Issues missing the features that appeared most regularly

Following on from the previous post, you may be wondering why, given that there were 117 issues of Cheeky Weekly, are there less than 117 issues featuring the Monday feature, and the other weekdays.

This table show the issues that are 'missing' the features with the highest number of appearances, and the reasons for their absence.

So for example where this table says that the Monday feature was 'missing' from the 01 April 1978 issue, the reason is that the page was actually titled Easter Monday, as it was in the 21 April 1979 issue, and that the Monday feature in the 31 December 1977 issue was titled Boxing Day. If we look up Monday in the table posted yesterday we see 114 issues had the Monday feature, which, with the 3 issues mentioned above, brings the total issues carrying Monday-related features to 117.

FEATURE	ISSUE	WHY WAS IT MISSING?
6 Million Dollar Gran	02-Dec-78	Victim of reduced page count due to industrial action
6 Million Dollar Gran	09-Dec-78	Victim of reduced page count due to industrial action
6 Million Dollar Gran	19-Jan-80	Bumped by Petula jokes booklet and 2-page Joke-Box Jury
Friday	14-Apr-79	Page titled Good Friday
Monday	31-Dec-77	Page titled Boxing Day
Monday	01-Apr-78	Page titled Easter Monday
Monday	21-Apr-79	Page titled Easter Monday
Mustapha Million	27-Jan-79	Bumped by Snap Game
Mustapha Million	28-Apr-79	Bumped by Top Ten Poster
Mustapha Million	16-Jun-79	Bumped by Cheeky Hustle
Saturday	01-Apr-78	Page titled Saturday - April Fool's Day
Saturday	14-Apr-79	Page titled Easter Saturday
Sunday	31-Dec-77	Page titled Christmas Morning
Sunday	01-Apr-78	Page titled Easter Sunday
Sunday	03-Feb-79	Page was untitled so in my data inherited the title from cover - Cheeky's Week
Thursday	02-Dec-78	Victim of reduced page count due to industrial action
Tuesday	31-Dec-77	"Cheeky slept right through Tuesday, pals!"
Tuesday	04-Feb-78	Bumped by ad from Misty No 1
Tuesday	01-Apr-78	Bumped by 2 pages devoted to April Fool's day
Tuesday	29-Apr-78	Umm, it just wasn't there
Tuesday	01-Jul-78	Bumped by Whizzer and Chips mini comic
Tuesday	03-Mar-79	Paged titled Shrove Tuesday
Wednesday	02-Dec-78	Victim of reduced page count due to industrial action
Wednesday	03-Mar-79	Page titled Ash Wednesday

Features by number of appearances

This table shows each of the features that appeared in Cheeky Weekly, the number of issues they appeared in, and the dates of their first and final appearance.

Most recent update - 13 October 2017: I had previously named the feature in the 21 April 1979 issue which gave assembly details for the Top Ten poster as 'Poster instructions', whereas all the other 3 appearances of the same feature I had named 'Top Ten poster instructions'. Changed the name of the 21 April 1979 instance to match the others.

Update - 29 September 2017: I had previously individually named each of the joke booklets which commenced in Cheeky Weekly dated 17 November 1979. For example 'Farmer Giles booklet', 'Knock-Knock booklet' etc. I have now given them all the name Cheeky's Cut-Out Comedy Catalogue, since that's the name under which they appeared.

Update: 16 June 2015: links to relevant blog posts (where available) now inserted programmatically rather than being updated manually.

Update 24 May 2014: Added Cheeky Chuckles

FEATURE	APPEARANCES	FIRST	FINAL
Friday	116	22-Oct-1977	02-Feb-1980
Thursday	116	22-Oct-1977	02-Feb-1980
Saturday	115	22-Oct-1977	02-Feb-1980
Sunday	115	22-Oct-1977	02-Feb-1980
Wednesday	115	22-Oct-1977	02-Feb-1980
6 Million Dollar Gran	114	22-Oct-1977	02-Feb-1980
Monday	114	22-Oct-1977	02-Feb-1980
Mustapha Million	114	22-Oct-1977	02-Feb-1980
Tuesday	111	22-Oct-1977	02-Feb-1980
Cover Feature	103	22-Oct-1977	02-Feb-1980
Joke-Box Jury	99	10-Dec-1977	02-Feb-1980
Calculator Kid	78	01-Jul-1978	02-Feb-1980
Paddywack	77	08-Jul-1978	26-Jan-1980
Skateboard Squad	76	22-Oct-1977	12-May-1979
Elephant On The Run	63	30-Sep-1978	02-Feb-1980
Tub	60	30-Sep-1978	02-Feb-1980
Interval	59	22-Oct-1977	02-Dec-1978
Chit-Chat	58	09-Dec-1978	02-Feb-1980
Disaster Des	58	30-Sep-1978	02-Feb-1980
What's New, Kids	58	22-Oct-1977	17-Nov-1979
Mystery Boy	52	30-Sep-1978	13-Oct-1979
Why, Dad, Why?	52	30-Sep-1978	02-Feb-1980
Sunday evening	48	22-Oct-1977	23-Sep-1978
Wednesday (conclusion)	44	22-Oct-1977	26-Aug-1978
Creepy Sleepy Tale	43	22-Oct-1977	26-Aug-1978
James Bold	41	22-Oct-1977	05-Aug-1978
What a Cheek	41	22-Oct-1977	23-Sep-1978
Pin-up pal	39	22-Oct-1977	31-Mar-1979
Old Comic	37	22-Oct-1977	26-Aug-1978
Cheeky's Week	36	30-Sep-1978	30-Jun-1979
Space Family Robinson	36	22-Oct-1977	24-Jun-1978
Speed Squad	32	26-May-1979	02-Feb-1980
Home Movie	31	22-Oct-1977	10-Jun-1978
The Gang	31	07-Jul-1979	02-Feb-1980
Tweety and Sylvester	28	21-Jan-1978	02-Dec-1978
Snail of the Century	27	14-Jul-1979	02-Feb-1980
Stage School	26	07-Jul-1979	02-Feb-1980
Suddenly	25	07-Jan-1978	24-Jun-1978
The Burpo Special	23	09-Dec-1978	30-Jun-1979
Menace of the Alpha Man	18	03-Mar-1979	30-Jun-1979
Star Guest	18	31-Mar-1979	28-Jul-1979
Silly Snaps	12	02-Sep-1978	20-Oct-1979
Soggy the Sea Monster	12	17-Nov-1979	02-Feb-1980
Cheeky's Cut-Out Comedy Catalogue	11	17-Nov-1979	26-Jan-1980
Cheeky's Pal Puzzle	10	30-Sep-1978	02-Dec-1978
Doug's Doodle	10	22-Oct-1977	14-Jan-1978
Bam Splat and Blooie	9	29-Oct-1977	17-Jun-1978
Road Runner	9	18-Feb-1978	03-Jun-1978
Tease Break	9	17-Feb-1979	03-Nov-1979
The Terrible Trail to Taggart's Treasure	9	07-Oct-1978	02-Dec-1978
Eagle Eye	8	06-Jan-1979	24-Feb-1979
Archie's Angels	6	12-Aug-1978	16-Sep-1978
Cocky Doodle	5	29-Oct-1977	04-Mar-1978
Laugh and Learn	5	07-Oct-1978	09-Dec-1978
Wile E Coyote	5	22-Oct-1977	07-Jan-1978
Cheeky Spotter Book of Town and Around	4	19-May-1979	09-Jun-1979
Crack-A-Joke Game	4	02-Sep-1978	23-Sep-1978
Daffy Duck	4	24-Dec-1977	11-Mar-1978
Diary	4	03-Dec-1977	24-Dec-1977
Giant Cheeky Poster	4	18-Aug-1979	08-Sep-1979
Skateboard booklet	4	05-Nov-1977	26-Nov-1977
Snap Game	4	13-Jan-1979	03-Feb-1979
The Cheeky Spotter Book of Fun	4	07-Jan-1978	28-Jan-1978
Top Ten Poster	4	07-Apr-1979	28-Apr-1979
Top Ten Poster instructions	4	07-Apr-1979	28-Apr-1979
Henery Hawk	3	26-Nov-1977	04-Feb-1978
Ringer Dinger	3	06-Oct-1979	02-Feb-1980
Teacher's Teasers	3	26-Aug-1978	23-Sep-1978
Your chance to vote	3	27-Jan-1979	17-Feb-1979
Easter Monday	2	01-Apr-1978	21-Apr-1979
New Year's Eve	2	31-Dec-1977	07-Jan-1978
Smurfs competition	2	09-Sep-1978	09-Dec-1978
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?	2	24-Jun-1978	30-Sep-1978
4 Comics competition	1	28-Jan-1978	28-Jan-1978
5 Papers Competition	1	22-Jul-1978	22-Jul-1978
500 T-Shirt Winners	1	11-Mar-1978	11-Mar-1978
6 Million Dollar Gran Spot the Difference	1	19-Jan-1980	19-Jan-1980
Alpha Man competition results	1	18-Aug-1979	18-Aug-1979
Ash Wednesday	1	03-Mar-1979	03-Mar-1979
Basil Brush competition	1	11-Mar-1978	11-Mar-1978
Basil Brush competition winners	1	03-Jun-1978	03-Jun-1978
Big Four Saint Competition	1	02-Dec-1978	02-Dec-1978
Booklet instructions	1	17-Nov-1979	17-Nov-1979
Boxing Day	1	31-Dec-1977	31-Dec-1977
Buster mini comic	1	08-Jul-1978	08-Jul-1978
Cheeky Chuckles	1	15-Dec-1979	15-Dec-1979
Cheeky Hustle	1	16-Jun-1979	16-Jun-1979
Cheeky's Jersey Pattern	1	31-Mar-1979	31-Mar-1979
Chimp on a skateboard photo	1	04-Feb-1978	04-Feb-1978
Christmas Card	1	29-Dec-1979	29-Dec-1979
Christmas Day	1	31-Dec-1977	31-Dec-1977
Christmas Dinner	1	31-Dec-1977	31-Dec-1977
Christmas Morning	1	31-Dec-1977	31-Dec-1977
Christmas Quiz	1	29-Dec-1979	29-Dec-1979
Chutes Away competition winners	1	06-Jan-1979	06-Jan-1979
Creepy Pantomime	1	31-Dec-1977	31-Dec-1977
Disaster Des spot the difference	1	17-Mar-1979	17-Mar-1979
Draw Hid Kid winners	1	05-Aug-1978	05-Aug-1978
Easter Saturday	1	14-Apr-1979	14-Apr-1979
Easter Sunday	1	01-Apr-1978	01-Apr-1978
Father's Day Messages	1	17-Jun-1978	17-Jun-1978
Feature Omitted	1	02-Dec-1978	02-Dec-1978
Friends of Cheeky competition	1	26-Nov-1977	26-Nov-1977
Ghouldilocks	1	14-Oct-1978	14-Oct-1978
Good Friday	1	14-Apr-1979	14-Apr-1979
Goonburger Maze	1	20-Jan-1979	20-Jan-1979
Hello again	1	29-Oct-1977	29-Oct-1977
Hey Presto! Magic Show	1	21-Oct-1978	21-Oct-1978
Hickory Dickory Doc	1	16-Sep-1978	16-Sep-1978
Hid Kid what does he look like	1	27-May-1978	27-May-1978
Hiya I'm Cheeky	1	22-Oct-1977	22-Oct-1977
Hoi! What do you get up to all week?	1	30-Sep-1978	30-Sep-1978
James Bond competition	1	08-Sep-1979	08-Sep-1979
Jogging Jeremy's Weakly Exercise Routine	1	19-Jan-1980	19-Jan-1980
Junior Jet Club Competition	1	22-Dec-1979	22-Dec-1979
Kite Competition winners	1	13-May-1978	13-May-1978
Marx Toys Competition	1	16-Sep-1978	16-Sep-1978
Mickey Mouse Mini Comic	1	22-Jul-1978	22-Jul-1978
More joke strips	1	12-Nov-1977	12-Nov-1977
My favourite Cheeky pals (character/feature popularity poll)	1	04-Aug-1979	04-Aug-1979
Name the Snail results	1	22-Apr-1978	22-Apr-1978
Oi! What is My Name?	1	11-Feb-1978	11-Feb-1978
Poster instructions	1	08-Sep-1979	08-Sep-1979
Readers poll	1	09-Sep-1978	09-Sep-1978
Saint competition results	1	24-Mar-1979	24-Mar-1979
Saturday - April Fool's Day	1	01-Apr-1978	01-Apr-1978
Send a Father's Day message	1	29-Apr-1978	29-Apr-1978
Shrove Tuesday	1	03-Mar-1979	03-Mar-1979
Skateboard Competition	1	17-Jun-1978	17-Jun-1978
Skateboard Snap	1	04-Feb-1978	04-Feb-1978
Skateboard competition	1	29-Apr-1978	29-Apr-1978
Smurfs competition results	1	24-Mar-1979	24-Mar-1979
Sonny Storm	1	23-Sep-1978	23-Sep-1978
Spaghetti Junction maze	1	27-Jan-1979	27-Jan-1979
Tennis Competition	1	24-Jun-1978	24-Jun-1978
Train Track Maze	1	03-Feb-1979	03-Feb-1979
Tweety	1	14-Jan-1978	14-Jan-1978
Whizzer and Chips mini comic	1	01-Jul-1978	01-Jul-1978
Who Is The Alpha Man?	1	16-Jun-1979	16-Jun-1979
Who's your Super-Star?	1	18-Nov-1978	18-Nov-1978
Whoopee mini comic	1	15-Jul-1978	15-Jul-1978
Winners of Skateboard and Tennis competitions	1	28-Oct-1978	28-Oct-1978

The flyer

This flyer appeared in IPC's Whizzer and Chips, and Buster and Monster Fun comics dated 15 October 1977 (and presumably in some of the other IPC titles of the same week).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The issue of 2000AD cover dated 15 October 1977 carried a half-page ad for the toothy funster's comic. The copy played up the sci-fi/spooky elements of the new title to appeal to 2000AD's readership.

The teasers

In the 10 September 1977 issue of Krazy, an advertisement for a new comic appeared. However, the name of the comic was not revealed, readers had to answer clues to find two letters in the comic's name. This teaser campaign continued each week until the issue dated 15 October 1977, when the new comic's name was revealed as Cheeky Weekly.

Teaser from Krazy, 08 October 1977

Cheeky - the Krazy years

Cheeky Weekly was a little different to the traditional British humour/adventure comic because it was largely based around a single character, Cheeky, who we followed through a week of adventures each issue. There were other strips in the comic, but it's mainly remembered for Frank McDiarmid's freewheeling depiction of Cheeky and his pals, with plenty of comic asides, notes to the readers (including references to himself as the artist), and inventive page construction with panels leaning at giddy angles.

Maybe it was never intended that Frank would be the sole provider of art on the Cheeky pages. In fact, given the high number of pages featuring Cheeky each issue, it would seem unreasonable for the editors to expect one artist to generate all the Cheeky content every week. However, the general opinion seems to be that Cheeky was Frank's baby, and Frank was the only artist to sign the Cheeky features. For me, Frank certainly is the definitive artist for the nutty world of Cheeky and his friends.

Cheeky first appeared in another IPC comic, Krazy, where, on page 3 of the launch issue of that title dated 16 October 1976, Cheeky was drawn by Ian Knox. Gangs of various descriptions were a recurring theme in British comics, and Cheeky was depicted on this page as a member of Krazy's own gang, The Krazy Gang. The human members of said group of characters all bore a 'K' on their various upper garments.

However, on page 20 of the same issue, Cheeky appeared in his own strip, 'Ello, It's Cheeky (later retitled 'Ello, I'm Cheeky), drawn by Frank McDiarmid. The style of that strip was slightly more restrained than it would later appear, but the basic elements of Frank's Cheeky had already been established.

This is that first appearance of Frank's Cheeky...



















...note how the toothy funster bears the K jumper even on his own pages.

We must assume that over the weeks, the feedback from Krazy readers was such that the publishers felt Cheeky could support his own comic.  The first hint that Cheeky was emerging as a star in his own right came when the K was dropped from the front of his jersey and replaced with a C in his own strip as from Krazy dated 20 August 1977 (and in The Krazy Gang from the following week).  This may also indicate that plans for his own title were afoot from this point.

Cheeky Weekly stats

Genre; British children's humour/adventure comic

Publisher; IPC

First issue; 22 October 1977

Final issue before merge with Whoopee!; 02 February 1980

Number of issues; 117

Weeks not published due to industrial action; 16 December 1978, 23 December 1978, 30 December 1978.

Pages per issue; 32 (except 02 December 1978 and 09 December 1978 which had 28 pages each due to industrial action)

Total pages; 3736