Billy Whizz
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| Beano strip | |
| Billy Whizz | |
|---|---|
| Current/last artist | Trevor Metcalfe |
| First appearance | Issue 1139 (May 16 1964) |
| Last appearance | Ongoing |
| Regular characters | Billy, Alfie, their parents |
Billy Whizz is a fictional character in a comic strip in the UK comic The Beano, first appearing in issue 1139, dated 16 May 1964, when it replaced The Country Cuzzins. Billy, the title character, is a boy who can run extraordinarily fast. He also has a younger brother called Alfie Whizz of similar appearance although he does not share Billy's speed.
Billy does not live in Beanotown but in neighbouring Whizztown.
Originally drawn by Malcolm Judge, who had drawn Colonel Crackpot's Circus before this (another comic strip in The Beano) he was succeeded by a variety of different artists after his death in 1989, including Trevor Metcalfe, but in 1993 this settled down to just Vic Neill. G. Hall took over after Neill died in 2000, and he drew the strip until March 2003. The current artist, who took over from the following month, is Wayne Thompson. Thompson's work resembles a modern day Malcolm Judges', and gave a new life to the character and feel of the strip. However due to his commitments with fellow Beano character Joe Jitsu and Jak for the Dandy, the strip has been understudied again by Trevor Metcalfe, who, adided with a Wacom tablet, draws the strip in a mixture of his own and Thompson's style.
Because of the comic strip, "Billy Whizz" is also British slang for the restricted drug amphetamine (aka "speed"). It is also the nickname of dual code rugby international Jason Robinson due to his pace.
