''Wow!'' is a British comic book magazine running for 56 issues from 5 June 1982 to 25 June 1983, when it merged with ''

Whoopee! ''Whoopee!'' is a 1928 musical comedy with a book based on Owen Davis's play, ''The Nervous Wreck.'' The musical libretto was written by William Anthony McGuire, with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The musical premiered on Bro ...

''.

Comic strips

;Adam and his Ants: A boy and his army of ants. Drawn by

Sid Burgon Sidney William Burgon (3 October 1936), better known as Sid Burgon, is a British comics artist. After working as a mechanic and drawing as a hobby he was encouraged by coworkers into furthering his artistic interests. He gave up his job in 1963 an ...

. This was originally a comic strip from Cor!! comic, called 'Andy and his Ants'. Two issue of Wow! feature reprints of old Cor!! strips. ;Barney's Badges: A boy whose jacket is covered in magical pin badges given to him by a

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, ...

stallholder one morning. Drawn by

Terry Bave Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albritton (1955–2005), Am ...

;Bill and Coo: A boy and his pet pigeon. Drawn by

Trevor Metcalfe Trevor Metcalfe (born May 1939 in Brotton, Yorkshire) is a British illustrator and comic book artist. Known for his comic strips in IPC Magazines comics such as Sweet Tooth and Junior Rotter in ''Whizzer and Chips''. Influences include Leo ...

. Although issue 56 was the last to regularly feature the characters, new story's were printed in the Wow Annual 1986 (printed and distributed in 1985) and the summer specials until 1985. In this last story we see Coo piloting a model plane for a competition. ;Bleep!: A robot. Drawn by Jim Barker, survived merger with Whoopee ;Boy Boss: A boy who owns a multimillion-dollar global enterprise. Drawn by

Frank McDiarmid Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cur ...

. Survived merger with Whoopee. ;Country Cousin: A country lad who lives with his cousin's city family. Issue 56 was the last to regularly feature the characters. The last new story to feature 'Cuz' was the Wow summer specials 1985 when he tries to cure his cousins hiccups using country remedies. ;Creepy Comix: A boy named Davey Doom who buys the complete collection (13 issue run) of a horror comic 'Creepy Comix'. Drawn by

Reg Parlett Reginald Edward Parlett (2 August 1904 – 18 November 1991) was an artist from England who had a career of drawing for comic books that lasted for 66 years. Born in London, his father Harry Parlett (1881–1971) was also a prolific artist whos ...

Issues 1 through 38. Drawn by Dick Millington (whose style is very similar) from issue 39 to 55. Then reverted to original artist Reg Parlett for merger. Survived merger with Whoopee. Then when Whoopee merged with

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 actua ...

story's continued. Finally Whizzer and Chips merged with "Buster" comic where the story's continued until 1997 - making them the most successful of all Wow!'s comic characters. ;Family Trees: A group of trees who are forever trying to find a home. Drawn by

Robert Nixon Robert Nixon may refer to: * Bob Nixon (Zimbabwean politician), Zimbabwean politician * Robert A. Nixon (1900–1948), American politician * Robert Nixon (politician) (born 1928), retired Canadian politician * Robert Nixon (comics) (1939–2002), Br ...

. Survived merger with Whoopee. ;The Goodies and the Baddies: Comic strip Reprinted story's originally called the 'Toffs and the Toughs' about two gangs of three children: the 'goodies' and the 'baddies'. Drawn by Reg Parlett. ;Gulliver's Troubles: An incredibly tall boy. Drawn by

Norman Mansbridge Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Nor ...

. ;Here is the News: A selection of joke news stories. For example: "In Downing Street today, Mrs Thatcher had a long talk with her cabinet. She also spoke to her wardrobe and a chest of drawers." Survived merger with Whoopee. ;Hi De Hi Hi De Hooooo: A haunted holiday camp. ;

Jake the Peg "Jake the Peg" is the title of a comedic song about a fictional three-legged man performed by Rolf Harris and released as a single in 1965. The song was adapted in 1965 from a version performed by Frank Roosen (a Dutch performer from Vancouver, C ...

... with his extra leg!: Comic strip featuring Rolf Harris's three-legged character. ;KBR - Kids Band Radio: A group of CB radio users. A jargon guide (Yak Yak KBR) appears at the end of each week's strip to explain technical terms. The strip also includes a fan club (KBR Korner) featuring fellow CB Radio fans. Survived merger with Whoopee. ;Kid Comic: A boy who has a seemingly endless list of jokes at his disposal. Drawn by Martin Baxendale. Survived merger with Whoopee. ;Ossie: An ostrich. Drawn by Robert Nixon. Survived merger with Whoopee. ;Penny Dreadful: A mischievous girl. Penny's last new story was also in the Wow summer specials 1986 when she gets into trouble on a school outing. Reprinted in

in 1988 and 1989. ;Shipwreck School: A group of children (and their teacher) who are stranded on a desert island, and frequently invent ways to alert a nearby ship. Drawn by

Vic Neill Vic Neill (24 November 1941 - 24 December 1999) was a British cartoonist who drew for D.C. Thomson and I.P.C.'s comics. His first notable comic work was on Sparky strip Peter Piper. In 1969, he replaced Dudley Dexter Watkins on Topper cover s ...

. Survived merger with Whoopee. Later in Whoppee one of the pupils leaves school and becomes a policeman. ;Spare-Part Kit: A boy called Kit Katz who has numerous false limbs affixed on him, giving him super strength. Drawn originally by Vic Neill, and later by Robert Nixon and Trevor Metcalfe. Survived merger with Whoopee. ;Team Mates: A

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team; the players are Glenn Doddle, Cyril Breeches, Clemence Ray, Kenny Dogleash, and Dora Dribble. Drawn by Tom Paterson. Survived merged with Whoopee. Reprinted in 'Big Comic Fortnightly' (1988) and 'BVC' comic (1995). New storyies in Wow! Special 1985. ;When 'e wus Young: Comic tales of famous characters' childhoods. Issue 3 featured Long John Silver. Drawn by Nigel Edwards.

Other features

;TV Quiz Kids: The puzzle page, featuring puzzles done in the style of game shows with slightly tweaked names, such as 'Bob Monkeyhouse's', 'Fortunate Families' (referencing Bob Monkhouse's Family Fortunes). Drawn by Jack Edward Oliver. Survived merger with Whoopee. ;Wow! Presents a Creepy Comix Page: A

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

of Creepy Comix, featuring a supposed strip from one of the issues. Some were recurring (such as "The Homeless Horrors" comic strip, "The I-Scream Van" and The Rock, about a rock which would carry a curse to all who touched it). ;Wow! Star Turns: Combined jokes and puzzle feature. Contained reader-submitted jokes featuring celebrities. Survived merger with Whoopee after being renamed Comic Turns. ;The Upper Crusts and the Lazy Loafers: Comic strip Reprints featuring Dumpy and Tich (the 'Lazy Loafers'), two tramps who repeatedly try and grab food from Crust Lodge. Drawn by Reg Parlett. ;Rolf's Magic Brushes: Featuring Rolf Harris (issues 1-26).

Specials and Annuals

''Wow'' had 5 Specials printed and distributed in the summer of years 1983, 1984, 1985 (this was the last special to feature a high ratio of new comic strips to reprint stories), 1986 and 1987. ''Wow'' had 3 annuals, cover dated 1984, 1985 and 1986.

References

{{Buster Fleetway and IPC Comics titles Comics magazines published in the United Kingdom British humour comics 1982 comics debuts 1983 comics endings Magazines established in 1982 Magazines disestablished in 1983 1982 establishments in the United Kingdom 1983 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Defunct British comics