Following Joe McCaffrey's puzzlingly brief tenure as artist on Mustapha Million's new series, the illustrative baton on the feature was taken up by Robert Nixon. Robert hadn't previously drawn any Mustapha episodes, but he had contributed the festive cover of Whoopee! and Cheeky dated 27 December 1980, showing our middle eastern mate providing Santa with an alternative to his usual means of flight (an eventuality that would presumably result in global consternation as the reindeer-sustaining carrot offerings left out on Christmas Eve by millions of kids went unconsumed).
The first of Robert's Mustapha strip contributions appeared in Whizzer and Chips dated 22 February 1986.
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| Whizzer and Chips 22 February 1986 Art: Robert Nixon |
In the above story Robert depicts Mustapha's bodyguards in western attire, whereas previously they were drawn as heavyset men in stereotypically middle eastern clothing, often clutching scimitars. It may be that the change of design was a conscious decision but, because Mustapha's servants were shown in full curly-toed-shoe "Arabian"-garbed splendour in subsequent episodes, I would guess that Robert hadn't seen Reg Parlett's (the original Mustapha artist) or Joe McCaffrey's rendition of the same characters.
Robert contributed just 6 episodes before he was himself replaced by another artist. The 6 storylines were mostly typical of the Mustapha milieu with which readers were accustomed, and saw our hero -
- Create and host 2 new TV gameshows, 'Get The Price Right' and 'Blinkety-Blonk', in which all contestants win a prize, and crafty Mustapha gets the answers to the questions posed by his tutor (01 March 1986)
- Give his pals a lift to school in his new vehicle which transforms from a car to a 'plane then a boat, although this story doesn't end well for Mustapha as his tutor gains control of the technology and converts the craft into a robot which carries him off to his lessons (08 March)
- Clear an area of rough, hilly ground to create an ornamental garden, not realising the area was where his pals enjoyed riding their BMX bikes, but then provides air travel in order that the youngsters can enjoy a Europe-wide game of hide and seek (15 March)
- Allow his chums, who find that ball games are forbidden in the car park, to use his new stretch limousine as an indoor sports centre, much to the perplexity of the car park attendant who is unable to find anything in the regulations prohibiting such a situation (22 March)
- Dismiss his bodyguards (again western-garbed) for the day despite carrying with him a large sack of cash (prominently displaying, of course, a large £ symbol on it) attracting a number of ne'er do wells who try to relieve him of his dosh. We learn at the end of the tale that Mustapha has been keen to try the judo skills he has been studying, and this is all a ruse to engender a punch-up, though the would-be thieves he encounters have been frightened off before engaging in a scrap. This portrayal of our affluent pal deviates considerably from his usual caring demeanour as, frustrated by his failure to engineer a brawl, he physically attacks an entirely innocent passer-by. However, the misunderstanding which leads to the assault is a circumstance very familiar to long-time followers of the strip (29 March)
All 6 of Mr Nixon's episodes spanned 2 pages, and none of them were signed. Following Joe's rapid departure, the similarly brief nature of Robert's stint on the feature may suggest that the editor had expected Joe to last longer as the Mustapha artist, and Robert was recruited temporarily until another illustrator able to commit to a longer run on the feature could be found.
| Title | Date | Start Page | Feature | Artist | Elements | Element Config |
| Whizzer and Chips | 22-Feb-1986 | 18 | Mustapha Million | Robert Nixon | 2 | F,F |
| Whizzer and Chips | 01-Mar-1986 | 18 | Mustapha Million | Robert Nixon | 2 | F,F |
| Whizzer and Chips | 08-Mar-1986 | 18 | Mustapha Million | Robert Nixon | 2 | F,F |
| Whizzer and Chips | 15-Mar-1986 | 18 | Mustapha Million | Robert Nixon | 2 | F,F |
| Whizzer and Chips | 22-Mar-1986 | 18 | Mustapha Million | Robert Nixon | 2 | F,F |
| Whizzer and Chips | 29-Mar-1986 | 18 | Mustapha Million | Robert Nixon | 2 | F,F |
Mustapha Million wasn't involved in any raids during Robert's term as artist.
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