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The Wizard was the third of the ‘Big
Five’,
first
published
The last issue of The Wizard (1970) was published
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424 |
424 |
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The Wizard merged with The Rover and the first issue
of Rover and Wizard was issued the following week
The title ran to 447 issues
before reverting to The Rover
The Wizard was relaunched
Below are some of the characters
featured in The Wizard:
WILLIAM WILSON, COOL
CASSIDY, CAPTAIN SCARLETT, CATAMOUNT JACK, RED MACGREGOR, GEORGEOUS GUS, RED STAR
ROBERTS, TOM SMITH, LESLIE THOMSON,
And the stories:
THE “Q” TEAM, THE
HAUNTED HEAVYWEIGHT, THE VOICE ON THE WIRE, THE CIRCUS OF SUDDEN DEATH, SMITH
OF THE LOWER THIRD, V FOR VENGEANCE, THE TRUTH ABOUT WILSON, LIMP ALONG LESLIE,
MY NUMBER IS NINE, THE SECRETS OF THE HANDCUFF KING, KASHGAR THE TERRIBLE, THE
WOLF OF KABUL.
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A SELECTION OF THE WIZARD COVERS |
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323 |
476 |
499 |
574 |
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February
9th 1929 |
January
16th 1932 |
June 25th 1932 |
October 2nd 1933 |
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597 |
714 |
925 |
1059 |
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May
12th 1934 |
August
8th 1936 |
August
24th 1940 |
September
16th 1944 |
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1565 |
1600 |
1667 |
1683 |
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February 11th 1956 |
October 13th 1956 |
January
25th 1958 |
May
17th 1958 |
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1719 |
1771 |
1791 |
1806 |
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January 24th 1959 |
January 23rd 1960 |
June 11th 1960 |
September 24th 1960 |
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1829 |
1907 |
1911 |
1928 |
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March
4th 1961 |
September
1st 1962 |
September
29th 1962 |
January
26th 1963 |
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1940 |
1950 |
1957 |
1970 |
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April
20th 1963 |
June
29th 1963 |
August
17th 1963 |
November
16th 1963 |
The Wizard Title List 1942
- 1963
Following are a selection of stories featured
in THE WIZARD:
ADVENTURE STORIES
4
CHALLENGES FROM “Z”
Two of the world’s greatest masters of magic are face to face in a
challenge that means death for one of them!
Click here to read the last episode of 4
Challenges from “Z”
THE
ATLANTIC MONSTER:
The personal diary of a naval officer who witnessed the terrifying
spectacle of a huge waterspout moving across the
This first episode appeared in the Wizard in 1945.
Click here to read the first episode of The
Atlantic Monster.
THE BIG
TREE:
Sam Walker a photographer is part of an expedition into the heart of
Click here to read the last episode of The Big
Tree.
CAPTAIN
JANUARY:
Read about Captain January, of the Special Investigation Branch of the
Royal Military Police.
Click here to read an episode of Captain January.
CRIMSON
COMET:
Here is the story of an astounding struggle to stop a runaway comet from
wiping out the world.
This first episode appeared in the Wizard in 1946.
Click here to read the first episode of Crimson
Comet.
THE
CIRCUS OF SECRETS AND SHIVERS:
Jack Heaton, a talent scout for the Hackfield Circus, discovers that the
circus boss and circus performers of the Astor Two-Ring Circus are aliens from
another planet.
Click here to read the last episode of The Circus of Secrets and
Shivers.
THE CLUTCHING
HAND:
Inspector Lannigan has finally caught up with the man behind the
Clutching Hand.
Click here to read the last episode of The
Clutching Hand.
FAMOUS
MEN OF THE WEST (WILD BILL HICKOK):
FAMOUS MEN OF THE WEST also had stories of: Doc Holliday, Jesse James,
Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid and others.
Click here to read the Wild Bill Hickok episode.
THE
MONSTER IN HYDE PARK:
Overnight in the heart of London, a plant has sprung up.
It’s already 300 feet high – and still growing.
Only one man knows the deadly menace of the monster—
But no one will believe him!
Click here to read the first episode of The Monster in Hyde Park.
I SAW THE END OF THE WORLD:
The amazing experiences of a man who witnessed the destruction of the
world – and survived to tell the tale.
Click here to read the first episode of I saw the
End of the World.
The Noah’s
The peoples of earth have begun to colonise the distant planet.
Click here to read the last episode of I saw the
End of the World.
THE
INVISIBLE ARCHER:
Meet the marksman of deadly menace.
Ramrod Rolt wears three guns—and nobody can draw ‘em but Ramrod.
This first episode appeared in the Wizard in 1958.
Click here to read the first episode of The Invisible Archer.
I WAS WITH
John Caldicott sails on the Beagle with Charles Darwin, a mixture of
fact and fiction.
Click here to read the first episode of I was with
THE
TWO DETECTORS:
The episode is earlier than any of the other’s listed but I thought I
would include it.
Click here to read the last episode of The Two
Detectors.
THE
VOICE ON THE WIRE:
Police are assisted in solving various crimes by an anonymous telephone
caller.
Also printed under the title: “It’s The Voice on the Wire” & “The
Telephone Terror”.
Click here to read the first episode of The Voice on the Wire.
Click here to read the last episode of The Voice on the Wire.
THE
WOLF OF
Along the untamed North-West Frontier of
Click here to read the first episode of The Wolf of Kabul.
SCHOOL STORIES
SMITH
OF THE LOWER THIRD:
Click here to read an episode of Smith of the Lower Third.
THE
WORLD’S SPELLING CHAMPION:
Schoolmaster, Bartholomew Bandy, can spell every word in the English
language correctly. Fairground promoter, Tich Kelly, plans to make a fortune
out of Bartholomew.
Click here to read the first episode of The World’s Spelling
Champion.
SPORTS
STORIES
BERNARD
BRIGGS:
Bernard appeared in WIZARD,
HOTSPUR and HORNET.
Bernard (Bouncing) Briggs was a powerful young fellow who earned his
living as a General Dealer, he had a yard of his own in Slagton, and he rode a
motor bike with a sidecar made from an old bathtub. He was a keen amateur
sportsman taking up various sports including: Baseball, Boxing, Football, Ice
Hockey, Rugby League, Tennis and Wrestling. Bernard excelled at all the sports
he tried.
Click here to read an episode of Bernard Briggs –
Bernard takes up tennis.
Click here to
read another episode of Bernard Briggs - This time he’s a goalkeeper.
THE
BOYHOOD OF BERNARD BRIGGS:
Bernard is eleven, and following the death of his parents and a bust up
with his only relative, Uncle George, Bernard becomes a dealer in scrap to keep
his independence.
Click here to read episodes 1 - 5 of The Boyhood of
Bernard Briggs.
Click here to read episodes 6 - 10 of The Boyhood
of Bernard Briggs.
Click here to read episodes 11 - 15 of The Boyhood
of Bernard Briggs.
Click here to read episodes 16 - 20 of The Boyhood
of Bernard Briggs.
GORGEOUS
GUS:
Jeepers! A footballer with his own
dressing-room, creases in his shorts, a valet to attend him!
Ah, but this is no ordinary footballer, boys!
This is Gorgeous Gus.
Click here to read the first episode of Gorgeous
Gus.
LIMP
ALONG LESLIE:
Leslie Thomson (Limp along Leslie) a lame boy had two ambitions: to play
football for the famous Rangers (based in the town of
Click here to read a double episode of Limp along Leslie, in
which Leslie meets Nick Smith in an F.A. Cup semi-final.
MAGNUS
THE MUSCLE MAN:
Magnus carries out amazing weight-lifting feats, accompanied by his
coach, Charlie Corbett, and
Click here to read the first episode of Magnus the Muscle Man.
MY
NUMBER IS NINE:
Centre forward, Stan Stagg, plays for
Click here to read the first episode of My Number is Nine.
THE
BAFFLING BOWLER FROM NOWHERE:
Broadshire’s spin bowler, Bob Gregory, has a secret past as a wanted
criminal.
Click here to read the first episode of The
Baffling Bowler from Nowhere.
THE HAUNTED HEAVYWEIGHT:
World boxing champion, Don Gurney, is haunted by a face from the past.
Click here to read the first episode of The Haunted Heavyweight.
THE Q
TEAM:
The Q Team taken from The
Wizard 1946.
This is the first story entitled The Q Team and not to be confused with
the second story which appeared in The
Wizard 1962.
Click here to read the first episode of The Q Team.
THE
TRUTH ABOUT
William Wilson was born at Stayling village in 1795.
At the age of 14 he ran away, and determined to improve his physique
beyond normal, lived wild on Ambleside Moor. There he met a hermit who passed
on to him the secret of long life.
First recorded sighting of
At these Championships,
Up to the start of the war in 1939,
During the war he served in the Royal Air Force as a Spitfire pilot.
After winning 25 air victories he was shot down in the Battle of Britain.
After the war he devoted his skill and knowledge to helping wounded and
disabled men back to normal at an
He next penetrated into the African Congo, alone, and discovered an
ancient Greek civilization—an African Athens. He competed against the picked
Greek athletes of this secret city.
Following this, he then pitted his astounding athletic skill against
Chaka’s black athletes.
As a supreme test of mental and physical powers,
Read some of the chapters below:
Click here to
read an episode of
Click here to
read double episode of
Click here to read another double episode of
THE
YELLOW
Cycling story with mystery rider Tom Tetford.
Click here to
read the first episode of ‘The Yellow Jersey.
THERE
ONCE WAS A GAME CALLED FOOTBALL:
The year is 2148 and two schoolboys, Phil Mason and Lawrie Hill
re-discover the ancient game of Association Football.
Click here to read the first episode of There Once
Was a Game Called Football.
Click here to read the last episode of There was
once a Game Called Football.
WAR
STORIES
THE
BOMBS WITH THE PURPLE STRIPE:
World War Two adventures, in which three British soldiers, Corporal
Jumbo Whalen, Lance-Corporal Sam Singh and Lieutenant Felton, carry out raids
against the Germans using unorthodox weapons.
Click here to read the first episode of The Bombs with the
Purple Stripe.
THE PLANE
WITH THE WAGGLY TAIL:
The doctor with the secret that can save one hundred thousand men.
Click here to
read the first episode of The Plane with the Waggly Tail.
THE
SECRET WAR OF H.M.S. WADDLING DUCK:
Lieutenant-Commander Radstock takes H.M.S. Thunderer (Waddling Duck), a
First World War monitor ship, into battle against German U-boats during the
Second World War.
Click here to
read the first episode of The Secret War of H.M.S. Waddling Duck.
V FOR
VENGEANCE:
V for Vengeance was the motto of The Deathless Men.
These were underground fighters who had escaped from German prison camps
during the Second World War to wage a war of vengeance and terror against top
Nazis. A list of names and members of the Gestapo, and Nazi officials of
various ranks, finishing with the final three - Goebbels, Goring and Hitler -
would be pinned to the victim after they had been killed, with that victim's
name crossed off with a thick red line. They were also nameless men with each
member given a 'Jack number'. Wearing black hoods to hide their identity, none
were taken alive, as each member would bite on a poison capsule to avoid
capture. Their leader Colonel Von Reich, second in command to Himmler in the
Black Guards, was Jack One.
Click here to read an episode of V for Vengeance
from 1942.
Click here to read an episode of V for Vengeance
from 1959. (See below for next three episodes).
Click here to read three episodes of V for
Vengeance from 1959.
RED
VENGEANCE:
The last episodes of V for Vengeance were published in The Wizard in 1961.
The episode below is the very last one.
Where The Faceless Men finally reach
Click here to read the very last episode of Red
Vengeance from 1961.
THE
YELLOW SWORD:
Dazed by the suddeness with which their country has been conquered, the
people of
They are too bewildered to fight back—yet!
This first episode appeared in the Wizard in 1955.
Click here to read the first episode of The Yellow
Sword.
The signal to fight for freedom rings round the world—from the
Hopebridge school bell.
This last episode appeared in the Wizard in 1956.
Click here to read the last episode of The Yellow
Sword.
WILL
O’ THE WHISTLE:
For a second time,
This last episode appeared in the Wizard in 1956.
Click here to read the first episode of Will O’
the Whistle.
Carried by radio, the shrill note sounded by Will o’ the Whistle was the
signal for resistance fighters all over
D-for-Deliverance Day had come!
Click here to read the last episode of Will O’ the
Whistle.
“YOUR
BEST FRIEND IS YOUR RIFLE!”:
The crackshot private leads the sealed-off six.
Click here to read the first episode of “Your best Friend is
your Rifle!”.
MISCELLANEOUS
BLUE
PENCIL BILLY:
He has his boss in fits of rage.
He’ll have you in fits of laughter.
Blue Pencil Billy’s hired twice—and fired twice—on his first day at
work.
This first episode appeared in the Wizard in 1954.
Click here to read the first episode of Blue
Pencil Billy.
THE
DOG WITH THE
The first of the ‘Talking Dog Series’ from 1946.
Click here to read the first episode of The
Talking Dog Series.
THE
FLYING PIEMAN:
Meet Bill King, the Flying Pieman,
Click here to
read the first episode of The Flying Pieman.
GO,
MAN GO!:
“With a one, two, three—we’ll jive all day.” So begins the story of
rock-and-roller Danny Dixon.
Click here to
read the first episode of Go, Man, Go!
GINGER
AND THE DUKE – AND THE WEE BLUE BOOK:
The story of
Click here to read the first episode of Ginger and
the Duke – and the wee blue book.
Click here to
read an episode of Ginger and the Duke – and the wee blue book.
Click here to read the last episode of Ginger and
the Duke – and the wee blue book.
THE COMPLETE STORIES
Click here to read: The Demon Barber of Hut 15.
Click here to read: Hank the Swank – the crook with the look.
Click here to read: The Spring-Heeled Spy.
Click here to read: The Twisted Trail of the Forty Fakes.
Click here to read: The Weird One on my Wing.
Click here to read: The Wrong Road for Big Willie.
Vic Whittle 2008
© D. C. Thomson
& Co Ltd