''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 play 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 o ...

''.

Comic strips

;Adam and his Ants: A boy and his army of

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

s. Drawn by Sid Burgon. 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, also UK) or rummage sale (US and Canada) is an event at which second hand goods are sold, usually by an institution such as a local Boys' Brigade, Boys' Brigade Company, Scouting, Scout group, ...

stallholder one morning. Drawn by

Terry Bave Terry is a unisex diminutive nickname for the given names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence, Terrance (masculine). People Male * Terry A. Canales, American politician * Terry A. Doughty (born 1959), American district judge * Terry A. ...

;Bill and Coo: A boy and his pet

pigeon Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

. 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 Bax ...

. Although issue 56 was the last to regularly feature the characters, new stories 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 A robot is a machine—especially one Computer program, programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions Automation, automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the robot control, co ...

. Drawn by Jim Barker, survived merger with Whoopee ;Boy Boss: A boy who owns a multimillion-dollar global enterprise. Drawn by Frank McDiarmid. 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 cousin's 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 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 actu ...

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. Survived merger with Whoopee. ;The Goodies and the Baddies: Comic strip Reprinted stories 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 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

. ;Here is the News: A selection of joke news stories. For example: "In

Downing Street Downing Street is a gated street in City of Westminster, Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In a cul-de-sac situated off Whiteh ...

today,

Mrs Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990 ...

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... with his extra leg!: Comic strip featuring

Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (30 March 1930 – 10 May 2023) was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor. He used a variety of instruments in his performances, notably the didgeridoo and the Stylophone, and is credited with the inventi ...

's three-legged character. ;KBR - Kids Band Radio: A group of

CB radio Citizens band radio (CB radio) is a land mobile radio system, a system allowing short-distance one-to-many bidirectional voice communication among individuals, using two-way radios operating near 27 MHz (or the 11-m wavelength) in the high freq ...

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 ...

. Survived merger with Whoopee. Later in Whoopee 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, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team; the players are Glenn Doddle, Cyril Breeches, Clemence Ray, Kenny Dogleash, and Dora Dribble. Drawn by

Tom Paterson Tom Paterson (born April 22, 1954) is a Scottish comic artist who drew characters for Fleetway in 1973–1990, and D.C Thomson from 1986 to 2012. As of 2013, he currently draws strips for Viz. Taking stylistic inspiration from Leo Baxendale' ...

. Survived merged with Whoopee. Reprinted in 'Big Comic Fortnightly' (1988) and 'BVC' comic (1995). New stories in Wow! Special 1985. ;When 'e wus Young: Comic tales of famous characters' childhoods. Issue 3 featured

Long John Silver Long John Silver is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1883 novel '' Treasure Island'' by Robert Louis Stevenson. The most colourful and complex character in the book, he continues to appear in popular culture. His missing leg ...

. Drawn by Nigel Edwards.

Other features

;TV Quiz Kids: The puzzle page, featuring puzzles done in the style of

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

s with slightly tweaked names, such as 'Bob Monkeyhouse's', 'Fortunate Families' (referencing

Bob Monkhouse Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, television presenter, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including '' The Golden Shot'', '' Celebrity Squares'', '' Family Fortunes'' and ' ...

Family Fortunes ''Family Fortunes'' is a British television game show based on the American game show ''Family Feud''. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 6 December 2002. A celebrity version, '' All Star Family Fortunes'', followed from 2006 to ...

). Drawn by

Jack Edward Oliver Jack Edward Oliver (19 June 1942 – 26 May 2007) was a British cartoonist. He is more usually known as J. Edward Oliver (or JEO, or Jack). Biography Oliver achieved fame in the 1970s with a long-running strip in the UK music paper '' Disc ...

. Survived merger with Whoopee. ;Wow! Presents a Creepy Comix Page: A

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

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