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| Whizzer and Chips | |
|---|---|
 Advertisement forWhizzer and Chips inSmash!, 1 November 1969 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Fleetway and IPC |
| Publication date | 18 Oct. 1969 – 27 Oct. 1990 |
| No. of issues | 1,092 |
Whizzer and Chips was aBritish comics magazine that ran from 18 October 1969 to 27 October 1990, when it merged with the comicBuster. As with most comics of the time,Whizzer and Chips was dated one week ahead of the day it actually appeared on newsstands in Great Britain (the date referred to the day the comic needed to be taken off the shelves to make way for the new issue, rather than a release date). It had no relation to the earlier British comicIllustrated Chips (which ran from 1890 to 1953).
The format ofWhizzer and Chips presented the comic as being divided into two separate parts—a novel idea at the time. One part was calledWhizzer and the other was calledChips, withChips existing as a separate pull-out section in the middle. The slogan "Two comics in one, double the fun!" was used. In the offices of publisherFleetway,Whizzer and Chips was always regarded as one comic.
In common with most British comics of the time, both sections originally had some of their strips printed in semi-colour using black, white and red (duotone), with others in plainblack and white. To reinforce the distinction between the two sections, the duotone strips inChips were later changed to black, white and blue.Whizzer and Chips went fullcolour on the week of 4 May 1990.
The comicKnockout merged withWhizzer and Chips on 30 June 1973, as didKrazy in 1978,Whoopee! in 1985 and finallyScouse Mouse in 1989.[1]
One ongoing concept was that the two comics were fiercerivals. A guest appearance by a character from one of thecomic strips in thestory of one in the other magazine would be described as a "raid", and the other comic would seek its revenge with a raid of its own the following week. The first raid appeared in issue 2.
Readers were encouraged to become either a "Whizz-Kid" or a "Chip-ite", depending on which section they preferred. The leader of the Whizz-Kids was a boy called Sid and hissnake Slippy, from theSid's Snake comic strip. The leader of the Chip-ites was a boy calledShiner from the comic strip of the same name, who had aspirations to become aboxer and always ended up with a black eye (the eponymous "shiner"). In the first issue ofWhizzer and Chips,Sid's Snake was on the cover ofChips, for Shiner did not appear until issue 2.
Notable comic strips or characters inWhizzer throughout the comic's 21-year run included:
Notable comic strips or characters inChips throughout the comic's 21-year run included:
Adventure stories in the magazine included the following:
Whizzer and Chips annuals were produced from 1972 to 1994, and again (with aBest of) in 2015. Monthlies entitled "The Best of Whizzer and Chips Monthly" were also published in the late 1980s and early '90s. Holiday Specials were also published in the summer for most of the run.