Welcome to the Cheeky Weekly blog!


Welcome to the Cheeky Weekly blog!
Cheeky Weekly ™ REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, COPYRIGHT ©  REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED was a British children's comic with cover dates spanning 22 October 1977 to 02 February 1980.

Quick links...
Basic Stats
Cheeky Weekly Index - Cheeky Annuals and Specials Index
Cheeky Weekly Artist Index
Features by Number of Appearances
Cheeky Weekly Timeline
Major Characters from the Cheeky pages
Features Ordered by Date of Commencement

*** ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT ©  REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Used with permission. ***
*** CHEEKY WEEKLY, KRAZY, WHOOPEE!, WHOOPEE, WOW!, WHIZZER AND CHIPS and BUSTER ARE ™ REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, COPYRIGHT ©  REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ***
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Friday, 6 December 2024

Whizzer and Chips - The Cheeky Raids Part 62

New readers start here... After Cheeky Weekly folded and was incorporated into Whoopee as of February 1980 six strips that had originated in the toothy funster's title survived the merge and continued to appear in the amalgamated comic. Whoopee itself foundered in March 1985 and was merged into Whizzer and Chips. Three of the surviving Cheeky Weekly strips successfully negotiated this second merge and went on to appear in the newly combined publication, rather inelegantly titled 'Whizzer and Chips now including Whoopee'. The survivors were Mustapha Million, Calculator Kid and (appearing only twice) Stage School. Cheeky continued to appear, but as a member of The Krazy Gang, who had moved into W&C when Krazy, the comic in which the Gang originated, expired in April 1978. However, the Krazy Gang's Whizzer and Chips run ended in the issue dated 08 February 1986. Calculator Kid survived a little longer, his run of reprints coming to an end in the 26 July 1986 edition and leaving Mustapha Million as the sole Cheeky Weekly survivor.

The previous post in this series focused on Whizzer and Chips dated 10 March 1990, and I have been able to eliminate the two following editions from being relevant to documentation here as neither featured ex-Cheeky Weekly characters as raider or raided.

Thus we arrive at Whizzer and Chips' 31 March 1990 edition, and I'm able to report that not only have I identified raiders into both Whizzer and Chips (this has not always been the case in recent months), but Mustapha Million is one of those involved.

Fuss Pot is the Chip-ite intruder into Whizzer. Readers of my previous post will be aware that Fuss pot traversed the Whizzer/Chips boundary on occasion, but she had been firmly ensconced within Chips (except when mounting cross-border raids) since the 22 October 1998 issue. The fastidious female perpetrated a raid on Sweeny Toddler in the 31 March 1990 comic. Mustapha Million suffered an interloper in the same issue. Can you spot the trespasser? Scroll down the learn the identity of the iniquitous invader.

 

Art: Frank McDiarmid

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, it's the dentally deficient Sweet-Tooth, a character mostly associated with Whizzer, but who on occasion crossed the divide into Chips, although in this particular issue the confectionery consuming cove's page was lodged inside Whizzer territory on page 25.

I have identified raiders and raided in the 4 issues published after that examined above (i.e. up to and including the edition cover-dated 28 April 1990), and none of those raids are Cheeky-related. This means that this is the final post in this series, since the 28 April 1990 edition of Whizzer and Chips was the last to include a raid, at least in the classic sense. The following week the comic was reduced from 32 to 24 pages and the concept of  Whizzer and Chips being '2 comics in one' was dropped (although the title remained the same), so there was no longer a defined Whizzer or Chips section.

Instead of identifying Whizz-kids raiding Chip-ites and vice versa, commencing with the 05 May 1990 issue, readers were challenged to search the whole comic for a cameo appearance by Little Devil, whose feature had been appearing in Whizzer and Chips since the issue dated 06 January 1990 (although I suspect this was a run of reprints, so the satanic scamp could well have been featured earlier). As of the 05 May 1990 edition, the rather oddly worded message 'Can you find Little Devil on one of these pages?' appeared at the foot of each LD episode. The answer to this question would of course be 'Yes, in the strip above'. Readers should instead have been asked 'Can you find Little Devil on another page?'. For his inaugural infernal intrusion, Little Devil demonically possessed Memory Banks.

Whizzer and Chips 05 May 1990
Art: Murray Ball (I think)

Whizzer and Chips 05 May 1990
Art: Mark Bennington

The diminutive demon's strip made its final appearance in the issue dated 06 October 1990, just 3 short of the comic's 27 October 1990 ultimate edition. 23 issues were published between 05 May 1990 and 06 October 1990 (inclusive), but Little Devil's strip was absent from the comic dated 26 May 1990 and it would seem that the obtrusive ogre didn't impose himself on any of the other pages that week. I have been able to locate the inimitable imp in 20 of the issues in which he supposedly appeared on other pages (09 June and 22 September being the editions in which LD has evaded my searches), and I can report that on one occasion, in the 08 September 1990 comic, the hell-spawned character invaded Mustapha Million's page. In that episode, Mustapha travels to Australia with a sack of cash in order to persuade a number of TV soap stars who have departed Neighbours to return to their roles in the popular antipodean drama.

Whizzer and Chips 08 September 1990. Art: Frank McDiarmid



Whizzer and Chips Cover Date Raider Raided
06 April 1985Mustapha MillionSuper Steve
04 May 1985Bloggs (Store Wars)Mustapha Million
11 May 1985JokerThe Krazy Gang (Cheeky)
18 May 1985Calculator Kid & CalcOdd-Ball
01 June 1985
Animalad
Mustapha Million
The Krazy Gang (Cheeky)
Boy Boss
08 June 1985Odd-BallCalculator Kid
06 July 1985Toy BoyCalculator Kid
13 July 1985Pa BumpkinThe Krazy Gang (Cheeky)
27 July 1985JokerMustapha Million
24 August 1985CheekySid's Snake
14 September 1985
Odd-Ball
Calculator Kid
Calculator Kid
Store Wars
05 October 1985Mustapha MillionAnimalad
19 October 1985Odd-BallMustapha Million
23 November 1985
Sweeny Toddler
Sweeny Toddler
Sweeny Toddler
Calculator Kid
The Krazy Gang (Cheeky)
Mustapha Million
18 January 1986Mustapha MillionSuper Steve
25 January 1986
Odd-Ball
Cheeky
Mustapha Million
Odd-Ball
08 February 1986
The Krazy Gang ends this issue
AnimaladMustapha Million
15 February 1986Lazy BonesCalculator Kid
15 March 1986Odd-BallCalculator Kid
29 March 1986Calculator KidMaster P Brain
05 April 1986Bumpkin BillionairesMustapha Million
12 April 1986AnimaladCalculator Kid
31 May 1986Lazy BonesCalculator Kid
07 June 1986Mustapha MillionJoker
28 June 1986Sweet ToothMustapha Million
26 July 1986
Calculator Kid ends this issue
No Cheeky-related raid this issueNo Cheeky-related raid this issue
16 August 1986Mustapha MillionJoker
23 August 1986Sweet ToothMustapha Million
18 October 1986Winnie the Royal NagMustapha Million
06 December 1986Toy BoyMustapha Million
13 December 1986Mustapha MillionOdd-Ball
17 January 1987SidMustapha Million
14 February 1987Odd-BallMustapha Million
11 April 1987Pa BumpkinMustapha Million
25 April 1987Mustapha MillionOdd-Ball
20 June 1987Toy BoyMustapha Million
27 June 1987Mustapha MillionMemory Banks
25 July 1987Lazy BonesMustapha Million
22 August 1987Winnie the Royal NagMustapha Million
12 September 1987Mustapha MillionSweet Tooth
19 September 1987Odd-BallMustapha Million
24 October 1987Odd-BallMustapha Million
12 December 1987JokerMustapha Million
13 February 1988Bloggs (Store Wars)Mustapha Million
20 February 1988Mustapha MillionJoker
12 March 1988Odd-BallMustapha Million
23 April 1988JokerMustapha Million
28 May 1988
Readers asked not to let their Whizz-kid or Chip-ite sympathies colour their favourite strip votes
No Cheeky-related raid this issueNo Cheeky-related raid this issue
11 June 1988SlippyMustapha Million
16 July 1988Toy BoyMustapha Million
30 July 1988 New raids halted

05 August 1989 (raid reprinted from 25 Aug 1984)CheekyStore Wars
12 August 1989 Resumption of new raids (one per week)No Cheeky-related raid this issueNo Cheeky-related raid this issue
02 September 1989JokerMustapha Million
16 September 1989SlippyMustapha Million
23 September 1989 Weekly reciprocal raids resumeNo Cheeky-related raid this issueNo Cheeky-related raid this issue
28 October 1989
Mustapha Million

Sweeny Toddler
Bobby's Ghoul

Mustapha Million
11 November 1989 - Tarman is the Chip-ite raider into Whizzer, but I have been unable to identify any raider into Chips


18 November 1989 Mustapha MillionSid's Whizz-kids page
02 December 1989 JokerMustapha Million
23 December 1989 - Junior Rotter is the Chip-ite raider into Whizzer, but I have been unable to identify any raider into Chips

30 December 1989 - Slippy is the Whizz-kid raider into Chips, but I have been unable to identify any raider into Whizzer

27 January 1990 - Slippy is the Whizz-kid raider into Chips, but I have been unable to identify any raider into Whizzer

24 February 1990 - Joker is the Whizz-kid raider into Chips, but I have been unable to identify any raider into Whizzer

10 March 1990 - Sweeny Toddler intrudes upon Lazy Bones in a reprinted 'raid' from Whizzer and Chips dated 06 April 1985. I have been unable to identify any raider into Whizzer.Joker
Mustapha Million
31 March 1990
Sweet-Tooth
Mustapha Million
28 April 1990 The final 32-page edition. The concept of a Whizzer and a Chips section is dropped from the subsequent 24-page issues, and consequently there are no further raids (although the Little Devil character can often be found on another character's page).
No Cheeky-related raid this issueNo Cheeky-related raid this issue


Sunday, 3 November 2024

Whizz-ites vs Chip-kids - Part 8

This is another post in the series that sees me ruthlessly unmasking the traitorous characters who posed as both Whizz-kids and Chip-ites during their appearances in Whizzer and Chips. My investigation covers Whizzer and Chips' weekly editions dated 06 April 1985 to 28 April 1990. For the reasons why, see the first post in this series.

The confectionary-obsessed Sweet-Tooth was a true stalwart of Whizzer and Chips. According to Wikipedia, the chocolate-chomping chap made his debut in that title in 1973. Focusing on the period covered by this series of posts, the sweet-scoffing scallywag was absent from just 9 issues between those dated 06 April 1985 and 28 April 1990's final 32-page edition. For the remainder of Whizzer and Chips' run, the comic was reduced to 24 pages and Sweet-Tooth's feature was dropped from the truncated issues (although following the cancellation of Whizzer and Chips he did return in the pages of Buster).

Of Sweet-Tooth's 256 blood-sugar-elevating adventures in Whizzer and Chips dated between 06 April 1985 and 28 April 1990, 254 were located within the Whizzer section. However, the glucose guzzler made 2 forays into Chips; 13 May 1989 (a 'colour' adventure on page 23) and 01 July 1989 (page 19). Sweet-Tooth's temporary defections were not acknowledged in the comic.

Whizzer and Chips 13 May 1989; Sweet-Tooth slips into Chips
Art: Trevor Metcalfe

Barry Glennard's final strip in his run of illustrating Sweet-Tooth appeared in the 08 April 1989 edition of Whizzer and Chips, so the subsequent episodes, including the one shown above, were no doubt reprints.

Sunday, 20 October 2024

The FCFC go Krazy

In the latest episode of the Funny Comics Fan Club podcast, Mark Hibbett and John Dredge are examining an issue of Krazy, the comic that spawned the Cheeky phenomenon. I'm pleased to say that they hold the comic in as high regard as I do myself, and they are enthusiastic about Cheeky's solo strip. Our hosts then discuss other Krazy content (including surprising opinions on some of the adverts!). There is disagreement between the pair about whether Krazy was inspired by Mad magazine, which I think it clearly was. I'm looking forward to hearing their views on Cheeky Weekly - no doubt they're planning to review an issue of the toothy funster's own comic at some point in the future.

FCFC is available from all good podcast platforms.

Sunday, 29 September 2024

Whizz-ites vs Chip-kids - Part 7

This is another post in the series that sees me ruthlessly unmasking the traitorous characters who posed as both Whizz-kids and Chip-ites during their appearances in Whizzer and Chips. My investigation covers Whizzer and Chips' weekly editions dated 06 April 1985 to 28 April 1990. For the reasons why, see the first post in this series.

The uncompromisingly fastidious Fuss Pot evidently found favour with more than one generation of comic fans, since she enjoyed a career in weekly/fortnightly comics which spanned just over 28 years, commencing in the 12 June 1971 debut issue of IPC's Knockout, and concluding in Buster Fortnightly dated 29 September 1999.

Whizzer and Chips 25 January 1986
Art: Norman Mansbridge

Having arrived in Whizzer and Chips following Knockout's 1973 cancellation, Fuss Pot was dropped from the 'two comics in one' title at some point between 1973 and March 1985 (a period outside the scope of this series). The finicky female was reintroduced (for what may have been a trial outing, an emergency gap-filling exercise or an opportunity to plug the Best of Whizzer and Chips Monthly) in Whizzer and Chips dated 25 January 1986 (on page 23, within Chips), then returned in the edition dated 28 February 1987 (page 18, again in Chips territory). Our pointy-nosed pal thereafter featured in 108 of the 191 remaining Whizzer and Chips issues to be published, including an appearance in the comic's final edition dated 27 October 1990. However, for all her fussy fulminations, she wasn't too fussed about remaining true to the Chip-ite cause.

In the 13 August 1988 edition Fuss Pot was to be found on page 30, placing her inside Whizzer. This change of allegiance was not remarked on in the comic, and our choosy chum returned to the Chips fold the following week, remaining there until crossing over into Whizzer again in the 01 October 1988 issue. This was the beginning of what was to be a 3-week sojourn inside Whizzer. Again there was no acknowledgement of Fuss Pot's move across the border, and she returned to Chips as of the 22 October 1988 comic, remaining a Chip-ite until 28 April 1990, which was the final 32-page Whizzer and Chips and is the cut-off point for the investigations undertaken in this series of posts.

The picky subject of this post made a promotional visit to Cheeky Weekly dated 07 April 1979 as part of that year's Star Guest campaign. UPDATE 06 October 2024 - Fuss Pot also appeared in Cheeky Weekly dated 01 July 1978, where she was included in that issue's Whizzer and Chips Mini Comic.

Saturday, 14 September 2024

Whizzer and Chips - The Cheeky Raids part 61

New readers start here... After Cheeky Weekly folded and was incorporated into Whoopee as of February 1980 six strips that had originated in the toothy funster's title survived the merge and continued to appear in the amalgamated comic. Whoopee itself foundered in March 1985 and was merged into Whizzer and Chips. Three of the surviving Cheeky Weekly strips successfully negotiated this second merge and went on to appear in the newly combined publication, rather inelegantly titled 'Whizzer and Chips now including Whoopee'. The survivors were Mustapha Million, Calculator Kid and (appearing only twice) Stage School. Cheeky continued to appear, but as a member of The Krazy Gang, who had moved into W&C when Krazy, the comic in which the Gang originated, expired in April 1978. However, the Krazy Gang's Whizzer and Chips run ended in the issue dated 08 February 1986. Calculator Kid survived a little longer, his run of reprints coming to an end in the 26 July 1986 edition and leaving Mustapha Million as the sole Cheeky Weekly survivor.

The previous post in this series focused on Whizzer and Chips dated 24 February 1990, which is the fifth issue in which I have been unable to identify raiders into both Whizzer and Chips - there have been 3 issues where the Chip-ite raider into Whizzer has evaded me, and 2 in which no interloper into Chips has been evident (to me) - see the table below for more details. Now it may be that my observational skills are lacking and it's just that I haven't looked hard enough (although I have scoured each of the issues in question a number of times), or it's possible that the person in the W&C office whose task it was to secrete two pasted-in images in each issue, one within Whizzer and the other somewhere among the funny folk of Chips, was less than assiduous in performing their clandestine task. Each issue at this period included captions on the Sid's Whizz-kids and Shiner's Chip-ites pages warning that the opposition had sent a raider into their section of the comic, but sadly the culprits were no longer exposed the following week as had been the practice until the 30 July 1988 comic.

In the issue following from that examined in my previous post, I have been able to identify raiders into Whizzer and Chips, and since Mustapha Million, who by this point was the only surviving character who had originated in Cheeky Weekly, was not involved in either of the raids, I can eliminate it from my investigations.

The edition published a week later, dated 10 March 1990, is yet another perplexing one, as I have identified 2 raiders but they are both within Chips!

There's an infant infiltrator into Lazy Bones' story on page 19, as a glowering Sweeny Toddler observes the teacher spout his expository monologue in the first panel. This strip is reprinted from page 6 of Whizzer and Chips dated 06 April 1985, which was the first edition merged with Whoopee. Sweeny's ugly fizzog was in evidence in the same position on that occasion because the teeny terror was seen (or left evidence of his presence in the form of graffiti) several times in the the inaugural merge issue as he prowled the comic in order to establish on which page his story had been placed (in the process outing Mustapha Million as the raider into Whizzer). On the original printing of this Lazy Bones story, a message reading 'Where is my page?' appeared below Sweeny's face.

Lazy Bones had undergone a conversion to Chipitism as of the comic dated 06 January 1990, so while this tale concerning the lethargic lad originally appeared in Whizzer, its 1990 reprint was located in Chips.

JR and Mustapha Million are both to be found on Sid's Whizz-kids page, but as objects of ridicule, so these appearances do not constitute raids.

Lazy Bones art: Colin Whittock
Whizzer and Chips 10 March 1990


The second raid (which I'm viewing as this edition's 'official' whizz-kid intrusion upon Chips) is perpetrated on Mustapha Million. Can you identify the interloper? Scroll down to learn the identity of the trespasser...

Art: Frank McDiarmid



 

...it's Whizzer's prime prankster Joker, committing his sixth intrusion upon Mustapha.

Unfortunately, the Chip-ite raider into Whizzer (if such is actually present in this particular issue) has evaded my questing eyeballs.


Whizzer and Chips Cover Date Raider Raided
06 April 1985Mustapha MillionSuper Steve
04 May 1985Bloggs (Store Wars)Mustapha Million
11 May 1985JokerThe Krazy Gang (Cheeky)
18 May 1985Calculator Kid & CalcOdd-Ball
01 June 1985
Animalad
Mustapha Million
The Krazy Gang (Cheeky)
Boy Boss
08 June 1985Odd-BallCalculator Kid
06 July 1985Toy BoyCalculator Kid
13 July 1985Pa BumpkinThe Krazy Gang (Cheeky)
27 July 1985JokerMustapha Million
24 August 1985CheekySid's Snake
14 September 1985
Odd-Ball
Calculator Kid
Calculator Kid
Store Wars
05 October 1985Mustapha MillionAnimalad
19 October 1985Odd-BallMustapha Million
23 November 1985
Sweeny Toddler
Sweeny Toddler
Sweeny Toddler
Calculator Kid
The Krazy Gang (Cheeky)
Mustapha Million
18 January 1986Mustapha MillionSuper Steve
25 January 1986
Odd-Ball
Cheeky
Mustapha Million
Odd-Ball
08 February 1986
The Krazy Gang ends this issue
AnimaladMustapha Million
15 February 1986Lazy BonesCalculator Kid
15 March 1986Odd-BallCalculator Kid
29 March 1986Calculator KidMaster P Brain
05 April 1986Bumpkin BillionairesMustapha Million
12 April 1986AnimaladCalculator Kid
31 May 1986Lazy BonesCalculator Kid
07 June 1986Mustapha MillionJoker
28 June 1986Sweet ToothMustapha Million
26 July 1986
Calculator Kid ends this issue
No Cheeky-related raid this issueNo Cheeky-related raid this issue
16 August 1986Mustapha MillionJoker
23 August 1986Sweet ToothMustapha Million
18 October 1986Winnie the Royal NagMustapha Million
06 December 1986Toy BoyMustapha Million
13 December 1986Mustapha MillionOdd-Ball
17 January 1987SidMustapha Million
14 February 1987Odd-BallMustapha Million
11 April 1987Pa BumpkinMustapha Million
25 April 1987Mustapha MillionOdd-Ball
20 June 1987Toy BoyMustapha Million
27 June 1987Mustapha MillionMemory Banks
25 July 1987Lazy BonesMustapha Million
22 August 1987Winnie the Royal NagMustapha Million
12 September 1987Mustapha MillionSweet Tooth
19 September 1987Odd-BallMustapha Million
24 October 1987Odd-BallMustapha Million
12 December 1987JokerMustapha Million
13 February 1988Bloggs (Store Wars)Mustapha Million
20 February 1988Mustapha MillionJoker
12 March 1988Odd-BallMustapha Million
23 April 1988JokerMustapha Million
28 May 1988
Readers asked not to let their Whizz-kid or Chip-ite sympathies colour their favourite strip votes
No Cheeky-related raid this issueNo Cheeky-related raid this issue
11 June 1988SlippyMustapha Million
16 July 1988Toy BoyMustapha Million
30 July 1988 New raids halted

05 August 1989 (raid reprinted from 25 Aug 1984)CheekyStore Wars
12 August 1989 Resumption of new raids (one per week)No Cheeky-related raid this issueNo Cheeky-related raid this issue
02 September 1989JokerMustapha Million
16 September 1989SlippyMustapha Million
23 September 1989 Weekly reciprocal raids resumeNo Cheeky-related raid this issueNo Cheeky-related raid this issue
28 October 1989
Mustapha Million

Sweeny Toddler
Bobby's Ghoul

Mustapha Million
11 November 1989 - Tarman is the Chip-ite raider into Whizzer, but I have been unable to identify any raider into Chips


18 November 1989 Mustapha MillionSid's Whizz-kids page
02 December 1989 JokerMustapha Million
23 December 1989 - Junior Rotter is the Chip-ite raider into Whizzer, but I have been unable to identify any raider into Chips

30 December 1989 - Slippy is the Whizz-kid raider into Chips, but I have been unable to identify any raider into Whizzer

27 January 1990 - Slippy is the Whizz-kid raider into Chips, but I have been unable to identify any raider into Whizzer

24 February 1990 - Joker is the Whizz-kid raider into Chips, but I have been unable to identify any raider into Whizzer

10 March 1990 - Sweeny Toddler intrudes upon Lazy Bones in a reprinted 'raid' from Whizzer and Chips dated 06 April 1985. I have been unable to identify any raider into Whizzer.Joker
Mustapha Million


Saturday, 31 August 2024

Whizz-ites vs Chip-kids - Part 6

This is another post in the series that sees me ruthlessly unmasking the traitorous characters who posed as both Whizz-kids and Chip-ites during their appearances in Whizzer and Chips. My investigation covers Whizzer and Chips' weekly editions dated 06 April 1985 to 28 April 1990. For the reasons why, see the first post in this series.

When embarking on this task it had been my intention to document, in alphabetical order, the boundary-crossing features that whizzed over into Chips or else chipped into Whizzer. However, the traitorous nature of the subject of this particular exposé is relevant to the next post in my series examining Whizzer and Chips - The Cheeky Raids, so please forgive me for bypassing a few of the guilty (who will, you can be assured, not elude disclosure of their identities) to on this occasion reveal the traitorous tyke to be...

Lazy Bones

The somnolent schoolboy was of course present in Whizzer and Chips prior to the the first combined issue of Whizzer and Chips and Whoopee, dated 06 April 1985, but that pre-merge period is outwith the scope of this series of posts. Benny was located within Whizzer in that first merged edition, and although his location within the comic varied over the months (the closest he got to the front of the title was page 2 [28 December 1985], and he briefly visited the back cover [17 May 1986]), he remained within the confines of Whizzer until the issue dated 17 January 1987 when he was to be found on page 24, which is the 'back cover' of Chips. Benny returned to the same page a week later, after which the comatose character resumed his place within Whizzer. In the comic dated 31 January 1987, Benny taunted Shiner by appearing on the Chip-ites' letters page and claiming a 2-week raid. This brief relocation across the divide into Chips cannot therefore be considered a transfer of allegiance. That would come later.

Whizzer and Chips 31 January 1987

As mentioned above, Benny returned to the Whizzer fold, doubtless lauded by his Whizz-kid compatriots for the audacious and protracted nature of the incursion into enemy territory, as of the 31 January 1987 edition, and thereafter remained a Whizz-kid, turning up in various locations within the domain ruled over by the herpetologically-inclined Sid until the issue dated 06 May 1989, following which his strip was absent from the comic for some months. However, when Benny resumed occupancy in Whizzer and Chips dated 06 January 1990, the first issue of the year that would see Whizzer and Chips' final edition, he was allocated to page 19, placing him within Chips.

A week after returning as a Chip-ite, Benny appeared on the Sid's Whizz-kids page of the issue dated 13 January 1990, among the characters depicted by reader Robert Suddaby. The subjects of the young artist's drawing were, according to the accompanying caption, characters he would like to see make a return to the comic, so Robert must have been thrilled by the recent resumption of Benny's strip (assuming the Harpenden-based illustrator was not offended by Benny's relocation to the rival section). Robert's campaign was in fact doubly effective as the same 06 January 1990 comic which saw Benny's return also featured the commencement of a brief, 8-issue reprint run of Roy Mitchell's Freddy 3D, who was among the characters diligently rendered by our young artist chum. The Lambiek Comiclopedia entry for Roy tells us that Freddy and his extraordinary eyewear debuted during 1983, and I'm guessing the strip was fairly short-lived in its original run. At the time this letters page was printed Store Wars was enjoying a run that had begun in the 04 November 1989 edition following a 12-week absence so maybe Robert's submission was made during the period that the retail ructions were being rested.

Master Suddaby's plea for the return of Super Steve was unsuccessful, as the Super Steve v NME Nasties feature wasn't resurrected following its concluding episode (under a banner reading 'The final challenge - will Steve succeed?' - Spoiler Alert - he did, and the NME baddies, realising they could not triumph over the young adventurer formerly known as the 12½ p Buytonic Boy, ceased their long-running battle against the ESS) in Whizzer and Chips dated 08 February 1986.

Whizzer and Chips 13 January 1990
 

Sid, Shiner and indeed Benny himself remained silent regarding the weary youngster's January 1990 defection. However, on the Shiner's Chip-ites and Sid's Whizz-kids pages there were a number of tacit acknowledgements of our lethargic chum's transfer of allegiance...

  • Freddy 3D and Lazy Bones appeared together on the Shiner's Chip-ites page in a joke submitted by reader Steven Peters of Rye in the comic dated 03 March 1990 - Freddy set up the gag and Benny delivered the punch line.
  • Benny was back on Shiner's page a week later, warning Chip-ites to be vigilant for that week's raider.
  • In the 24 March 1990 edition young master Bones was the butt of a gag on the Sid's Whizz-kids page.
  • Marcus Massey of Liverpool was no doubt excited to see his drawing of a recumbent Benny on Shiner's page of the comic dated 31 March 1990.
  • Our weary chum again warned of the Whizz-kid raider on Shiner's page in the 07 April 1990 edition.

It would seem, though, that not everyone in the editorial office had been briefed about Benny's defection...

  • Benny's left, heavy-lidded eye and stubbly scalp continued to be seen through the left hand side of the window of Sid's club hut, which featured intermittently at the top of the Sid's Whizz-kids reader participation page until the club venue made its final appearance in the 14 April 1990 edition.
  • A selection of Whizz-kids were seen throughout the Chip-ite Chumps booklet that occupied 8 pages of Whizzer and Chips dated 14 April 1990. These characters, drawn by Terry Bave and all depicted helpless with laughter at the Chip-ite-baiting witticisms which constituted the cut-out section, included Benny Bones.

 


 

Following his 06 January 1990 return, Benny remained a Chip-ite up to and including his final appearance, a two-page adventure in the issue dated 28 April 1990 (pages 20 and 21). Long-time reader Stuart Loughrill of Steeple Bumpstead had a letter published in the comic dated 14 July 1990, tackling Sid about the reason for Benny's disloyalty, but the Whizz-kid supremo evaded the question.

Whizzer and Chips 14 July 1990

Monday, 19 August 2024

A Look Back at a Look Forward

The Great News For All Readers blog is looking back at issues of Cheeky Weekly and Plug cover-dated today (19th August). I think I only bought the first issue of Plug, so David's summary of the contents of this issue is very informative. The edition of Cheeky Weekly under the GNFAR spotlight is the '60 years into the future' issue which is probably my favourite of all the toothy funster's comics, and David does it justice in his review.