Showing posts with label Space Family Robinson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Space Family Robinson. Show all posts
Monday, 15 July 2013
Space Family Robinson update
I'm grateful to Russ Juckes who has provided the name of the first artist to draw Space Family Robinson. I've updated the SFR post here, and also the Cheeky Weekly Artist Index, the Artist Key and the Cheeky Weekly Index.
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Cheeky Weekly cover date 14 January 1978
It's not hard to guess the answer to Cheeky's question on this week's cover.Proving that no joke is too hoary for use, even on the front cover, the What A Cheek strip shamelessly gives another outing to a venerable gag.
On the What's New Kids page, Cheeky is advertising The Morecambe and Wise Comic Book by Denis Gifford and Terry Wakefield. Straining to read what's on the cover of the book, there seem to be references to famous comic characters - Ally Sloper's topper, Kate's keyhole, Lord Snooty's collar, etc.Like last week's Mustapha Million tale, this week's is reduced from the normal two pages to one. This is also the first Mustapha tale to be drawn by Joe McCaffrey, and sees our wealthy hero discover that the local playground is as dilapidated and broken-down as the attendant. Big-hearted (and walleted) Mustapha provides a spanking new playground.
There is evidently some sort of mix-up in compiling the elements of this week's comic. On the Interval page, just as the titles for this week's Space Family Robinson episode appear, one of Cheeky's pals says that in last week's episode Mrs Robinson vanished. However, we can clearly see she's present in the first panel of the ensuing episode, and actually it's at the end of this week's instalment that she disappears. Nevertheless there's some nice artwork in this instalment, as the Robinsons encounter those frigid fiends, the Icemen.
The comic rounds off with two more sections of the spotter book.
All the Cheeky's Week art this issue is by Unknown Cheeky Artist 1, the first time this artist's work has featured in the comic.
We say farewell (and in one case, hello as well) to 2 minor characters from Cheeky's Week this issue. The short-sighted dustman makes his fourth and final appearance - I suspect it was felt the comic had room for only one refuse-disposal-related character, and Sid the Street-Sweeper prevailed. Mad Scientist, who had featured in the 'Ello It's Cheeky strip in Krazy, makes his first appearance during the Interval, but is never seen in the comic again.
Also bowing out is the Doug's Doodle gag feature, although aspiring artist Doodle Doug will return.
The Tweety feature makes what is mercifully its only appearance in the comic's run. I'm not sure why Sylvester isn't credited in the title, as he is present in the story. The bad news is that we will be forced to endure 28 episodes of Tweety and Sylvester in the coming weeks.
| Cheeky Weekly | Cover Date: 14-Jan-1978, Issue 13 of 117 |
| Page | Details |
| 1 | Cover Feature 'Lily and Ursula' - Art Frank McDiarmid\What a Cheek - Art Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 (first art on feature) |
| 2 | Sunday - Art Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 (first art on feature) |
| 3 | Skateboard Squad - Art Jimmy Hansen |
| 4 | Sunday evening - Art Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 (first art on feature) |
| 5 | 6 Million Dollar Gran - Art Ian Knox |
| 6 | 6 Million Dollar Gran - Art Ian Knox |
| 7 | 6 Million Dollar Gran - Art Ian Knox |
| 8 | Monday - Art Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 (first art on feature) |
| 9 | James Bold 'The Ghost Highwayman' 2 of 9 - Art Mike White |
| 10 | James Bold 'The Ghost Highwayman' 2 of 9 - Art Mike White |
| 11 | Suddenly - Art Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 (first art on feature) |
| 12 | Tuesday - Art Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 (first art on feature) |
| 13 | Old Comic reprint from School Friend 'Dilly Dreem' 1 of 2 |
| 14 | What's New, Kids |
| 15 | Wednesday - Art Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 (first art on feature) |
| 16 | Creepy Sleepy Tale - Art Keith Reynolds |
| 17 | Creepy Sleepy Tale - Art Keith Reynolds\Wednesday (conclusion) - Art Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 (first art on feature) |
| 18 | Joke-Box Jury |
| 19 | Thursday - Art Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 (first art on feature) |
| 20 | Home Movie 'Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp' - Art Jack Clayton |
| 21 | Friday - Art Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 (first art on feature) |
| 22 | Mustapha Million - Art Joe McCaffrey (first art on feature) |
| 23 | Ad: IPC 'Roy of the Rovers' 3 of 8 Ad: 'Spotter Books promo' 2 of 2 |
| 24 | Doug's Doodle (final appearance) - Art Artie Jackson (final art on feature)\Saturday - Art Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 (first art on feature) |
| 25 | Tweety (single appearance) |
| 26 | Tweety (single appearance) |
| 27 | Interval - Art Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 (first art on feature) |
| 28 | Space Family Robinson 'March of the Icemen' - Art John Richardson |
| 29 | Space Family Robinson 'March of the Icemen' - Art John Richardson |
| 30 | Ad: IPC 'Shoot' 3 of 13 |
| 31 | The Cheeky Spotter Book of Fun - Art Jim Petrie |
| 32 | The Cheeky Spotter Book of Fun - Art Jim Petrie |
Cheeky's Week Artists Cover Date 14-Jan-1978
| Artist | Elements |
| Unknown Cheeky Artist 1 | 12 |
Monday, 16 August 2010
The Features - Space Family Robinson
The Robinsons escape their abductors and in the ensuing weeks encounter a variety of alien fiends including Icemen, Fishmen, a giant two-headed cat and a race called the Moloks, who look like a human/evil hamster hybrid.
The most memorable alien is King Blubber who terrorises our heroes for several episodes until his inflatable body explodes to reveal a weedy occupant who disappears down an alien rabbit hole and is never seen again.
Just after the family construct a stockade, a mysterious cloud of dark particles approaches, only for the kids to realise that it's black snow (well, this is the Christmas issue). Mum then reveals she has put up makeshift Christmas decorations in the encampment, and not only that, she has cooked a super Christmas dinner of alien veg.
Final episode below...
The Robinson saga proceeds at a breakneck pace with each episode featuring an escape from the peril presented in the preceding instalment, immediately followed by some new threat and cliff-hanger ending. It's something of a pot-boiler series that could have been kept going for as long as necessary. So immersed in the plot was the writer that he/she failed to realise that three instalments were titled 'Escape' and two 'Tunnel of Terror'.
The strip was presented as the film serial that Cheeky and his pals watched on Saturdays.
As far as I can tell, there were three artists who drew the Robinson pages, none of whom I can name. One artist provided all the artwork from the first installment up to and including the episode dated 25 March 1978. The art on the episode dated 01 April 1978 was by the artist who drew 'Whiz Wheels' in Whizzer and Chips, and a third artist drew all the remaining episodes. If anyone can name the artists, please contact me with the details.
UPDATE 15 July 2013 - Many thanks to Russ Juckes who has been in touch to let me know that the first artist on Space Family Robinson was John Richardson who, Russ informs me, also drew for 2000AD and Crash magazine.
UPDATE 22 November 2018 - Thanks to Lew Stringer's post I now know that John Richardson was also the artist on Cheeky Weekly's Mystery Boy which began 7 months after John's last work on Space Family Robinson (although MB was in fact a reprint of a strip that originally appeared in 1971).
| Feature | First Appearance | Final Appearance | Total Issues | Total Issues Missed In Run | Page History |
| Space Family Robinson | 22-Oct-77 | 24-Jun-78 | 36 | 0 | 28,29,30,31 |
| Feature | Artist | Number of Issues | First Appearance | Final Appearance |
| Space Family Robinson The Snatch | John Richardson | 1 | 22-Oct-1977 | 22-Oct-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson The Chase | John Richardson | 1 | 29-Oct-1977 | 29-Oct-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson Escape | John Richardson | 1 | 05-Nov-1977 | 05-Nov-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson Trapped | John Richardson | 1 | 12-Nov-1977 | 12-Nov-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson The Pit | John Richardson | 1 | 19-Nov-1977 | 19-Nov-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson Tunnel of Terror | John Richardson | 1 | 26-Nov-1977 | 26-Nov-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson Race Against Time | John Richardson | 1 | 03-Dec-1977 | 03-Dec-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson Dead End | John Richardson | 1 | 10-Dec-1977 | 10-Dec-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson Death Leap | John Richardson | 1 | 17-Dec-1977 | 17-Dec-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson Black Menace | John Richardson | 1 | 24-Dec-1977 | 24-Dec-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson Forest of Fear | John Richardson | 1 | 31-Dec-1977 | 31-Dec-1977 |
| Space Family Robinson The Icemen | John Richardson | 1 | 07-Jan-1978 | 07-Jan-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson March of the Icemen | John Richardson | 1 | 14-Jan-1978 | 14-Jan-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson The Plain of Bubbles | John Richardson | 1 | 21-Jan-1978 | 21-Jan-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson The Captives | John Richardson | 1 | 28-Jan-1978 | 28-Jan-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson The Search | John Richardson | 1 | 04-Feb-1978 | 04-Feb-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson King Blubber | John Richardson | 1 | 11-Feb-1978 | 11-Feb-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson The Race | John Richardson | 1 | 18-Feb-1978 | 18-Feb-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson The Tunnel of Terror | John Richardson | 1 | 25-Feb-1978 | 25-Feb-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson Stampede | John Richardson | 1 | 04-Mar-1978 | 04-Mar-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson Fright Flight | John Richardson | 1 | 11-Mar-1978 | 11-Mar-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson King Blubber's Secret | John Richardson | 1 | 18-Mar-1978 | 18-Mar-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson The Tunnel | John Richardson | 1 | 25-Mar-1978 | 25-Mar-1978 |
| Space Family Robinson Eruption | 1 | 01-Apr-1978 | 01-Apr-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson The Worm | 1 | 08-Apr-1978 | 08-Apr-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson The Cave | 1 | 15-Apr-1978 | 15-Apr-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson The Fish Men | 1 | 22-Apr-1978 | 22-Apr-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson Underwater Slaves | 1 | 29-Apr-1978 | 29-Apr-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson Escape | 2 | 06-May-1978 | 27-May-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson The Flood | 1 | 13-May-1978 | 13-May-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson Bid For Freedom | 1 | 20-May-1978 | 20-May-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson Ambush | 1 | 03-Jun-1978 | 03-Jun-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson Captives | 1 | 10-Jun-1978 | 10-Jun-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson Spaceport | 1 | 17-Jun-1978 | 17-Jun-1978 | |
| Space Family Robinson Homeward Bound | 1 | 24-Jun-1978 | 24-Jun-1978 |
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