Friday, 10 March 2017
Movie Masterpiece Momentum
Peter Gray is certainly keeping up the pressure for a collected Cheeky Movie Masterpieces - he's posted another one. My favourite MM is Planet Of The Japes. When I've completed my review of Cheeky Weekly I plan to examine the post-Cheeky Weekly careers of the survivors, so when I do a post on the Movie Masterpieces I'll show Planet Of The Japes (but by that time Rebellion will have published The Collected Movie Masterpieces, so you'll all have seen it, anyway).
Thursday, 9 March 2017
Arthur Martin's Cheeky
From Krazy dated 22 January 1977 - this Micky Mimic story, including a cameo by the toothy funster, is drawn by Arthur Martin.
It would have been nice to see Teacher in this strip, but on at least one day that week he was off sick so wasn't available (he'd probably read the script for the above story and, realising that it culminated in the schoolmaster antagonist being sacked, threw a deft sickie).
Teacher did return to work, just in time to set up a Walter Wurx gag, later in that same comic...
Immediately following the Micky Mimic story above, Cheeky appears again in the Krazy News-Pound half-pager, where he's drawn by Ian Knox, who was the regular artist on The Krazy Gang (which numbered Cheeky among its members) at this point.
It would have been nice to see Teacher in this strip, but on at least one day that week he was off sick so wasn't available (he'd probably read the script for the above story and, realising that it culminated in the schoolmaster antagonist being sacked, threw a deft sickie).
Teacher did return to work, just in time to set up a Walter Wurx gag, later in that same comic...
 |
| Krazy 22 January 1977 Art: Frank McDiarmid |
Immediately following the Micky Mimic story above, Cheeky appears again in the Krazy News-Pound half-pager, where he's drawn by Ian Knox, who was the regular artist on The Krazy Gang (which numbered Cheeky among its members) at this point.
Sunday, 5 March 2017
The Collected Movie Masterpieces?
Peter Gray has suggested that Rebellion's upcoming and highly exciting Treasury of British Comics series reprinting classic IPC strips should include Cheeky's Movie Masterpieces which originally appeared in Whoopee! and Cheeky. This is a cracker of an idea and seems like a sure fire winner to me - the series featured some top-notch scripts and excellent work as ever from Frank McDiarmid. In addition to being popular with Cheeky fans, a collected MM would also appeal to readers interested in movie spoofs.
Come on Rebellion, let's see this on the schedules soon!
Come on Rebellion, let's see this on the schedules soon!
Wednesday, 1 March 2017
A Pinch and A Punch and Some Whacking Great Hampsteads
Over at the Great News Blog, David is looking back at the 01 March 1980 edition of Whoopee!, the fourth issue of that title to be published since it subsumed Cheeky Weekly. The cover of the Cheeky comic-within-a-comic that week featured a character sporting molars to rival those of the toothy funster himself.
Sunday, 26 February 2017
Cheeky Weekly cover date 20 October 1979
 |
| Art: Jimmy Hansen |
Front
page favourite Manhole Man, making his 25th cover appearance, joins
Cheeky in kicking off this second birthday issue with a whirly-bird
witticism, rendered by Jimmy Hansen. Sadly there's no mention of the second
anniversary on the cover, nor anywhere inside (neither were there any
celebrations of the 100thedition). This
is the only time that Jimmy Hansen drew the main cover feature.
Jimmy Hansen continues to draw Cheeky's Week as
the action progresses to the Sunday page, wherein our toothy pal is
depicted dispensing quips along with newspapers on his regular round.
 |
| Art: Jimmy Hansen |
Readers who have sent in Paddywack gags will be
eagerly scanning this week's bumper 2-page feature to see if their
joke is among the 6 that the editor has chosen to be illustrated by
Jack Clayton. It's not the first time that there has been a double
helping of Paddywack – the issues dated 17 and 24 February and 28
July 1979 all contained 2 pages of the braces-and-welly-sporting
buffoon.
 |
| Art: Jack Clayton |
This week we learn that Disaster Des is,
somewhat improbably, a Boy Scout. Mike Lacey returns to drawing
the strip after Jimmy Hansen deputised last week.
 |
| Art: Mike Lacey |
The Man In The Plastic Mac finds himself as The
Man In Nothing At All by the end of this week's Elephant On The Run.
 |
| Art: Robert Nixon |
The Silly Snaps filler reaches the last of its murky, grey outings
this issue. I suspect few readers will mourn its departure.
The Chit-Chat page contains a letter
complaining of the recycling of Paddywack gags – fortunately the
joke in question is not among those featured in this week's double helping.
Mike Lacey takes on the Cheeky's Week artwork
duties as of Thursday, and on Friday, Lily Pop's response to Cheeky's
gag about Paddywack comes perilously close to eliciting a further
critical missive from the eagle-eyed Arron Payne.
 |
| Art: Mike Lacey |
The IPC coffers must be brimming as, along with the Paddywack 2-pager, there's a double-page
Joke-Box Jury, and printed contributions to both features win a cash prize. Cheeky's vigilant correspondent from Helston need not wring his hands as none of the Jury Jokes are soap-based.
Saturday sees Cheeky pay a visit to Jogging Jeremy's Keep Fit Class, although the only thing our grinning chum
exercises is his right to tell groan-inducing gags to all his pals
as they sweat and strain. Bump-Bump Bernie's attempt at a handstand
not only results in an injury to his foot, but the consequent trauma
seems to have brought on an attack of Cheeky Weekly Inconsistent Hair Colour Syndrome
 |
| Mike again |
.
Barrie Appleby stands in for Frank McDiarmid
for the second (and final) time on Snail of The Century, which brings
this week's fun-fest to a slithering conclusion.
Sadly there's no Frank McDiarmid work in this
issue, but the Cheeky's Week art duties are more than capably shared between Jimmy Hansen (this week's issue is the final time that Jimmy
will draw Cheeky's Week, although he'll continue to provide the art
on Speed Squad), Mike Lacey and Barrie Appleby (4, 4 and 1 elements
respectively).
| Cheeky Weekly | Cover Date: 20-Oct-1979, Issue 102 of 117 |
| Page | Details |
| 1 | Cover Feature 'Manhole Man' 5 of 7 - Art Jimmy Hansen (single art on feature) |
| 2 | Sunday - Art Jimmy Hansen (final art on feature) |
| 3 | Calculator Kid - Art Terry Bave |
| 4 | 6 Million Dollar Gran - Art Nigel Edwards |
| 5 | 6 Million Dollar Gran - Art Nigel Edwards |
| 6 | 6 Million Dollar Gran - Art Nigel Edwards |
| 7 | Monday - Art Jimmy Hansen (final art on feature) |
| 8 | Paddywack - Art Jack Clayton |
| 9 | Paddywack - Art Jack Clayton |
| 10 | Tuesday - Art Jimmy Hansen (final art on feature) |
| 11 | Disaster Des - Art Mike Lacey |
| 12 | The Gang reprint from Whizzer and Chips - Art Robert MacGillivray |
| 13 | The Gang reprint from Whizzer and Chips - Art Robert MacGillivray |
| 14 | Elephant On The Run - Art Robert Nixon |
| 15 | Ad: IPC 'Krazy Annual' 3 of 4 Ad: 'Whoopee' 7 of 9 |
| 16 | Mustapha Million - Art Joe McCaffrey |
| 17 | Mustapha Million - Art Joe McCaffrey |
| 18 | Wednesday - Art Jimmy Hansen (final art on feature) |
| 19 | Silly Snaps (final appearance) |
| 20 | Chit-Chat |
| 21 | Chit-Chat\Tub - Art Nigel Edwards |
| 22 | Thursday - Art Mike Lacey |
| 23 | Speed Squad - Art Jimmy Hansen |
| 24 | Ad: Mr Bellamy's |
| 25 | What's New, Kids |
| 26 | Friday - Art Mike Lacey |
| 27 | Why, Dad, Why? - Art John K. Geering |
| 28 | Joke-Box Jury |
| 29 | Joke-Box Jury |
| 30 | Saturday - Art Mike Lacey |
| 31 | Saturday - Art Mike Lacey |
| 32 | Snail of the Century - Art Barrie Appleby (final art on feature) |
Thursday, 16 February 2017
Whizzer and Chips - The Cheeky Raids part 22
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.
This was the seventh raid carried out on Calculator Kid up to this point, making Charlie the most-raided ex-Cheeky Weekly character. The dwindling survivors of the toothy funster's title had by this time suffered 18 raids and perpetrated 9.
More raiding fun soon!
A week after Mustapha Million was the subject of the unwelcome attentions of the Bumpkin Billionaires, the other
Cheeky Weekly survivor of the time was unwitting host to an impudent invader of Whizz-kid origin.
Can you identify the intruder upon Charlie
Counter and his silicon-chipped sidekick? Scroll down, where
enlightenment will be forthcoming…
 | |
| Whizzer and Chips 12 April 1986 Art: Terry Bave Lovely expressions of horror/revulsion! |
Yes, it's the rather dull Animalad strolling nonchalantly into the boys' lavs, carrying
out his third raid on an ex-Cheeky Weekly character. He has
previously intruded upon Cheeky (as a member of The Krazy Gang), and
gatecrashed Mustapha Million. However the Whizz-kid shape-shifter was himself the
victim of a retaliatory incursion by Mustapha.
This Calculator Kid strip had first appeared in
Cheeky Weekly dated 03 February 1979 (the 'big' issue). The superimposition of Animalad
wasn't the only change to the page on its Whizzer and Chips outing –
the trajectory of an unidentifiable object ricocheting off a kid's
head in the first panel on row 2 was obliterated, Cheeky's graffito
under the handbasin (row 3 panel 2) was removed while in the same panel Charlie's closing word was excised, and a change was made
to Charlie's dialogue in the final panel. This last change was
probably made because the original didn't make sense, since during
the story Charlie didn't actually 'interfere with [Calc's] plans'.
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 |
|
|
||||||
| 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 |
Sunday, 5 February 2017
Cheeky Weekly: Year 2 in Review
Those of you who follow my issue summaries series of posts will be aware that the most recent entry looked at the final issue of Cheeky Weekly's second year, so now is an appropriate time to examine the changes that occurred in the comic between its first anniversary issue and the end of year 2, and compare them with the changes documented in my Cheeky Weekly: Year 1 in Review post.
Cheeky Weekly's second year was of course marred by the December 1978 printer's strike that affected a number of IPC's titles and resulted in two issues of the toothy funster's comic having a reduced page count, plus the loss of 3 issues including what would have been the Christmas edition (although most if not all of the festive funnies intended for that issue did eventually appear in one form or another).
Cheeky Weekly was unique among British comics in being built around a single character whose strip was interspersed throughout each issue. But in addition to enjoying the toothy funster's gag-cracking progress through a whole week, readers experienced another unique aspect of the comic as all the non-Cheeky strips were framed by those Cheeky's Week pages. Thus the adventure strips were introduced as books Cheeky read or films he watched at the cinema, and the humour strips were presented as programmes he watched on TV or home movies made by his pals, among other conceits.
Aside from the loss of individual strips and the introduction of replacements, which is of course commonplace in comics as editors strive to hone the contents in pursuit of maximum circulation, the major change to occur in Cheeky Weekly's second year was the final elimination of the framing devices, a process that had begun in year 1, as documented here.
The comic also underwent a third revamp during year 2, with the Mystery Comic section ceasing to appear in the centre pages as of the 07 July 1979 'New Look' issue. All the strips that had previously been contained within the Mystery Comic section continued to appear, but were distributed throughout the comic rather than huddling at the mid-point of each issue.
Comparison of features: Issues 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979
Survivors
Calculator Kid and Paddywack join the Survivors this year, having been categorised as Newcomers in the Year 1 review. Also joining the survivors are the 5 strips that were introduced when the Mystery Comic took up occupancy in the center of the comic as of the 30 September 1978 issue (again these were classified as Newcomers at the end of year 1). However, one of those 5, Mystery Boy, only just scrapes in as a year 2 survivor, since its final episode appeared in the 13 October 1979 comic. Since Mystery Boy was not replaced by another story in the adventure vein, it seems that during year 2 a decision was taken to transform Cheeky Weekly into a funnies-only comic.
Survivors - Conclusion
There were in total 19 strips running as of the end of year 1 which survived to reach the end of year 2. This compares to 12 survivors at the end of year 1. This more stable line-up may suggest that at the end of year 2, the Cheeky Weekly Editor was happier with the comic's contents than he had been just 12 months into the title's run.
Newcomers
Cheeky Weekly was surprisingly late in adding a readers' letters page to its line-up - Chit-Chat didn't commence until issue number 60. It subsequently became a permanent fixture. Snail of the Century was the last original feature to join the roster of Cheeky Weekly chucklemakers, all the subsequent strip debuts within Cheeky Weekly were reprints. Speed Squad were of course Skateboard Squad in all but name and vehicular specificity. Stage School was an engaging, fun feature that not only continued into year 3 but was among the strips that transferred to Whoopee! when the toothy funster's title came a cropper. The Gang was a poor choice of reprint that didn't do Cheeky Weekly any favours. Ringer Dinger was a reprint functioning as an intermittent filler.
Newcomers - Conclusion
12 Newcomers (i.e. strips that began after the first issue) were listed at the end of year 1, compared to the 7 above for year 2 (but since there were more survivors in year 2, it's to be expected that there would be a commensurate dip in newcomers).
Gone but not Forgotten
Cheeky's Pal Puzzle (my own title for a feature that was not given a name in the comic) was as the name implies a feature of the brain-teaser variety but, rather than being a generic filler as such items often were, it was given a Cheeky Weekly twist in that it was incorporated into the Saturday strip. Cheeky's Week in the table above refers to to cover strip of that name rather than the concept of Cheeky's 7 days of jolly japes. Hey Presto! Magic Show was a one-off special strip to celebrate the comic's first birthday. The short-lived Laugh and Learn's interesting collaboration between Barrie Appleby and Brian Walker was possibly a little too educational for readers' tastes. Skateboard Squad of course arose, phoenix-like, from the ashes of their former plastic-wheeled conveyances to become Speed Squad. The Terrible Trail to Taggart's Treasure was a reprinted tale of piratical pursuit. Mystery Boy appears in this category as his final episode appeared in the 13 October 1979 issue.
Gone but not Forgotten - Conclusion
13 features were dropped during year 1, but we again see a more stable comic reflected in year 2's tally of just 7 ejectees (one of which was a one-off special never intended, as far as we know, to be a series).
Arrived and departed
The above is a bit of a rag-bag category which mops up everything that started and finished within year 2, including cut-out features, competitions and fillers of various descriptions. However, focusing on 'proper' features reveals that Eagle Eye, Menace of the Alpha Man and The Burpo Special all started and ended within year 2. Of those four, The Burpo Special was the only original material, and it's hard to see why such a memorable feature was dropped. The strip's premise of focusing on a different member of the massive Cheeky supporting cast each week would seem to give it almost unlimited potential. A grievous loss to the comic, considering it was sacrificed, as of the aforementioned 'New Look' issue, in favour of dreary reprint The Gang.
Special mention must go to Star Guest, a promotional campaign that ran across IPC's humour line in spring/summer 1979.
Reprints by Month 21-OCT-78 to 13-OCT-79
Year 2 saw a steady increase in the use of reprint material from 8 to 10 per cent (barring December 1978 which was no doubt skewed by the truncated/lost issues).
Year 2 - Conclusion
By the end of its second year Cheeky Weekly had suffered a significant loss. The elimination of all the framing devices had shorn the title of one of its unique properties and consequently, as of July 1979's New Look issue, the comic felt a little less special. The cull of framing devices had of course resulted in the concept of the Mystery Comic being dropped (although all the strips from that section continued), but the comic-within-a-comic idea was not a new one, nor would this be the final example of such a construct - indeed the Cheeky Weekly survivors who escaped the wreck of the toothy funster's title would find themselves ensconced in a Cheeky comic within Whoopee! However Cheeky Weekly, on the point of embarking on its third year, retained one aspect that differentiated it from competitor titles on the newsagents' counters - the depiction of Cheeky's progress through a week of gags. Those Cheeky pages were still packed with energy and Frank McDiarmid's work continued to delight. In addition to the toothy funster's week-long joke marathons, the roster of non-Cheeky fun strips running at this time was, with the odd exception, a pretty strong one. To what extent the year 2 changes were made in preparation for the comic's eventual termination is open to speculation.
Diminished, yes, but not mortally so, Cheeky Weekly marched on into year 3.
Cheeky Weekly's second year was of course marred by the December 1978 printer's strike that affected a number of IPC's titles and resulted in two issues of the toothy funster's comic having a reduced page count, plus the loss of 3 issues including what would have been the Christmas edition (although most if not all of the festive funnies intended for that issue did eventually appear in one form or another).
Cheeky Weekly was unique among British comics in being built around a single character whose strip was interspersed throughout each issue. But in addition to enjoying the toothy funster's gag-cracking progress through a whole week, readers experienced another unique aspect of the comic as all the non-Cheeky strips were framed by those Cheeky's Week pages. Thus the adventure strips were introduced as books Cheeky read or films he watched at the cinema, and the humour strips were presented as programmes he watched on TV or home movies made by his pals, among other conceits.
Aside from the loss of individual strips and the introduction of replacements, which is of course commonplace in comics as editors strive to hone the contents in pursuit of maximum circulation, the major change to occur in Cheeky Weekly's second year was the final elimination of the framing devices, a process that had begun in year 1, as documented here.
The comic also underwent a third revamp during year 2, with the Mystery Comic section ceasing to appear in the centre pages as of the 07 July 1979 'New Look' issue. All the strips that had previously been contained within the Mystery Comic section continued to appear, but were distributed throughout the comic rather than huddling at the mid-point of each issue.
Comparison of features: Issues 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979
Survivors
| Category | Detail | Start | End |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Mustapha Million | 22-Oct-1977 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | 6 Million Dollar Gran | 22-Oct-1977 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | What's New, Kids | 22-Oct-1977 | 17-Nov-1979 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Cover Feature | 22-Oct-1977 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Friday | 22-Oct-1977 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Monday | 22-Oct-1977 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Saturday | 22-Oct-1977 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Sunday | 22-Oct-1977 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Thursday | 22-Oct-1977 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Tuesday | 22-Oct-1977 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Wednesday | 22-Oct-1977 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Joke-Box Jury | 10-Dec-1977 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Calculator Kid | 01-Jul-1978 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Paddywack | 08-Jul-1978 | 26-Jan-1980 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Silly Snaps | 02-Sep-1978 | 20-Oct-1979 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Why, Dad, Why? | 30-Sep-1978 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Elephant On The Run | 30-Sep-1978 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Tub | 30-Sep-1978 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Mystery Boy | 30-Sep-1978 | 13-Oct-1979 |
| Survivor (started before 21-Oct-1978 and still running as of 13-Oct-1979) | Disaster Des | 30-Sep-1978 | 02-Feb-1980 |
Calculator Kid and Paddywack join the Survivors this year, having been categorised as Newcomers in the Year 1 review. Also joining the survivors are the 5 strips that were introduced when the Mystery Comic took up occupancy in the center of the comic as of the 30 September 1978 issue (again these were classified as Newcomers at the end of year 1). However, one of those 5, Mystery Boy, only just scrapes in as a year 2 survivor, since its final episode appeared in the 13 October 1979 comic. Since Mystery Boy was not replaced by another story in the adventure vein, it seems that during year 2 a decision was taken to transform Cheeky Weekly into a funnies-only comic.
Survivors - Conclusion
There were in total 19 strips running as of the end of year 1 which survived to reach the end of year 2. This compares to 12 survivors at the end of year 1. This more stable line-up may suggest that at the end of year 2, the Cheeky Weekly Editor was happier with the comic's contents than he had been just 12 months into the title's run.
Newcomers
| Category | Detail | Start | End |
| Newcomer after 21-Oct-1978, still running as of 13-Oct-1979 | Chit-Chat | 09-Dec-1978 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Newcomer after 21-Oct-1978, still running as of 13-Oct-1979 | Tease Break | 17-Feb-1979 | 03-Nov-1979 |
| Newcomer after 21-Oct-1978, still running as of 13-Oct-1979 | Speed Squad | 26-May-1979 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Newcomer after 21-Oct-1978, still running as of 13-Oct-1979 | Stage School | 07-Jul-1979 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Newcomer after 21-Oct-1978, still running as of 13-Oct-1979 | The Gang | 07-Jul-1979 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Newcomer after 21-Oct-1978, still running as of 13-Oct-1979 | Snail of the Century | 14-Jul-1979 | 02-Feb-1980 |
| Newcomer after 21-Oct-1978, still running as of 13-Oct-1979 | Ringer Dinger | 06-Oct-1979 | 02-Feb-1980 |
Cheeky Weekly was surprisingly late in adding a readers' letters page to its line-up - Chit-Chat didn't commence until issue number 60. It subsequently became a permanent fixture. Snail of the Century was the last original feature to join the roster of Cheeky Weekly chucklemakers, all the subsequent strip debuts within Cheeky Weekly were reprints. Speed Squad were of course Skateboard Squad in all but name and vehicular specificity. Stage School was an engaging, fun feature that not only continued into year 3 but was among the strips that transferred to Whoopee! when the toothy funster's title came a cropper. The Gang was a poor choice of reprint that didn't do Cheeky Weekly any favours. Ringer Dinger was a reprint functioning as an intermittent filler.
Newcomers - Conclusion
12 Newcomers (i.e. strips that began after the first issue) were listed at the end of year 1, compared to the 7 above for year 2 (but since there were more survivors in year 2, it's to be expected that there would be a commensurate dip in newcomers).
Gone but not Forgotten
| Category | Detail | Start | End |
| Started on or before 21-Oct-1978 but departed on or before 13-Oct-1979 | Skateboard Squad | 22-Oct-1977 | 12-May-1979 |
| Started on or before 21-Oct-1978 but departed on or before 13-Oct-1979 | Pin-up pal | 22-Oct-1977 | 31-Mar-1979 |
| Started on or before 21-Oct-1978 but departed on or before 13-Oct-1979 | Interval | 22-Oct-1977 | 02-Dec-1978 |
| Started on or before 21-Oct-1978 but departed on or before 13-Oct-1979 | Tweety and Sylvester | 21-Jan-1978 | 02-Dec-1978 |
| Started on or before 21-Oct-1978 but departed on or before 13-Oct-1979 | Easter Monday | 01-Apr-1978 | 21-Apr-1979 |
| Started on or before 21-Oct-1978 but departed on or before 13-Oct-1979 | Smurfs competition | 09-Sep-1978 | 09-Dec-1978 |
| Started on or before 21-Oct-1978 but departed on or before 13-Oct-1979 | Cheeky's Week | 30-Sep-1978 | 30-Jun-1979 |
| Started on or before 21-Oct-1978 but departed on or before 13-Oct-1979 | Cheeky's Pal Puzzle | 30-Sep-1978 | 02-Dec-1978 |
| Started on or before 21-Oct-1978 but departed on or before 13-Oct-1979 | Mystery Boy | 30-Sep-1978 | 13-Oct-1979 |
| Started on or before 21-Oct-1978 but departed on or before 13-Oct-1979 | The Terrible Trail to Taggart's Treasure | 07-Oct-1978 | 02-Dec-1978 |
| Started on or before 21-Oct-1978 but departed on or before 13-Oct-1979 | Laugh and Learn | 07-Oct-1978 | 09-Dec-1978 |
| Started on or before 21-Oct-1978 but departed on or before 13-Oct-1979 | Hey Presto! Magic Show | 21-Oct-1978 | 21-Oct-1978 |
Cheeky's Pal Puzzle (my own title for a feature that was not given a name in the comic) was as the name implies a feature of the brain-teaser variety but, rather than being a generic filler as such items often were, it was given a Cheeky Weekly twist in that it was incorporated into the Saturday strip. Cheeky's Week in the table above refers to to cover strip of that name rather than the concept of Cheeky's 7 days of jolly japes. Hey Presto! Magic Show was a one-off special strip to celebrate the comic's first birthday. The short-lived Laugh and Learn's interesting collaboration between Barrie Appleby and Brian Walker was possibly a little too educational for readers' tastes. Skateboard Squad of course arose, phoenix-like, from the ashes of their former plastic-wheeled conveyances to become Speed Squad. The Terrible Trail to Taggart's Treasure was a reprinted tale of piratical pursuit. Mystery Boy appears in this category as his final episode appeared in the 13 October 1979 issue.
Gone but not Forgotten - Conclusion
13 features were dropped during year 1, but we again see a more stable comic reflected in year 2's tally of just 7 ejectees (one of which was a one-off special never intended, as far as we know, to be a series).
Arrived and departed
| Category | Detail | Start | End |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Hey Presto! Magic Show | 21-Oct-1978 | 21-Oct-1978 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Winners of Skateboard and Tennis competitions | 28-Oct-1978 | 28-Oct-1978 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Who's your Super-Star | 18-Nov-1978 | 18-Nov-1978 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Feature Omitted | 02-Dec-1978 | 02-Dec-1978 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Big Four Saint Competition | 02-Dec-1978 | 02-Dec-1978 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | The Burpo Special | 09-Dec-1978 | 30-Jun-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Eagle Eye | 06-Jan-1979 | 24-Feb-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Chutes Away competition winners | 06-Jan-1979 | 06-Jan-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Snap Game | 13-Jan-1979 | 03-Feb-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Goonburger Maze | 20-Jan-1979 | 20-Jan-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Spaghetti Junction maze | 27-Jan-1979 | 27-Jan-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Your chance to vote | 27-Jan-1979 | 17-Feb-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Train Track Maze | 03-Feb-1979 | 03-Feb-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Menace of the Alpha Man | 03-Mar-1979 | 30-Jun-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Ash Wednesday | 03-Mar-1979 | 03-Mar-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Shrove Tuesday | 03-Mar-1979 | 03-Mar-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Disaster Des spot the difference | 17-Mar-1979 | 17-Mar-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Saint competition results | 24-Mar-1979 | 24-Mar-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Smurfs competition results | 24-Mar-1979 | 24-Mar-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Star Guest | 31-Mar-1979 | 28-Jul-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Cheeky's Jersey Pattern | 31-Mar-1979 | 31-Mar-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Top Ten Poster | 07-Apr-1979 | 28-Apr-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Top Ten Poster instructions | 07-Apr-1979 | 28-Apr-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Easter Saturday | 14-Apr-1979 | 14-Apr-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Good Friday | 14-Apr-1979 | 14-Apr-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Poster instructions | 21-Apr-1979 | 08-Sep-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Cheeky Spotter Book of Town and Around | 19-May-1979 | 09-Jun-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Cheeky Hustle | 16-Jun-1979 | 16-Jun-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Who Is The Alpha Man | 16-Jun-1979 | 16-Jun-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | My favourite Cheeky pals | 04-Aug-1979 | 04-Aug-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Alpha Man competition results | 18-Aug-1979 | 18-Aug-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | Giant Cheeky Poster | 18-Aug-1979 | 08-Sep-1979 |
| Started and Finished Between 21-Oct-1978 and 13-Oct-1979 | James Bond competition | 08-Sep-1979 | 08-Sep-1979 |
The above is a bit of a rag-bag category which mops up everything that started and finished within year 2, including cut-out features, competitions and fillers of various descriptions. However, focusing on 'proper' features reveals that Eagle Eye, Menace of the Alpha Man and The Burpo Special all started and ended within year 2. Of those four, The Burpo Special was the only original material, and it's hard to see why such a memorable feature was dropped. The strip's premise of focusing on a different member of the massive Cheeky supporting cast each week would seem to give it almost unlimited potential. A grievous loss to the comic, considering it was sacrificed, as of the aforementioned 'New Look' issue, in favour of dreary reprint The Gang.
Special mention must go to Star Guest, a promotional campaign that ran across IPC's humour line in spring/summer 1979.
Reprints by Month 21-OCT-78 to 13-OCT-79
| Month | Total Features | Reprint Features | % Reprints | Reprint Sources |
| OCT-1978 | 48 | 4 | 8 | Jag 1, Shiver and Shake 4, Whizzer and Chips 4 |
| NOV-1978 | 96 | 8 | 8 | Shiver and Shake 4, Whizzer and Chips 4 |
| DEC-1978 | 47 | 3 | 6 | Shiver and Shake 1, Whizzer and Chips 2 |
| JAN-1979 | 102 | 8 | 8 | Shiver and Shake 4, Whizzer and Chips 4 |
| FEB-1979 | 103 | 8 | 8 | Shiver and Shake 4, Whizzer and Chips 4 |
| MAR-1979 | 120 | 10 | 8 | Shiver and Shake 5, Whizzer and Chips 5 |
| APR-1979 | 94 | 8 | 9 | Shiver and Shake 4, Whizzer and Chips 4 |
| MAY-1979 | 89 | 8 | 9 | Shiver and Shake 4, Whizzer and Chips 4 |
| JUN-1979 | 113 | 10 | 9 | Shiver and Shake 5, Whizzer and Chips 5 |
| JUL-1979 | 93 | 8 | 9 | Whizzer and Chips 8 |
| AUG-1979 | 94 | 8 | 9 | Whizzer and Chips 8 |
| SEP-1979 | 113 | 10 | 9 | Whizzer and Chips 10 |
| OCT-1979 | 48 | 5 | 10 | Whizzer and Chips 7 |
Year 2 saw a steady increase in the use of reprint material from 8 to 10 per cent (barring December 1978 which was no doubt skewed by the truncated/lost issues).
Year 2 - Conclusion
By the end of its second year Cheeky Weekly had suffered a significant loss. The elimination of all the framing devices had shorn the title of one of its unique properties and consequently, as of July 1979's New Look issue, the comic felt a little less special. The cull of framing devices had of course resulted in the concept of the Mystery Comic being dropped (although all the strips from that section continued), but the comic-within-a-comic idea was not a new one, nor would this be the final example of such a construct - indeed the Cheeky Weekly survivors who escaped the wreck of the toothy funster's title would find themselves ensconced in a Cheeky comic within Whoopee! However Cheeky Weekly, on the point of embarking on its third year, retained one aspect that differentiated it from competitor titles on the newsagents' counters - the depiction of Cheeky's progress through a week of gags. Those Cheeky pages were still packed with energy and Frank McDiarmid's work continued to delight. In addition to the toothy funster's week-long joke marathons, the roster of non-Cheeky fun strips running at this time was, with the odd exception, a pretty strong one. To what extent the year 2 changes were made in preparation for the comic's eventual termination is open to speculation.
Diminished, yes, but not mortally so, Cheeky Weekly marched on into year 3.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)