Thursday, 31 January 2019
Cheeky Special 2019!
...Well, not quite, but it seems that Lew Stringer has included our toothy pal in his intro that will appear in the forthcoming Cor!! and Buster Special. Nice touch. Clearly, Cheeky never appeared in either of the vintage comics in question but Lew is of course aware of this so the intro probably features a selection of IPC characters from across their titles. But maybe the contents aren't restricted to strips that appeared in Cor!! and Buster. The cover, by Neil Googe, includes Hit Kid who certainly never appeared in Cor!! and I would imagine if he appeared in Buster it was in the form of reprints from Krazy.
Monday, 28 January 2019
Profile – Ivor E Tugger
In Cheeky Weekly’s first issue our toothy pal tracked down the latest edition of the Mystery Comic in the waiting room of dentist Ivor E Tugger, although
the tooth-wrangler himself did not appear on that occasion.
Considering Cheeky’s mouthful of magnificent munchers it’s
surprising that dentists did not figure more regularly in his life, and the funster's next dental encounter was presented on the cover of the 02 September 1978 issue, in the What A Cheek strip. Presumably the
forceps-equipped gentleman causing Cheeky's discomfort was Mr Tugger.
 |
| Mr Tugger's debut Art: Frank McDiarmid |
Our grinning hero's next interaction with the molarmeister came almost a year later in the 04 August 1979 edition, and it seems Ivor had grown a moustache in the intervening period.
The dentist returned in the comic dated 08 September 1979, although his name had been removed from the plate by the surgery door at this stage (but his upper-lip adornment was more luxuriant than previously).
 |
| Frank again |
The dentist returned in the comic dated 08 September 1979, although his name had been removed from the plate by the surgery door at this stage (but his upper-lip adornment was more luxuriant than previously).
 |
| More Frank |
The final dentist gag, a single-panel quickie, appeared in the 13
October 1979 edition, by which time the funny fang-fixer had evidently decided his 'tache was surplus to requirements. UPDATE - this wasn't in fact Ivor's farewell - see below.
 | ||
| NOT Mr Tugger's farewell Frank once more |
The above joke references Michael Bentine, the presenter of kids' TV show Potty Time, and Dentyne chewing gum.
UPDATE 14 March 2019 - I've just found another appearance by Mr Tugger, in the final edition of Cheeky Weekly - see below...
 |
| Mr T's final appearance in the last Cheeky Weekly Frank |
Ivor never appeared in the Cheeky pages in Krazy.
| Character | Total Issues | First Appearance | Final Appearance |
| Ivor E Tugger | 5 | 02-Sep-1978 | 02-Feb-1980 |
Monday, 21 January 2019
Whizzer and Chips - The Cheeky Raids part 37
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. Calculator Kid survived a little longer, his run of reprints coming to an end in the 26 July 1986 edition and leaving Mustapha Million as the sole Cheeky Weekly survivor.
Whoever the raider is revealed to be, I just hope they don't say it....
I mean, they've used the same phrase over and over again...
Surely they'll come up with something different this time...
....AAAAAARRRRGH!
...to be fair, I suppose it's a little unrealistic of me to expect the indolent Benny 'Lazy' Bones to expend any energy on thinking up a new slogan.
The weary Whizz-kid had previously summoned enough stamina to raid Calculator Kid in the 15 February and 31 May 1986 issues of Whizzer and Chips.
More (hopefully mug-free) raiding fun soon!
A month after heroically raiding Memory Banks, our middle eastern mate was intruded upon by a weaselly Whizz-kid once again. The raider-infested Mustapha Million strip which appeared in Whizzer and Chips dated 25 July 1987 was originally presented in Cheeky Weekly's 15 July 1978 edition (minus interloper, of course), and had previously been reprinted in the 27 October 1984 issue of Whoopee. If you're feeling lazy you can scroll down to see the identity of the intruder.
 |
| Whizzer and Chips 25 July 1987 Art: Reg Parlett |
Whoever the raider is revealed to be, I just hope they don't say it....
I mean, they've used the same phrase over and over again...
Surely they'll come up with something different this time...
....AAAAAARRRRGH!
...to be fair, I suppose it's a little unrealistic of me to expect the indolent Benny 'Lazy' Bones to expend any energy on thinking up a new slogan.
The weary Whizz-kid had previously summoned enough stamina to raid Calculator Kid in the 15 February and 31 May 1986 issues of Whizzer and Chips.
More (hopefully mug-free) 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 |
|
|
||||||
| 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 | ||||||
| 29 March 1986 | Calculator Kid | Master P Brain | ||||||
| 05 April 1986 | Bumpkin Billionaires | Mustapha Million | ||||||
| 12 April 1986 | Animalad | Calculator Kid | ||||||
| 31 May 1986 | Lazy Bones | Calculator Kid | ||||||
| 07 June 1986 | Mustapha Million | Joker | ||||||
| 28 June 1986 | Sweet Tooth | Mustapha Million | ||||||
| 26 July 1986 Calculator Kid ends this issue | No Cheeky-related raid this issue | No Cheeky-related raid this issue | ||||||
| 16 August 1986 | Mustapha Million | Joker | ||||||
| 23 August 1986 | Sweet Tooth | Mustapha Million | ||||||
| 18 October 1986 | Winnie the Royal Nag | Mustapha Million | ||||||
| 06 December 1986 | Toy Boy | Mustapha Million | ||||||
| 13 December 1986 | Mustapha Million | Odd-Ball | ||||||
| 17 January 1987 | Sid | Mustapha Million | ||||||
| 14 February 1987 | Odd-Ball | Mustapha Million | ||||||
| 11 April 1987 | Pa Bumpkin | Mustapha Million | ||||||
| 25 April 1987 | Mustapha Million | Odd-Ball | ||||||
| 20 June 1987 | Toy Boy | Mustapha Million | ||||||
| 27 June 1987 | Mustapha Million | Memory Banks | ||||||
| 25 July 1987 | Lazy Bones | Mustapha Million |
Monday, 14 January 2019
Profile - Hot Air Balloon
My decision to devote a Profile post to this particular Krazy Town inhabitant contradicts my declaration here that to qualify for this honour the character must possess a name. In fact, the 'character' under examination this time is an inanimate object (although there is a human being associated with it), but then again so are the Knock-Knock Door and time-traveling Phone Box, both of which have received a Profile post despite not having names as such, so let's press on.
It seems to me that the Hot Air Balloon (HAB) was a creation of a Cheeky's Week artist who I am unable to identify, and refer to on the blog as Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 (UCA1), since this artist was the only one to depict the blimp floating above Krazy Town. HAB made its debut appearance, being pursued by a large bird, on the Saturday page in the 11 February 1978 issue. This wasn't the first occasion on which UCA1 had drawn an aerially-drifting object, as the same artist included Bubblegum Boy (BB) hovering above Cheeky's home town in the comic dated 14 January 1978. That was the only occasion on which UCA1 drew the perpetually-drifting Fred Holroyd, so fortunately readers were spared the sight of a mid-air collision between HAB and BB.
The next issue to include artwork by UCA1 was that dated 18 February 1978, but HAB was not in evidence on any of the 4 pages which the artist contributed that week. UCA1 next provided work in the 04 March 1978 edition, and 2 of the 5 pages that were delivered by the unidentified artist did feature the subject of this post; on Thursday the balloon was punctured by an arrow, the source of which was unseen, and the following day the perforated sphere continued to Proooooop!! across the sky.
A week later 3 of the 6 Cheeky's Week elements drawn by UCA1 contained images of the still-damaged dirigible being propelled through the firmament by the gas leaking from its unwelcome aperture, the occupant remaining surprisingly mute considering his predicament.
UCA1 was next drafted in to provide visuals for the 25 March 1978 edition, which was the last to include the hot air balloon, and was the only time that its occupant spoke.
Please note the following page contains material which would be considered inappropriate today...
HAB never appeared in the Cheeky strips in Krazy.
Count of elements by artist
It seems to me that the Hot Air Balloon (HAB) was a creation of a Cheeky's Week artist who I am unable to identify, and refer to on the blog as Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 (UCA1), since this artist was the only one to depict the blimp floating above Krazy Town. HAB made its debut appearance, being pursued by a large bird, on the Saturday page in the 11 February 1978 issue. This wasn't the first occasion on which UCA1 had drawn an aerially-drifting object, as the same artist included Bubblegum Boy (BB) hovering above Cheeky's home town in the comic dated 14 January 1978. That was the only occasion on which UCA1 drew the perpetually-drifting Fred Holroyd, so fortunately readers were spared the sight of a mid-air collision between HAB and BB.
 |
| Hot Air Balloon's debut Art: Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 |
The next issue to include artwork by UCA1 was that dated 18 February 1978, but HAB was not in evidence on any of the 4 pages which the artist contributed that week. UCA1 next provided work in the 04 March 1978 edition, and 2 of the 5 pages that were delivered by the unidentified artist did feature the subject of this post; on Thursday the balloon was punctured by an arrow, the source of which was unseen, and the following day the perforated sphere continued to Proooooop!! across the sky.
 |
| Art: Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 |
A week later 3 of the 6 Cheeky's Week elements drawn by UCA1 contained images of the still-damaged dirigible being propelled through the firmament by the gas leaking from its unwelcome aperture, the occupant remaining surprisingly mute considering his predicament.
UCA1 was next drafted in to provide visuals for the 25 March 1978 edition, which was the last to include the hot air balloon, and was the only time that its occupant spoke.
Please note the following page contains material which would be considered inappropriate today...
 | |
| Hot Air Balloon's final appearance Art: Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 |
HAB never appeared in the Cheeky strips in Krazy.
| Character | Total Issues | First Appearance | Final Appearance |
| Hot Air Balloon | 4 | 11-Feb-1978 | 25-Mar-1978 |
Count of elements by artist
| Character | Artist | Total Elements |
| Hot Air Balloon | Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 | 7 |
Sunday, 6 January 2019
Cheeky Weekly cover date 26 January 1980
 |
| Art: Frank McDiarmid |
It’s
the penultimate edition
of Cheeky
Weekly,
although readers picking it up from the newsagents’ counters all
those years ago would have been unaware that was the case (however
there are intimations of the imminent demise of our favourite comic inside this issue as we’ll see).
A rather strange cover suggests that Cheeky’s Sunday paper round
has been extended to include Tarzan’s jungle abode. This rather jarring cover, abandoning any pretence of a link with the toothy funster's Krazy Town locale, makes me wonder whether the creators were,
by taking this liberty with the setting, signalling (maybe
subconsciously) that the end of the title
was looming. Nevertheless, Frank McDiarmid furnishes a nice depiction
of the bellowing vine-swinger.
Over the page we’re back in Krazy Town for the remainder of
Cheeky’s deliveries, and the weather has improved since the snowy
conditions that prevailed in last week’s comic, although Gloomy Glad’s personal rain cloud is, as ever, precipitating.
 |
| Frank again |
The
kids of Stage School are on an educational trip to the museum, but
they’re not enjoying it so use their showbiz wiles to trick Sir into spinning what he thinks
is a piece of ancient pottery atop his cane.
This gets Teach into a state of nervous exhaustion and the entire group ejected from the building, so the kids head for their Stage School and a lesson from their (rarely-seen) cravat-sporting showbiz teacher. This is the final time Robert Nixon will draw the aspiring performers in Cheeky Weekly - Barry Glennard will deputise next week.
 |
| Art: Robert Nixon |
This gets Teach into a state of nervous exhaustion and the entire group ejected from the building, so the kids head for their Stage School and a lesson from their (rarely-seen) cravat-sporting showbiz teacher. This is the final time Robert Nixon will draw the aspiring performers in Cheeky Weekly - Barry Glennard will deputise next week.
 |
This
week’s episode of Elephant on The Run sees our pachyderm pal return
to employment in the circus. Cheeky Weekly readers who have followed
this feature since its first episode will recall that in the opening instalment a terrible accident befell the amnesiac tusker while he was
appearing at Tingaling’s Circus. The final panel of this week’s
adventure could almost serve as a conclusion to the story, with The
Man in the Plastic Mac seemingly frightened off and Elephant happy in
his new circus role. What is missing, of course, is an explanation of
why our be-trunked hero is being pursued. Maybe we’ll discover the
reason in next week’s comic (non spoiler alert – we won’t).
 |
| Robert again |
Mike Lacey takes over the artwork duties from Frank McDiarmid on
Cheeky’s Week as of Thursday.
I don’t often show Tub strips, mainly because it’s not a
favourite of mine, but this one’s not too bad as our portly pal
gets one over on his rather unpleasant dad.
 |
| Art: Nigel Edwards |
Cheeky’s Chit-Chat message cryptically refers to an upcoming
'exciting' event…
There’s no particular theme to Cheeky’s Saturday, so our toothy
chum roams Krazy Town exchanging gags with his pals, as he does most
days. Is the billboard a deliberately ironic inclusion?
 |
| Art: Mike Lacey |
This issue sees the final Cheeky Weekly appearances of
- Ah Sew
- Dan-Dan the Lavender Man
- Hid Kid (final non-appearance in his case)
- Mechanic
- Ursula
- … and Messrs Chips, Haddock and Mutton
And we also say goodbye to the Paddywack strip (although the witless welly-wearer will continue to confound in Whoopee!). This week's Cheeky's Cut-Out Comedy Catalogue, featuring gags relating to Krazy Town's jovial joiner Mr Chips, is the final one. Ian Knox delivers his final 6 Million Dollar Gran artwork (Nigel Edwards will provide the visuals next week).
Frank McDiarmid furnishes 5 Cheeky's Week elements, and Mike Lacey gives us his final 4 renditions of the Cheeky pages.
Cheeky's Week Artists Cover Date 26-Jan-1980
| Artist | Elements |
| Frank McDiarmid | 5 |
| Mike Lacey | 4 |
| Cheeky Weekly | Cover Date: 26-Jan-1980, Issue 116 of 117 |
| Page | Details |
| 1 | Cover Feature 'Tarzan of the Apes' - Art Frank McDiarmid |
| 2 | Sunday - Art Frank McDiarmid |
| 3 | Calculator Kid - Art Terry Bave |
| 4 | Paddywack (final appearance) - Art Jack Clayton (final art on feature) |
| 5 | Ad: IPC 'Mickey Mouse' 17 of 18 Ad: 'Shoot' 12 of 13 |
| 6 | Monday - Art Frank McDiarmid |
| 7 | Ringer Dinger reprint from Whizzer and Chips - Art Terry Bave |
| 8 | Stage School - Art Robert Nixon (final art on feature) |
| 9 | Stage School - Art Robert Nixon (final art on feature) |
| 10 | Tuesday - Art Frank McDiarmid |
| 11 | Ad: IPC 'Tiger' 9 of 10 \Ad: Pop-A-Points (final appearance) |
| 12 | Soggy the Sea Monster reprint from Shiver and Shake - Art Robert Nixon |
| 13 | Cheeky's Cut-Out Comedy Catalogue (final appearance) 'Mr Chips Jokes' |
| 14 | Cheeky's Cut-Out Comedy Catalogue (final appearance) 'Mr Chips Jokes' |
| 15 | Wednesday - Art Frank McDiarmid |
| 16 | Disaster Des - Art Mike Lacey |
| 17 | Elephant On The Run - Art Robert Nixon |
| 18 | Mustapha Million - Art Joe McCaffrey |
| 19 | Mustapha Million - Art Joe McCaffrey |
| 20 | Thursday - Art Mike Lacey (final art on feature) |
| 21 | Tub - Art Nigel Edwards |
| 22 | The Gang reprint from Whizzer and Chips - Art Robert MacGillivray |
| 23 | The Gang reprint from Whizzer and Chips - Art Robert MacGillivray |
| 24 | 6 Million Dollar Gran - Art Ian Knox (final art on feature) |
| 25 | 6 Million Dollar Gran - Art Ian Knox (final art on feature) |
| 26 | Friday - Art Mike Lacey (final art on feature) |
| 27 | Joke-Box Jury |
| 28 | Speed Squad - Art Jimmy Hansen |
| 29 | Chit-Chat |
| 30 | Saturday - Art Mike Lacey (final art on feature) |
| 31 | Saturday - Art Mike Lacey (final art on feature) |
| 32 | Snail of the Century - Art Frank McDiarmid |
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