Totally Gross Germs

The Germs is a comic strip in the UK comic The Beano. It first appeared in issue 2374, dated 16 January 1988, replacing the Rasher strip, where the characters had been introduced the previous week.

The strip was about a boy called Will who had three germs inside him (Ugly Jack Bacteria, Jeremy Germ and Iris the Virus), and they were constantly making Will ill, requiring many visits to the doctor. Iris' name later changed to Violet Virus.

The Germs were sometimes stopped in their tracks with a grown up looking germ called Auntie Biotic (pun on antibiotic).

The strip was originally drawn by David Sutherland, and was taken over by Vic Neill later on. Around this time Will's name was added onto the title, the wording changing every so often, such as (also featuring Ill Will), (also starring Ill Will) or (with Ill Will). Due to Neill's work on Billy Whizz and Tim Traveller, the strip appeared on an increasingly irregular basis in the late 1990s, and after Neill's death in 2000, it disappeared from The Beano. In 2004 it briefly returned with a new artist, Nigel Parkinson. However, the strip only made three appearances which were spread over the year, and was dropped once again.

Germs (band)

The Germs are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, originally active from 1977 to 1980. The band's early lineup consisted of singer Darby Crash, guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Lorna Doom, and their most consistent drummer Don Bolles. They released only one album, 1979's (GI) (produced by Joan Jett) and were featured the following year in Penelope Spheeris' documentary film The Decline of Western Civilization, which chronicled the Los Angeles punk movement.

Germs disbanded following Crash's suicide on December 7, 1980. Their music was influential to many later punk rock acts. Pat Smear went on to achieve greater fame performing with Nirvana and Foo Fighters.

In 2005 actor Shane West was cast to play Crash in Germs' biographical film What We Do Is Secret (named after a song by Germs). He performed with Smear, Doom, and Bolles at a production party for the film, after which Germs reformed with West as singer. The new lineup of the band has performed a number of tours in the United States, including performances on the 2006 and 2008 Warped Tours.