Rude Kids

Chris Donald is the founder and former editor of Viz, the tatty rag that began life in his bedroom and ultimately became Britain's third best-selling magazine with a circulation of 1.2 million. Rude Kids is the story of the meteoric rise of the magazine but also Chris Donald's story, including exciting episodes in his life such as being invited to dinner by Prince Charles, being questioned by New Scotland Yard's Anti-Terrorist Branch, wining and dining Catherine Zeta Jones and catching his wife up to no good with Keith Richards in Peter Cook's attic. In reality these episodes are merely the fluff sitting on the surface of Donald's story of humble beginnings as the classroom creator of The Fat Crusader (the dour and boring schoolboy who could transform himself into a caped superhero) through the birth and development of classic Viz characters such as Roger Mellie, The Fat Slags, Millie-tant, Sid the Sexist, as well as lesser known but inspired pieces such as The Vibrating Bum-Faced Goats. The heart of the book is concerned with Donald and his fellow Viz collaborators, Jim, Graham, Simon and Thorpy in the day to day running of the magazine. It's about the relationship with his money-hungry publisher, the magazines astonishing growth and the crap records, videos and documentaries that led to the decline in sales and a tarnished reputation. Interestingly, the man never did live the rock and roll lifestyle , didn't do drugs, didn't sleep around, never became an alcoholic and-- after the riches rolled in—still preferred to stay home and watch TV. Donald comes over as a sharp, self-deprecating bloke who hates naval-gazing, the advertising world and pretentious folk who use big words. Brutally honest about the things and people he dislikes as well as his own personal failures Donald tells a fast, entertaining and sometimes belly-laugh funny story about the years he lived and breathed Viz.--Larry Brown

View books by Chris Donald.

'Needles' to say, I had the last laugh... - Rated
To begin with, this book wasn't what I was expecting. Like another reviewer here, I anticipated an in-depth appraisal of the comic itself: the creation and development of its characters, the philosophy behind its subtly satirical editorial style, as well as background on the magazine's many contributors. And while the book touches on these subjects, the main star seems to be Chris Donald himself.

For the first half, he details the fairly interesting story of how a bunch of Geordie schoolboys came up with a humour magazine that would end up selling millions of copies. The characters are well-drawn, although Donald spends a disproportionate amount of time talking about his own input - justifiably, perhaps, as he created the comic, but really it wouldn't have hurt to hear a little more about the others involved, particularly minor but interesting contributors like John Fardell and Davey Jones.

Later, though, Chris Donald's writing style becomes rather wearing, and he's not nearly as funny as you'd think. His 'anecdotes' seem to swing between tiresome exercises in pointless name-dropping (often along the lines of 'I once received a cartoon from Arthur Matthews... who then went on to write Father Ted!' and 'I've met Catherine Zeta-Jones!') and some really quite bitter stories about his petty victories over rivals, friends and colleagues. This element of the book disappointed me the most, particularly as the whole angle of Viz has always been to ridicule such name-droppers and self-absorbed celebrities. 'Bouncing Back', anyone?

Despite this, it's not the worst autobiography I've read and fans of Viz should find something to enjoy here - but be warned that the book is far more about Chris than it is about Viz.

A cautionary tale of when dreams come true - Rated
Imagine - you draw rude and amusing cartoons in your bedroom because you love doing so, then find it becomes a cult and eventually ends up selling millions, earning you fame and fortune in the process. Well, Chris Donald got to do all this - but his frank, funny and sometimes sobering book also tells of the downside; the eventual boredom, the loss of creative freedom, and the inevitable decline of a comic that was huge in the early nineties. You could take Donald's experience with Viz and transfer it to almost any product that's gone through a similar cycle; seemingly going overnight from cultish popularity to mass-market exposure and ultimate decline. It's well-told, contains laugh out loud moments, and is recommended to any fans of VIZ. To see just how right Chris Donald was about what happened to his comic creation, when you've finished reading the book just take a peek at current editions of Viz. Enough said.

Fascinating as *&%$!!!!!!!!! - Rated
This book charts the story of Chris Donald, and how his love for cartoons resulted in the creation of the infamous ‘Viz’ magazine. If you’ve ever read Viz (and I’m assuming you have which is probably why you’re interested in this book) you’d expect a witty, acerbic account of how a comic haphazardly put together in a bedroom in Jesmond became the third biggest selling magazine in the country, and that is exactly what you get.

This book tells the tale of how Chris Donald coped (and sometimes didn’t cope) with the comic’s spectacular rise to fame. I was one of those stereotypical readers he mentions within the pages of this book; avidly read Viz at the height of its success and then dropped it like a hot potato a few years later. But it was wonderful to remember all those old and well loved characters, to discover how and why they were created and to also read of the behind the scenes bickering that often went on over their creation.

The author has a talent for making the entire story of the comic interesting; his memories are always juxtaposed with humour so that even the history of Viz’s publishing sales are both fascinating and funny. However I have to disagree with other readers’ comments about the book focusing on negative aspects like Chris’s depression; if anything, this was mentioned with Chris’s usual dry irony. And I think it was important that he did mention this, if only to prove the point that fame (kind of) and fortune isn’t always everything.

Having lived in Newcastle all my life definitely enhanced the enjoyment of this book too - reading Chris’s sharp and witty remarks about life in the toon made me literally laugh out loud in places, but even if you’re not a Geordie I’d still massively recommend this book. It’s a really funny, self-deprecating and honest tale of how a geeky trainspotter found his fortune, and then ultimately lost his passion for it.

Viz - it mightn’t be as funny as it used to be, but read this book and remember the good times.

Very dry and hugely entertaining. - Rated
I admit to being a long-standing fan of Chris Donald's writing in Viz, so to get a book length portion is something of a treat. It's your standard Geordie grin-mag rags-to-riches tale, but told with such bone-dry wit and honesty that it's irresistable. Don't take too much notice of what the other reviewers have said - this book's funny, laconic and consisitently entertaining, and if you don't like it, then I don't like you.

viz fans only - Rated
not too bad, gets a bit dull later on. some good stories of donald's early life and work (particularly working for the DHSS).
donald comes across as a basically decent man, whose magazine has changed as he has - viz now pokes fun at subjects such as feral children (rat boy), racist pensioners (mrs brady), feckless alchoholics (8 ace), and the underclass (tasha slappa). some interesting stories of legal problems donald was involved with.
not suprisingly if you don't read viz much the book will be pretty hard going