An unusual one this one...It's Fizog - “the world's funniest kids comic”. Unfortunately, it wasn't the world's most successful comic as it seems to have only lasted three issues.
Written and published by Dean Wilkinson, who also created the short-lived Acne comic, the contributors included Lee Healey, Mervyn Johnston, Phil Neill, Gary Small, Bear Hackenbush, Will Kevans, Nick Miller and Paul J. Palmer.
It certainly looks like the sort of title that a publisher like Fleetway might have produced. But you could be confused into thinking it's actually a comic for adults, designed to look like a comic for kids. Just look at the final frame of "Johnny Lightfingers", in the first issue, and you could be forgiven for thinking that this would never have been published in an actual kids comics).
Confused? Maybe you weren't the only one because three issues is a pretty short run. Anyway, happy collecting!
"Alarming as it may seem, Fizog was genuinely intended for kids," cartoonist Lew Stringer tells us. "Yes, they were trying to shock, and it could be argued they went too far but kids see such scenes differently to adults, (hopefully) having not experienced violent traumas in real life. Like those gory Civil War News bubblegum cards some of us collected in the 1960s which depicted stabbings, impalements, and other bloody scenes of war but at six year's old, we didn't bat an eyelid. (If anything, they taught us to avoid violence)."
Fizog faced competition from the similarly titled Fizz, set up by the owner of Acne who, Derek Wilkinson, who was a previous editor of Acne, once told George Shiers, was “trying to spoil Fizog.
“Nobody wanted to work for him any more,” Wilkinson told George. “I got Fizz stopped as he was reproducing old Acne artwork without permission."
Fizog issue #1, December 1994 - January 1995
Features "Lew's Talk" on the cover; "Garstang D'Gore's Not So Weird Tales", drawn by Lee Healey; "Johnny Lightfingers", drawn by Mervyn Johnston; Petes Past on Pals", drawn by Nick Miller; "Bendy Wendy', drawn by Phill Neill; "Billy Idle'; "Marge Ick's Tricks", drawn by Lee Healey; "The Crazy Adventures of... The Dead Family!'; "Brian Brine - The Big Fat Swine'; and "Ratbag the Dog"; and "Billy, Ricky and Doodle".
Fizog issue #2, February 1995 - March 1995
• George Shiers reviews the issue here on Whacky Comics
Fizog issue #3, April 1995 - May 1995
Features "Totem Paul" by Meryvn Johnston, "Billy Idle", drawn by Paul J. Palmer; and "Punk Rocker Rabid Judo Dogs", written by Dean Wilkinson, with art by Lee Healey, a strip left on a cliffhanger when "Ish 4" never appeared, victim to cash shortfall and changing habits of the target audience, more attracted to computer games in the early 1990s, than comics.
This item was updated on 31st October 2022 to add covers and incorporate comments from Lew Stringer first featured in comments to the original post, below, and provide additional background
Alarming as it may seem, Fizog was genuinely intended for kids. Yes, they were trying to shock, and it could be argued they went too far but kids see such scenes differently to adults, (hopefully) having not experierienced violent traumas in real life. Like those gory Civil War News bubblegum cards some of us collected in the 1960s which depicted stabbings, impalements, and other bloody scenes of war but at six years old we didn't bat an eyelid. (If anything they taught us to avoid violence.)
ReplyDeleteAlarming as it may seem, Fizog was genuinely intended for kids. Yes, they were trying to shock, and it could be argued they went too far but kids see such scenes differently to adults, (hopefully) having not experierienced violent traumas in real life. Like those gory Civil War News bubblegum cards some of us collected in the 1960s which depicted stabbings, impalements, and other bloody scenes of war but at six years old we didn't bat an eyelid. (If anything they taught us to avoid violence.)
ReplyDeleteLoad of artwork by Mervyn Johnston - the back page also credite Dean Wilkinson as the main writer and Lee Healey as a second main artist
ReplyDelete