The Victor (comics)
Encyclopedia
The Victor was a British
comic paper
published weekly by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd
. The Victor ran for 1657 issues from 25 January 1961 until it ceased publication on 21 November 1992. Associated with it was the annually published The Victor Book for Boys. This annual was first published in 1964, with the last edition published in 1994. A hardback book, 'The Best of The Victor', was published in 2010 ready to commemorate the 50th anniversary of this popular adventure comic. The book featured a selection of reprints from the weekly comic.
The Victor told adventure tales in comic book format. It featured many stories that could be described as "Boy's Own" adventures
. In particular, each week the front cover carried a story of how a medal
had been won by British
or Commonwealth
forces during the Great War or the Second World War. One of these, from issue 15, appeared in Classics from the Comics
in May 2009.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comic paper
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
published weekly by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd
D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd
D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd, is a publishing company based in Dundee, Scotland, best known for producing The Dundee Courier, The Evening Telegraph, The Sunday Post, Oor Wullie, The Broons, The Beano, The Dandy and Commando comics...
. The Victor ran for 1657 issues from 25 January 1961 until it ceased publication on 21 November 1992. Associated with it was the annually published The Victor Book for Boys. This annual was first published in 1964, with the last edition published in 1994. A hardback book, 'The Best of The Victor', was published in 2010 ready to commemorate the 50th anniversary of this popular adventure comic. The book featured a selection of reprints from the weekly comic.
The Victor told adventure tales in comic book format. It featured many stories that could be described as "Boy's Own" adventures
Boy's Own Paper
The Boy's Own Paper was a British story paper aimed at young and teenage boys, published from 1879 to 1967.-Publishing history:The idea for the publication was first raised in 1878 by the Religious Tract Society as a means to encourage younger children to read and also instil Christian morals...
. In particular, each week the front cover carried a story of how a medal
Commonwealth Realms orders and decorations
This article concerns the orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms awarded by the sovereign in right of each nation.Awards are listed by order of wear.-Antigua and Barbuda:* The Most Exalted Order of the National Hero...
had been won by British
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
or Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
forces during the Great War or the Second World War. One of these, from issue 15, appeared in Classics from the Comics
Classics from the Comics
Classics from the Comics was a UK comic, published from March 1996 until October 2010. Published monthly, it was D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd's third all-reprint comic...
in May 2009.
Notable characters
- Alf TupperAlf TupperAlf Tupper was a fictional working class, 'hard as nails' runner, whose adventures appeared in first The Rover and then The Victor, British boys' comics from D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd...
- The Tough of the Track - I Flew With BraddockMatt BraddockMatt Braddock, VC and bar, is a fictional World War II bomber pilot who appeared in the pages of the Victor and Rover comics in the 1950s and 1960s. Some of his stories were published in book form as I Flew With Braddock....
- Into Battle With Matt Braddock - Sergeant Bob Miller of the Coldstream Guards - stories of a front line soldier in the Great War
- Morgyn the MightyMorgyn the MightyMorgyn the Mighty is a fictional character whose adventures appeared in the Victor Book for Boys.-Publication history:The strip first appeared under the title "Morgyn" in the first issue of the Beano. In 1951 the strip was put in the comic The Rover, but was transferred to The Victor in 1963. The...
- Master of Black Island, who was previously in The RoverThe RoverThe Rover may refer to:*The Rover by Joseph Conrad*The Rover by Aphra Behn*The Rover by Terence Young*"The Rover" by Led Zeppelin*"The Irish Rover", a traditional Irish song...
and The BeanoThe BeanoThe Beano is a British children's comic, published by D.C. Thomson & Co and is arguably their most successful.The comic first appeared on 30 July 1938, and was published weekly. During the Second World War,The Beano and The Dandy were published on alternating weeks because of paper and ink... - Gorgeous GusGorgeous GusGorgeous Gus was a fictional character whose adventures appeared in the Victor Book for Boys.Gorgeous Gus was a British aristocrat, the Earl of Boote, who was the owner of Redburn Rovers football club. He was nicknamed "Gorgeous Gus" by the fans because of his aristocratic airs and graces...
- Joe Bones the Human FlyJoe Bones the Human FlyJoe Bones the Human Fly is a fictional character whose adventures appeared in the British comic book The Victor.Joe Bones was a young soldier in the British Army during the Second World War...
- Figaro - an overweight, bumbling Mexican bandit, who also appeared in The TopperThe TopperThe Nottingham & Long Eaton Topper is a free newspaper located in West Bridgford, Nottingham.It is Britain's largest circulating independent weekly newspaper with a distribution in excess of 211,000 copies a week...
- Hammer Man - Chell Puddock, an English medieval knightKnightA knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
who wielded a hammer instead of a sword - Gerald Cadman - A cowardly British officer who, through the efforts of his batman, always came out smelling of roses
- Ball Boy - The Beanos football daft boy appeared in both comics at one point.
- Jimmy Grant - The Goals of Jimmy Grant
External links
- Victor Comics from Border Bookshop
- "A just cause is a hero's right", The Independent, 12 November 2006
- Magazines, comics and papers of the near past - TV Cream
- An amateur website about The Victor and The Hornet, featuring characters, reviews, strips.
- Site dedicated to collecting the Victor Book for Boys