Friday, 30 September 2016
A Mystery No More
The Great News blog is looking back at the issue of Cheeky Weekly in which the Mystery Comic was unveiled in its full wondrousness.
Wednesday, 28 September 2016
Whizzer and Chips - The Cheeky Raids part 19
New readers start here... After Cheeky Weekly folded and was
incorporated into Whoopee as of February 1980 six strips that had
originated in the toothy funster's title survived the merge and
continued to appear in the amalgamated comic. Whoopee itself foundered
in March 1985 and was merged into Whizzer and Chips. Three of the
surviving Cheeky Weekly strips successfully negotiated this second merge
and went on to appear in the newly combined publication, rather
inelegantly titled 'Whizzer and Chips now including Whoopee'. The
survivors were Mustapha Million, Calculator Kid and (appearing only
twice) Stage School. Cheeky continued to appear, but as a member of The
Krazy Gang, who had moved into W&C when Krazy, the comic in which
the Gang originated, expired in April 1978. However, the Krazy Gang's
Whizzer and Chips run ended in the issue dated 08 February 1986.
One month after
Calculator Kid's story was infiltrated by Benny 'Lazy' Bones, poor
old Charlie Counter and his number-crunching pal were subjected once
again to the unwanted attentions of a wily Whizz-kid raider. Can you
spot the intruder (and no, it's not the opportunist mouse in the
final panel)? Scroll down for the answer.
 | |
| Whizzer and Chips 15 March 1986 Art: Terry Bave Reprinted from Cheeky Weekly dated 06 January 1979 |
Once again a raid has been perpetrated by that
rubbery alien sphere, Odd-Ball.
This Calculator Kid episode is revealing, as we learn that Calc doesn't always act in Charlie's best
interests, since the sentient silicon chip is aware that the directions he is giving his pal will culminate in dental distress.
This is the sixth time Calculator Kid has been subjected to a raid, and the fourth time that Odd-Ball has impinged on the doings of Charlie and Calc. This raid is the 16th carried out on our ex Cheeky Weekly chums, who have carried out 8 cross-border sorties into Whizzer.
More raiding fun soon!
This is the sixth time Calculator Kid has been subjected to a raid, and the fourth time that Odd-Ball has impinged on the doings of Charlie and Calc. This raid is the 16th carried out on our ex Cheeky Weekly chums, who have carried out 8 cross-border sorties into Whizzer.
More raiding fun soon!
| Whizzer and Chips Cover Date | Raider | Raided | ||||||
| 06 April 1985 | Mustapha Million | Super Steve | ||||||
| 04 May 1985 | Bloggs (Store Wars) | Mustapha Million | ||||||
| 11 May 1985 | Joker | The Krazy Gang (Cheeky) | ||||||
| 18 May 1985 | Calculator Kid & Calc | Odd-Ball | ||||||
| 01 June 1985 |
|
|
||||||
| 08 June 1985 | Odd-Ball | Calculator Kid | ||||||
| 06 July 1985 | Toy Boy | Calculator Kid | ||||||
| 13 July 1985 | Pa Bumpkin | The Krazy Gang (Cheeky) | ||||||
| 27 July 1985 | Joker | Mustapha Million | ||||||
| 24 August 1985 | Cheeky | Sid's Snake | ||||||
| 14 September 1985 |
|
|
||||||
| 05 October 1985 | Mustapha Million | Animalad | ||||||
| 19 October 1985 | Odd-Ball | Mustapha Million | ||||||
| 23 November 1985 |
|
|
||||||
| 18 January 1986 | Mustapha Million | Super Steve | ||||||
| 25 January 1986 |
|
|
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| 08 February 1986 The Krazy Gang ends this issue | Animalad | Mustapha Million | ||||||
| 15 February 1986 | Lazy Bones | Calculator Kid | ||||||
| 15 March 1986 | Odd-Ball | Calculator Kid |
Wednesday, 21 September 2016
The Pages - Page 23
The Friday element of
Cheeky's Week was the occupant of page 23 in the first two issues of
Cheeky Weekly, but the same location in issue 3 was home to 'More Joke Strips' – a further supply of funnies to be used in conjunction with
the Friend of Cheeky Fun Wallet that had been presented as the free
gift a week earlier.
Cheeky Weekly's juvenile philanthropist Mustapha Million then commenced a 6-week run on page 23 before being
displaced by a returning Friday in the 31 December 1977 Christmas
issue. The gag-evaluating panel which comprised Joke-Box Jury then turned up to
pronounce judgement on the week's batch of reader's funnies (or
otherwise). The following week page 23 was the site of 2 half-page
ads, the first for IPC's iconic football-focused title Roy of the
Rovers, and the second reminding potential readers that the
publisher's humour comics Whoopee!, Whizzer and Chips and Krazy were
all running the second instalment of their respective Spotter Book
cut-out-and-keep pamphlets. The toothy funster's comic was of course
running its own Spotter Book concurrently.
Mustapha then resumed
occupation of the subject page for a run that lasted 14 weeks before
being interrupted by a page containing a half-page ad for Whizzer and
Chips which that week (cover date 29 April 1978) contained the
second part of a guide to the solar system alliteratively described as a 'planet panorama'. Sharing the page was a handwritten note
from Cheeky asking readers to send in their Father's Day messages for
inclusion in an upcoming edition of the comic.
Plucky Mustapha then
took up occupation once again for a further 8 weeks, culminating in
the comic dated 24 June 1978. This would be our moneyed mate's
penultimate visit to page 23.
A week later Friday was
back, and held on to the location under review for 4 issues before
being interrupted for one week by an ad for Peter Pan Playthings'
range of outdoor toys, not coincidentally in time for the start of the school
holidays (issue dated 29 July 1978). Friday then returned for a
single week, being ousted in the following issue by a surprise
appearance on page 23 of Saturday – the only time this particular
feature would come to rest in that location. However, Friday was also
missing from page 23 a week later when Joke- Box Jury came to rest
there.
A 5-week run of Friday
then commenced, and in the 30 September 1978 edition there were more
gags and groans as the Joke-Box Jury team returned. A week later
What's New, Kids shared the page with an ad for the 1979 Krazy
Annual, which would be welcome news for those still mourning the demise, in April of that year, of the comic which spawned our grinning hero.
Friday was then back
for 3 weeks, before the surprise appearance of Calculator Kid, the
only visit by Charlie Counter and his battery-powered buddy to the
page in question. In the following issue, page 23 was home to 2
half-page ads, one for IPC's Mickey Mouse comic and the other
promoting cereal manufacturer Nabisco's less-than-thrilling breakfast
biscuits, Shredded Wheat. Johnny Morris, presenter of TV's
Animal Magic, was fronting a campaign inviting consumers of the
straw-like comestible to send off tokens which would translate into
cash for animal charity the PDSA. As a sweetener (which is something
the bland wheaty slabs were certainly in need of), those sending off
the cardboard coupons stood the chance of winning a radio cassette
player.
A week later Friday
returned, but the following issue (dated 25 November 1978) saw IPC
announcing on page 23 their upcoming '4 Papers Competition' including
prizes of Corgi's model Jaguar car based on that driven by TV's Simon
Templar aka The Saint, the ad sharing that location with another
promotional push for Mickey Mouse comic.
There was not a little
upheaval in the ensuing edition, due to an industrial dispute which
reduced the effective page count from the usual 32 to 27. The
promised 4 Papers Saint Competition went ahead, but this and the loss
of available pages resulted in Tweety and Sylvester's final
appearance making a surprise page 23 manifestation. The next issue
was similarly afflicted (although regaining one page to make 28), and
the consequent disturbance saw another newcomer to page 23 – and
also bowing out of the comic as of this issue – Laugh and Learn.
Cheeky Weekly then
disappeared from newsagents altogether as industrial relations broke
down entirely, returning with an issue dated 06 January 1979, in
which the lucky winners of the Chutes Away competition, which ran in
the 16 September 1978 edition, were announced on page 23.
The 13 January 1979
comic saw the commencement of the cut-out-and-keep feature The
Friends of Cheeky Snap Game, which was to run across 4 issues. The
need to have the cards necessary to play this variant on the
traditional snap game boast colour images of the toothy funster and
and pals meant they were printed on the centre pages, displacing
Elephant on the Run. This disturbance to the normal order of things
resulted in Skateboard Squad fetching up on page 23 for this and the
subsequent 3 issues. The loss of
Cheeky's weekly cinema visit, which came to an end in the 02 December
1978 comic, caused a subsequent perturbation to the distribution of
the remaining strips that, due to the truncated issues and presence
of the snap game, really only became apparent as of the 10 February
1979 comic when, among other shunting of features, the Thursday
element of Cheeky's week turned up on page 23. Having said that, in
the following issue the juvenile jest judges of joke-Box Jury moved
back in the following week, but were deposed by Thursday for 2 weeks
and then Skateboard Squad for another fortnight.
Page 23 in the 24 March
1979 issue was no doubt scoured by those readers who had entered the
Saint competition back in December 1978, containing as it did a list
of lucky prize winners. A week later IPC's 1979 Star Guest promotion
began and the subject location hosted a visit by Lolly Pop from
Whoopee!. Thursday then returned for a 8-week run, interrupted in the
comic dated 02 June 1979 by Speed Squad, after which Thursday resumed
for 4 weeks.
Another Star Guest came
to rest on page 23 in the 07 July 1979 comic, and this time the
visitor was Whizzer and Chips' pesky prankster, Joker. The
following week the page under review was home to 2 ads for summer
specials, wherein readers would be able to catch up on the holiday
doings of the characters from Whoopee! and Jackpot respectively.
Speed Squad then returned for a week before being displaced by yet
another page of ads – this time an ad for the debut issue of Walt
Disney's Puzzle Time shared space with a message from the people at
North Pacific Flyers who were keen to set the parks of the nation
swarming with their rubber-band-driven model aircraft.
Speed Squad regained
control for 5 weeks, but in the following issue page 23 hosted a
half-page competition to win Lone Star's facsimile of James Bond's
pistol from 007's latest cinema outing, Moonraker. This competition
shared the page with an ad for the first issue of IPC's 'super new
mag for young soccer fans', Top Soccer. More ads, the main one
promoting IPC's '5 Top Comics', namely Cheeky Weekly (natch), Whizzer
and Chips with Krazy Comic, newcomer Jackpot, Whoopee! and the
veteran Buster, appeared 7 days later.
Speed Squad
re-established control for a further 3 weeks, after which What's New
Kids moved back in. However, the terrific trio were back a week later
for the first of a 4 week sojourn, which was to conclude their
appearances on page 23 and bring to 14 their total visits to the site
in question, making them the third most regular inhabitants. Adding the 6 appearances of Skateboard Squad (same team members but different name and modes of transport) would bring the total to 20,
making Skipper, Skatie and Wipe-Out the second most regular occupants
of page 23, if you choose to focus on characters rather than strip
titles.
7 days after the
intrepid trio bade farewell to page 23, Elephant on the Run began a
5-week residency before being displaced in the 22 December 1979 issue
by Snail of the Century, the only time that Cheeky's mollusc mate's very own feature
fetched up at the subject location. The following issue was the
eagerly-anticipated Christmas edition, but sadly page 23 was given
over to a quiz page which, though festooned with festive imagery, had
a distinct whiff of 'filler' about it.
The perplexing perorations of Paddywack then made a
surprise visit to page 23, and a week later Elephant's run brought
him back to page 23 for the final time. In the following issue the subject location was again the site of a valedictory appearance – on this occasion Friday made its final visit to page 23, bringing to 17 the
number of times Friday appeared on the page under review and
making Friday the second-most regular occupant (unless you're one of
those contrary folks who have decided to lump Speed and Skateboard
Squad's appearances together, in which case Friday is the third most
regular visitor).
The penultimate Cheeky
Weekly saw bus-based buddies The Gang make a late bid for control of
page 23 but in the final edition of the comic,
Mustapha Million returned after being absent from that page for 84
weeks. Mustapha was the most regular page 23 resident, having
appeared there 30 times.
Count of Elements (or distinct combinations thereof) appearing on Page 23
| Elements | Total |
| Mustapha Million 2/2 | 28 |
| Friday | 17 |
| Speed Squad | 14 |
| Thursday | 14 |
| Skateboard Squad | 6 |
| Elephant On The Run | 5 |
| Advertisement: IPC\Advertisement: IPC | 3 |
| Joke-Box Jury | 3 |
| Mustapha Million 1/2 | 2 |
| Star Guest | 2 |
| Advertisement: IPC | 1 |
| Advertisement: IPC\Advertisement: North Pacific Flyers | 1 |
| Advertisement: IPC\Advertisement: Shredded Wheat | 1 |
| Advertisement: IPC\Send a Father's Day message | 1 |
| Advertisement: Peter Pan Playthings | 1 |
| Calculator Kid | 1 |
| Christmas Quiz | 1 |
| Chutes Away competition winners | 1 |
| Elephant On The Run 2/2 | 1 |
| Friday 2/2 | 1 |
| James Bond competition\Advertisement: IPC | 1 |
| Joke-Box Jury 2/2 | 1 |
| Laugh and Learn 2/2 | 1 |
| More joke strips 1/2 | 1 |
| Paddywack 2/2 | 1 |
| Saint competition results 2/2 | 1 |
| Saturday 1/2 | 1 |
| Snail of the Century | 1 |
| The Gang 2/2 | 1 |
| Thursday 1/2 | 1 |
| Tweety and Sylvester 1/2 | 1 |
| What's New, Kids | 1 |
| What's New, Kids\Advertisement: IPC | 1 |
Thursday, 8 September 2016
Profile - Sid the Street Sweeper
Employed to keep things
clean in Krazy Town, Sid the Street-Sweeper made his first,
uncredited appearance in Krazy dated 01 October 1977, where he was
seen clearing away the detritus during the coda to Cheeky's typically hoary
Knock-Knock Door gag.
Sid wasn't seen again in the pages of Krazy until its final issue dated 15 April 1978, but he was present in the inaugural edition of Cheeky's own title, which was published just 3 weeks after the comical cleansing operative made his Krazy debut.
It has to be said that Sid wasn't the most diligent refuse collector – he was always looking for an opportunity to sweep rubbish under cars, down drains, beneath loose paving slabs or into any suitable below-ground-level aperture including those frequented by Manhole Man and, in the 31 December 1977 edition, into his mother-in-law's front garden.
 | |
| Sid's debut - Krazy 01 October 1977 Art: Frank McDiarmid |
Sid wasn't seen again in the pages of Krazy until its final issue dated 15 April 1978, but he was present in the inaugural edition of Cheeky's own title, which was published just 3 weeks after the comical cleansing operative made his Krazy debut.
 | |
| First issue of Cheeky Weekly Art: Frank McDiarmid |
It has to be said that Sid wasn't the most diligent refuse collector – he was always looking for an opportunity to sweep rubbish under cars, down drains, beneath loose paving slabs or into any suitable below-ground-level aperture including those frequented by Manhole Man and, in the 31 December 1977 edition, into his mother-in-law's front garden.
 |
| Frank again This gag references world champion show jumper David Broome |
Sid was among the
guests at the Cheeky family's New Year party in the 07 January 1978
issue, and was the source of the Mystery Comic (secreted under his
hat, not in his rubbish barrow) in Cheeky Weekly dated 28 January
1978. The 29 April 1978 edition was the issue to feature the most appearances by Sid,
who turned up on 4 days as he handed Cheeky pages of the Mystery
Comic that he came upon during his cleaning rounds. Since at that
time readers had yet to witness the whole of that perplexing
publication, Cheeky was anxious to secure that week's Mustapha Million story, and fortunately we were spared 2 blank pages as
Sid located the vital elements on Friday. However, this time the pages
were found at the bottom of his refuse collecting bin, but that week's MM story showed no
sign of grubbiness when printed in the comic.
 |
| Sid prevents the Cheeky Weekly editor from hurling himself off IPC's headquarters building Art: Jim Watson |
In the course of Cheeky's Week as depicted in the comic dated 06
May 1978 Herman the Traffic Warden, in his pursuit of the world
parking ticket record, apparently stuck several penalty notices on
Sid's barrow, although we only witnessed this happening on Friday.
Herman would also gleefully affix a ticket on Sid's barrow during
Cheeky's trip to the seaside in the 08 September 1979 issue.
Sid provided Cheeky with the Cheeky's Pal Puzzle in the 11 November 1978 edition, and the map that was the subject of the poser two weeks later.
 |
| The first panel has us wondering why Sid is standing in for the Knock-Knock Door - the punchline explains why More Frank |
The mirthful muck
manager made a single appearance on the cover when, on the front of
the 17 February 1979 issue, he was featured as a member of the
Joke-Box Jury panel.
 | ||
| Cheeky Weekly 22 December 1979 - the toothy funster's handing out his Christmas cards...the only appearance of Sid's wife. Art: Mike Lacey |
The streets of Krazy Town must have been accumulating rubbish during Sid's longest absence from the comic - 13 weeks between the issues dated 09 June and 08 September 1979 (the aforementioned occasion of Herman's issuing a parking ticket while on the promenade). Maybe on his return Sid found the strain of clearing the massed refuse a little too taxing, because his second-longest absence occurred not long after – the 12 weeks between the 29 September and 22 December 1979 editions.
Our litter-gathering chum was the subject of the Pin-Up Pal poster in the comic dated 08 April 1978.
Sid didn't quite make
it to the final edition of Cheeky Weekly – his appearance in the 05
January 1980 comic was to be his last, having swept through a total of
56 issues.
| Character | Total Issues | First Appearance | Final Appearance |
| Sid the Street-Sweeper | 56 | 22-Oct-1977 | 05-Jan-1980 |
Count of elements by artist
| Character | Artist | Total Elements |
| Sid the Street-Sweeper | Frank McDiarmid | 22 |
| Sid the Street-Sweeper | Frank McDiarmid pencils | 16 |
| Sid the Street-Sweeper | Mike Lacey | 7 |
| Sid the Street-Sweeper | Barrie Appleby | 6 |
| Sid the Street-Sweeper | Jim Watson | 5 |
| Sid the Street-Sweeper | Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 | 3 |
| Sid the Street-Sweeper | Dick Millington | 2 |
| Sid the Street-Sweeper | Not known | 1 |
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