The Robinsons escape their abductors and in the ensuing weeks encounter a variety of alien fiends including Icemen, Fishmen, a giant two-headed cat and a race called the Moloks, who look like a human/evil hamster hybrid.
The most memorable alien is King Blubber who terrorises our heroes for several episodes until his inflatable body explodes to reveal a weedy occupant who disappears down an alien rabbit hole and is never seen again.
Just after the family construct a stockade, a mysterious cloud of dark particles approaches, only for the kids to realise that it's black snow (well, this is the Christmas issue). Mum then reveals she has put up makeshift Christmas decorations in the encampment, and not only that, she has cooked a super Christmas dinner of alien veg.
Final episode below...
The Robinson saga proceeds at a breakneck pace with each episode featuring an escape from the peril presented in the preceding instalment, immediately followed by some new threat and cliff-hanger ending. It's something of a pot-boiler series that could have been kept going for as long as necessary. So immersed in the plot was the writer that he/she failed to realise that three instalments were titled 'Escape' and two 'Tunnel of Terror'.
The strip was presented as the film serial that Cheeky and his pals watched on Saturdays.
As far as I can tell, there were three artists who drew the Robinson pages, none of whom I can name. One artist provided all the artwork from the first installment up to and including the episode dated 25 March 1978. The art on the episode dated 01 April 1978 was by the artist who drew 'Whiz Wheels' in Whizzer and Chips, and a third artist drew all the remaining episodes. If anyone can name the artists, please contact me with the details.
UPDATE 15 July 2013 - Many thanks to Russ Juckes who has been in touch to let me know that the first artist on Space Family Robinson was John Richardson who, Russ informs me, also drew for 2000AD and Crash magazine.
UPDATE 22 November 2018 - Thanks to Lew Stringer's post I now know that John Richardson was also the artist on Cheeky Weekly's Mystery Boy which began 7 months after John's last work on Space Family Robinson (although MB was in fact a reprint of a strip that originally appeared in 1971).
| Feature | First Appearance | Final Appearance | Total Issues | Total Issues Missed In Run | Page History |
| Space Family Robinson | 22-Oct-77 | 24-Jun-78 | 36 | 0 | 28,29,30,31 |
| Feature | Artist | Number of Issues | First Appearance | Final Appearance |
| Space Family Robinson The Snatch | John Richardson | 1 | 22-Oct-1977 | 22-Oct-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson The Chase | John Richardson | 1 | 29-Oct-1977 | 29-Oct-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson Escape | John Richardson | 1 | 05-Nov-1977 | 05-Nov-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson Trapped | John Richardson | 1 | 12-Nov-1977 | 12-Nov-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson The Pit | John Richardson | 1 | 19-Nov-1977 | 19-Nov-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson Tunnel of Terror | John Richardson | 1 | 26-Nov-1977 | 26-Nov-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson Race Against Time | John Richardson | 1 | 03-Dec-1977 | 03-Dec-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson Dead End | John Richardson | 1 | 10-Dec-1977 | 10-Dec-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson Death Leap | John Richardson | 1 | 17-Dec-1977 | 17-Dec-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson Black Menace | John Richardson | 1 | 24-Dec-1977 | 24-Dec-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson Forest of Fear | John Richardson | 1 | 31-Dec-1977 | 31-Dec-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson The Icemen | John Richardson | 1 | 07-Jan-1978 | 07-Jan-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson March of the Icemen | John Richardson | 1 | 14-Jan-1978 | 14-Jan-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson The Plain of Bubbles | John Richardson | 1 | 21-Jan-1978 | 21-Jan-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson The Captives | John Richardson | 1 | 28-Jan-1978 | 28-Jan-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson The Search | John Richardson | 1 | 04-Feb-1978 | 04-Feb-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson King Blubber | John Richardson | 1 | 11-Feb-1978 | 11-Feb-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson The Race | John Richardson | 1 | 18-Feb-1978 | 18-Feb-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson The Tunnel of Terror | John Richardson | 1 | 25-Feb-1978 | 25-Feb-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson Stampede | John Richardson | 1 | 04-Mar-1978 | 04-Mar-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson Fright Flight | John Richardson | 1 | 11-Mar-1978 | 11-Mar-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson King Blubber's Secret | John Richardson | 1 | 18-Mar-1978 | 18-Mar-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson The Tunnel | John Richardson | 1 | 25-Mar-1978 | 25-Mar-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson Eruption | 1 | 01-Apr-1978 | 01-Apr-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson The Worm | 1 | 08-Apr-1978 | 08-Apr-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson The Cave | 1 | 15-Apr-1978 | 15-Apr-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson The Fish Men | 1 | 22-Apr-1978 | 22-Apr-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson Underwater Slaves | 1 | 29-Apr-1978 | 29-Apr-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson Escape | 2 | 06-May-1978 | 27-May-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson The Flood | 1 | 13-May-1978 | 13-May-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson Bid For Freedom | 1 | 20-May-1978 | 20-May-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson Ambush | 1 | 03-Jun-1978 | 03-Jun-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson Captives | 1 | 10-Jun-1978 | 10-Jun-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson Spaceport | 1 | 17-Jun-1978 | 17-Jun-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson Homeward Bound | 1 | 24-Jun-1978 | 24-Jun-1978 |
What a funny ending..
ReplyDeleteLets hope the robot doesn't go amok one day..
Peter Gray
Hi Peter
ReplyDeleteYes, Ben Robinson confidently reprograms robots which are the product of a highly advanced alien technology. Not sure I'd be too happy about having one in my house, even if it does serve the dinner.
Hi. I am a fan of Space Family Robinson. As a kid I read the American comic and even managed to obtain a complete run. At the time I learned of a British adaptation of SFR in Lady Penelope through the Dutch reprints. But I had no idea there was still another version and a funny one at that! However, I was aware of the existence of Cheeky because I had a subscription on Donald and Mickey, another IPC mag but only read parts of it right now!
ReplyDeleteYour blog is extremely interesting! Keep up the good work! Best, Johan
Hi Johan - thanks for your interesting comments. I don't really know anything about the other versions of Space Family Robinson, so I'm not sure how similar the Cheeky Weekly version is to the US and Lady Penelope strips.
DeleteGlad to hear you're enjoying the blog.
Hi N.
ReplyDeleteAs you can see from the pictures of Space Family Robinson on the Internet the American original is the most glamorous, the Lady Penelope edition the most realistic and the Cheeky version the most cartoony, in tune with the other features of Cheeky. But I will study your weekly some more soon, having bought a DVD with the entire contents of Cheeky.
Best, Johan
Enjoy your Cheeky DVD!
DeleteHi. The plot thickens.. I read all episodes of "Space Family Robinson" in Cheeky but this is a different family as that of the American comic & Lady Penelope nor is it identical with the "Lost In Space" TV series.
ReplyDeleteFor the last mentioned live in the future and have their own spacecraft while the Cheeky family live in the present and are abducted in an alien flying saucer.. There is more: an episode comic of the 1950s was called something like "Family Robinson on new worlds" and developed along similar story lines but by a different artist..
There are a lot of Robinsons "out there"! However, I thoroughly enjoyed the Cheeky version. Best, J.
Thanks for that info - evidently several comic writers over the years had the same 'Swiss Family Robinson/Space Family Robinson' title idea.
DeleteHello out there! Anyone there? I've posted elsewhere i on the blog - but so far haven't had any replies. Where can I get a DVD with the Cheeky cbr /cbz? Have been searching and found loads for Krazy, but not so many for Cheeky which is a huge shame.
ReplyDeleteHope to hear from someone soon, almost half-way through Krazy and would like to have the full set of Cheeky before I start.
Best wishes to all.
Hi Rob, I did publish your previous comment which was directed at Zeg and he hasn't responded. Egmont UK (current copyright holders of all things Cheeky) have kindly given me permission to use my scans of their material on this blog, and I'm sure they wouldn't be happy if I was to direct readers towards unauthorised sources of their property, even if I knew where it might be obtained. Nor would I publish comments from others who might offer such info. But glad to know you're enjoying the blog, anyway.
Delete