Viz Comic Page 18

Been so poor for years now, with fewer cartoon strips and more cruder and cruder fill in content. It does still do the odd very good spoof but I wish it would get back to the cartoon strip focused comic it was twenty years ago when I felt it was money really well spent with three or four really funny strips every issue,

Now I'm very lucky if I find one when I buy it but Sid The Sexist rarely fails and this latest one is no exception. I just wish he and four or five others from the past were regulars instead of the ones which are.

Viz has been pretty good this year. But the May 2018 issue was a disappointment. There's a dire comic about a sweary, uncouth, lager-swilling David Attenborough. Completely reliant on swearing for "humour". It looked like the sort of thing that Viz's pale imitators used to produce.
Hmmm. How about a David Attenborough spoof? Yes, let's make him swear and abuse animals. Aren't we creative! No.

The Fat Slags strip in the same issue, metal detecting on the beach, was tired, formulaic and lazy.

8 Ace the unpaid Town Crier, a yawner.

Brown Bottle returns. Trying too hard to be crass. Third panel too much detail, too small to see clearly. Nice ending.

Broon Windsors, Inspector Noel Edmonds, Daily Male all good. Dragon Rider, Ivan Jelical nice.

Major Misunderstanding half-pager a waste of space.

Sid the Sexist - Whoever drew this one, cannot draw Joe. Also gave the gag away too early.

Grape of Roth, not funny/silly/clever enough.

Etc.

I've not read it all yet but there is one very funny story about a Xena Warrior Princess type character who becomes ruler when her mum dies and the whole story is about her struggling to ride a dragon. The Daily Male always makes me feel sorry for his poor, suffering wife.

Yes, that's the aforementioned Dragon Rider. More Sheera Princess of Power (He-Man's twin sister spin-off) than Xena.

The f**k are you doing posting about Viz at this moment? Shouldn't you be glued to the telly and polishing your Union Jack condoms as you explode in paroxysms of joy at the sight of Harry nuptialing Meghan?

Quote: Kenneth @ 19th May 2018, 12:44 PM

The f**k are you doing posting about Viz at this moment? Shouldn't you be glued to the telly and polishing your Union Jack condoms as you explode in paroxysms of joy at the sight of Harry nuptialing Meghan?

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I'm at work and too busy tinkering with firewalls but if I wasn't at work then I would probably be watching it. I like Harry. He's an old mate of mine.

Quote: Kenneth @ 19th May 2018, 11:37 AM

The Fat Slags strip in the same issue, metal detecting on the beach, was tired, formulaic and lazy.

8 Ace the unpaid Town Crier, a yawner.
.

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Both are used way too much and have become go-to strips for the most obvious current topics or just bog standard fillers. Where have The Modern Parents, The Critics and Real Ale Twats gone? They rarely failed to raise a titter and gave the comic its class balance, now it's nearly all working class send ups and it needs its pretentious twits back. And Spoilt Bastard, which had one of the highest hit rates I can remember, every one I read had me howling. Come back!

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ 20th May 2018, 9:53 AM

Both are used way too much and have become go-to strips for the most obvious current topics or just bog standard fillers. Where have The Modern Parents, The Critics and Real Ale Twats gone? They rarely failed to raise a titter and gave the comic its class balance, now it's nearly all working class send ups and it needs its pretentious twits back. And Spoilt Bastard, which had one of the highest hit rates I can remember, every one I read had me howling. Come back!

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Real Ale Twats still make appearances. I don't think I've seen John Fardell's strips (Modern Parents, Critics) in Viz for a long time. Not enough Terry F**kwitt either.

Anyone remember the Viz like ripoff called 'Smut'

It was f**king shite!

https://www.amazon.com/Smut-Comic-Issue-Best-ebook/dp/B00VW6D9VI

Quote: lofthouse @ 20th May 2018, 7:38 PM

Anyone remember the Viz like ripoff called 'Smut'

It was f**king shite!

https://www.amazon.com/Smut-Comic-Issue-Best-ebook/dp/B00VW6D9VI

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I remember that and F**king Shite would have been the perfect name for it My brother used to buy Oink and I would read his copy. It was quite funny and had an unsavoury, Garbage Pale Kids humour.

Are those totally unfunny, not even remotely clever, just a waste of space Drunken Bakers still there? What is the point? Does anyone find it clever or funny?

The first time me and my mate saw Buster Gonad and his infeasibly large testicles - we nearly shat ourselves laughing

Quote: Chappers @ 20th May 2018, 9:26 PM

Are those totally unfunny, not even remotely clever, just a waste of space Drunken Bakers still there? What is the point? Does anyone find it clever or funny?

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I've gone off that because of how repetitive it's become and chronic alcoholism isn't very funny. I knew someone who drank like they do and down spirits to spend the rest of the day in a drunken haze. It was tragic to see this person so deep that they were past the point of no return and going cold turkey would probably kill them. They didn't even want to stop. It has had a few thought provoking moments like when one of them falls asleep in his armchair with a photo of his daughter and dreams about happier times with her skipping in a park. It then shows him waking up surrounded by empty bottles and the 6am news blaring at him on the TV. Time to go to work...

Quote: Chappers @ 20th May 2018, 9:26 PM

Are those totally unfunny, not even remotely clever, just a waste of space Drunken Bakers still there? What is the point? Does anyone find it clever or funny?

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I think the chap who draws that strip (and a few others in Viz now too), used to work for one of the crappy Viz imitators. Drunken Bakers may be a one-trick pony, but isn't every other strip in Viz?* And soon there's no difference in quality in picking up Viz or an old Dandy Beano.

Actually, no. It's just the by-the-numbers scripting and scenarios that make some strips seem so repetitive, so tired. Jolts of originality still strike sometimes.

I've never worked for Viz, but have had lots of published strips in my time, and it's really difficult thinking of fresh ideas after a while, unless they're tied to news stories - and none of the Viz strips are.

Quote: lofthouse @ 20th May 2018, 11:14 PM

The first time me and my mate saw Buster Gonad and his infeasibly large testicles - we nearly shat ourselves laughing

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Buster is not in it anymore because he drowned at sea.
They had a heck of job recovering him.