At first glance, Viz is a puerile comic book full of swearing, unfunny strips and swearing. It is, however, a mirror on Thatcher's Britain at the end of the twentieth century, only with swearing, unfunny strips and swearing.
Started in the 1980's by two brothers and a photocopier in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the mix of swearing, unfunny strips and swearing hit a national chord and at one stage in the early 1990's its circulation was third only to the Radio and TV Times magazines.
Several phrases and characters have now entered the English language in their own right such as "He's a bit of an Aldridge Prior" for a compulsive liar, and "Fnarr, Fnarr" as the standard reply for any double entendre. The letters page and "Top Tips" are the stuff of legend, and some of the letters may even be genuine.
Characters and strips include :
* Sid the Sexist
* Johnny Fartpants
* The Fat Slags
* Buster Gonad and his Unfeasibly Large Testicles.
* Student Grant [officially the most-quoted cartoon strip in Student Union bars, ever]
Viz has toned itself down over recent years to enable the title to remain on the shelves of WH Smiths. Of course, as anyone who has read Viz for any length of time will tell you, "It's not as funny as it used to be." Did I mention the swearing ?
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