The features - The Burpo Special

While the format of the Cheeky's Week elements of the toothy funster's own comic was clearly based on the Krazy strips 'Ello it's Cheeky and 'Ello I'm Cheeky, The Burpo Special was the only strip to appear under the same name in both Krazy and Cheeky Weekly.

In Krazy, The Burpo Special evolved from a feature called Cheeky's Pal, each episode of which focused on one of a rotating band of supporting characters from Krazy's Cheeky strips, with the toothy funster himself occasionally introducing the action. However, Baby Burpo introduced the Cheeky's Pal strip in Krazy's 17 December 1977 issue, saying “For this week's Burpo Special, me tell you all about Jogging Jeremy – Cheeky's pal from his own comic”. Despite Burpo's opening comment, the strip was titled Cheeky's Pal rather than The Burpo Special, and it was also the first time that Burpo had hosted such a page.

Krazy 17 December 1977
- the first reference to a Burpo Special
Art: Jim Watson

Krazy's Cheeky's Pal series continued intermittently, with occasional appearances by Burpo. The Cheeky's Pal in Krazy dated 18 March 1978 had a Burpo Special sub-heading, but the penultimate issue of Krazy, dated 08 April 1978 included a strip titled The Burpo Special, the subject of which was Bump-Bump Bernie in only his second Krazy appearance. This was the only Krazy strip to bear The Burpo Special as its main title.

Krazy 08 April 1978
- the first proper Burpo Special
Art: Jim Watson again

The Burpo Special then appeared to have perished along with Krazy, (although there was a page in the Cheeky Annual 1979, published in September 1978, that would seem to have been intended for Krazy but never included there, which the terrifying toddler introduced as a Burpo Special although its title was The Doors Are Open) until the feature was resurrected in the truncated Cheeky Weekly dated 09 December 1978. Burpo introduced the revived strip, saying “Me back with another series of Burpo Specials. Me going to interview famous people for you”. The subject of this initial outing of the Cheeky Weekly run of Burpo Specials was Lily Pop.

Cheeky Weekly's first Burpo Special
Love the Vicar praying for strength to
resist impure thoughts!
Art: Frank McDiarmid

All the subsequent Burpo Specials (the feature was absent for just 4 issues between 09 December 1978 and 30 June 1979) followed the same pattern - Krazy Town's teeny terror would interview one of the Cheeky cast, using a carrot instead of a microphone when the strip was drawn by Frank McDiarmid.

Burpo himself was the subject of the 16 June 1979 Burpo Special.

Art: Frank McDiarmid

The first 11 Burpo Specials were in black and white, but thereafter the strip moved to the back cover and consequently the remaining 12 episodes were in colour. The notorious nappy-wearer suffered a bout of Cheeky Weekly Inconsistent Hair Colour Syndrome when, in the 19 May 1979 strip, he was depicted with brown locks.

A brown-haired Burpo
Art: Frank McDiarmid

A Burpo Special in all but title kicked off the run of Cheeky Weekly Star Guest appearances in Whoopee! dated 07 April 1979.

As mentioned above, the final Burpo Special appeared in Cheeky Weekly dated 30 June 1979, and the following week the comic was revamped with a 'new look'.

It's generally accepted that after Krazy folded, its surviving strips merged with Whizzer and Chips, but as we have seen, The Burpo Special actually transferred posthumously from Krazy to Cheeky Weekly.

The strip's title was based on that of the 70s TV series The Burke Special.

The Burpo Special in the Cheeky Weekly Index

Feature	First Appearance	Final Appearance	Total Issues	Total Issues Missed In Run	Page History
The Burpo Special	09-Dec-78	30-Jun-79	23	4	11,21,25,29,32

Issues Missed In Run

24-Feb-79

24-Mar-79

31-Mar-79

02-Jun-79

Feature	Artist	Date
The Burpo Special Lily Pop	Frank McDiarmid	09-Dec-1978
The Burpo Special Yikky-Boo	Frank McDiarmid	06-Jan-1979
The Burpo Special Dr Braincell	Frank McDiarmid	13-Jan-1979
The Burpo Special Cheeky's Dad	Frank McDiarmid	20-Jan-1979
The Burpo Special Uncle Hamish	Mike Lacey	27-Jan-1979
The Burpo Special Bump-Bump Bernie	Mike Lacey	03-Feb-1979
The Burpo Special Auntie Daisy	Frank McDiarmid	10-Feb-1979
The Burpo Special Gloomy Glad	Frank McDiarmid	17-Feb-1979
The Burpo Special Posh Claude	Frank McDiarmid	03-Mar-1979
The Burpo Special Constable Chuckle	Barrie Appleby	10-Mar-1979
The Burpo Special Square Eyes	Frank McDiarmid	17-Mar-1979
The Burpo Special Spiv	Frank McDiarmid	07-Apr-1979
The Burpo Special Farmer Giles	Frank McDiarmid	14-Apr-1979
The Burpo Special Ursula	Frank McDiarmid	21-Apr-1979
The Burpo Special Jogging Jeremy	Mike Lacey	28-Apr-1979
The Burpo Special Teacher	Mike Lacey	05-May-1979
The Burpo Special Mechanic	Mike Lacey	12-May-1979
The Burpo Special Doodle Doug	Frank McDiarmid	19-May-1979
The Burpo Special Manhole Man	Frank McDiarmid	26-May-1979
The Burpo Special Hypno-Tessa	Mike Lacey	09-Jun-1979
The Burpo Special Baby Burpo	Frank McDiarmid	16-Jun-1979
The Burpo Special Crystal Belle	Frank McDiarmid	23-Jun-1979
The Burpo Special Sherlock	Mike Lacey	30-Jun-1979