Cheeky Weekly cover date 02 February 1980 – the final issue.

What’s going on? Well, from our perspective all these years later we of course know what our toothy pal doesn’t as the issue commences – this is to be the final edition of our favourite comic and as of next week a select band of Cheeky Weekly survivors will move into sister title Whoopee! At one time this news would have been heralded with a ‘Great News Inside Pals!’ banner on the front page but, as comic readers had become wise to the fact that merges weren’t in fact ‘great’, by the 1980s new strategies for imparting the bad news were being employed. On this occasion an air of intrigue and mystery is created, and even Cheeky himself doesn’t know what fate awaits him. Crystal Belle describes the forthcoming announcement as ‘tremendous’. The definitions provided by an online dictionary reveal how clever the scriptwriter is in their choice of adjective.

tremendous 

Extremely large in amount, extent, or degree; enormous

Marvelous; wonderful

Capable of making one tremble; terrible

Art: Frank McDiarmid

As this is the final Cheeky Weekly, I’m going to focus on the final panels of all this week’s non-Cheeky strips.

 

First up, Why, Dad, Why? concludes with Dad in detention. This feature, which used scripts originally written for Whizzer and Chips, but with new artwork, will not be among the Cheeky Weekly strips transferring into Whoopee!, although the inter-generational antagonism will resurface in the 1980 Cheeky Holiday Special and Annuals dated 1981 and 1982.

Art: John Geering

 

Disaster Des has two adventures this week, the second following directly from the first on consecutive pages. Possibly the Cheeky Weekly editor had commissioned one strip too many but, not wishing to waste his moolah since Des would not be transferring into Whoopee!, crammed both into the final issue. The second story ends with the juvenile jinx in fancy dress as a Victorian chimney sweep at the Mayor’s costume ball, while the assembly rooms disintegrate around the civic dignitary. Des would return in the Cheeky Specials dated 1980, ‘81 and ‘82, and also all the remaining Annuals, cover-dated from 1981 to 1985

Art: Mike Lacey

The Stage School kids hasten, with a 'Titter' and 'Chortle', to their showbiz class having avoided a threatened whacking. This is not the last we’ll see of the young entertainers as they’ll survive the upcoming merge and will also give performances in the 1980 and ‘81 Cheeky Specials and Annuals dated ‘81 to ‘85.

 

Art: Barry Glennard

 

An offensive stereotype appears in this week's Ringer Dinger story. In the late 70s this kind of portrayal was regularly encountered in the media. Fortunately the shocking image is absent from the final panel which I'm able to present here. The Ringer Dinger reprints from Whizzer and Chips will not carry over into Whoopee!, although the teeny telephone tearaway will dial-in appearances in the Cheeky Specials dated 1980 and 1981 and the Annuals dated ‘81 and ‘82.

Art: Terry Bave

 

Snail of the Century is displaced from its usual back-cover location, but retains its regular Snail-wryly-observing-goings-on-in-the-Cheeky-household conclusion. An untitled, cut-down version of Snail of the Century will transfer into Whoopee! and some months after that comes to an end the mirthful mollusc will be lucky enough to secure another strip all to himself. Cheeky’s slithering sidekick will of course continue to accompany his toothy mate in the Cheeky strips in their new home. However fans of SotC will be able to enjoy Snail on the Beach (a holiday version of the strip) in the 1980 Holiday Special, followed by A Snail’s Tale and Snail Abroad in the 1981 and 1982 Summer Specials respectively. The 1981 Annual will feature a Snail of the Century, while those dated 1982 and ‘83 will each include Smile-along-a-Snail (SotCs in all but name), and Snail Down Under (another SotC variant) will appear in the Annual for 1985.

Frank again

Elephant secures employment as a butler this week and ends the Elephant on the Run strip having yet again seen off The Man in the Plastic Mac. At the end of the final episode we’re none the wiser as to why our elephant pal is being pursued, and since the peripatetic pachyderm will not survive the imminent merge, we remain puzzled to this day - the one further strip that appeared in the 1980 Cheeky Holiday Special provided no further enlightenment.

Art: Robert Nixon

 

This week’s footwear-focused Calculator Kid tale ends with Charlie having received a free pair of trainers thanks to the silicon-chip stratagems of his number-crunching pal. Charlie and Calc will be among the Cheeky Weekly survivors continuing in Whoopee!, and fans of the pair will be able to enjoy more of their adventures in the Cheeky Specials from 1980 to 1982, and in each of the Annuals from 1981 to 1985.

Art: Terry Bave

 

Soggy the Sea Monster who, like Charlie and Calc is benefiting from the colour printing available on the centre pages, doesn’t actually appear in the final panel of his tale, in which the lovable leviathan teaches a lesson to a pair of inconsiderate water sport enthusiasts. Soggy, whose Cheeky Weekly run consisted of reprints from Shiver and Shake, will not continue into Whoopee!, but will make a bumper 5 aquatic forays into the 1980 Holiday Special and enjoy a single adventure in 1982’s Summer Special, plus appearances in the Annuals from ‘81 to ‘83.

Art: Robert Nixon

 

The Gang (a retitled reprint of the Double Deckers from Whizzer and Chips) subject us to a tedious tale involving a paper chase (another of those things that only ever occur in comics, never in real life). Fortunately, this underwhelming feature will fail to make it into Whoopee!, although it will return to haunt the Cheeky 1980 Holiday Special and the 1981 Annual. The strip that brought the original Double Decker run to a conclusion had actually been reprinted in Cheeky Weekly dated 28 July 1979 – see Raven’s comment here.

Art: Robert MacGillivray

 

Tub is rewarded for his inadvertent cat rescue, something which pleases his usually-irascible dad. Our portly pal will not lend his weight to the band of Cheeky Weekly folk making the transition to their new home, but will return in 1981’s Summer Special and Annuals from 1981 to 1984. The corpulent cove will also make a surprise appearance in the 1983 Shiver and Shake Annual. How did that happen?

Art: Nigel Edwards

 

Mustapha Million challenges a bully to a fight, but by offering his opponent access to the considerable range of gym equipment and fitness facilities available in Mustapha Mansion, at the time of the contest the bully is exhausted. Thus wily Mustapha wins by knocking his opponent down with a feather (not a wet fish as the illustration below might suggest). Mustapha will transfer into Whoopee! and will in fact become the longest-surviving Cheeky Weekly character, withstanding several merges and appearing regularly (although for a period in reprints) until the final issue of Whizzer and Chips in 1990 - somewhat longer than the single year his father originally intended him to spend in the UK. Our middle-eastern mate will also appear in the Cheeky Specials from 1980 to ‘82 and Annuals from ‘81 to ‘85.

Art: Joe McCaffrey

 

Cheeky Weekly’s next-longest-lived character, sharing the seven-figure titular reference with Mustapha, is 6 Million Dollar Gran, although the synthetic senior citizen underwent three rebrandings during her post-Cheeky Weekly career, ending up as the leader of a group of old age pensioners in a strip tiltled Gran’s Gang, a feature that survived until the final issue of Whoopee (which by then had been shorn of its exclamation mark) dated 30 March 1985. In her final Cheeky Weekly outing, Gran overcomes multiple difficulties while attempting to feed the local ducks. The aged automaton will have further adventures in the Cheeky Specials of 1980 and 1981 (in the 1981 Special her strip will be titled $6000,000 Gran to match the change in title that came into effect when she transferred to Whoopee!), and the Annuals from ‘81 to ‘85 (strips titled 6 Million Dollar Gran, $6000,000 Gran, Gran, Granny and Granny respectively; In Whoopee! Her strip was retitled Robot Granny in May 1981, and Gran’s Gang in July 1983).

Art: Nigel Edwards
Gag references professional cockney geezer Arfur Mullard

Speed Squad set up their own rally course but a driver mistakes it for the real thing and the plucky trio avert a disaster by guiding him out. Our high-velocity chums won’t survive the merge, but will enjoy accelerated adventures in the Cheeky Specials of 1980 and ‘81, and the Annuals from 1981 to ‘84.

Art: Jimmy Hansen

 

Cheeky drops the bombshell on the Chit-Chat page...

 ...The Cheeky's Chit-Chat feature will not be forgotten next week as the Whoopee! letters page will become known as Whoopee Chit-Chat, although letters will in future be addressed to 'the editor' rather than the toothy funster. The writers of letters printed in Whoopee! and Cheeky will continue to receive the same £2.00 award as did correspondents to Cheeky Weekly's letters page, but they will not receive the additional reward of a Cheeky badge (the Cheeky office obviously had a few boxes of Cheeky badges cluttering up the place at the end of the comic's run, as readers of the first issue of the combined title will be invited to write in to claim a free badge, 2000 of which will be up for grabs in return for an SAE). However, readers having a letter printed in Whoopee! and Cheeky will, in addition to their cash award, receive a Whoopee! whoopee cushion.

The lucky band of characters who have been selected for transfer to Whoopee! are revealed on Saturday (except Paddywack who is absent from this final issue but will return in the merged comic).

More Frank

A competition is announced on the back cover, giving readers of the merged comic a chance to win a FriscoDisco junior DJ unit as an inducement for fans of the toothy funster’s title to transfer their loyalties to Whoopee! and Cheeky. And don't forget, after explaining to your parent or guardian that your favourite comic has been subsumed into another title, to hand the completed regular order coupon to your newsagent.

It's great that Frank McDiarmid delivered all the Cheeky's Week artwork for this final issue - it's only fitting since his work was such a major part of the comic's success. And didn't he do a great job of drawing the Whoopee! characters? Excellent work from him, as ever. A very big THANK YOU Frank for your hard work throughout the comic's life and for all the laughs.

Well, it's sad of course that our favourite comic has come to an end, but wasn't it a great run? In terms of the number of issues, it's nowhere near the venerable Buster or Beano, yet Cheeky Weekly's 117 editions is more than some comics were able to manage before expiring. But what counts, as we know, is quality, not quantity, and quality was in evidence throughout Cheeky Weekly's run. Frank McDiarmid stamped his personality on the Cheeky pages, and his wild, zany artwork and comments scattered around the sets just made the pages zing with irrepressible humour. The scripts by Willie (Gordon) Cook were imaginative, and the vast array of appealing, eccentric characters strolling the streets of Krazy Town elevated what could have been merely a succession of corny gags into a highly enjoyable romp through an often surreal version of late 70s Britain.

As we know, Cheeky Weekly emerged from Krazy, and inherited its progenitor title's iconoclastic approach to British humour comics. On its debut Cheeky Weekly had 2 main characteristics that set it apart from its predecessors; it was based around a single character who featured in multiple strips each week, and all the non-Cheeky strips were 'framed'  by those containing the toothy funster and his pals. The extra care that had to be taken with the planning and placement of the features and their introductory sequences within the Cheeky strips made it evident that this comic was intended as something rather different from the grab-bag of unrelated comic pages of the typical humour/adventure titles of the time, and no doubt we have to thank IPC's group editor Bob Paynter for making all this possible. Sadly over time the framing devices were dropped, as were the adventure strips, but in its heyday there was no title to touch Cheeky Weekly.

And as well as the framing devices, further trouble was taken to give us several special issues, such as the Skateboard, Disco and (one of my favourites) the 60-years-into-the-future editions. Then the metafictional Mystery Comic was introduced to make things even more interesting.

The toothy funster's title is mostly remembered today for its Cheeky content, and rightly so, but let's not forget that among the pages of our grinning pal's weekly gagfests were some cracking strips;

Art: Reg Parlett

As mentioned in relation to Ringer Dinger above, derogatory stereotypes presented as 'entertainment' were sadly common in British society in the Cheeky years, to the extent that it wasn't uncommon for them to appear in children's comics. However, what was to become the comic's longest-survived creation was quite the reverse - a visitor who was generous, kind and eager to learn about and contribute to a culture other than his own - Mustapha Million. Mustapha showed us all how a diverse society benefits everyone. Much kudos to the enlightened creators of this lovely strip. How could it fail to be anything but a delight when the responsibility for illustrating the positive basic premise was entrusted to the mighty Reg Parlett. I firmly believe that Reg did some of his best work on young Master Million.

Art: Ian Knox

Ian Knox's artwork on 6 Million Dollar Gran was another highlight - his often-grotesque visuals and cleverly-rendered humorous action scenes perfectly suited the immensely-powerful-(what-seems-to-be)-little-old-lady scenario and some clever scripts keep the fun bubbling along nicely. I'm even almost willing to forgive the frequent references to Gran's 'bionic' attributes!

Art: Robert Nixon

For me, Elephant on the Run was probably the stand-out non-Cheeky feature. I love the utter daftness of it all, and Robert Nixon's depiction of the slapstick events is superb. So what if there was no proper conclusion? Maybe it's better we never found out why our tusker pal was on the lam.

Disaster Des, Stage School, I could go on; Cheeky Weekly had more than its fair share of excellent content. But let's not get too downhearted about the demise of our favourite comic, we've still got plenty of Cheeky-and-pals fun coming up in Whoopee! and Cheeky.

Cheeky Weekly	Cover Date: 02-Feb-1980, Issue 117 of 117
Page	Details
1	Cover Feature (final appearance) 'What's Going On?' - Art Frank McDiarmid (final art on feature)
2	Sunday (final appearance) - Art Frank McDiarmid (final art on feature)
3	Why, Dad, Why? (final appearance) - Art John K. Geering (final art on feature)
4	Joke-Box Jury (final appearance)\Ad: IPC (final appearance) 'Mickey Mouse' 18 of 18
5	Monday (final appearance) - Art Frank McDiarmid (final art on feature)
6	Disaster Des (final appearance) - Art Mike Lacey (final art on feature)
7	Disaster Des (final appearance) - Art Mike Lacey (final art on feature)
8	Stage School (final appearance) - Art Barry Glennard (final art on feature)
9	Stage School (final appearance) - Art Barry Glennard (final art on feature)
10	Tuesday (final appearance) - Art Frank McDiarmid (final art on feature)
11	Ringer Dinger (final appearance) reprint from Whizzer and Chips - Art Terry Bave (final art on feature)
12	Snail of the Century (final appearance) - Art Frank McDiarmid (final art on feature)
13	Ad: Weetabix (final appearance) 'DC Comics promotion' 2 of 2
14	Elephant On The Run (final appearance) - Art Robert Nixon (final art on feature)
15	Wednesday (final appearance) - Art Frank McDiarmid (final art on feature)
16	Calculator Kid (final appearance) - Art Terry Bave (final art on feature)
17	Soggy the Sea Monster (final appearance) reprint from Shiver and Shake - Art Robert Nixon (final art on feature)
18	The Gang (final appearance) reprint from Whizzer and Chips - Art Robert MacGillivray (final art on feature)
19	The Gang (final appearance) reprint from Whizzer and Chips - Art Robert MacGillivray (final art on feature)
20	Thursday (final appearance) - Art Frank McDiarmid (final art on feature)
21	Tub (final appearance) - Art Nigel Edwards (final art on feature)
22	Mustapha Million (final appearance) - Art Joe McCaffrey (final art on feature)
23	Mustapha Million (final appearance) - Art Joe McCaffrey (final art on feature)
24	6 Million Dollar Gran (final appearance) - Art Nigel Edwards (final art on feature)
25	6 Million Dollar Gran (final appearance) - Art Nigel Edwards (final art on feature)
26	Friday (final appearance) - Art Frank McDiarmid (final art on feature)
27	Ad: IPC (final appearance) 'Tiger' 10 of 10 Ad: 'Shoot' 13 of 13
28	Speed Squad (final appearance) - Art Jimmy Hansen (final art on feature)
29	Chit-Chat (final appearance)
30	Saturday (final appearance) - Art Frank McDiarmid (final art on feature)
31	Saturday (final appearance) - Art Frank McDiarmid (final art on feature)
32	Ad: IPC (final appearance) 'DJ Unit competition in Whoopee and Cheeky'

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.

 

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

Cheeky Weekly cover date 19 January 1980

Art: Frank McDiarmid

Cheeky’s week begins with a chilly paper round and it starts to snow just as he enjoys a cover quip with Petula. Overleaf on the Sunday page a considerable fall of the white stuff is in evidence, and Frank McDiarmid slips in a reference to the end, in November 1979, of the industrial dispute which halted publication of The Times newspaper and its supplement-packed Sunday companion for almost a year – obviously this gag was a bit out of date due to the unavoidable lag between completion of the page and publication. Nevertheless I imagine the joke was appreciated by many a broadsheet-encumbered newspaper girl and boy. The blank billboard is a bit of a puzzle – the lettering of the ‘please write your own joke’ message is not by Frank McDiarmid. Were the original billboard contents removed? The page ends with a meaty gag but Mr Mutton is absent since his shop is closed

More Frank

 

The microchip machinations of Calculator Kid’s electronic advisor deny Charlie a breakfast. The local bird population benefits, and a peckish Charlie sets out into the streets. It would seem that this story occurs early on Sunday, before the residents of Krazy Town were troubled by snow. The tale ends at a porridge-eating contest (referencing the huge popularity of porridge-eating contests in the late 1970s), and you can guess who takes the prize.

Art: Terry Bave

 

Cheeky's Monday follows a page of Paddywack gags, and Krazy Town still has a covering of snow as the toothy funster enjoys the usual banter with his pals.

Rain, not snow, is the problem for Mustapha Million and his chums as they try to enjoy a footie game. However, Mustapha was never shown to be resident in Krazy Town (initially he was presented as a fictional character as far as Cheeky was concerned) so the variance in weather conditions need not trouble us.

Art: Joe McCaffrey

 

Following directly from our middle-eastern mate are the junior troupe of aspiring performers and their showbiz-hating tutor who make up the main cast of Stage School. Contrary to the climatic conditions apparent in Cheeky’s world this week, the weather seems fine as Sir sets the kids an initiative test by driving them out of town then abandoning them to find their own way back to school. Of course this particular strip’s relationship to Cheeky’s universe was never specified, as the feature commenced in the 07 July 1979 'new look' issue, a week after the Mystery Comic concept was dropped, and at a point in Cheeky Weekly’s evolution when the framing sequences which for a time explicitly established a relationship between each of the non-Cheeky’s-Week contents of the comic and the toothy funster’s pages had, with one exception, been abandoned*.

The resourceful kids raise some cash and catch a number 6 bus going to Kensal Rise, an area of north London. Unless the bus route has changed in the intervening years, a number 6 does not usually terminate at Kensal Rise – the full southbound route runs from the delightfully-named Bertie Road, Willesden, to a stop designated Aldwych/Drury Lane in central London. I would have expected the Stage School kids to have waited for a bus that would take them to Drury Lane, often described as 'the heart of London’s theatreland'. However, I suspect that the bus route reference is a private joke – possibly one of the staff in the Cheeky Weekly office lived in or around Kensal Rise. In 1980, Cheeky Weekly publisher IPC was based at King’s Reach Tower, so I used Transport for London’s Journey Planner to devise a route from Bertie Road to Stamford Street, the location of that famous edifice, to see what route a Willesden-based IPC employee might take to get to work. The first route suggested by TfL didn’t involve travelling on the number 6, but it did use the Jubilee underground line, which began operating in May 1979, and I wondered what would be the effect of excluding tube travel from the journey. Having removed subterranean commuting from my request, I updated the page and found that the suggested route takes our putative north-London-dwelling Cheeky chappie or chappess on the number 6 from Bertie Road to Kensal Rise rail station, and thence by a combination of train and foot, to postcode SE1 9PS, the location of South Bank Tower, formerly King’s Reach (not only has the name of the building changed since the time of Cheeky Weekly - the postcode in those days was SE1 9LS).

Art: Robert Nixon

* The 6 Million Dollar Gran story in the 14 July 1979 issue was the final strip to feature a framing element. For more info see here.

On Tuesday we see that someone (possibly Sid the Street-Sweeper?) has kindly cleared the snow off Lily Pop’s zebra crossing.

Frank again

There are cold conditions for Soggy the Sea Monster's reprinted escapade, but not due to the chill affecting Cheeky's home town. The silly sea serpent ventures up to the frozen north and gets hooked by a local fishing through a hole in the ice. Needless to say he doesn’t end up in somebody’s frying pan alongside some chips.

This week’s Why, Dad, Why? Shows Dad and Son heading for the pictures via streets clear of snow, but the strip was originally included in the Mystery Comic so was a work of fiction set in an unspecified location as far as Cheeky was concerned.

It’s cover co-star Petula’s turn to feature in the Cut – Out Comedy Catalogue which, as one might expect, is full of animal jokes.

Frank McDiarmid’s note on the Wednesday page explains this week's weather in Krazy Town.

Snow-loving Frank

The link between Cheeky’s world and that of Elephant on the Run (initially a strip in The Mystery Comic as was the above-mentioned Mustapha Million) became an ambiguous one when Elephant and The Man in the Plastic Mac appeared on the Wednesday page in the 12 May 1979 issue. Their adventure this week is a snowy one, suggesting that they may indeed share Cheeky’s universe.

Art: Robert Nixon

The next strip, Disaster Des, also originated in the Mystery Comic and was firmly set in Des' home town of Doomsville, so it's no surprise to see the streets clear of snow as Des mooches along, unconcerned by the mayhem he's unwittingly unleashing as he goes. However, the majority of the story focuses on Doomsville's long-suffering Mayor, who finds that he can't escape the negative influence of the junior jinx even while on a well-deserved cruise (although choosing the Bermuda Triangle was pushing his luck somewhat).

Art: Mike Lacey

The Gang's reprinted adventure from Whizzer and Chips is also untroubled by snow as the youngsters prepare to enter a vintage car in an 'old crock's race', which was one of those terms that was, as far as I'm aware, only ever used in comics, never in real life. See also 'spifflication' and 'slap up feed'.

There's no sign of a thaw as Cheeky does his Thursday round of jokes and japes, after which Tub, who is the last of the former Mystery Comic inhabitants to appear this week, gets stuck in the turnstile at a football match, with no snow to be seen.

Speed Squad, who were shown to occupy Cheeky's Krazy Town setting while appearing under their former title of Skateboard Squad as well as in their current guise, are pleasingly enjoying a tobogganing session as their story commences, the snow depicted as they race downhill matching the icy conditions evident in this issue's Cheeky's Week strips.

Cheeky then enjoys a frosty Friday, following which there's a 6 Million Dollar Gran spot-the-difference puzzle, the artwork for this filler having been lifted from her adventure in the 17 March 1979 edition. This is Gran's only appearance this week, her usual strip is absent.

Following 2 pages of readers' rib-ticklers in Joke-Box Jury, is another filler (although just half a page this time, sharing its location with an ad for IPC's sports-inclined title Tiger which next week, as part of the publisher's unwavering campaign to encourage readers to dismantle their comics, will be commencing a 1980 Winter Olympics booklet pullout) in the form of Jogging Jeremy's 'weak'ly exercise routine.

There are some more insights into life in the Cheeky Weekly office on the Chit-Chat page. Which of the chuckle crew live in Kensal Rise?

It's still snowy underfoot on Saturday, as the toothy funster learns of Crystal Belle's 1980 predictions for some of his pals (the impending move into the pages of Whoopee! not being among her prognostications). Our grinning pal then signs off, although he's featured on the back page in Snail of the Century, in which we see that the chilly conditions are also affecting Snail's back-yard buddies.

Mr McD

Frank

This week's cover co-star Petula makes her final Cheeky Weekly appearance in this issue (as well as the cover she also appears on the Cut-Out Comedy Catalogue and on Saturday), along with...

Postie

Sherlock

Square-Eyes

Walter Wurx

Zoot Soot

I think all readers will have enjoyed this issue at least as much as Frank McDiarmid enjoyed drawing the snowy Cheeky's Week.

Cheeky's Week Artists Cover Date 19-Jan-1980
 

Artist	Elements
Frank McDiarmid	9

Cheeky Weekly	Cover Date: 19-Jan-1980, Issue 115 of 117
Page	Details
1	Cover Feature 'Petula' 3 of 3 - Art Frank McDiarmid
2	Sunday - Art Frank McDiarmid
3	Calculator Kid - Art Terry Bave
4	Paddywack - Art Jack Clayton
5	Monday - Art Frank McDiarmid
6	Mustapha Million - Art Joe McCaffrey
7	Mustapha Million - Art Joe McCaffrey
8	Stage School - Art Robert Nixon
9	Stage School - Art Robert Nixon
10	Tuesday - Art Frank McDiarmid
11	Soggy the Sea Monster reprint from Shiver and Shake - Art Robert Nixon
12	Why, Dad, Why? - Art John K. Geering
13	Cheeky's Cut-Out Comedy Catalogue 'Petula Jokes'
14	Cheeky's Cut-Out Comedy Catalogue 'Petula Jokes'
15	Wednesday - Art Frank McDiarmid
16	Elephant On The Run - Art Robert Nixon
17	Disaster Des - Art Mike Lacey
18	The Gang reprint from Whizzer and Chips - Art Robert MacGillivray
19	The Gang reprint from Whizzer and Chips - Art Robert MacGillivray
20	Thursday - Art Frank McDiarmid
21	Tub - Art Nigel Edwards
22	Speed Squad - Art Jimmy Hansen
23	Friday - Art Frank McDiarmid
24	Ad: IPC 'Mickey Mouse' 16 of 18 Ad: 'Shoot' 11 of 13
25	6 Million Dollar Gran Spot the Difference (single appearance) - Art Ian Knox (single art on feature)
26	Joke-Box Jury
27	Joke-Box Jury
28	Jogging Jeremy's Weakly Exercise Routine (single appearance)\Ad: IPC 'Tiger' 8 of 10
29	Chit-Chat
30	Saturday - Art Frank McDiarmid
31	Saturday - Art Frank McDiarmid
32	Snail of the Century - Art Frank McDiarmid