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Billy Whizz is a character in The Beano who first appeared in The Beano No. 1139 (dated 16th May 1964). He can run extraordinarily fast. His speed often causes chaos yet at the same time his ability can prove useful. He also has a younger brother called Alfie Whizz of similar appearance. Alfie is usually shown as a normal boy but occasionally he is shown to be just as fast as his brother.

In strips up until the 1980s, Billy lived in Whizztown rather than Beanotown like most of the other regular characters, however this later changed and more recent strips place him in Beanotown.

Physical Appearance[]

Billy originally wore a red t-shirt, black shorts, red socks and white trainers. In issue 1761 (dated 17th April 1976) he began to wear trousers rather than shorts, after a strip where his Dad sent him to buy some trousers in an attempt to slow him down, but Billy chose a pair of tracksuit bottoms which did not slow him down at all.

A more dramatic change occurred in 1992, after David Parkins had taken over as artist, when Billy began wearing a striking jet black tracksuit with a lightning bolt down the front. The tracksuit was introduced over the space of two comic strips, with the first story appearing in issue 2599 (9th May 1992). In the first story, Billy runs around Beanotown in his new tracksuit at such speed that he is mistaken for a lightning storm, with Billy and his tracksuit only being seen at the end of the strip. In the second story, published in the following issue (16th May 1992), Billy sees some of his fans wanting his autograph but finds that they do not recognise him in his new tracksuit. He runs around his fans to show who he is, causing them to get blown away in a twister, and later carries a sign with his name on which breaks, injuring his head. In early appearances, the tracksuit appeared as black and white, or black and yellow, but in 1994 this changed to a jet-black tracksuit marked with a red lightning bolt.

From his first appearance, Billy has sported a highly distinctive haircut, with his hair being fully shaved with the exception of two long hairs at the front of his head, a style shared by his Dad and brother Alfie. In 1994, during Vic Neill's time as artist, Billy's two long hairs morphed, without explanation, into a blonde lightning flash. This style which would be retained until the strip was overhauled in 2003, when his hair reverted to the original style.

Artists[]

Malcolm Judge: 1964-1989

Barrie Appleby/Steve Horrocks: 1989

David Parkins: 1989-1993

Trevor Metcalfe (first run): 1993

Vic Neill: 1991-2000

Graeme Hall: 2000-2003

Wayne Thompson: 2003-2005

Trevor Metcalfe (second run): 2005-2007

Barrie Appleby: 2008

Nick Brennan: 2009-2012

Wilbur Dawbarn: 2012- 2016

Wayne Thompson (second run): 2016-

Malcolm Judge was Billy's first artist, and drew virtually every strip until his death in 1989. This artistic stability stands in marked contrast to the numerous artist changes since. Judge was initially replaced by Barrie Appleby and Steve Horrocks, although David Parkins would take over as a more permanent replacement later in the year. Parkins would change the strip's feel quite markedly during his time as artist, the most notable change being the introduction of the thunderbolt tracksuit in 1992. Vic Neill began drawing occasional strips in 1991, and drew a significant proportion of the 1992 strips, but Parkins remained Billy's main artist until 1993, when he was replaced by Trevor Metcalfe. Metcalfe would then draw the bulk of strips for the next few months until, around the time of The Beano's switch to all-colour printing in autumn 1993, Neill took over as the strip's full-time artist.

Neill would draw the strip until his death in late 1999, although his strips continued to appear in the comic until April 2000, when Billy's page was taken over by Graeme Hall, who drew the strip for the next three years. Hall was replaced by Wayne Thompson in 2003, who would draw Billy for the next two years before being replaced by the returning Trevor Metcalfe, who drew the strip using a Wacom tablet. After Metcalfe's departure from the comic in 2007, Billy appeared exclusively as reprints of strips from the 1990s, with the exception of a one-off new strip by Barrie Appleby in The Beano's 70th birthday edition in 2008. This run of reprints lasted until October 2009, when Nick Brennan became Billy's artist. Brennan's strips ran for approximately three years before Wilbur Dawbarn took over in late 2012. Dawbarn immediately revamped the strip, restoring Malcolm Judge's style and character designs and reverting Billy's outfit to the T-shirt and shorts. Four years later he handed the pen back to Wayne Thompson, who continues to draw him.

Gallery[]

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