Viz (comic)

Viz (comic)

Viz is a popular British comic magazine which has been running since 1979.

The comic's style parodies British comics of the post-war period, notably The Beano and The Dandy, but with incongruous language, crude toilet humour, black comedy, surreal humour and either sexual or violent storylines. It also sends up tabloid newspapers, with mockeries of articles and letters pages. It features competitions and advertisements for overpriced 'limited edition' tat, such as a cat which "shits its own weight in gold", as well as obsessions with half-forgotten celebrities from the 1970s and 1980s such as Shakin' Stevens and Rodney Bewes. Occasionally, it satirises current events and politicians, but has no particular political standpoint. Its success has led to the appearance of numerous rivals crudely copying the format Viz pioneered; none of them has managed seriously to challenge its popularity. It once enjoyed being the third most popular magazine in the UK, but ABC-audited sales have since dropped to an average of 76,408 per issue in 2009 (from 1.2 million).

In a coffee table book celebrating 25 years of Viz in 2004, cartoonist Graham Dury is quoted as saying: "We pride ourselves on the fact that you're no cleverer when you've read Viz. You might have had a few laughs, but you've not learnt anything".

In December 2011, Viz produced three animated shorts with Baby Cow for Channel 4's Comedy Blaps, voiced by Steve Coogan, Sarah Millican, Simon Greenall and Gavin Webster.