Picking up the pieces
Picking up the pieces |
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Page 27 of 38  Billy the Fish (1986). Art. Chris Donald. Script: Viz team. The Viz team's response to the various complaints was to ignore them (indeed, critical articles were cut out and used to decorate the office). Instead, they concentrated on consolidating their success by initiating television crossovers - Sid the Sexist, Roger Mellie, Billy the Fish and The Fat Slags all became animated series -and by getting organized on the merchandising front. As well as videos of the TV shows, there were Viz. calendars, T-shirts, mugs and books, to name but a few of the items available. Unfortunately, this diversification was coupled with a concomitant decline in the quality of the comic (it was as if one heralded the other). The spoofs were less inventive, while the satire became more focused on particular 'types'. The best of the new strips were: 'The Modern Parents', about a pair of New Agers who insist on feeding their son wholefood produce when he would rather eat chips, and make him watch them 'having intercourse' when he would rather play nintendo; and 'Student Grant', a merciless satire of students who have too much money and too little taste. Despite these, perhaps the main sign that the team were running out of ideas was that the comic now relied more and more on contributions from the general public.  'Johnny Fartpants' (1999). Art: Chris Donald. Script: Viz team. |