Wilson the Wonder Athlete was a British comic strip, first published in 1943 in the British illustrated story paper ''

The Wizard Wizard, the wizard, or wizards may refer to: * Wizard (fantasy), a fictional practitioner of magic * Wizard (supernatural), a practitioner of magic Art, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Wizard (Archie Comics), a comic book supe ...

'' published by D. C. Thomson & Co. It follows the sporting adventures of a heroic character named William Wilson. The stories were written by Gilbert Lawford Dalton and drawn by Jack Glass. The stories ran until 1984 in various British magazines.

Publication history

The character first appeared in issue 1029 ''Wizard'' (24 July 1943) in a story titled "The Truth About Wilson". The first adventure introduced Wilson as a supreme athlete, who joins a race from out of the crowd and manages to record a three-minute mile. The character's adventures were written by Gilbert Lawford Dalton using the pen name W S K Webb, and a book, ''The Truth About Wilson'' collected a number of the text stories in the 1960s.Archived
on 3 October 2008. Thought by

Paul Gravett Paul Gravett is a London-based journalist, curator, writer, and broadcaster who has worked in comics publishing since 1981. He is the founder of ''Escape Magazine'', and for many years wrote a monthly article on comics appearing in the UK magaz ...

to be the prototype of the "astonishing sporting prodigies" who became popular in British comics, (cf.

Alf Tupper ''Alf Tupper'' is the protagonist of a British comic strip, ''The Tough of the Track'' (or ''Alf Tupper: The Tough of the Track''), created by Bill Blaine (probably a pseudonym for William Blaine, head of DC Thomson comics), written by Gilbert L ...

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), Gravett describes him as an "unassuming totally dedicated loner,

anting Anting () is a town in Jiading District, Shanghai, bordering Kunshan, Jiangsu to the west. It has 96,000 inhabitants and, after the July 2009 merger of Huangdu (), an area of .

no glory or publicity". Although his stories were initially told in prose, a move to the comic papers ''

The Hornet ''The Hornet'' (''Stršljen'') is a 1998 Serbian drama film directed by Gorčin Stojanovic. Cast * Sergej Trifunović – Miljaim * Mirjana Joković – Adrijana * Dragan Jovanović – Inspektor Boban Đorđević * Branimir Popović – Ab ...

'' and '' Hotspur'' saw the character depicted in comic strip form. The character was later revived for D.C. Thomson's ''

Spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...

'' comic of 1983 to 1984, initially within a comic strip with art by Neville Wilson. Referred to as The Man in Black, the character was revealed to be Wilson in the course of the story, with reprints of the older material published within the comic as Wilson's diaries.

Fictional character biography

William Wilson was born in the village of Stayling in Yorkshire and claimed to be born on 1 November 1795. However a document dated 11 March 1774 listed him as "clerk to the manor". He was sufficiently old that when writing, he used an "f" instead of an "s". His farmer father died in middle age, leaving Wilson £5,000. He studied medicine and biology in a number of countries around the world and determined not to die early as so many he knew had, he worked out a health and fitness regime and learned how to slow his heart right down, using a formula created by people who could live to over 200. He developed his will power and hardened his body by whole winters spent in the open. Squadron leader W. Wilson D.S.O., D.F.C. and bar, who had 25 victories to his name, was shot down during the Second World War and was officially listed as missing. The character is depicted within stories as performing a number of improbable events. Wilson was seen in one strip becoming the first man to climb

Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heigh ...

, and another saw him captaining an England

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

team to

The Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Te ...

in Australia.Archived
3 October 2008.
3 October 2008. Originally hailing from Yorkshire, and living in a cave on a diet of nuts and berries, Wilson exemplified British grit and the stiff upper lip.

Reception

According to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' he "was hailed as a welcome wartime morale booster", while ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' remembers him as a "focused and intense individual ... ith norecorded instance of him smiling or cracking a joke."Archived
3 October 2008. In 2004 artist John Reynolds acquired the licence to reproduce images of Wilson as large

screen-print Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh ...

canvases. Former ''Guinness Book of Records'' deputy editor and athletics statistician, Ian Smith, cites the character as an inspiration, and he inspired many British athletes in their careers as well as Belgian cyclist

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victorie ...

.Archived
3 October 2008. The character is still used in newspaper reports on sport as a cultural reference point. "Only if Geoff Miller, the chairman of selectors, and his panel had summoned some recluse from a solitary eyrie on the Yorkshire moors where he had spent years honing his action so one day he could come to England's rescue at the 11th hour (Wilson of the Wizard, say) could they have sprung a greater surprise.

on 3 October 2008.

Tributes

Comedian and actor

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...

wore a black leotard on stage during the 1970s as a tribute to Wilson.

References

External links