Page one of the two-elements-per-week feature Creepy Sleepy Tale occupied page 19 in
Cheeky Weekly's first two issues (as the contents of the comic
settled into a more regular pattern following the volatility of the early weeks, the feature would eventually locate most frequently in the
centre pages). In the third issue, the Thursday component of Cheeky's Week moved in, after which a Home Movie flickered its way
onto page 19. Thursday then resumed occupation, commencing a 6 week run.
Tubby Thomson and his
filmic friends then brought their Home Movie hilarity back to page 19 with a seasonal
offering entitled Christmas Past in the 31 December 1977 edition,
after which Thursday enjoyed a further 4-week run. The second page of
a 2-page Joke-Box Jury gagfest then occupied page 19, before Thursday
commenced a marathon 21-week occupation of the subject location.
It was an ad for Gold Spinner cheese spread, alerting Cheeky Weekly readers to their
promotion whereby 3 box lids and a 50p postal order could secure a
genuine Frisbee (allow 28 days for delivery) which had the audacity
to interrupt Thursday's page 19 tenancy. A barely-visible 'CHE1'
printed on the cut-out coupon allowed the organisers of the Gold
Spinner promotion to monitor how many responses this particular ad
generated.
Creepy Sleepy Tale
made another visit (its last) to page 19 in the comic dated 15 July
1978. On this occasion it was the second of the two CST elements that
week, so was accompanied by its inseparable companion feature
Wednesday (conclusion). A week later the legend 'CHE2' was borne in tiny letters on
the coupon on page 19, as the Gold Spinner ad got its second and
final Cheeky Weekly outing.
The second half of
Mustapha Million's story came to rest on the page under review the
following week, before Thursday returned for one issue. Friday then
moved in for a week before being supplanted by 'advertorial' What's New, Kids. A further 2 week run of Thursday was then interrupted by
page 2 of a Silly Snaps filler which itself was followed by the
second page of a Joke-Box Jury 2-pager.
Thursday was then
back for one issue, before the second page of Mustapha Million moved
in for 3 weeks. An ad for Weetabix interrupted Mustapha's run in the
first-birthday 21 October 1978 edition, but thereafter the boodle-blessed Bedouin returned for a further 3 weeks.
Page 19 was the
location of another ad in the 18 November 1978 issue – this time
confectionary manufacturer Trebor was keen to inform readers that a
cap-firing Super Spy Gun could be obtained for 90p plus two wrappers
from their Double Agents sweets.
Our middle-eastern
pal was then back for a week, after which Friday moved in, only to
give way the following week to Skateboard Squad. However, even the
trio of intrepid 'boarders couldn't deter Mustapha, who returned for one issue before being elbowed out for 3 weeks by Elephant On The Run's second page. Mustapha's return for a week was again interrupted
by Elephant for two issues, before Mustapha enjoyed a 5 week sojourn
on page 19.
Mystery Comic co-star
Disaster Des ousted our pachyderm pal in the 31 March 1979 edition,
after which plucky Mustapha returned for a week. Sweeny Toddler then
made a Star Guest appearance on page 19, and the following week
another advert, this time a competition to promote Palitoy's range of
Star Wars models. Readers were invited to submit a design for a new
droid (along with proof of purchase of a Palitoy Star Wars product),
and the winners would get a trip to Elstree Studios to see the
filming of The Empire Strikes Back and meet some of the stars (by
which I assume they meant Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher et al and not
a selection of white dots on a black background behind a model of the
Millennium Falcon).
Why, Dad, Why? then
made its first foray onto page 19, before being replaced by Mustapha,
followed by our peripatetic pachyderm pal, Elephant, who was, as ever, running.
The Mystery Comic's
adventure serial, Mystery Boy, then moved in for 2 weeks
until being displaced by the third instalment of the less than scintillating Cheeky Spotter
Book of Town and Around. The father-and-son-fun that was Why, Dad,
Why? returned for a week, before Mystery Boy replaced them. However,
the following week WDW were back, only to be dislodged 7 days later by an advert for The Stickits. Bryant and May, best known as
manufacturers of matches, were evidently keen to diversify, probably in the face of increased usage of disposable cigarette lighters.
Their Stickit range consisted of tubes containing wood sticks (i.e.
matches without the igniting head), hats, eyes, noses and other
accessories which could be affixed to the outer surface of the tube
to create 'four comical characters'.
Mystery Boy commenced
another run on page 19 in Cheeky Weekly dated 07 July 1979. Our
plucky WW2 amnesiac pal clocked up 11 consecutive appearances in that
location until he was displaced by Mustapha. However the affluent Arab was in turn deposed in
the 29 September 1979 issue by an advert for WH Smith who,
anticipating the impending flurry of festive spending, were keen to
alert readers (and their parents) that the 1980 annuals (not just
those published by IPC) were in stock.
The following week
the showbiz wannabes of Stage School occupied page 19, but 7 days
later 2 ads shared that site. Below an in-house ad in which Charlie
and Calculator asked readers 'Do you have trouble getting copies of Cheeky Weekly?' and advised those thusly afflicted to place a
regular order with their newsagents, was an advert for Pop-A-Points
containing a colouring competition in which the first prize was
somewhat ambiguously described as a 'TV Game'. This could indicate either a box of the latest microchippery enabling the proud winner to battle Space Invaders on the family goggle box, or (the less appealing option for most) a board game based on a popular TV show.
A week later page 19
was host to the last in the sporadic run of Silly Snaps
fillers. In the following edition Elephant On The Run made his final
excursion to page 19, being replaced there the following week by Mustapha
Million.
7 days later Thursday
paid its valedictory visit to page 19, making it the feature to most
regularly occupy the site under examination, dropping in on a total
of 37 occasions.
Despite their
(reprinted under a different name) adventures having commenced in
Cheeky Weekly dated 07 July 1979, it wasn't until the 17 November
1979 edition that the previously-known-as-The
Double-Deckers-now-renamed-The-Gang made their first call on page 19.
Our pseudonymous pals evidently found that location agreeable as they
remained for 6 weeks before 6 Million Dollar Gran made her only
visit. The Gang then resumed tenancy for a further 3 weeks until
their run was interrupted by Mustapha Million's final page 19 outing
in the penultimate Cheeky Weekly. Our affluent Arab chum was the
second most regular inhabitant, making a total of 20 appearances on
page 19 (the first page of his 2-page adventures on 19 occasions, and the second page just once).
The Gang had the
honour of being the final page 19 occupants as the toothy funster's
comic reached the end of its run.
Count of Elements (or distinct combinations thereof) appearing on Page 19
| Elements | Total |
| Thursday | 37 |
| Mustapha Million 2/2 | 19 |
| Mystery Boy | 14 |
| The Gang 2/2 | 10 |
| Elephant On The Run 2/2 | 6 |
| Why, Dad, Why? | 3 |
| Advertisement: Gold Spinner | 2 |
| Creepy Sleepy Tale 1/2 | 2 |
| Friday | 2 |
| Home Movie | 2 |
| Joke-Box Jury 2/2 | 2 |
| 6 Million Dollar Gran | 1 |
| Advertisement: IPC\Advertisement: Pop-A-Points | 1 |
| Advertisement: Palitoy | 1 |
| Advertisement: The Stickits | 1 |
| Advertisement: Trebor | 1 |
| Advertisement: WH Smith | 1 |
| Advertisement: Weetabix | 1 |
| Cheeky Spotter Book of Town and Around 1/2 | 1 |
| Creepy Sleepy Tale 2/2\Wednesday (conclusion) | 1 |
| Disaster Des | 1 |
| Elephant On The Run | 1 |
| Mustapha Million 1/2 | 1 |
| Silly Snaps | 1 |
| Silly Snaps 2/2 | 1 |
| Skateboard Squad | 1 |
| Stage School | 1 |
| Star Guest | 1 |
| What's New, Kids | 1 |
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