Billy Whizz was one of my favourites when I was a kid. There is something very appealing about characters with special abilities – especially if they act as a handicap as often as not.

But Billy’s speed gave the artists and writers at The Beano a very good excuse to use their imagination with the story lines. So you could have Billy playing football by himself – and acting as striker and goalie, as he could outpace the speeding ball once he had kicked it.

Billy Whizz first appeared in May 1964, when he replaced The Country Cuzzins. Billy, the title character, is said to be "a boy who can run extraordinarily fast. His speed often causes chaos yet at the same time his ability can prove useful".

This is selected, like many of my panels and images, from the 1960s and 1970s, and should make a great gift to anybody who is into retro, vintage, old school design. I tend to choose material from this era because it was the time I was growing up and my tastes and preferences were being formed. But also it’s a pre-digital age, and the drawings are all made by hand rather than computer aided. Obviously, as I’m a screenprinter, I’m biased in favour of the handmade, so this style is right up my street. I hope it is yours.

The Beano and The Dandy are Britain's iconic sister comic magazines, both published by DC Thomson.  

The Dandy was launched on December 4, 1937 (making it The Beano’s older sibling). 

Famous characters include Desperate Dan (the world's strongest cowboy who loves cow pies) and Korky The Cat. The print weekly edition ended on December 4, 2012 (its 75th anniversary). It continues today through yearly specials, gift books, and annuals.The Beano was launched on July 30, 1938  which makes it the world's longest-running weekly comic magazine. Its famous characters include Dennis & Gnasher, Minnie the Minx, The Bash Street Kids, and Bananaman. It is still published weekly.

Incidentally, the word beano is apparently short for "bean-feast" and means a feast, a celebration and a good time.