Profile - Crystal Belle

Crystal's first foretelling
Art: Mike Lacey

Who could have predicted that Crystal Belle, whose mono-toothed appearance was in stark contrast to Cheeky's multitudinous molars, would make her Cheeky Weekly debut in edition number 39 dated 15 July 1978? Certainly not erstwhile readers of Krazy (the comic which spawned our toothy pal before being wound up with a final issue dated 15 April 1978), from which the comical clairvoyant was entirely absent.

Art: Frank McDiarmid

Cheeky's second encounter with Crystal occurred a week later when, unable to locate that week's edition of the Mystery Comic, the toothy funster was nonetheless able to enjoy the perplexing publication by means of her mystic sphere.

A nice piece of Frank McDiarmid art, depicting Cheeky's prognosticating pal conjuring visions of impending hilarity from her magical apparatus, adorned the cover of the 12 August 1978 edition of Cheeky Weekly. Within that issue, Crystal was among a selection of Cheeky's pals who appeared at various junctures during Cheeky's canal barge holiday.

 

A week later Crystal, whose distinctive dentition suggests she may be a relative of Whizzer and Chips' Sweet Tooth, played a key role in one of the most memorable Cheeky Weekly issues, as her scrying skills afforded Cheeky a view of his life, and those of his Krazy Town chums, 60 years hence.

Crystal was able to help Cheeky enjoy his weekly perusal of the Mystery Comic on more than one occasion.
Art: Frank McDiarmid

The young mystic's prophetic pronouncements featured throughout Cheeky's Week in the 23 September 1978 edition. This was the issue featuring the highest number of appearances by Crystal, whose soothsaying was in evidence on 8 pages.

 

Occasionally, the juvenile prophetess would be seen without her crystal ball, as in the 30 September 1978 comic, when her plan to tell Baby Burpo's fortune by means of a pack of (presumably tarot) cards was thwarted when the mischievous mite took rather too literally the instruction to cut the pack.

Also making use of a pair of scissors was an art assistant in the Cheeky Weekly office, whose deft handiwork resulted in Crystal being shoehorned into the final panel of Jimmy Hansen's Monday page in Cheeky Weekly cover-dated 26 May 1979.

Art: Mike Lacey

The Burpo Special in the comic dated 23 June 1979 showed young Ms Belle delivering a masterclass (mistressclass?) in divination as she answered Burpo's questions in advance. Six months later the youthful mystic was seen predicting fun for all as Cheeky's Christmas lunch-and-party commenced in the 29 December edition.

 

The Saturday 2-pager in the comic dated 19 January 1980 began with Crystal telling Cheeky that she had made predictions for a number of his pals. Our grinning hero then spent the rest of the strip consulting his fellow Krazy Town dwellers in order to compare the forecasts of the mysterious orb  with what had actually transpired.

Art: Mike Lacey

The adolescent seeress made her final Cheeky Weekly appearance in the last issue, dated 02 February 1980. Her role in that momentous edition was to be the first of Cheeky's pals to inform our grinning hero that 'tremendous news' lay in store for him. The news (hardly tremendous) was that as of the following week Cheeky Weekly would be absorbed into Whoopee!

Portentous rather than tremendous - Crystal introduces the final Cheeky Weekly
Art: Frank McDiarmid

Crystal's augury (not to mention her rather fetching spotty ensemble) was on display in a total of 59 issues, and her longest absence from the comic (probably due to unforeseen circumstances) was the 8 weeks between 01 September and 27 October 1979.