The Germs is a comic strip in the UK comic The Beano. It first appeared in issue 2374, dated 16 January 1988. It is about a boy called Will who has three germs inside him (Ugly Jack Bacteria, Jeremy Germ and Iris the Virus), and they are constantly making Will ill, meaning many visits to the doctor. Iris' name later changed to Violet Virus. 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). After Neill passed away in around 2000, the strip disappeared from The Beano, but in 2004 it started to return on an occasional basis with a new artist, Nigel Parkinson .