Timeline
16 May 1964 Billy Whizz debuts in the comic. Issue No. 1139
late 1970s/early 1980s Billy starts wearing trousers instead of shorts. This is explained in a story where Billy's dad tells him to buy some trousers, in the hope that they will slow him down, but Billy chooses some tracksuit bottoms which don't slow him down.
27 January 1989 The final appearance of Malcolm Judge's Billy in the comic. Barrie Appleby draws the strip for the next few weeks, before Steve Horrocks takes over.
1990 David Parkins takes over as the full-time artist.
1991 Trevor Metcalfe starts drawing Billy as understudy to Parkins.
1992 Vic Neill also starts drawing Billy.
9 May 1992 Billy Whizz wears his new thunderbolt tracksuit for the first time in a story where he runs so fast in his new tracksuit that he is mistaken for a lightning storm. Issue No. 2599
1993 David Parkins quits drawing Billy, and Vic Neill takes over permanently, although Trevor Metcalfe still contributes occasional strips for the next year.
1993 Trevor Metcalfe provides the Billy Whizz strip for the Beano Annual 1995, which proves to be the last time he draws Billy for over a decade.
9 July 1994 Billy's hairstyle changes, with no explanation in the comic. Issue No. 2712.
2000 Vic Neill dies, and is replaced by Graeme Hall.
5 April 2003 Wayne Thompson takes over as Billy's artist. Issue No. 3168
2005 Trevor Metcalfe again starts drawing Billy, this time as Thompson's understudy, before later becoming permanent artist.
16 June 2007 The final regular new strip in the Beano drawn by Metcalfe. From the following week's issue, Billy's strip became reprint. Issue No. 3385
2 August 2008 Barrie Appleby draws a new Billy Whizz strip in the 70th birthday edition of the Beano, the first new strip in the comic for over a year. Issue No. 3443
31 October 2009 Nick Brennan takes over as artist and new strips start being printed.
10 November 2012 Wilbur Dawbarn replaces Nick Brennan as artist, reverting the character to his original image.
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