stat ...
". * Max's Plank – Max is constantly plagued by pranks that are carried out by a simple plank, that always appears inanimate. Eventually he takes it to a factory to be made in to matchsticks. However, the matchsticks return to further plague him by ringing his doorbell. The title is a pun on physicist
Max Planck Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (, ; 23 April 1858 – 4 October 1947) was a German theoretical physicist whose discovery of energy quanta won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918. Planck made many substantial contributions to theoretical p ...
. * Meddlesome Ratbag – a series of strips featuring a pinch-faced, headscarf-wearing middle-aged woman (Mrs Ratbag). She takes great delight in delivering nagging lectures to complete strangers about minor breaches of social etiquette, and will go to extreme lengths to engineer a situation where she can make such a complaint. One strip began with her seeing a TV news item about the Rio de Janeiro carnival, whereupon she immediately flew to that city and booked a hotel room overlooking the carnival procession, purely in order to complain about the noise. Another strip was set during a minute's silence for a "some terrible tragedy or other" and saw her desperately (and unsuccessfully) trying to find someone who was breaking the silence, in order to remonstrate with them. She finally achieved her aim by breaking into a maternity ward and rebuking an exhausted birthing mother for the "disrespect" of failing to silence her newborn baby's cries. Another episode has her reading about NASA receiving radio transmissions from a planet many light-years away. She buys lengths of piping which she fits together and after a huge length is constructed it reaches for the alien planet. She uses it to bang on the planet with the shout, "Keep the noise down!" * Melinda Text Messenger - A strip about a girl who likes to send text messages on her mobile phone. * A Meter Inspector Calls - A satire on the 2021–present United Kingdom cost of living crisis. In a take on ''
An Inspector Calls ''An Inspector Calls'' is a play written by English dramatist J. B. Priestley, first performed in the Soviet Union in 1945 and at the New Theatre in London the following year. It is one of Priestley's best-known works for the stage and is c ...
'', the Inspector berates the Birling family as wasteful for normal energy usage, such as using a tumble drier (despite it being the middle of winter, when it's difficult to air-dry clothes) and even using the internet, which supposedly has a high carbon footprint. The strip ends with a sarcastic admonition that rising costs of living are always the public's fault. * Mickey's Miniature Grandpa – a senile old man, convinced that he's four inches tall. This causes trouble for his grandson Mickey, whose mother refuses to acknowledge Grandpa's obvious insanity. Grandpa's delusion usually leads to him getting beaten up, involved in a fatal accident, injuring Mickey, or (in some cases) managing to convince others that he really is four inches tall. The strip is ostensibly a parody of ''
Peter's Pocket Grandpa Peter's Pocket Grandpa was a fictional character in a comic strip in the UK comic ''The Dandy''. It first appeared in issue #1771, dated 1 November 1975, and was drawn by Ron Spencer for the majority of its run, with a few later strips being d ...
''. * Mickey's Monkey Spunk Moped – a motorised scooter which uses simian
semen Semen, also known as seminal fluid, is an organic bodily fluid created to contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads (sexual glands) and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize the female ovum. Semen i ...
as fuel. In the character's first appearance, his
moped A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. The term used to mean a similar vehicle except with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle engine. Mopeds typ ...
runs out of simian love fuel a few panels into the story, and the story revolves around attempts to avail himself of fresh supplies so he can continue on his journey. In a final twist, Mickey eventually realises his monkey spunk moped is probably not the most practical means of transport, and so he exchanges it for a car which runs on
leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
's fanny batter, which is not much easier to obtain. In a slight non-sequitur to the original storyline, Mickey and the
Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...
Spunk Spunk may in colloquial English mean either courage or semen. It may otherwise refer to: Music * ''Spunk'' (Sex Pistols bootleg album), a 1977 bootleg album by the Sex Pistols * Spunk/This Is Crap, a 1996 re-issue of ''Spunk'' by the Sex Pistol ...
Moped A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. The term used to mean a similar vehicle except with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle engine. Mopeds typ ...
are reunited for the character's second appearance in the 197th (August 2010) issue of ''Viz'', as the last cartoon in that issue. In this second story, Mickey decides to modify the
moped A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. The term used to mean a similar vehicle except with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle engine. Mopeds typ ...
to run on renewable energy, as he fears additional running costs of a government increase in
fuel tax A fuel tax (also known as a petrol, gasoline or gas tax, or as a fuel duty) is an excise tax imposed on the sale of fuel. In most countries the fuel tax is imposed on fuels which are intended for transportation. Fuels used to power agricultural v ...
. Mickey made a third appearance in the November 2018 issue where he attempts to have the moped converted to electric power in order to reduce fuel emissions. * Mickey the Martian – An early strip featured in Viz The Big Hard One annual, which features a martian consisting of a head with three eyes and one foot. * Mike Smitt the Patronising Git – A strip about a man who goes around pestering everyone much to their annoyance. *
Millie Tant Millicent "Millie" Buckridge Tant is a fictional comic strip character in the British comic '' Viz''. She is a caricature of a left-wing militant feminist. She thinks of herself as a champion of " wimmin's" rights but is often self-centred and ...
– A caricature of the militant feminist, Millie thinks of herself as a champion of " Wimmin's" rights but is often self-centred and dismissive of the feelings of others. She rants, raises her fist in the air and foams at the mouth. She often refers to men as "phallocrats" and "potential rapists" or just "rapists", referring to other women as "fellow
lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
s" regardless of their actual orientation. Most of the storylines seem to indicate sexual frustration. She often complains that various phenomena are actually metaphors for the suppression of women:
fireworks Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...
are actually "big explosive penises" that "skewer and rape the virgin female sky". She refuses to make a
snowman A snowman is an anthropomorphic snow sculpture of a man often built in regions with sufficient snowfall and is a common winter tradition. In many places, typical snowmen consist of three large snowballs of different sizes with some additional ...
, instead offering to make a snow-black-lesbian-rape-victim-in-a-wheelchair: she plays cards with an old woman and ends the game by calling her a homophobe because she said "
straight flush In poker, players form sets of five playing cards, called ''hands'', according to the rules of the game. Each hand has a rank, which is compared against the ranks of other hands participating in the showdown to decide who wins the pot. In high ...
". In the end she often forgets her
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
stance and is shown asking a man to get rid of a mouse while she is standing on a chair, or knitting baby clothes with a simper. * Miss Demeanour and her Concertina – A girl who tries to get up to antics with a concertina, only to find out said instrument is completely useless, so she gets a vacuum cleaner instead and changes the title of her strip to "Miss Demeanour and her Vacuum Cleaner" and whacks a policeman in the face. * Mobile Dick – A man who refuses to put his phone down under any circumstances. * Morbid O'Beesley – A very obese middle-aged man who pushes his wife to cook very unhealthy food for him, while commenting aloud about the damage it will do to his body. *
The Modern Parents ''The Modern Parents'' is a comic strip from the British comic '' Viz'' created by John Fardell who both writes and illustrates it. One of the most enduring and frequent strips in ''Viz'', having appeared regularly since the early 1990s, it is a ...
– and their long-suffering children, Tarquin and Guinevere. The two, Malcolm and Cressida, are middle-class, left-wing, self-absorbed and sanctimonious, often waxing lyrical about issues such as
environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...
. Their two sons, Tarquin and Guinevere (who was given a girls' name as his parents didn't want to conform to
gender stereotypes A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cente ...
) are more down-to-earth, with Tarquin often, usually unsuccessfully, trying to reason with his parents. * Morris Day: Sexual Pervert - A moustachioed, jumper-wearing middle-aged man who is obsessed with pornography, ignoring his attractive wife who waits for him in their bedroom. * Mr. "Eating" Charlesworth – An early strip featured in The Big Hard One annual, which features a gluttonous man who eats too much. * Mr Logic – ("such is my name, therefore one may infer that this strip is in some way about me") - a serious and humourless young man with no real empathy for other people. He uses highly technical and over-elaborate language rather than straightforward speech and takes everything people say to him literally. The strip usually ends with Logic becoming the victim of his misunderstandings with others. Mr. Logic was inspired by Chris Donald's own brother, Steve, who was much later diagnosed with
Asperger's syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a former neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavio ...
. Early versions of the character used the monikers "doodle duck dandy" and
Hello World ''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the '' Norwich ...
before arriving on Mr Logic. * Mr Rudewords – a one-off strip about a man with
coprolalia Coprolalia () is involuntary swearing or the involuntary utterance of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks. Coprolalia comes from the Greek (''kópros''), meaning "dung, feces", and (''laliā́'') "speech", from (''lal ...
, who shouts allegedly rude words such as "toilet seats!" at socially inappropriate times. * Mrs Brady Old Lady – an old woman who spends all her time exaggerating her age and complaining about young people of today and how things were different in her time. Mrs Brady constantly talks about her ailments; she is forgetful, inattentive, bigoted while always referring to her youth and how life was so much simpler and clear back then. She could also be seen as an object of pathos, she typically misunderstands what other people are telling her and so appears as rude, spiteful and self-absorbed - when a friend of hers is dying she seems unable to notice and only talk about her own ailments. In one episode she completely fails to realise that the friend she is talking to has been dead for over a year, and the corpse is decomposing horribly in front of the heater. Mrs Brady's full name is Ada Florence Agnes Pankhurst Brady. She is widowed and often fondly refers to her late husband, Sidney (however, according to a game on the ''Viz'' website that featured Mrs Brady shoplifting (something she did very often in the early strips) Sidney isn't dead - he just left her because he "couldn't stand the old cow" and moved to
Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
). She is often portrayed as being a
hypocrite Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another or the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform. In moral psychology, it is the ...
as in most episodes complains about how immoral the modern world is and how values have gone down, while also talking of happy memories of doing the same sort of things herself in her youth because "you had to in them days". She is a
hypochondriac Hypochondriasis or hypochondria is a condition in which a person is excessively and unduly worried about having a serious illness. An old concept, the meaning of hypochondria has repeatedly changed. It has been claimed that this debilitating cond ...
, and particularly obsessed with her
bowel movements Defecation (or defaecation) follows digestion, and is a necessary process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid waste material known as feces from the digestive tract via the anus. The act has a variety of names ranging f ...
. During a "convention" strip where multiple characters met each other in an anniversary issue Postman Plod was surprised by Mrs Brady who revealed herself to be an intelligent and witty lady, who was "just playing a part". * Mrs Cedd, Her Anthony's Dead – a bereaved mother who constantly grieves for her dead son Anthony. When her husband points out that she herself murdered Anthony, she kills him too and then publicly bemoans being a widow. * Mrs Clean – a woman obsessed with having a clean house. In most strips she ends up killing or mutilating her children to keep them from making a mess in the house (e.g. stuffing and mounting them; or flaying them alive after hearing that
dust mites House dust mites (HDM, or simply dust mites) are various species of acariform mites belonging to the family Pyroglyphidae that are found in association with dust in dwellings. They are known for causing allergies. Biology Species The curren ...
live in skin particles). This strip appeared in several other comics around the same time. * Mrs Maybe and her Crazy Baby – strips about a fat lady called Mrs Maybe, who makes suggestions to her baby on such matters as to where to go out to: the baby's usual response is "Let's fuck a coppa!" Very similar in premise to Rude Kid from the same comic. * My Workfare Lady – a young woman horribly exploited on a
workfare Workfare is a governmental plan under which welfare recipients are required to accept public-service jobs or to participate in job training. Many countries around the world have adopted workfare (sometimes implemented as "work-first" policies) to ...
scheme until she finally snaps and walks out. The unscrupulous employer, undeterred, phones the local authorities to accuse her of walking out having stolen stuff while under drugs, have her child taken into care and request an attractive female replacement. Considerable overtones of 'We...' and 'Fixed-Odds Betty' (which see) * Nan Dare – a strip in which Dan Dare is asked to take care of his senile grandmother for the day, but forced to bring her on an urgent mission into space to rescue an alien ambassador. The villain never shows up, as he has been delayed by ''his'' grandmother. * The Nancy Boys – a parody of ''
The Hardy Boys The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in several mystery series for children and teens. The series revolves around teenagers who are amateur sleuths, solving cases that stumped their adult counterp ...
'' where a pair of boy detectives go around causing trouble for innocent people (such as getting a homeless man arrested for vagrancy.) * Nash Gordon – a futuristic benefits cheat who eventually gets found out when he goes to the benefits office planet instead of a driving range as a result of a dodgy sat-nav. * Nobby's Piles – a very long-running strip featuring a man with incredibly bad
haemorrhoids Hemorrhoids (or haemorrhoids), also known as piles, are vascular structures in the anal canal. In their normal state, they are cushions that help with stool control. They become a disease when swollen or inflamed; the unqualified term ''he ...
. He continually finds himself stricken by situations beyond his control which exasperate the situation horribly! * Norbert Colon – an old miser. In one strip, Colon shared top billing with hopeless ventriloquist Boswell Boyce ("he throws his voice") and wound up in a lunatic asylum; in another strip he went on a
blind date A blind date is a social engagement between two people who have not met, usually arranged by a mutual acquaintance. Structure A blind date is arranged for by a mutual acquaintance of both participants. The two people who take part in the blind ...
only to find the
dating agency A dating agency, also known as a marriage bureau, marriage agency, matrimonial bureau or matrimonial agency, is a business which provides matchmaking services to potential couples, with a view toward romance and/or marriage between them. Variat ...
had fixed him up with his own mother ("Oh turds! It's that tightwad son of mine!"), a dead ringer for Norbert only wearing a (clearly labelled)
NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
wig. One strip featured a parody of ''
A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...
'' involving his ancestor Ebenezer Colon, who is exactly like him; suggesting Norbert's miserly ways are hereditary. * Norman the Doorman - a strip about a violent doorman named Norman who works at the cinema, and then can be found in the most inopportune places such as a funeral, challenging everyone who attempts to enter. He even appears as a ' Santa's Elf' at one point, refusing entrance to a little boy and his father, before turning on
Santa Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...
himself, fists flying as he shouts "Who let you in here with a hat on, sunshine?" * Norman's Knob – the puerile tale of Norman, who thinks if he rubs his brass doorknob that he keeps in his pocket, magic things will happen to him. Norman rubs his doorknob a lot at inappropriate moments and indeed things do happen for him - in the form of arrests from irate policemen. *
Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' (German: ''Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens'') is a 1922 silent German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife ...
, Driving Instructor – a vampire who works night shifts as a driving instructor. At the end of the strip he is killed with a stake by a vampire hunter, who promptly offers to take over as the student's new instructor. * Nude Motorcycle Girl – a heroic female
biker Biker or bikie may refer to: * A cyclist, a bicycle rider or participant in cycling sports * A motorcyclist, any motorcycle rider or passenger, or participant in motorcycle sports ** A motorcycle club member, defined more narrowly than all motor ...
who solves crimes - naked except for a crash helmet, bikini pants and motorcycle boots. * Nudge Dredd – a single-shot parody of an overenthusiastic (and grossly overweight) security guard who ridiculously patrols a seaside amusement arcade, harassing customers over minor infringements and otherwise making a nuisance of himself but treated as a hero. Based on Century 2000's 'Judge Dredd' and the comics and films of the same name. * The Numnuts - A parody of the Beano comic, the Numskulls. * Odd Job Bob-a-Job Bob – A boy who does unusual tasks for his neighbours in return for one shilling ("bob") * On Das Buses – A slightly dark parody of the 1970s sitcom ''
On the Buses ''On the Buses'' is a British television sitcom that was broadcast on ITV from 1969 to 1973. It was created by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe, who wrote most of the episodes. It spawned three spin-off feature films and a stage version. Desp ...
'' where both the driver (
Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
) and conductor (unknown, but bearing a resemblance to
Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...
) who addresses the Hitler-figure as 'Mein Stan' tend to kill passengers who do not agree with them. Various wartime characters appear (
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
and
Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
) driving other buses and picking up non-Aryan passengers - one a very obvious orthodox Jew - which finally give the Nazis enough fury to commit suicide! In another episode the two are driving in a blizzard which gets steadily worse. Two of the passengers want to get off, and are executed by Hitler, who then proclaims they will push on 'to final victory', but then is informed by Himmler that they are out of fuel. They all freeze to death. * One Cut Wally – a gents'
barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...
who gives all his customers exactly the same haircut even when they asked for something else. * One Man and his God – A one off strip featuring a shepherd praying to God to round up the sheep by striking thunder and lightning at them. * Only Fools and Norses – a
Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
-themed parody of the BBC comedy ''
Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas specials aired until t ...
''. * Orson Cart, He Comes Apart – A kid who can remove his body parts thanks to once receiving a blast of radioactivity. * Our Neighbours are Bastards – a man (later his wife after he dies of
heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...
) who makes his neighbours' life hell by complaining about their behaviour (which it appears he has created himself in order to have some to complain about). * Out Comes Stanley – a man who slashes people with a Stanley knife at the most trivial of provocation (issue 124) * Outcast of the Pony Ballet School – a parody of the comic strips in the 1970s/1980s style of teenage girl's magazine such as ''Pony School'' and ''
Bunty ''Bunty'' was a British comic for girls published by D. C. Thomson & Co. from 1958 to 2001.Gibson (2003)p. 91/ref> It consisted of a collection of many small strips, the stories typically being three to five pages long. In contrast to earlier ...
'', in which Steve McFadden, for no apparent reason, attends a private school for girls where all his classmates are eleven or twelve years old. The wealthy students bully him for being poor and having a shabby-looking
pony A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...
, until it is discovered at the end of the story that he is really a
princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...
. The title may be based on "Outcast of the Pony School", a real comic strip which ran in the girls' comic ''Bunty''.


P–S

* Page 3 School – An all-teenage-girl school where the students are required to attend topless (much to the arousal of all men they encounter, with the exception of their male teachers). They are often inspected at the gate by a teacher to ensure their nipples are erect and up to school standard. They later compete in a polo game against a rival girls' school who instead go full nude. As the title implies, the strip parodies topless female posers who appear on the 3rd page of various tabloid newspapers, particularly '' The Sun''. And, like their pictures, the comic strip was printed on the third page of the issue it was published in. * The Parkie – An extremely angry, to say nothing of cruel and sadistic, park keeper who extremely viciously abuses people that seem like they are breaking park rules, when in fact they are not - he even creates his own rules just so that he can abuse them. Early strips carried satirical introductions like "Totally Dodgy Cartoons Present..." and "A social comment (why not?)". * Pat-a-Cake Pete – a boy in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
who is recruited by the British Government to deliver spy messages iced onto cakes. * Pathetic Sharks – (sometimes called the Crap Sharks). An occasional strip featuring a group of
shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimo ...
s, much feared not for their ferocity, but their mind-numbingly boring and pathetic behaviour and conversational style. Instead of hunting for prey, they ask people on the beach for
crisps A potato chip (North American English; often just chip) or crisp (British and Irish English) is a thin slice of potato that has been either deep fried, baked, or air fried until crunchy. They are commonly served as a snack, side dish, or app ...
, ice cream and
toffee Toffee is a confection made by caramelizing sugar or molasses (creating inverted sugar) along with butter, and occasionally flour. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches the hard crack stage of . While being prepared, toffee is ...
, except for one shark who claims to be "
lactose intolerant Lactose intolerance is a common condition caused by a decreased ability to digest lactose, a sugar found in dairy products. Those affected vary in the amount of lactose they can tolerate before symptoms develop. Symptoms may include abdominal ...
". Generally the strip consists of some sort of shipwreck or holiday-by-the-seaside theme; the initial apprehension at the sighting of shark fins turns into abject horror: "Oh no! ''Crap sharks!''". In one strip a group of WWII shipwreck survivors blow themselves up with a hand grenade rather than face the Crap Sharks. * Paul Chandler,
Baggage Handler In the airline industry, a baggage handler is a person who loads and unloads baggage (suitcases or luggage), and other cargo (airfreight, mail, counter-to-counter packages) for transport via aircraft. With most airlines, the formal job title i ...
- A thieving and incompetent airport baggage handler. * Paul Whicker, the tall
vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
– A deliberately crudely drawn cartoon of a
misanthropic Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, distrust or contempt of the human species, human behavior or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. The word's origin is from the Greek words μῖσ ...
vicar. In one strip, he commits
insurance fraud Insurance fraud is any act committed to defraud an insurance process. It occurs when a claimant attempts to obtain some benefit or advantage they are not entitled to, or when an insurer knowingly denies some benefit that is due. According to the ...
to maintain church funds by gambling (which he then appropriates for his own use). He is often challenged by his superior,
Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
Bloggs, who tries to thwart Whicker's schemes. At one point, he is about to be arrested by police only to tell the bishop and the arresting officer that he won a bet on the horses and the
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
funds are five thousand pounds up as a result. Although amoral, Whicker has ironically been known to expose the hypocrisy of his superiors. Especially as Whicker uses "missionary work" as an excuse for
drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...
after being shunted from parish to parish, covering up his misdeeds (sleeping with the bishop's wife and daughter). He has even been known to have connections to corrupt officials, such as a
customs officer A customs officer is a law enforcement agent who enforces customs laws, on behalf of a government. Canada Canadian customs officers are members of the Canada Border Services Agency. It was created in 2003 and preceded by the Canada Customs and ...
. One early strip has a frame with a
skinhead A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in th ...
and
media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media Studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly ...
lecturer sitting on the bench where Whicker plans on getting drunk. The media studies lecturer gives his thoughts on the strip as an indictment of pious hypocrisy, whereas the skinhead thinks he's "A fuckin' magic violent Vikka (sic)". Another one-off character is Pat Berger, the Fat Verger. At some point, Whicker is made a
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
as he is seen drinking with
Roger Mellie Roger Mellie ("The Man on the Telly - who says 'Bollocks!'") is a fictional character featured in '' Viz'' magazine. His catchphrase was originally the same as David Frost's catchphrase "Hello, good evening, and welcome", but very soon degenerat ...
following Roger's rather dreadful attempt to present a religious programme having subsequently got drunk on communion wine and relieved himself in the church font. * PC Blouse – a police officer who is ineffective at his job because he is weak and cowardly and is also not taken seriously by the public. * PC Hopper, Bent Copper – a corrupt police officer who often takes bribes and is frequently shown beating a confession out of a suspect. * PC Plod – a police officer who carries a woven bag, wears sandals and is more concerned with the criminal's human rights than arresting them. * PC Rea - The Cop That's Queer – A one off strip about a homosexual police officer. * PC Victor Foxtrot - The Strictly No Nonsense Copper – A one off strip about a corrupt policeman who causes harm to various members of the public, such as swearing at elders and confiscating children's playthings. * Percy Posh – Early strip featuring a boy bullied by Biffa Bacon. He seems to have been replaced by Cedric Soft in later strips. * Pete's Portable Prison – A one off strip about a boy called Pete Pentonville who owns a prison cell on wheels and attempts to stop the antics of the bully known as Sneaky Simpson. * Peter Kayveman - A one off strip about
Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English actor, comedy writer and stand-up comedian. He has written, produced and acted in several television and film projects, and has written three books. Born and brought up in Bolton, Kay studied ...
as a caveman telling prehistoric jokes. * Peter Pretend – A one off strip about a boy who pretends to do things, such as faking illnesses and getting struck by a car. * Peter the Slow Eater – a man who, as the title suggests, takes his time eating meals much to the frustration of his family, especially his kids whom he will not allow to leave the table "until everyone has finished eating". Another scenario has him with two mates in the pub (as a slow drinker) insisting on buying a round when his pint is untouched, and letting everyone else get served before him, much to the frustration of his drinking buddies (who discreetly drink his pint and order two pints for themselves without looking and by the time he gets back to the table they have gone). * Phil's Spectre – A strip about a young boy who believes he can see a "
ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
", in reality an escaped convict hiding underneath a white sheet. The strip is very similar in premise to Zip O'Lightning (see below). The title appears to be a pun on
Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
's name. * The Pie-Eyed Piper – A parody of
The Pied Piper of Hamelin The Pied Piper of Hamelin (german: der Rattenfänger von Hameln, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back to ...
where the titular piper is so drunk he even makes the rats get drunk. * The Pirates of Ben's Pants – A one-off strip featuring a young boy named Benjamin whose underpants are home to a crew of miniature
pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
(the name being an obvious play on ''
The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 187 ...
''). * Playtime Fontayne – a middle-aged bank clerk who lives with his Mum and behaves like a primary school-aged child. He made his first appearance in the comic along with his opposite "Little Old Man", a more short-lived character of a young boy who acts like the stereotype of an elderly man. Often the other members of the bank are also portrayed as children, especially when their boss is away sick. * Pop Shot – Real name: Gerald. A man who is almost always naked, although not showing anything - he always 'fig-leaf's' himself - sporting a stereotypical 1970s pornstar moustache,
afro The afro is a hair type created by natural growth of kinky hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair.Garland, Phyl"Is The Afro On Its Way Out?" ''Ebony'', February 1973. ...
and chest hair, who always finds himself accidentally slipping into the language of a porn film while performing everyday activities, much to the annoyance of his wife. The strip always ends with his wife spontaneously having sex with a complete stranger, with Gerald left out of the proceedings. * Pope-eye the Pontiff Man – A parody of
Popeye the Sailor Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.mouse A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...
, which turns out to be a rat. * Posh Street Kids – A parody of the
Bash Street Kids Bash or BASH may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Bash!'' (Rockapella album), 1992 * ''Bash!'' (Dave Bailey album), 1961 * '' Bash: Latter-Day Plays'', a dramatic triptych * ''BASH!'' (role-playing game), a 2005 superhero game * "Bash" ('' ...
from ''The Beano''. In this one-off strip, these schoolkids annoy their teacher by leaving their butlers lying about in the playground, smoking high-priced
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
n
cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...
s behind the bike shed and having food fights in the canteen with
caviar Caviar (also known as caviare; from fa, خاویار, khâvyâr, egg-bearing) is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or a spread. Traditionally, the te ...
,
strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...
and
champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
. In the end, they do get dealt with, but they craftily prevent painful canings on their backsides by slipping thick literary works of art "worth thysands of pynds" down the backs of their trousers, though the teacher seems not to notice the extra padding as he administers their punishment. * Postman Plod, "The Miserable Bastard" – a mean-spirited
postman A mail carrier, mailman, mailwoman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, or letter carrier (in American English), sometimes colloquially known as a postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), is an employee of a post ...
with a serious attitude problem and a highly questionable work ethic. Plod is bone idle and lethargic and frequently takes extended periods off work with questionable excuses that only hold water because they are supported with notes from his doctor who is just lazy as he is. The pair of them often concoct some excuse for time off work so that they can go and play
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
. Whenever he turns up for work at all Plod is completely lacking in any work ethics, and often enjoys opening and reading the post he is meant to be delivering. He is not even bothered about hiding this activity, and after reading someone's bank statement, either mocking or embarrassing that person for their poor financial situation (another example is when he exposes a resident's arrival of brown-enveloped "jazz mags" to the whole street). The other post office staff are also shown to be lazy and dissatisfied with their jobs and spend most of the time sitting and playing cards (with the exception of the post office manager who tries desperately in vain to run a tight ship). In the lead up to Christmas once, Plod and all his fellow postmen opened up all the parcels at the
sorting office A sorting office or processing and distribution center (P&DC; name used by the United States Postal Service (USPS)) is any location where postal operators bring mail after collection for sorting into batches for delivery to the addressee, which ...
and stole whatever they wanted to save having to buy their own presents. On one occasion he even just threw all the post he was meant to deliver in a hedge and went home early. In another Christmas feature he took part in the poem 'The Night Mail' (This is the Night Mail, crossing the boarder, bringing the cheque and the postal order...) which was specially re-written for him, and displayed his uselessness, heartlessness and ruthlessness for all to see. He was eventually chucked off the train and the final frame had him, drunk and lying in the snow, wishing the reader a Merry Christmas! * The Princess Who Would be King – a strip portraying Mervyn King as a fairytale princess who secretly wants to be the
Governor of the Bank of England The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent grooming their successor. The governor of the Ba ...
. * Professor Fuck – The weekly professor who answers awful questions, supposedly submitted by readers. * Professor Piehead – an inventor of amazing inventions which always go wrong and normally kill the Professor or his lab assistant, Tim (whom the Professor always addresses as Joe, for unknown reasons of his own). * Puce and Pasty – two detectives with heart disease, who try to investigate crime despite frequently passing out or having heart attacks because of their illness. * Quentin Tarranteeny – a parody portraying
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...
as an extremely foul-mouthed baby who speaks as if delivering a monologue in one of Tarantino's films. * Question Mime – a
mime artist A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a theatrical medium ...
using his act to ask questions during a political debate. * Raffles, Gentleman Thug – a late 19th-century aristocrat who behaves like a stereotypical 21st-century thug. * Rainbrow – a violent and adult-themed parody of ''
Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
'' (minus Geoffrey) that sees an abusive Zippy and gullible Bungle meet with kidnappers to pay for George's ransom. During the exchange, Zippy upon learning how meager the ransom was, boasts how he and the gang are worth far more than what the kidnappers wanted, causing them to then kidnap and ransom him to a reluctant George and Bungle. * Randall and Diana (Deceased) – a controversial one-off parody of ''
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' is a British private detective television series, starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope respectively as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk. The series was created by Dennis Spooner and p ...
'' with
Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
taking the place of Hopkirk to become "the people's ghost private detective". She and Randall investigate the claims of a man who believes his wife is having an affair, only to discover that the woman is in fact selling landmines to Africa; at which Diana promises "Dead or alive, I'm determined to put a stop to it." The strip attracted press controversy because of the real Princess Diana's then-recent death. * Randy Old Dog - A strip about a dog called Jeremy who copulates with a human leg, but when he sees his wife (who is another human leg), he tries to explain what happened, only to copulate with a blow-up doll of a human leg. * Rat Boy – a pre-teen repeat offender and drug addict, characterised by a permanent "tail" of excrement protruding from his backside - his every strip involves burglary,
vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...
, assault and/or
substance abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...
, with minimal reprisals by the police because he is a child. He is the brother of
Tasha Slappa The following is a list of recurring or notable one-off strips from the British adult spoof comic magazine '' Viz''. This list is by no means complete as with each issue new characters/strips/stories are introduced. A–E *Abel Unstable – ...
. The inspiration of his character is from that of the real-life career criminal, Tommy Laws, who was nicknamed Spiderboy by the police and the media due to his habitual climbing onto roofs and high places in order to evade capture. Most of his adventures involve
breaking and entering Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...
, vandalising a place and taking anything of value, then usually either evading the law, or getting off very lightly. When arrested at one house which he ransacked he is sent on a "self-esteem building for young offenders" programme, which turns out to be a holiday in
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
.'' Viz'' #100 After another crime spree, he is put on trial by remote TV link to a detention cell (intended to be less traumatic than a courtroom trial); the kindly judge allows him to go free, whilst Rat Boy has already escaped through a sewer, somehow taking the TV with him, and is busy selling it as a stolen good. He was once subject to
house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...
, enforced by
electronic tagging Electronic tagging is a form of surveillance that uses an electronic device affixed to a person. In some jurisdictions, an electronic tag fitted above the ankle is used for people as part of their bail or probation conditions. It is also used in ...
on his ankle - unable to remove the tag, he gnaws his own leg off (like a real rat would) and hops outside to quickly rob several more houses.'' Viz'' #109 (Needless to say, his loss of limb is forgotten in subsequent comics.) He even once managed to steal the Crown Jewels.'' Viz'' #158 In another episode he stole an old cruise ship used as a floating nightclub off the
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
coast and abandoned it (burnt-out and balanced on bricks, like a stolen car) in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, where he got arrested for seeking drugs and underage sex. His punishment, ironically, was to be used as a
lab rat A laboratory rat or lab rat is a brown rat of the subspecies '' Rattus norvegicus domestica'' which is bred and kept for scientific research. While less commonly used for research than mice (see laboratory mouse), rats have served as an importa ...
in a drugs testing clinic, which he found delightful...'' Viz'' summer special 2000 * Ravy Davey Gravy – a young man into
rave culture A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mu ...
who breaks out into strange dances whenever he hears any kind of repetitive everyday noises, including car alarms and road drills, and even, at one point, a friend who had consumed an obviously-badly-made Spanish
Paella Paella (, , , , , ) is a rice dish originally from Valencia. While non-Spaniards commonly view it as Spain's national dish, Spaniards almost unanimously consider it to be a dish from the Valencian region. Valencians, in turn, regard ''paella'' ...
, defecating with considerable noise! His name possibly derives from
Wavy Gravy Hugh Nanton Romney Jr. (born May 15, 1936), known as Wavy Gravy, is an American entertainer and peace activism, activist best known for his role at Woodstock, as well as for his hippie persona and counterculture of the 1960s, countercultural be ...
. * Raymond Porter and his Bucket of Water – a boy who carries around a bucket of water which he uses to solve all sorts of problems. It appeared only in early episodes of the comic and may have been shelved to make way for the similarly-themed "Felix and his Amazing Underpants". * Raymond the Large Caterpillar – A one off strip from the early 1980s about a caterpillar who takes up all the panels of the comic. * Real Ale Twats – three rather pompous men, of whom only one has lines, speaking in an affected style. They only drink
real ale Real ale is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for beer that is "brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous car ...
, and the speaker even going so far as to keep extensive "reviews" of all the real ales that they have supped, along with the ABV (alcohol content) of the ale, the place where he supped and the name of the barman. This often branches into other items, such as if he was beaten up or had a glass in the face! He is also known to criticize lager drinkers. A parody of the
Campaign for Real Ale The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. With just under 155,000 members, it is th ...
(CAMRA). Many times, his boring speeches, or his attitude to those around them result in dreadful injuries. It is also made clear that in some cases they are not made welcome when they enter a pub (one barmaid saying, "Oh God!" when seeing them) likely due to their previous behavior when they've been there. Often, they will enter a full bar, only to be shown in the next frame that the far has emptied completely! Several times they have been seduced into trying something stronger, like a small shot of home-brewed whisky, which has the effect of turning the speaker extremely belligerent and causing much mayhem. * Restless Spirit - A strip about a ghost who tries to get some sleep, but various noises keep waking him up. * Reverend Milo's Lino Rhino – a vicar who travels around on a rhinoceros distributing rolls of
linoleum Linoleum, sometimes shortened to lino, is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), Pine Resin, pine resin, ground Cork (material), cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most com ...
and "converting" carpet users. * Reverend Ramsden's Ringpiece Cathedral – A strip about a vicar who claims to have a church up his bottom. * Rex Box - A boy convinced he is living in a video game. * Robbie on the Run – A story in the style of '' Oliver Twist'', where a plucky young orphan boy runs away from a foster mother who is using him as "slave labour" (in reality, a perfectly ordinary and kind woman who simply asked him to help clear the table after dinner). He ends up foiling robbers, and being congratulated by a policeman, who actually turns out to be both his parents in disguise under a costume. * Robbie's Robot Carer – An infirm old man whose regular
caregiver A caregiver or carer is a paid or unpaid member of a person's social network who helps them with activities of daily living. Since they have no specific professional training, they are often described as informal caregivers. Caregivers most commo ...
is replaced by a robot after cutbacks to public health services. * Robin Hood and his Merrie Men – Robin Hood plays overpriced, obviously rigged games at a funfair because Maid Marion insisted he win a stuffed toy for her. * Robin Hood and
Richard Littlejohn Richard Littlejohn (born 18 January 1954) is an English author, broadcaster and journalist. He writes a twice-weekly column for the ''Daily Mail'' about British affairs as observed from reading the news at home in Florida. Littlejohn has been a ...
– Richard Littlejohn joins Robin Hood on a mission to rescue Maid Marion, while complaining about the
gay agenda "Gay agenda" or "homosexual agenda" is a term used by sectors of the Christian religious right as a disparaging way to describe the advocacy of cultural acceptance and normalization of non-heterosexual sexual orientations and relationships. Th ...
plotting to take over Sherwood Forest. * Robot Nun (She's Got Tommy-Gun Tits!) – She bursts into a service being held in a church in outer space, and massacres the congregation with automatic weapons firing through her nipples. * Rod Hull and Emo - A one-off strip parodying
Rod Hull and Emu Rod, Ror, Ród, Rőd, Rød, Röd, ROD, or R.O.D. may refer to: Devices * Birch rod, made out of twigs from birch or other trees for corporal punishment * Ceremonial rod, used to indicate a position of authority * Connecting rod, main, coupling, ...
, in which Emu becomes Emo, a stereotypically maudlin
emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...
fan. * Rodney Rix - He Does Tricks With Bricks - A strip about a boy who throws bricks into windows, sets them down on the ground so people trip over them, and throws one up in the air, calls the police and has the brick drop on a policeman's head. * Roger Irrelevant ("He's Completely Hatstand") – a young man with a very strange mental problem where he continually produces irrelevant and surreal streams of language and behaviour. In one strip, Roger throws a
lamp Lamp, Lamps or LAMP may refer to: Lighting * Oil lamp, using an oil-based fuel source * Kerosene lamp, using kerosene as a fuel * Electric lamp, or light bulb, a replaceable component that produces light from electricity * Light fixture, or li ...
from the roof of a house after a long, impassioned (and obviously unsuccessful) plea for the lamp not to commit
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
. On another occasion he decides to elope with an armchair, declaring it is pregnant with his children. Another time sees him disrupting the funeral of a relative by dragging the corpse out of the coffin and - employing a
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
accent and emulating a character from a
Mickey Spillane Frank Morrison Spillane (; March 9, 1918July 17, 2006), better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American crime novelist, whose stories often feature his signature detective character, Mike Hammer. More than 225 million copies of his books have ...
novel - aggressively questioning the deceased about some stolen goods. His parents seem to be very understanding and merely politely request that he stops his behaviour. These are the only times that Roger manages to show any sign of interaction with real people, although usually it is only in the form of saying things like "wibble wibble". (
Dictionary.com Dictionary.com is an online dictionary whose domain was first registered on May 14, 1995. The primary content on Dictionary.com is a proprietary dictionary based on ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'', with editors for the site providing new ...
attributes this nonsense-word to Roger; see External Links below.) "Frisnit" and "z'goft" are two of Roger's other favourite words. *
Roger Mellie Roger Mellie ("The Man on the Telly - who says 'Bollocks!'") is a fictional character featured in '' Viz'' magazine. His catchphrase was originally the same as David Frost's catchphrase "Hello, good evening, and welcome", but very soon degenerat ...
("The Man on the Telly - who says 'Bollocks!'") – a foul-mouthed, perverted, corrupt and violent TV presenter, whose activities satirise real TV shows and incidents. His on-screen greeting was originally 'Hello, Good Evening and Welcome' but soon degenerated to 'Hello, Good Evening and Bollocks'! Starred in a spinoff cartoon, voiced by
Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishme ...
. He has in recent years lent his name to Roger's Profanisaurus, a book which purportedly lists all the obscenities used in the English-speaking world. The work is updated in every issue of ''Viz'', and periodically reprinted under various risqué titles. See link for more information. * Roger the Lodger – a parody of the ''Beano'' character
Roger the Dodger Roger "the Dodger" Dawson is a comic strip character from the comic magazine ''The Beano''. He first appeared in his eponymous comic strip in 1953, and is one of the longest-running characters, known for his tactics of avoiding responsibility a ...
. * The Adventures of Rolf Harris the Cat – A one-off strip which features a Scottish
Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian entertainer whose career has encompassed work as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, comedian, actor, painter and television personality. He often used unusual instruments in his performan ...
in feline form attempting to deliver a package and avoid water-based hazards, only to find the package was a diver's watch. *
Ronnie Barker Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as '' Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', and ''Open All Hours''. ...
In Heaven – A strip depicting Ronnie Barker in
Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
where a shopkeeper (looking suspiciously like
Ronnie Corbett Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved promine ...
) constantly "misunderstands" Barker's requests in the style of the Four Candles sketch. Barker is so irritated by this that he decides to go to
Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
instead, but ends up stuck in a queue behind the Devil who is arguing with an identical shopkeeper. * Roswell Stiles and his Intriguing X-Files – a one-off strip centred on a character named Roswell who wears glasses and carries a cabinet of " X-Files" and attempts to search for phenomena such as falling fish,
spontaneous human combustion Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is the pseudoscientific concept of the combustion of a living (or recently deceased) human body without an apparent external source of ignition. In addition to reported cases, descriptions of the alleged ph ...
,
crop circle A crop circle, crop formation, or corn circle is a pattern created by flattening a crop, usually a cereal. The term was first coined in the early 1980s by Colin Andrews. Crop circles have been described as all falling "within the range of the ...
s,
UFOs An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
,
big cat The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus ''Panthera'', namely the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. Despite enormous differences in size, various cat species are quite similar ...
s etc. but has no success; such as mistaking a kitten standing next to a
Bonsai Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...
tree for an alien big cat winding up in the seals' enclosure at the zoo and many others. When he attempts to fake a UFO sighting by throwing an old car wheel trim into the air, it smashes another man's green house, who shoves the filing cabinet up Roswell's bottom. * Rotating Chin Men – A gang of flying villains with jetpacks whose intention is to spoil
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
's coronation by squirting semen onto her via a pump squeeze mechanism linked to their revolving chins. Paraphrased quote by the
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
: "I can't crown a queen with all jizz matted in her hair, it would be most unconstitutional". The villains are foiled by the two child heroes who hook one of the villains' rotating chin with the archbishop's crook, causing the mechanism to overheat and "dribble jissom all down his chin". * Roy'll Watch EIIR - two men (one middle aged, one elderly who wears a Union Flag suit and top hat) who are so obsessed with the royal family they will camp out for weeks on end to catch sight of even a minor Royal. * Roy Schneider - Joy Rider – A 14-year-old perpetual
truant Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorised, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will (though sometimes adults or parents will allow and/or ignore it) and usually does not ref ...
yob whose attempts to cause trouble in his community usually end up with him looking ridiculous. For example, he twocs a car, looks in the rear-view mirror, and expresses delight that the police are chasing him already; in the next frame it is revealed that both Roy's car and the "pursuing" police car are models on a fairground ride, from which Roy is summarily ejected by the operator. *
Roy Wood Roy Wood (born 8 November 1946) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a ...
is Watching - So far two strips have appeared under this grim title, which is a spoof of George Orwell's
Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...
. Roy Wood is featured on a poster, rather like 1984 poster, with the title atop it. A telemarketer is featured undergoing impossible situations. Not actually evil, but impossible. You end up feeling quite sad for the fellow. Why Roy Wood was chosen is anyone's guess - ask the writer! * Rubber Johnny – A strip about a boy with an elastic body. * Ruby Mary and her Arse of Fire – A strip about a girl who eats too much Indian food. * Rude Kid – one-frame strip where a young boy answers the most polite request with a rude word or phrase, such as his mother saying "Are you looking forward to the Eurovision Song Contest, son?" and he replies with "Granny's pubes, y'whore!". This comic actually predates ''Viz'', featuring in some of the proto-''Viz'' fanzines created by Donald in the 1970s. * Saint Bernard Manning – A one off strip depicting comedian Bernard Manning as a dog who tells jokes instead of saving a mountain climber. * Sam, Son of Man – a young boy who believes himself to be the second (or third) coming and moves in a mysterious way. * Sammy and his Stammer – A strip from the early 1980s issues of Viz (and later featured in The Big Hard One annual) in which the titular character has a speech impediment and ends the strip by swearing. * The Scaffolders Were Bastards – a group of construction workers who solicit an old lady for a contract to renovate the front of her beautiful thatched cottage; but when they get the job are extremely rude, aggressive and deliberately careless in their work, further adding to the cost. The strip ends with the house collapsing because of their negligence. * The Scandi-Noir Adventures of
ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...
- A strip about the members of ABBA investigating the disappearance of bookcases inside a branch of
IKEA IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...
. They eventually discover that
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...
is responsible because she is jealous that Iceland doesn't have a thriving furniture industry. * Schools – One-off strips featuring a school where the students have the same thing in common, e.g.
Page 3 Page 3, or Page Three, was a British newspaper convention of publishing a large image of a topless female glamour model (known as a Page 3 girl) on the third page of mainstream red-top tabloids. '' The Sun'' introduced the feature, publishi ...
School pupils are all well-known Page 3 girls or Euro School pupils are all stereotypes of various European nationalities. * Scooter Dolphin Boy – A young boy who travels around on a
kick scooter A kick scooter (also referred to as a push-scooter or scooter) is a human-powered street vehicle with a handlebar, deck, and wheels propelled by a rider pushing off the ground with their leg. Today the most common scooters are made of aluminum, ...
, solving crime with the help of his
dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...
friend. The strip ends with him failing to catch the crooks, ending up in hospital, and being arrested for cruelty to the dolphin. * Scottie Trotter and his Tottie Allotment – A boy with a portable miniature garden with several scantily-clad women on it. * Scum Mothers, Who'd 'Ave 'Em? – Occasional strip created by Barney Farmer and Lee Healey (also responsible for the Drunken Bakers, George Bestial, Hen Cabin and We...), in which a young middle-class couple are continually embarrassed by the husband's drunken, foul-mouthed mother and her various thuggish boyfriends. The title is a play on ''
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC1, created and written by Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice. It was first broadcast in 1973 and ran for two series, including two Christmas special ...
'' but the roles from that iconic programme are reversed. * Scurvy Dogg - A one off strip about rapper
Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...
losing his teeth because of a vitamin C deficiency. * The Secret Life of Walter Shitty - One-off strip (parodying the movie of a similar name) about a lowly office worker named Walter who constantly fantasises about defacating on the desks of his enemies. * Sex Toy Story – A parody of
Toy Story ''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American computer-animated comedy film directed by John Lasseter (in his feature directorial debut), produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The first installment in the '' Toy Story ...
, depicting Sheriff Woody as a dildo and Buzz Lightyear as a new vibrator called Buzz Lightspeed. * Sheila Sherry – A girl who has two bowls of
trifle Trifle is a layered dessert of English origin. The usual ingredients are a thin layer of sponge fingers or sponge cake soaked in sherry or another fortified wine, a fruit element (fresh or jelly), custard and whipped cream layered in that ord ...
in place of breasts. * Sheridan Poorly – An occasional strip of a man convinced that he is terminally ill, even though he is constantly being told by doctors that there is nothing wrong with him. The character's name references
Sheridan Morley Sheridan Morley (5 December 1941 − 16 February 2007) was an English author, biographer, critic and broadcaster. He was the official biographer of Sir John Gielgud and wrote biographies of many other theatrical figures he had known, includin ...
. * Sherlock Homeless – the street-homeless main character is a parody of
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
who solves crimes for the reward money - which is inevitably spent on Tennents Super. * Sherlock Homo – an outrageously
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
version of Sherlock Holmes. Despite the clear lack of justification for searching them, he employs various ruses to have well-built men stopped and searched in order to investigate their backsides, sighing "some day my prince will come". * Shirker Bee – A once-only strip featuring a worker bee within a hive who is unusually lazy, feigning illness and quoting bizarre contractual details to get out of doing his job. * Shitty Dick – a man with a difficult medical condition, wherein he expels impossibly large stools whenever he interacts with a vicar. The humour of the strip usually revolves around him explaining away the turds, often disguising them as something else (a snowman, a large
Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...
, etc.) * Sid the Sexist – This iconic strip which has featured in almost all copies of Viz since it began, features a young man with no sexual experience who boasts of his success with women. His distinct lack of tact or any social graces do not help him in his quest to "pull" women - and indeed he has no idea of how to react with the fairer sex! Starred in a spinoff cartoon. Follow the link for a full description. *
Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...
's
Jaffa Cake Jaffa Cakes are a cake introduced by McVitie and Price in the UK in 1927 and named after Jaffa oranges. The most common form of Jaffa cakes are circular, in diameter and have three layers: a Genoise sponge base, a layer of orange flavoured ...
Bunga-Bungalow – surreal strip in which Silvio Berlusconi owns a giant Jaffa Cake converted into a one-storey house, which he uses to hold wild sex parties. * Sir Patrick Moore - A strip about Sir Patrick Moore using a telescope to look up into the sky but ends up looking at people's bottoms instead. * Simon Lotion, time and motion study, Time and Motion man – a hopeless male parent who insists his family reorganize every mundane household and leisure activity to fit his "professional", pedantic view of how the world should be run more efficiently. This always results in the complete failure of the proposed activity to meet any kind of performance or time constraint, with pathetic yet humorous consequences, once even ending up at the beach on the sand with the family...in the night! He still tried to reorganize them on the beach, and the last frame had him still desperately trying to organize his family. * Simon Salad-Cream – A pastiche of TV and radio presenter Simon Mayo. The 4-frame strip shows him presenting a very mundane radio show. Not an overtly funny strip; its humour lay in the implied criticism of the supposed dullness of Mayo's show at the time. * Simon's Snowman – Occasional strip which featured in some Christmas issues during the 1990s. A parody of ''The Snowman'', in which a violent, foul-mouthed snowman takes a young boy on a drinking, striptease and gambling spree. * Single Middle Aged Brothers – two middle-aged bachelor brothers who are very socially inept, frequently arguing over very childish topics or making unsucessful attempts to approach women. * Sir Edmund Hilarity – a mountaineer who continually endangers the lives of his team by playing inappropriate practical jokes on them during an expedition to climb Mount Everest. The team die when a Sherpa people, Sherpa unwittingly lights up one of Hilarity's joke exploding cigars, causing a fatal avalanche. Hilarity's camera is discovered 50 years later by modern-day climbers, who develop the film to discover that Hilarity did not take any pictures of the trip, and instead used the entire roll of film to take pictures of himself at Base Camp with his teammates' toothbrushes inserted up his bottom. He is a parody of the late real-life New Zealand explorer and Everest conqueror Edmund Hillary, Sir Edmund Hillary. * Sir Fred Goodwin the Fat Cat – the former governor of the Royal Bank of Scotland Fred Goodwin parodied as an overweight feline forced to catch mice in order to earn his pension. * Skinheed – An early comic strip showing a young man with social problems turning into an inhuman monster. * Skippy the Bush Kangaroo – A kangaroo that lives in a woman's pubic hair. * Sleeping Bag - A half-page one-off, rather sad strip featuring the characters from ''Bagpuss'', who discuss where Bagpuss has disappeared to, noting that he was taken to the vets...for something. The last frame shows Bagpuss's cushion in the corner...but no Bagpuss. * Smiling Susie – A very cheerful waitress, who is unfairly blamed for the murder of two patrons at the restaurant where she works; all of which turns out to be a set-up for a marriage proposal from the man she secretly loves. No one seems to mind the fact that he actually killed two people for this. * Spawny Get – a boy whose initial apparent bad luck always turns into incredible fortune. * Specky Twat – a boy who suffers bad vision, and wears thick glasses. He often mistakes things for something else. * Spoilt Bastard – Real name: Timothy (Timmy) Timpson. A long-running and iconic VIZ strip featuring a horrible, fat, ungrateful and vicious-tongued 6-year-old boy (who never seems to age!) who manipulates his weak-willed mother into satisfying his hollow and selfish desires, usually with serious health-threatening, or financial destroying, or both, consequences for her. She is named more than once as "Sissy" - which pretty much describes her personality. She often addresses him in terms of endearment: "My Little Prince", etc. and when things go wrong (as they inevitably do) she is forever blaming herself, "Oh if only I were a better mother!" - sob, sob!! The character is similar to a comic strip which appeared in ''Monster Fun'' and later ''Buster (comic), Buster'' called ''Mummy's Boy''. His name, as it contains an obscenity, is often altered slightly, or is covered by a picture element, whenever featured on the front page of an issue of ''Viz'', as it would be easily read by children who are otherwise not entitled to buy the magazine. For example: "Sboilt Pastard". One shudders to think what his life would be like for those around him if he were released after schooling on the rest of the world! Happily, as has already been noted, he does not appear to age, thank goodness; although one cannot help feeling sorry for Sissy even though she is a right twit! * Stag Knight – a one-off strip of a buck's night/stag night in the time of King Arthur/Camelot. Strip shows, late-night kebab shops and a barroom brawl is presented in Ye Olde Englishe. * Stalin on the Corner Watching the Girls Go By – a strip about Joseph Stalin attempting to pick up women with a series of increasingly ridiculous lines. Most of the women are horrified, but when he finally meets one who is attracted to Communist dictators, she instead goes home with Mao Zedong, Chairman Mao. * Stamp-Addressed Antelope – A one off strip about an antelope who offers people rides by means of adding a Postage stamp, stamp to it. * Stan the Statistician – a nerd who tells everybody the probability of every event. * Star Pupil - A schoolboy who believes he is a celebrity. * It Started With a Piss - A one-off strip about a man who constantly urinates in the sink whenever he wakes up in the middle of the night, despite his wife begging him not to. * Step Ladder – A strip about a family of ladders. * Steve Irwin - Nursing Home Care Assistant – A one-off strip featuring Steve Irwin as said nursing home care assistant, describing the elderly as the animals he encounters such as crocodiles. * Straw, Berry and Cream – single surreal strip where the British Government assigns Jack Straw, Mary Berry (food writer), Mary Berry and the band Cream (band), Cream to stop an alien threat in 60 minutes or the world will be destroyed with nuclear weapons. After many mishaps, the aliens turn out not to be hostile, and everyone enjoys a picnic at 10 Downing Street with food provided by Mary Berry. * Street Corner Sid – a man who struggles to make a living selling cigarette lighters on the street. He eventually gets his utilities disconnected (since he hasn't made enough profit to pay the bill) and is killed in a gas explosion after trying to use the lighter to see inside his house. * Student Grant – an upper middle-class student at Fulchester (or sometimes Spunkbridge) University, who is fashionably and smugly "right on" and a left-wing radical, and who is routinely bailed out by his affluent parents when things go wrong. Grant does little or no work for his degree. One strip had him visiting his department (he had to be directed by a friend) to see his personal tutor, who pointed out that he had not handed in a single essay in three years. The terms seem ridiculously short (4 weeks in one case, the Christmas vacation lasting from mid-November to late March). When UK students received a maintenance grant and free tuition Student Grant appeared in most issues. In late 2010/early 2011, Grant reappeared again following the student riots against tuition fees, ending up in a "taxi" that turns out to be a limousine carrying Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. He has a number of friends just like him, eager to express their individuality by wearing the same clothes, fashions, invariably ridiculous, like huge hats, bright yellow dungarees and T-shirts with slogans on them like ''Thunderbirds (TV series), Thunderbirds Are Go!'' and, in the late 1990s especially, ''Teletubbies, Teletubbies Say "Eh Oh"!''. All the female students have the same forename and are identical in appearance and dress. They are opinionated and talk loudly and ignorantly about various subjects, tagging "...actually!" at the end of their sentences, "proving" their intelligence by listing the grades they got in their Advanced Level (UK), A-levels. Several of Grant's friends have bizarre speech impediments, dental deformities, or both, or worse - much worse! * Suicidal Syd – a manically depressed young man who makes various unsuccessful attempts to kill himself. Each strip involves Syd becoming depressed over some issue and deciding to commit suicide and will typically make three attempts only for each of them to fail somehow (for instance, in one strip he draws what he thinks is a cartoon of Muhammad and shows it to a group of fanatical Islamic terrorism, Islamists, hoping they will murder him, but he then realises he has actually drawn a picture of Muhammad Ali). After his failed attempts to kill himself, Syd's faith in humanity will be restored only for him to die in random circumstances soon afterwards. Much like Big Vern, he is always resurrected in time for the next strip. * Super Fly-Tip Guy - A man who frequently engages in illegal dumping (called "fly-tipping" in the UK), including of his own wife's body after she suddenly dies from heart failure. * Supergod and the Son of Man Wonder – A strip about God and Jesus depicted as superheroes. * Super Mario Curie – A strip depicting Marie Curie as Mario from Super Mario Bros. * Super Villain Dad – A strip about a father who thinks he's a supervillain. * Swallows and Amazon (company), Amazon – A parody of ''Swallows and Amazons'' where the children's mother suggests they go out and have an adventure. They decline, as they are all reading their Amazon Kindle, Kindles or watching Amazon Prime Video, Prime Video. * S.W.A.N.T – a crack paramilitary police team with "Special Weapons and No Tactics" which parodies American SWAT teams. * Sweary Mary – a character who resembles ''
The Beano ''The Beano'' (formerly ''The Beano Comic'', also known as ''Beano'') is a British anthology comic magazine created by Scottish publishing company DC Thomson. Its first issue was published on 30 July 1938, and it became the world's longest-runn ...
'''s Minnie the Minx. Her sole purpose in life was to say as many rude words as possible; and the comic's story revolved around her attempts to evade censorship. When she was finally granted her wish to swear on the front cover, she lost her voice and was ridiculed by the other regular characters. Since then she has not reappeared as the comic's creators felt that the character had been taken as far as she can go; although other characters still use the word "fitbin" (which Mary claimed was incredibly rude) as an expletive. The first appearance of what would eventually be known as "Roger's Profanisaurus" was a special "Sweary Mary's Dictionary" that came bundled with a regular issue of the magazine. One recent edition of the Profanisaurus is titled "Hail Sweary" (a parody on the RC 'Hail Mary'), in Olde Englishe, with Roger in monastic robes kneeling. seemingly in prayer to the right, which is probably a nod to her heritage.


T–Z

* Tabman – a parody of Batman, in which a superhero and his sidekick attempt to solve crimes despite being constantly breathless because of their heavy smoking habit ("tab" is northern English slang for a cigarette.) * Tanya's Time-Travel Teapot – a girl who uses her magical teapot to reverse the flow of time and change events to help her friend win a showjumping contest. * Tarquin Hoylett – he has to go to the toilet – finds himself saving a desperate situation - e.g. landing a jumbo jet after the flight crew fall unconscious - only to abandon the effort at the last moment in order to visit the lavatory. "Excuse me, I must go to the toilet." * Tasha Slappa – originally Kappa Slappa, after the sportswear brand, but changed on "legal advice". She is a teenage girl who follows a stereotypical "chav" lifestyle, and lives at home in Newcastle with her lazy, irresponsible mother and countless siblings, all from different (and unknown) fathers. Her main pursuits involve maximising her income from the state benefits system (for her own use) and shoplifting. Tasha is a moody, belligerent and foul-mouthed teenage girl. She is arrogant, aggressive and frequently dismisses things with "I divvint give a fuck" (''divvint'' is Geordie dialect for ''don't''). She also has a boyfriend called Bobba – who it is hinted may also be her father and grandfather – who is fiercely defensive of her and has a violent temper, so that she can persuade him to beat up just about anyone for the most arbitrary of reasons. (Overtones of 'Big Fuckin' Dave' - which see) He is not very intelligent and is susceptible to anything she tells him, enabling her to get the better of him if he upsets her or tries to order her about. She is unbelievably lazy, constantly Truancy, truants and will go to any lengths to avoid any other work. She was an avid fan of the now-defunct ''Jeremy Kyle Show'' (a British television chat show aimed at a lower-class audience) and many of her schemes centered on procuring a way for her to sit at home all day and watch it non-stop. Her other hobbies include having sexual intercourse with strangers (when Bobba isn't around), binge drinking, tobacco smoking, smoking and gossiping with her equally delinquent friends. As well as her being Rat Boy's sister, Tasha's mother ("Mam") and numerous children have had their own strips in the comic. * Tax Inspectre – A ghost that works as a financial auditor. * Teevee Twins – Two young boys who attempt to make their own TV programmes (using a cardboard box as a pretend camera), pestering people for interviews and even deliberately causing accidents so they have something exciting to film. The strip would usually end with them trying to "film" some kind of violent criminal and being beaten up. * Telly Evangelist – A Roman Catholic priest, Father O'Brien, who is addicted to television. Whenever he isn't watching television he is talking about it (often doing both at the same time). * Terry Fuckwitt – "The unintelligent cartoon character"; an extremely dim-witted boy. Fuckwitt continuously mistakes situations, objects and people for each other. In appearance, he is cross-eyed and has wild black hair sticking up in a style resembling dreadlocks, and wears absurd platform shoes. Due to the swear word in his name, the comic never prints it in its entirety on the front page, often obscuring it with another graphic element, or else Spoonerism, spoonerising it to "Wuckfitt". In one strip he appears to be getting married, but it is revealed that he is not in a church, but in a nuclear power plant, and that his bride is a rod of uranium. Fuckwitt's surreal misunderstandings are sometimes extended in multiple directions, or even circularly. Fuckwitt may be chastised by another character for being in the wrong place, and that character may later themselves be revealed to be someone completely different based on a misunderstanding of the first character, making it apparent that in fact Fuckwitt's initial impression was correct. These "facts" then may be completely reversed in a surprise reveal in the next frame, and so forth. * Terry and Dune - A four-frame once-only in which Terry is warned by June to 'Walk across the patio without rhythm, dear'. He manages to sit down, but then in the last frame a Dune sandworm crashes up from below and breaks the patio! * Terry the Tanked-Up Engine - Once-only spoof on Thomas the Tank Engine, Thomas, in which Terry and his friends are found sleeping off a huge binge. The controller comes on the scene, singing the following version of the old favourite: Down by the station, early in the morning, see the little puffing billies standing in a row. Man on the engine, pulls the little lever, 'Toot-toot, barf, barf, up they throw!' They wake up and immediately throw up. * Terry Tree – A man who turns into a tree at inconvenient times. * Tex Wade – "Frontier Accountant"; cowboy desperado and financial auditor who shoots dead anyone who crosses his path (and fails to balance their books properly). * The Adventures of Sir Isaac Newton - A strip about Sir Isaac Newton trying to prove his theory of gravity by making apples fall to the ground. * The Artist Formerly Known as Prince in the Tower – whimsical strip where, after reading about the Princes in the Tower, musician Prince (musician), Prince travels back in time to House of Plantagenet, Plantagenet London to save them from Richard III. * The Clockwork Mountie Grand Prix Boxing Jungle Boy of the Foreign Legion - 18 Year old Jack Simmons who was the most unusual legionnaire at the Saharan outpost of Fort Laplume. Raised in the African jungle by a family of apes, flyweight boxing champ Jack ws the lucky owner of a fantastic formula one racing car which was carried everywhere by his incredible army of miniature robotic Canadian Mounties. * The Human League (In Outer Space) – a strip featuring the The Human League, 1980s pop band and their adventures in outer space (parodying the cartoon series ''Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space''). * The Teacher from the Black Lagoon – a parody of the ''Creature from the Black Lagoon''. A monstrous teacher drags victims to his underwater classroom where he bores them to death with lessons. * The Three Blairs – A parody of The Beano's Three Bears featuring Tony, Cherie and Leo. * The Three Wise Stooges - A strip about The Three Stooges as the three wise men delivering presents to baby Jesus. * The Things – bizarre aliens that were contrived into situations whereby the human participants could say things like "These things... (situation)..." * Thermos O'Flask – A man who dresses as a Thermos flask and can't keep away from prostitutes. Each strip revolves around Thermos's attempts to avoid encountering a prostitute, but he always gives in by the end. * There's a Holness in my Pocket – Young Danny Dearelizadeareliza was the luckiest owner of a miniature Blockbusters (UK game show), Blockbusters host
Bob Holness Robert Wentworth John Holness (12 November 1928 – 6 January 2012) was a British-South African radio and television presenter and occasional actor. He presented the British version of '' Blockbusters''. Early life Holness was born in Vryheid, ...
, which lived in his jacket pocket. * Thieving Gypsy Bastards – Infamous one-off strip about Irish travellers, the "Mc O'Dougles", who descend on a middle-class front garden and steal and vandalise everything in sight, with the approval of the local council, before moving on. On the next page there was a three-panel "compensatory" strip entitled ''The Nice, Honest Gypsies''. It involved an old Romani people, Romany woman giving change back to a home owner who had been overcharged for some clothes pegs. An end note adding that in next month's strip ''The Good Honest Gypsies'' would be renewing the car tax on their big American car. Both strips caused uproar from race relation groups in the UK. The publishers were accused of promoting prejudice and hatred against an ethnic minority. Following involvement by the UK's Commission for Racial Equality, the British Romany Council and even receiving a reprimand from the United Nations, the next issue of ''Viz'' contained a 'cut-out-and-keep' apology, subtitled "what every gypsy's been waiting for!". * Thoughtful Bully – A high-school student who can present a good case to his teacher why he should be allowed to bully his classmates. * The Kray Kittens – A one off strip about the Kray brothers, Reggie and Ronnie as kittens causing problems for a family man. * The Mcbrowntrouts – strip centred on a Scottish family and their toilet-humour antics. A parody of the real comic strip ''
The Broons ''The Broons'' (English: The Browns) is a comic strip in Scots published in the weekly Scottish newspaper ''The Sunday Post''. It features the Brown family, who live in a tenement flat at 10 Glebe Street in (since the late 1990s) the fictiona ...
''. * The Vibrating Bum-faced Goats – an influential one-off strip where two schoolchildren from the city go to stay with their grandfather in the countryside. The grandfather owns a herd of petrol-driven mechanical goats with buttocks in place of faces – referred to in the strip as ''robotic rump-resembling ruminants''. * Thomas the Tank Top and Friends – A parody of Thomas and Friends depicting the titular E2 Tank Locomotive as a wooly jumper. * Thomas and the Breakdown - Quarter-page adaptation of Thomas in which a (suicidal?) fellow jumps in front of Thomas causing the engine to have a massive nervous breakdown. The last frame has everyone except Thomas asleep, and from Thomas' shed comes a huge sob! * Timothy Potter – Trainspotter – Went round taking video of trains with his camcorder, in particular British Rail Class 37 locomotives, then had "one off the wrist" whilst playing back the videos on the telly. Often portrayed as being very short sighted (for example he mistook a set of golf clubs for his brother). * Tina's Tits – A schoolgirl with unreasonably large breasts. She is convinced that they possess magical powers, when they clearly do not. * Tinribs – recalls the adventures of schoolboy Tommy Taylor and his 'incredible robot' Tinribs. Despite the fact that Tinribs is supposedly a highly advanced robot, it is obvious that he is made up very basic parts including a skateboard, a box, two tins and a voicebox that constantly repeats ''"Hi. I'm Barbie. I love you very much."''. Regardless, everyone around Tommy believes Tinribs to be a miracle of technology, with the exception of teacher Mr Snodworthy who always ends up suffering graphic and very painful injuries during the course of each strip. Based on the D.C. Thompson character Brassneck. * TNT Tommy - a boy with a compulsion to blow people up for no apparent reason. * Toast Kid – a child who attempts to solve problems using toast. * Toby's Jug – A strip about a boy called Toby who claims that his jug can solve people's problems, except it doesn't. * Tom and Gerry – a one off strip that is a parody of ''Tom and Jerry, Tom & Jerry'', the only real difference being that Jerry Mouse, Jerry's name is spelt with a G instead of a J. The strip is centred on Tom Cat, Tom finally catching Jerry and commenting, "Got the bastard!" * Tommy and his Magic Shoes – A one off strip from the late 1970s (also appears in The Big Hard One annual) in which the titular character gets requested from a random reader who appears in the strip to see his magic shoes, only to be told that "some bleeder ripped them off". * Tommy and his Trifle – "Young Tommy Thompson was the luckiest boy in Barndale, for he had an enormous trifle." Tommy and his
trifle Trifle is a layered dessert of English origin. The usual ingredients are a thin layer of sponge fingers or sponge cake soaked in sherry or another fortified wine, a fruit element (fresh or jelly), custard and whipped cream layered in that ord ...
get involved in snack-related hijinks at his school. * Tommy "Banana" Johnson – an influential early strip since reprinted in different formats such as a "12" remix", an 'Irish Dance' version, and an "on ice" version. The strip depicts the titular boy with a giant banana, pointlessly offering it to solve people's problems. A policeman then shoves the banana up Johnson's anus. * Tommy Salter – Chemical Capers – A young boy obsessed with performing bizarre experiments (such as forcing his sister to smoke asbestos cigarettes) with a total disregard for safety. His name comes from the Thomas Salter range of chemistry sets popular during the 1970s and 1980s. * Tommy Tetley's Topping Teapot - A boy who owns a magical teapot attempts to start a business selling tea, but fails as he can't lift the enormous, heavy teapot. * Tommy's Gun – A one off strip about a boy with a gun who fires rounds of bullets at everything until he gets shot by an armed policeman. * Tony Slattery's Phony Cattery – A strip in which Tony Slattery inexplicably owns a fake cattery with a cardboard facade and recorded cat noises. * Topless Jan Fox and her Cornflakes Box – A dimwitted young woman who wanders around wearing nothing above the waist (hence the "topless" part) who believes a box of cornflakes she is holding has magical powers. * Topless Skateboarding Nun – A companion piece to Nude Motorcycle Girl, this strip features a well-endowed young nun who fights crime and saves orphans while riding on a skateboard – naked except for a wimple, a sensible skirt and big clumpy shoes. * Tranny Magnet – a short, balding middle-aged bachelor who is irresistibly attractive to transsexuals and Cross-dressing, cross-dressers, although he desperately wants to find a real woman. (The title is a pun on the expression "Fanny Magnet" meaning variously something which will supposedly make a man highly attractive to women, or, a man who imagines himself to be so.) * Tristram Banks and his Jocular Pranks – A man who plays very serious, even fatal, "pranks" on others (such as cutting someone's nose off with a machete) until his surviving victims conspire to get him back by running him over with a steamroller. * Trumptown - A very bleak version of Camberwick Green's Trumpton, featuring Donald Trump building a wall to separate Trumptown and Chigley, making Chigley pay the bill, throwing Chigleans back through the gate in the wall, shooting others who disagree with him and making a very bad impression on most. There is one peasant, obviously brainless, who keeps on shouting 'TRUMP! TRUMP!' and cheering him on. The reader is left to draw his/her own conclusion... * Tubby Johnson – an impossibly fat boy. * Tubby Tucker The Big Fat...Person – A one off strip about an obese boy who eats anything and ends up in a surgery room and ends up having his intestines sent to a sausage factory. * VAR Wars - A one-off strip where Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader's lightsaber duel is interrupted by a referee wanting to check a video replay of Luke's hand being sliced off, with the two complaining that things were much better when they were allowed to just get on with it. * V.D. O'Nasty – A one off strip about a boy called Vincent Damien O'Nasty who loved watching horror movies, he even tries to emulate them until he gets stabbed in the back by his own mother after recreating the iconic shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960 film), Psycho. * Vibrating Bum-Faced Goats - The goats of the title help children solve crime and save people. A parody of animal features common in the 60s and 70s, like Lassie, Skippy etc, as well as Enid Blyton's Famous Five books. * Vicki Drake – A woman who acts everyday life as if she's hosting a talk show. A parody of real-life talk show host Ricki Lake. * Victor and his Boa Constrictor – A strip about a man and his pet boa constrictor. * Victor Pratt, the Stupid Twat – A top hat-wearing twat, who makes poor puns to his friend on a motorcycle. *
Victorian Dad The following is a list of recurring or notable one-off strips from the British adult spoof comic magazine '' Viz''. This list is by no means complete as with each issue new characters/strips/stories are introduced. A–E *Abel Unstable – ...
– a father who applies strict Victorian values to himself and his family, even though they are living in the present. This also appeared during the Back to Basics campaign, and could be seen as a satirical commentary on it. * Vidal Baboon – A baboon employed as a "stylist" at an upmarket hairdresser's; it ends up scalping the customer and trashing the salon (issue 125) * Wacky Racists – a parody of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon television series ''Wacky Races (1968 TV series), Wacky Races'', featuring a number of far right personalities including Adolf Hitler, Eugène Terre'Blanche, Unity Mitford (akin to Penelope Pitstop), the Ku Klux Klan and David Irving with his companion mutt Oswald Mosley, Mosley (akin to Dick Dastardly and Muttley). Vehicles included the "''Mein Kampfervan''". * Wanker Watson – a parody of the Winker Watson strip from ''The Dandy'', set in a boys' boarding school, following the antics of Watson and his friends, and their hapless nemesis, Mr Creep. This strip prompted litigation by ''Dandy'' owners, D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. * We ... – A very bleak strip in which a man is seen working in different businesses, usually providing some kind of service to people in financial hardship (such as a bank, private loans company, pawn shop, car hire, or running a very questionable guest house). He is completely unsympathetic to customers' personal circumstances, insists they pay the maximum of charges and fees, refuses to negotiate, and constantly mocks and demeans them for their unfortunate situation. However, some of his customers are shown to be equally unscrupulous, e.g. in one strip where the man's business is buying hair for use in wigs, he deals with a family who have forced all their children to sell their hair in order to raise enough funds for an Xbox. Some strips have shown him in positions of authority (such as a bailiff or security guard) or simply as an aggressive salesman - one strip had him exploiting a customer's pay per view porn habit in order to sell an outrageously expensive TV and sound system. The title of the strip comes from its description of the business involved, e.g. "We Buy Gold" or "We Give Money"; and the main character's habit of saying "We ..." in order to justify his actions as company policy. * We Three Kays – A one-off strip featuring
Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English actor, comedy writer and stand-up comedian. He has written, produced and acted in several television and film projects, and has written three books. Born and brought up in Bolton, Kay studied ...
, Vernon Kay and Gorden Kaye in the roles of the Biblical Magi, Three Wise Men visiting the newborn Jesus during the Nativity of Jesus, Nativity. Despite Gorden's worries that he's not as famous as Peter and Vernon, he is gratified when Jesus asks him to recall his car accident from 1990. * Wee Radge Joe – A short man who tends to make too much of an accident, misunderstanding or taunting from youngsters, ending in him getting beaten up as he won't "Let it go" or walk away when the other person involved (who is usually larger than him) is happy to do so. * Will Selfie – A narcissistic young man obsessed with taking the perfect selfie, even to the extent of mutilating himself to look good in the pictures. His name appears to be based on that of author Will Self. * William's Pissed Wellingtons – a young boy and his alcoholic wellington boots. The name is a pun on the UK children's TV cartoon series ''William's Wish Wellingtons''. * Whinging Pom – a stuffy, homesick English expatriate who unfavourably compares everything he experiences in Australia, including a beating meted out to him. * Whiskers Galore – a man goes into an unfamiliar pub and is unnerved to notice that he is the only patron without a bushy beard. The title is a pun on ''Whisky Galore! (1949 film), Whisky Galore!'' * Whoops! Aisle Apocalypse – a strip concerning a couple whose husband insists on buying food (and occasionally other items) from the discounted aisle in his local supermarket. As a result, the couple often end up eating food that is well-past its sell by date (and usually having already started to spoil) as well as often getting into fights with similar thrifty people. In one recent strip the husband finally agrees to stop visiting the discount aisle, only to be forced back into it by the constant rise in energy prices. * Wolf Halls – A middle-aged couple obsessed with Gray wolf, wolves who appear to dislike another couple of a similar age, who appear to have an obsession with tigers. The two couples are oblivious that the daughter of the wolf couple and the son of the tiger couple are in a relationship (i.e. a modern take on ''
Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
''). * Woman Man - A strip about a male superhero whose powers are that of the common everyday woman. * Wooly Wilfy Wichardson – a man with a
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
leaning (e.g. he tries to tell two other men to stop fighting in a pub) and a speech impediment (as suggested in the title) who had his own strip in an early issue of ''Viz'', but has more recently appeared in other strips - for example, as a counsellor who tries to curb Spoilt Bastard's bad behaviour, but actually ends up spanking the obnoxious boy. * X-Ray - A boy named Ray who has X-ray vision glasses that help him solve a robbery (and ogle a policewoman whose uniform he can see through.) * Xmas Perv - A one-off strip featuring Maxwell, a kinky Christmas pervert. Mrs Ottershaw makes an appearance, as does the "Ladies Fundamentals" shop, both featured in Archie McBlarter's Farting Dilemmas. * Yakety Yak - A one off strip about a yak that talks too much. * Yankee Dougal – an English kid who thinks he is American. He eventually gains US citizenship, and is drafted to serve in the Vietnam War. * Yasser's Glasses – A one off strip about Yasser Arafat who owns a pair of glasses that can see through women's clothing, except he ends up seeing through men's clothing instead. * Young Bailey – A one-off strip featuring a schoolboy who looks and behaves like Rumpole of the Bailey. He argues constantly with his parents and teachers over trivial points and shouts "Objection!" while being corporal punishment, caned by the headmaster. The original Young Bailey is a character in Dickens' ''Martin Chuzzlewit''. * Young Max and his Celebrity Pervert House of Wax – a schoolboy who owns a wax museum where all the exhibits are of celebrities convicted of child molestation. * Young Stan, Son of Man – A young boy who blesses his family, says "verily" a lot, blesses the bread at breakfast, and moves (i.e., walks) in a mysterious way. An irritation to his mother. * Zip o' Lightning – a strip about a young boy who believes he has an alien friend, who is actually a robber with a bucket on his head.


References


External links

* Flash scan of strip fro
Viz website
(archived from th

on June 15, 2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Viz Comic Strips Viz characters, * Lists of comics characters, Viz Comic strips started in the 1970s, Viz Lists of comic strips, Viz