Wizard

a.k.a.: Wizard and Rover

Publisher: D.C. Thomson

Format: Weekly anthology

First Issue: Wizard#1 (14th February 1970)

Last Issue: 24th June 1978 (#437, unnumbered)

Absorbed: The Rover (as of  20th January 1973 - unnumbered #154; reverted to just being The Wizard from 10th March 1973 - unnumbered #161)

Absorbed into: Victor

Strips: The Ace of Space; Ambling Archie; Arny's Army; Away Went Kelly; The Barrow Boy from Mars; Billy Blunder; Billy Cinders; The Boy from Winter Island; Bradley's Bowmen; Breakneck Bradshaw; Cannonball Kelly; Cast-Iron Cribb; The Clutching Hand; Cocks of the Common; Cool Kragg, the Team-Maker; The Crimson Claw; Doc Croc; Dolphin of the Space Patrol; Down the Thunderhoof Trail; The Early Days of...; The Fiery Man at Number Six; Five Bullets for Idris the Cruel; Flash Harry; Flint of the Fighting Fifth; Follow That Man; Fred the Frightener; From Under the Sea They Came; The Frozen Footballers; The Gas-Bag Grenadiers; Goals from Nowhere; The Grudge Fights of Clutcher Kane; Here Comes Whack!; Humpy Bumpy, the Fighting Camel; Inspector Bonehead; Ironfist; The Jinx on Big Joe; Joe for Champ; Johnny Modesty; Johnny Winchester; Keeper of the Sword; The Killers of Kima; The Last Boy of Redman's Rock; The Last Dog Out of Dunkirk; Len, Ben and a Bren; The Lost 47 Minutes; The Lost Years of Lonely Martin; The Man from USH; March of the Mammoths; Mississippi Mickey; Mister Meek - The Tombstone Terror; The Motorbike Mountie; Muggins; Mulligan's Misfits; Old Smokey - The Ten Ton Goldmine; Out of the Ice He Came; Ossie the Wizard; The Place of the Fights; Poor Young Joe; The Red Rangers; Return of the Clutching Hand; The River Raiders; The Scarlet Scorpions; Scrappy, A Boy All Alone; Shinguard Smith; Slave of the Ring; Soldiers of the Jet Age; Son of a Gun; Stories of Stanton Town; Striker Bell; Sweeper Swann; The Team That Lost At Home; The Terrors of Iceberg Bay; Tiger of the Big Tank; Trainer MacReddy and his Wee Black Bag; Trooper Bo-Peep; Typhoon Tennyson; The Voice That Ran the Rangers; Waif of the Speedway; Whizz Kid; The Wide-Awake Wanderers; Wild McFee, Willie's Woolly Warrior

Comments: D.C. Thomson's original Wizard had been a long-running story paper that launched in 1923 and ended with a merger into The Rover in 1963. In 1970 D.C. Thomson decided to reuse the name and launched a comic version of Wizard. Despite having (imho) no real stand out stories, it lasted a respectable eight years and 437 issues, during which run it ironically absorbed The Rover, the title that had previously devoured Wizard's namesake predecessor, before itself being absorbed into Victor.

   At the start of its run The Wizard included a thirteen page interior section entitled The Wizard Football Special, with strips and features focused on the game in question. Additionally, while predominately a comic strip title, The Wizard included short text stories throughout its runs.


Soldiers of the Jet Age


Scrappy, A Boy All Alone


Trooper Bo-Peep


Cool Kragg, the Team-Maker


The Early Days of...


The Voice That Ran the Rangers


Out of the Ice He Came


Slave of the Ring


Inspector Bonehead


Follow That Man


The Clutching Hand


Trainer MacReddy and his Wee Black Bag


Johnny Modesty


The Man from USH


Sweeper Swann


Flash Harry


Billy Cinders


Keeper of the Sword


Billy Blunder


The Crimson Claw


The Place of the Fights


Striker Bell


The Frozen Footballers


Bradley's Bowmen


Doc Croc


Poor Young Joe


The Lost Boy of Redman's Rock


Waif of the Speedway


Stories of Stanton Town


Here Comes Whack!


Mulligan's Misfits


The Terrors of Iceberg Bay


The Boy from Winter Island


The Lost Years of Lonely Martin


Arny's Army


Dolphin of the Space Patrol


Ossie the Wizard


Simple Simons, the Worst Centre in Football


Johnny Winchester


The River Raiders


The Fiery Man at Number Six


Breakneck Bradshaw


Goals from Nowhere


The Red Rangers


Muggins.


Len, Ben and a Bren


Down the Thunderhoof Trail


The Lost 47 Minutes


The Killers of Kima


The Team That Lost At Home


The Motorbike Mountie


The Wide-Awake Wanderers


Mister Meek - The Tombstone Terror


Shinguard Smith


Ambling Archie


Away Went Kelly


Ironfist.


From Under the Sea They Came


Coote's Crocks


The Jinx on Big Joe


The Scarlet Scorpions


The Barrow Boy from Mars


Tiger of the Big Tank


Cast-Iron Cribb


Humpy Bumpy, the Fighting Camel


Typhoon Tennyson


Wild McFee


March of the Mammoths


Cocks of the Common


Flint of the Fighting Fifth


Cannonball Kelly


The Grudge Fights of Clutcher Kane


Mississippi Mickey


Whizz Kid


Five Bullets for Idris the Cruel


Willie's Woolly Warrior


The Ace of Space


The Gas-Bag Grenadiers


The Last Dog Out of Dunkirk


Joe for Champ


Son of a Gun


Fred the Frightener


Old Smokey - The Ten Ton Goldmine


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First Posted: Circa 06/11/2023
Last updated: 08/11/2023

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