Rude and Rib-Tickling: How Viz Comic Conquered Britain from a Newcastle Bedroom

The North East has given the world many things, from great ships to great inventions, but one of its most unexpected and successful exports began life in a bedroom in a Newcastle suburb. Viz, the irreverent and famously rude comic magazine, grew from the most humble of beginnings to become one of the best-selling publications in the country, a phenomenon of British humour born of the cheeky, irreverent spirit of Tyneside. Its story is a wonderful example of home-grown success.

Born in a Bedroom.
Viz was started in Newcastle towards the end of the 1970s by Chris Donald, who produced the comic from his bedroom in his parents' home in Jesmond, with the help of his brother Simon and a school friend. The earliest issues were simple, photocopied affairs, produced on a shoestring and sold for a few pence at local gigs and pubs. There was nothing to suggest that this homemade comic, the product of youthful enthusiasm and a love of mischief, would go on to achieve national fame. Yet from these modest origins grew one of the most successful publishing stories of its era.

A Parody of Childhood Comics.
The genius of Viz lay in its parody of the traditional British children's comics that its creators had grown up with. Taking the familiar style and format of those innocent comics, Viz turned them on their head, filling them with crude, rude and outrageous humour quite unlike anything in their wholesome originals. The contrast between the familiar comic style and the shocking and silly content was at the heart of the comic's appeal, and it struck a chord with readers who delighted in its cheeky subversion of childhood nostalgia. It was a bold and original idea, brilliantly executed.

Famously Rude.
There is no getting around the fact that Viz is famously rude. The comic revels in crude humour, bad language and outrageous content, and it has never been to everyone's taste. Its irreverent and often shocking approach is precisely the point, a deliberate flouting of good taste in the service of laughter. The comic's willingness to be vulgar and to push boundaries was a large part of what made it so popular, offering readers a gleeful escape from politeness and propriety. It is humour of a particular kind, broad and unsubtle, but for its many fans it is irresistibly funny.

A National Phenomenon.
From its tiny beginnings, Viz grew with astonishing speed. As word spread and circulation increased, the comic gained national distribution, and by the early 1990s it had become one of the best-selling magazines in the entire country, with a readership in the millions. This was a remarkable achievement for a publication that had begun as a photocopied fanzine, and it made Viz a genuine cultural phenomenon. The comic's success spawned numerous imitators, but none managed to match the original, and Viz remained the undisputed leader of its particular brand of humour.

The Spirit of Tyneside.
The success of Viz owed much to the irreverent, down-to-earth humour that is so characteristic of Tyneside. The North East has a strong tradition of comedy and a love of a good laugh, and Viz channelled that spirit into print. The comic's refusal to take anything too seriously, its delight in the absurd and its cheeky disrespect for authority all reflected the character of the region that produced it. In this sense, Viz was a thoroughly Geordie creation, an expression of the local sense of humour that found an audience across the whole country and beyond.

An Unlikely Success Story.
The story of Viz is, above all, a wonderful example of unlikely success. That a homemade comic, produced by a few young people in a Newcastle bedroom, should grow into a national best-seller is a remarkable tale, and it speaks to the talent, creativity and sheer cheek of its creators. It is the kind of success story that inspires, showing how a good idea, pursued with energy and originality, can achieve extraordinary things from the most ordinary of beginnings. The comic's journey from a Jesmond bedroom to the nation's newsagents is a genuine source of local pride.

A Comic Institution.
Viz has become a comic institution, a fixture of British humour and one of the most distinctive publications the country has produced. Its blend of parody, crude humour and sheer silliness has entertained millions and earned it a devoted following over the decades. Born of the irreverent spirit of Tyneside and the creativity of its founders, it stands as one of the North East's most surprising and successful cultural exports. For all its rudeness, or perhaps because of it, Viz has secured a lasting place in the affections of its fans and in the story of the region that gave it life.

The North East and the Art of the Laugh.
The success of Viz is part of a broader story of the North East as a place with a remarkable talent for comedy and a deep love of laughter. The region has produced a striking number of successful comedians, comic writers and humorous performers, and humour runs through the culture of the area like a bright thread. There is a particular quality to North East humour, a combination of warmth, irreverence, quick wit and a refusal to take oneself too seriously, that has proved enormously appealing far beyond the region. This love of a good laugh has its roots in the character of the communities of the area, where humour served as a way of coping with hardship, of building solidarity and of enjoying life despite difficult circumstances. The ability to find the funny side, to deflate pomposity with a quick remark and to share a joke in the face of adversity has long been valued in the North East, and it has helped to produce a culture rich in comic talent. Viz, with its gleeful irreverence and its delight in the absurd, is a perfect expression of this comic tradition, channelling the humour of the region into a form that found a national audience. The comic's success is thus part of a wider story of North East comedy, a story that speaks to the warmth, the wit and the good humour of the region's people. In producing laughter, the North East has shared one of its finest qualities with the wider world.

Get involved.
Viz grew from a Newcastle bedroom into one of the best-selling magazines in the country.

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