Wilson the Wonder Athlete
From Hey Kids Comics
| William Wilson | |
|---|---|
 Wilson paperback. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | D. C. Thomson & Co. |
| First appearance | The Wizard #1029 (24 July 1943) |
| Created by | Gilbert Lawford Dalton |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Wilson the Wonder Athlete |
Wilson the Wonder Athlete or William Wilson is a fictional character whose adventures were initially published in the British illustrated story paper The Wizard published by D. C. Thomson & Co.
Publication history[edit | edit source]
The character first appeared in issue 1029 Wizard (24 July 1943) in a story titled "The Truth About Wilson". The first adventure introduced Wilson as a supreme athlete, who joins a race from out of the crowd and manages to record a three-minute mile.[1][2][3] The character's adventures were written by Gilbert Lawford Dalton using the pen name W S K Webb, and a book, The Truth About Wilson collected a number of the text stories in the 1960s.[2][4] Thought by Paul Gravett to be the prototype of the "astonishing sporting prodigies" who became popular in British comics, (cf. Alf Tupper, Roy of the Rovers), Gravett describes him as an "unassuming totally dedicated loner, [wanting] no glory or publicity".[1] Although his stories were initially told in prose, a move to the comic papers The Hornet and Hotspur saw the character depicted in comic strip form.[1] The character was later revived for D.C. Thomson's Spike comic of 1984 to 1985, initially within a comic strip with art by Neville Wilson. Referred to as The Man in Black, the character was revealed to be Wilson in the course of the story, with reprints of the older material published within the comic as Wilson's diaries.[4][5]
Fictional character biography[edit | edit source]
William Wilson was born in the village of Stayling in Yorkshire and claimed to be born on 1 November 1795. However a document dated 11 March 1774 listed him as "clerk to the manor". He was sufficiently old that when writing, he used an "f" instead of an "s". His farmer father died in middle age, leaving Wilson £5,000. He studied medicine and biology in a number of countries around the world and determined not to die early as so many he knew had, he worked out a health and fitness regime and learned how to slow his heart right down, using a formula created by people who could live to over 200. He developed his will power and hardened his body by whole winters spent in the open. Squadron leader W. Wilson D.S.O., D.F.C. and bar, who had 25 victories to his name, was shot down during the Second World War and was officially listed as missing.
The character is depicted within stories as performing a number of improbable events. Wilson was seen in one strip becoming the first man to climb Everest, and another saw him captaining an England cricket team to The Ashes in Australia.[6][7] Depicted as being born in 1795, he is given the secret of eternal life by a hermit.[1][8] Originally hailing from Yorkshire, and living in a cave on a diet of nuts and berries, Wilson exemplified British grit and the stiff upper lip.[1][2][7] According to The Guardian he "was hailed as a welcome wartime morale booster", while The Telegraph remembers him as a "focused and intense individual ... [with no] recorded instance of him smiling or cracking a joke."[7][9] In 2004 artist John Reynolds acquired the licence to reproduce images of Wilson as large screen-print canvases.[9] Former Guinness Book of Records deputy editor and athletics statistician, Ian Smith, cites the character as an inspiration, and he inspired many British athletes in their careers as well as Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx.[1][2][10][11] The character is still used in newspaper reports on sport as a cultural reference point.[12][13]
William Wilson in The Hornet[edit | edit source]
Check out TheAmazingWilson.com for scans of some of these stories.
|
Issue Numbers |
Story Title |
Remarks |
|
53 - 71 |
The Truth About Wilson |
The first story published in 12 Sep 1964 |
|
75 –95 |
The Further Truth About Wilson |
Story about Wilson’s younger years |
|
119 - 129 |
Has Wilson Come Back? |
Wilson calling himself Corporal Green after being shot down over the channel |
|
138-152 |
The Forbidden Quest of William Wilson |
A trip to Tibet to climb Everest, (with no top on)! |
|
154 - 168 |
Wilson and the Black Olympics |
Deep in the African jungle, Wilson is taken prisoner and forced to compete against Zulu's |
|
180 - 190 |
Wilson and the Ship of Shivers |
Wilson on an artificial ice floe turned into an aircraft carrier |
|
212 - 224 |
It’s Wilson Again |
Wilson discover a lost Ancient Greece in the middle of Africa. |
|
255 - 280 |
Wilson Did It |
Wilson defeats the Aussies in the Ashes |
|
313 -320? |
Wilson - Seeker of Champions |
? |
|
? - 380 |
Wilson - Trainer of Champions |
? |
|
408 - 416 |
Wilson - The Ageless Athlete |
|
|
471 - 481 |
The Great Wilson |
Wilson poses as Dr. Martin Roberts |
|
500 - 517 |
The Truth About Wilson |
Reprinted (1st series 53 - 71?) |
|
567 - 590 |
Wilson at War |
? |
|
594 - 614 |
The Further Truth About Wilson |
Reprinted (1st series 75 –95) |
|
615 - 629 |
The Forbidden Quest of William Wilson |
Reprinted (1st series 138-152) |
|
634 - 647 |
Wilson and the Secret Olympics |
Reprinted (1st series 154 - 168) |
|
648 (last issue of the Hornet) |
Wilson's Wonders |
Series continued in the Hotspur 14th Feb. 1976 (852 - 874) until 17 Jul 76. |
William Wilson in Spike[edit | edit source]
Some more stories (old & new material) were published in Spike comic starting in issue #1 on 22 Jan 83. However all the artwork was new and "updated", but the old stories were much the same. Scans will be available later at the above address.
|
Issue Numbers |
Story Title |
|
1-16 |
The Man in Black |
|
17-36 |
The Truth About Wilson |
|
44-48 |
Wilson - Maker of Champions |
|
60-66 |
Wilson - The Missing Diaries |
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Gravett, Paul; Peter Stanbury (2006). Great British Comics. Aurum. ISBN 1-84513-170-3. Cite uses deprecated parameter
|coauthors=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Philip on Saturday: Legend of Wizard's Wilson lives on". The Telegraph. 24 January 2003. Retrieved 3 October 2008. Archived 3 October 2008.
- ↑ Benny Green recalled in [[wikipedia:The Spectator|]] on 26 December 1970, p. 840 that Wilson's exploits were so extraordinary, they inspired a game of topping each other with increasingly absurd 'Wilsonisms': "In one episode he takes a giant leap and breaks the world long jump record while in the act of running a three-minute mile...His most tangible legacy is a parlour game still played occasionally by grown men of my own vintage who ought to know better. The game is called 'Wilsonisms' and its aim is to arrive at the ultimate absurdity in physical achievement. 1st player: Wilson climbed Mount Everest. 2nd player: At night. 3rd player: Barefoot. 4th player: Without oxygen. 1st player: With a twelve-stone man on his back. 2nd player: In fifteen minutes. 3rd player: Backwards. 4th player: With a tray of drinks in each hand." – quoted on Jess Nevins' Pulp and Adventure Heroes site, now on Reocities.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bishop, Paul (15 August 2008). "Forgotten Books: The Truth About Wilson!". Self published. Retrieved 3 October 2008. Archived on 3 October 2008.
- ↑ Spike, DC Thomson, (weekly) 22 January 1983 to 28 April 1984
- ↑ Gallagher, Brendan (5 January 2005). "Wizard Wilson still casts spell". The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 October 2008. Archived 3 October 2008.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Gallagher, Brendan (27 December 2004). "Just spiffing!". The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 October 2008.Archived 3 October 2008.
- ↑ Turnbull, Simon (20 February 2000). "The Blaydon Racers Shun Chemistry Set". The Independent. UK. Retrieved 3 October 2008. Archived on 3 October 2008.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Thorpe, Vanessa (12 September 2004). "Crumbs! Comic heroes storm art world". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 3 October 2008. Archived 3 October 2008.
- ↑ Bryant, John. "Phenomenal pen that rewrote the record books", The Times (London), 14 Jan 1999, p. 44.
- ↑ Turnbull, Simon. "Leftfield: Cortisone in the act of doing a bit of bird", The Independent on Sunday (London), 27 Feb 2000, p. 18.
- ↑ Kitson, Robert (15 March 2007). "Geraghty has the x factor England need". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 3 October 2008. "As eye-catching debuts go, Geraghty's extravagant bow against France made even Wilson of the Wizard look pedestrian." Archived on 3 October 2008.
- ↑ Brenkley, Stephen (20 July 2008). "Selectors fail their first big test with peculiar pick of Pattinson". The Independent. UK. Retrieved 3 October 2008. "Only if Geoff Miller, the chairman of selectors, and his panel had summoned some recluse from a solitary eyrie on the Yorkshire moors where he had spent years honing his action so one day he could come to England's rescue at the 11th hour (Wilson of the Wizard, say) could they have sprung a greater surprise." Archived on 3 October 2008.
Further reading[edit | edit source]
- Gallagher, Brendan. Sporting Supermen: Wilson of the Wizard, "Tough of the Track" and Roy of the Rovers: The Life and Times of the Comic-Book Heroes ISBN 1-84513-165-7
www.theamazingwilson.com==External links==