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Noel Gardner
, December 15th, 2020 09:22
Viz is more than just a very funny comic to long time fan Noel Gardner. But the extent to which it s a vehicle for incisive, leftwing satirical commentary, he says in this subscriber only essay, is something that s open to debate.
Noel Gardner, portraits by Fiona Mackechnie/ all comic strips (c) Viz
A grand British institution that both exemplifies and subverts that nation’s rickety image, this story begins with a few years of slow brand-building and wilful daftness preceding untouchable status and a millions-strong fanbase. Then come the water-treading years, that period of essentially trading on past glories even while gamely trying new things, before steadying the ship into a latterday era of reliable peculiarity. All the while slotting high-minded reference points into a package which, despite everything, remains populist in essence.