Whoopee!'s first edition of 1982, under the banner 'What a start to the new year!', announced on its cover a selection of inducements designed to attract new readers. First was a competition to win Corgi Dial-A-Design toys, followed by a plug for new strip Teacher's Pets, and finally the first part of the Cheeky Diary 1982, yet another in the long tradition of IPC cut-out-and-collect promotions, was heralded. Friends of Cheeky who had been reading their toothy pal's own comic back in late 1977/early 1978 would have memories of the Cheeky Diary 1978. That earlier cut-out-and-keep journal, drawn by Jim Petrie and spanning as it did 8 Cheeky Weekly pages over 4 issues, allowed only weekly entries to be recorded. However, the version for 1982 was allotted 16 pages over 4 weeks (with, as before, each comic page carrying 2 diary pages), facilitating daily diary entries.
Since a month's worth of diary entries occupied one comic page (once excised from Whoopee!, the diary pages were designed to be folded in half before compilation), and the diary front and back covers took up a further page, there were an extra 3 pages which Frank McDiarmid put to good comedic use. The first of the extra pages featured a 'personal details' page which Cheeky had helpfully partially completed, coupled with the toothy funster's predictions for the coming year. The second consisted of a humorous take on the helpful information and memorable dates/anniversaries sections often appearing in diaries, while the third contained a spoof map of 'your town - or one very like it'.
 |
| Art: Frank McDiarmid |
Any Whoopee! readers who were not Cheeky fans (hey, it's possible I suppose) and were delighted when the amount of Cheeky content was halved in September 1981, would have been dismayed by the (as they saw it) intrusion of 4 pages of toothy funster-related material in addition to the 2 pages of Cheeky and pals in the 02 January 1982 edition, and 3/4 of a page of Cheeky's Week in the subsequent 3 issues (the bottom 1/4 page carried the instructions for compiling the diary). However those in the anti-Cheeky camp may have been more favourably disposed towards the diary if they were in need of somewhere to record their daily doings
Each month was encapsulated by a Frank McDiarmid cartoon at beginning and end.
 |
| Lack of attention when assembling the diary could lead readers to believe that Christmas Day 1982 fell on 25 January |
Frank McDiarmid provided all the diary artwork.
The fourth and final instalment of the diary was printed in Whoopee! dated 23 January 1982.
Generic as it is, the front page of the diary seems to be the same notorious picture of Cheeky holding the Fun Wallet with a LEFT hand on his RIGHT arm; something here seems ... missing. Before we get too deeply into the macabre, what do you reckon?
ReplyDeleteWell spotted - yes it is indeed the notorious LHORA illustration. Other than the anatomical aberration which has been mercifully edited out on this occasion, I can't identify anything that is missing. Please elucidate.
DeleteYour coment reminded me that I hadn't sought out the image of Sid's Snake (W&C 13/10/79 and Best of W&C Monthly May 1985) that you mentioned a while back. As luck would have it I recently extracted some Best of W&C Monthlys from my collection for reading over the next few weeks, and the May 85 issue was near the top of the pile. CAUTION - I'm going to describe the images in the story that I think disturbed you as a kid...
Was the story that upset you the one featuring Sid balancing biscuits on what he tells his chum is Slippy's nose when actually it's his tail. I can imagine the 'missing head'/wormy appearance (Slippy has concealed his noggin in his coiled body) could be upsetting to a youngster.
Having looked again, it seems that Cheeky's arm's complete, only the lower half's not visible; there's no reason to suppose, as I admittedly did, that some sort of amputation's taken place. The removal of the offending (or in this case redundant) left mitt could be considered a form of severing, I suppose. Yes, you've hit the nail on the head apropos the unsettling Sid's Snake and the reasons why it could and did and does disturb me: it's 2 or 3 frames of Hell. Thanks for the warning; the description brought back the memories on their own. Ah, the delights and agonies of an Aspie's brain... ;-)
ReplyDeleteThose images of Slippy get more creepy every time I look at them.
DeleteTake it you’re not being sarcastic. There was a Meanie McGenie (S&S) which trod similar ground, when a talkative fellow ended up losing his mouth. Brrr.
ReplyDeleteNo sarcasm.
DeleteI showed the eerie image of Cheeky's displaced hand to a staff member at the British Library today, who entreated me to "think outside of the box" and consider that the picture was a reflection. All very well, but that'd mean Cheeky had a right hand on his left arm; I didn't rub the staff member's illogic in his face, as I know you wouldn't have wanted me to.
ReplyDeleteYour restraint does you credit. The action of a true Friend of Cheeky.
DeleteThank you. On reflection (ho, ho), maybe he meant it was EITHER the hand or the arm that was reflected, but I see no mirrored surfaces to permit this. Anyhow, it'd require Cheeky to be double-jointed or whatever to pull it off. Still sloppy reasoning on the staff member's part, if this were what he meant.
ReplyDeleteYes, the 'mirror' idea just doesn't work in any way, but to be fair to the person concerned, I'm not sure what I would say if somebody suddenly sprang such an image on me.
DeleteWell, I did tell him beforehand to prepare himself for a shock (no joke)... Should've prepared myself for the return of the creepy appendage on 31/12/77, when it held up a diary. The horror!
ReplyDelete