Welcome to the Cheeky Weekly blog!


Welcome to the Cheeky Weekly blog!
Cheeky Weekly ™ REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, COPYRIGHT ©  REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED was a British children's comic with cover dates spanning 22 October 1977 to 02 February 1980.

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Cheeky Weekly Index - Cheeky Annuals and Specials Index
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Major Characters from the Cheeky pages
Features Ordered by Date of Commencement

*** ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT ©  REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Used with permission. ***
*** CHEEKY WEEKLY, KRAZY, WHOOPEE!, WHOOPEE, WOW!, WHIZZER AND CHIPS and BUSTER ARE ™ REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, COPYRIGHT ©  REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ***
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Thursday 27 June 2024

Whizzer and Chips - The Cheeky Raids part 59

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. Calculator Kid survived a little longer, his run of reprints coming to an end in the 26 July 1986 edition and leaving Mustapha Million as the sole Cheeky Weekly survivor.

The Christmas 1989 edition of Whizzer and Chips, dated 30 December, was the subject of the previous post in this series. I have been able to eliminate the following 3 editions as being relevant to the objective of the series, since Mustapha Million was neither raided nor raider in those issues.

So we arrive at the comic dated 27 January 1990 which I'm afraid is another edition that has beaten my powers of observation. I have been able to identify Sid's serpentine associate Slippy as the Whizz-kid raider into Chips, where the scaly scallywag can be seen in the foreground of the opening panel of Wonder Wimp's chip-shop based adventure...

Whizzer and Chips 27 January 1990. Art: Nigel Edwards

 

...but I have failed to expose any Chip-ite raider into Whizzer. JR and Shiner appear on the Sid's Whizz-kids page (Shiner as a silhouette), though they are objects of ridicule so can't be considered as raiders.

 

Art (other than that supplied
by Scott Dawber): Jack Oliver

 A hopefully less inconclusive examination of raiding fun soon!

 

Whizzer and Chips Cover Date Raider Raided
06 April 1985Mustapha MillionSuper Steve
04 May 1985Bloggs (Store Wars)Mustapha Million
11 May 1985JokerThe Krazy Gang (Cheeky)
18 May 1985Calculator Kid & CalcOdd-Ball
01 June 1985
Animalad
Mustapha Million
The Krazy Gang (Cheeky)
Boy Boss
08 June 1985Odd-BallCalculator Kid
06 July 1985Toy BoyCalculator Kid
13 July 1985Pa BumpkinThe Krazy Gang (Cheeky)
27 July 1985JokerMustapha Million
24 August 1985CheekySid's Snake
14 September 1985
Odd-Ball
Calculator Kid
Calculator Kid
Store Wars
05 October 1985Mustapha MillionAnimalad
19 October 1985Odd-BallMustapha Million
23 November 1985
Sweeny Toddler
Sweeny Toddler
Sweeny Toddler
Calculator Kid
The Krazy Gang (Cheeky)
Mustapha Million
18 January 1986Mustapha MillionSuper Steve
25 January 1986
Odd-Ball
Cheeky
Mustapha Million
Odd-Ball
08 February 1986
The Krazy Gang ends this issue
AnimaladMustapha Million
15 February 1986Lazy BonesCalculator Kid
15 March 1986Odd-BallCalculator Kid
29 March 1986Calculator KidMaster P Brain
05 April 1986Bumpkin BillionairesMustapha Million
12 April 1986AnimaladCalculator Kid
31 May 1986Lazy BonesCalculator Kid
07 June 1986Mustapha MillionJoker
28 June 1986Sweet ToothMustapha Million
26 July 1986
Calculator Kid ends this issue
No Cheeky-related raid this issueNo Cheeky-related raid this issue
16 August 1986Mustapha MillionJoker
23 August 1986Sweet ToothMustapha Million
18 October 1986Winnie the Royal NagMustapha Million
06 December 1986Toy BoyMustapha Million
13 December 1986Mustapha MillionOdd-Ball
17 January 1987SidMustapha Million
14 February 1987Odd-BallMustapha Million
11 April 1987Pa BumpkinMustapha Million
25 April 1987Mustapha MillionOdd-Ball
20 June 1987Toy BoyMustapha Million
27 June 1987Mustapha MillionMemory Banks
25 July 1987Lazy BonesMustapha Million
22 August 1987Winnie the Royal NagMustapha Million
12 September 1987Mustapha MillionSweet Tooth
19 September 1987Odd-BallMustapha Million
24 October 1987Odd-BallMustapha Million
12 December 1987JokerMustapha Million
13 February 1988Bloggs (Store Wars)Mustapha Million
20 February 1988Mustapha MillionJoker
12 March 1988Odd-BallMustapha Million
23 April 1988JokerMustapha Million
28 May 1988
Readers asked not to let their Whizz-kid or Chip-ite sympathies colour their favourite strip votes
No Cheeky-related raid this issueNo Cheeky-related raid this issue
11 June 1988SlippyMustapha Million
16 July 1988Toy BoyMustapha Million
30 July 1988 New raids halted

05 August 1989 (raid reprinted from 25 Aug 1984)CheekyStore Wars
12 August 1989 Resumption of new raids (one per week)No Cheeky-related raid this issueNo Cheeky-related raid this issue
02 September 1989JokerMustapha Million
16 September 1989SlippyMustapha Million
23 September 1989 Weekly reciprocal raids resumeNo Cheeky-related raid this issueNo Cheeky-related raid this issue
28 October 1989
Mustapha Million

Sweeny Toddler
Bobby's Ghoul

Mustapha Million
11 November 1989 - Tarman is the Chip-ite raider into Whizzer, but I have been unable to identify any raider into Chips


18 November 1989 Mustapha MillionSid's Whizz-kids page
02 December 1989 JokerMustapha Million
23 December 1989 - Junior Rotter is the Chip-ite raider into Whizzer, but I have been unable to identify any raider into Chips

30 December 1989 - Slippy is the Whizz-kid raider into Chips, but I have been unable to identify any raider into Whizzer

27 January 1990 - Slippy is the Whizz-kid raider into Chips, but I have been unable to identify any raider into Whizzer


Saturday 22 June 2024

Whizz-ites vs Chip-kids - Part 4

Surely a leading contender for the title The Worst Feature Ever To Appear In Whizzer and Chips, COCOA (COmputer COmic Artist) was introduced to readers by means of a half-page 'trailer' in the issue dated 09 April 1988. COCOA was an early foray into comic creation using digital tools, and the advert described the upcoming feature as a 'rival' to all the artists contributing to that edition, none of whose published work of that era employed computer-assisted techniques. The primitive nature of the computers generally available at the time meant that Sid Burgon et al had little to fear from the electronic arriviste in the short term, although rapid increases in computing power and consequent software advances would soon lead to much more sophisticated digital creations.

Whizzer and Chips 09 April 1988

Below is a list of the artists contributing to that 09 April 1988 edition, as cited in the ad, and the features they provided...

Artist Feature
Anthony Hutchings Bobby's Ghoul
Barry Glennard Sweet-Tooth
Colin Whittock Lazy Bones
Frank McDiarmid Mustapha Million
Jack Oliver Shiner's Chip-ites
Jack Oliver Sid's Whizz-kids
Jimmy Hansen Bumpkin Billionaires
Jimmy Hansen Shiner
Jimmy Hansen Store Wars
Mark Bennington Memory Banks
Mike Lacey Phil Fitt
Mike Lacey Sid's Snake
Nigel Edwards Bottom
Reg Parlett Creepy Comix
Roy Mitchell Paper Boy
Sid Burgon Joker
Terry Bave Odd-Ball
Terry Bave Sammy Shrink
Terry Bave Toy Boy
Tom Paterson Sweeny Toddler
Tom Paterson Watford Gapp
Trevor Metcalfe Junior Rotter
Trevor Metcalfe Town Tarzan

The weekly COCOA feature was a continuation of the idea behind the punningly-titled Shiner's Micro Chip-ite Mini Mag, a cut-out series which ran for 4 weeks from the issue dated 19 March 1988, finishing a week before the first COCOA strip appeared.

Whizzer and Chips 19 March 1988

COCOA made its debut in the 16 April 1988 edition of Whizzer and Chips, placed on page 18, thus falling within Shiner's sphere of influence and thereby becoming a Chip-ite despite the previous week's announcement of the strip's imminent arrival having appeared in Whizzer on page 27.

Whizzer and Chips 16 April 1988
COCOA 'art': No idea
Down in the Jungle: Ed McHenry

However, in the 23 July 1988 comic, after 14 weeks within Chips, COCOA appeared on page 30, crossing the divide into Whizzer.

In the following issue dated 30 July 1988, the official raiders the previous week were revealed to be Slippy who intruded upon Phil Fitt, and JR who infiltrated Toy Boy, so despite crossing into enemy territory, COCOA's inclusion in Whizzer was not considered to be a raid.

As promised in the caption at the top of the page shown above, the following week the execrable digital concoction moved back into Chips where it remained until its final episode in the edition dated 03 September 1988. The Dr Do storyline which began above in Whizzer continued for 2 more tedious episodes in Chips but I won't inflict them on you. COCOA was replaced with a reprint run of Percy's Pets, the young animal enthusiast proving more loyal than his electronically-generated predecessor, as his recycled adventures remained confined to Chips.

Wednesday 12 June 2024

Whizzer and Chips - The Cheeky Raids part 58

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. Calculator Kid survived a little longer, his run of reprints coming to an end in the 26 July 1986 edition and leaving Mustapha Million as the sole Cheeky Weekly survivor.

The previous instalment in this series had me grappling somewhat inconclusively with Whizzer and Chips dated 23 December 1989, one of the issues in which I have been unable to spot Whizz-kid and Chip-ite raiders. The following edition dated 30 December 1989 was that year's Christmas issue and once again I have been frustrated because although I can report that the festive edition saw Slippy (Whizz-kid, or more accurately Whizz-reptile) slither his way into the antipodean antics of Neighbours-inspired Chip-ite feature The Ossies (not to be confused with Ossie, on whose career in Whoopee I have briefly touched), I have been unable to locate a reciprocal Chip-ite raider into Whizzer.

 

The Ossies - Whizzer and Chips 30 December 1989. Art: Trevor Metcalfe

This is the third issue I have examined in this series in which I have been unable to identify both raiders.

Here is Mustapha's explosive Christmas 1989 adventure.

Art: Frank McDiarmid

More raiding fun soon!
 
Whizzer and Chips Cover Date Raider Raided
06 April 1985Mustapha MillionSuper Steve
04 May 1985Bloggs (Store Wars)Mustapha Million
11 May 1985JokerThe Krazy Gang (Cheeky)
18 May 1985Calculator Kid & CalcOdd-Ball
01 June 1985
Animalad
Mustapha Million
The Krazy Gang (Cheeky)
Boy Boss
08 June 1985Odd-BallCalculator Kid
06 July 1985Toy BoyCalculator Kid
13 July 1985Pa BumpkinThe Krazy Gang (Cheeky)
27 July 1985JokerMustapha Million
24 August 1985CheekySid's Snake
14 September 1985
Odd-Ball
Calculator Kid
Calculator Kid
Store Wars
05 October 1985Mustapha MillionAnimalad
19 October 1985Odd-BallMustapha Million
23 November 1985
Sweeny Toddler
Sweeny Toddler
Sweeny Toddler
Calculator Kid
The Krazy Gang (Cheeky)
Mustapha Million
18 January 1986Mustapha MillionSuper Steve
25 January 1986
Odd-Ball
Cheeky
Mustapha Million
Odd-Ball
08 February 1986
The Krazy Gang ends this issue
AnimaladMustapha Million
15 February 1986Lazy BonesCalculator Kid
15 March 1986Odd-BallCalculator Kid
29 March 1986Calculator KidMaster P Brain
05 April 1986Bumpkin BillionairesMustapha Million
12 April 1986AnimaladCalculator Kid
31 May 1986Lazy BonesCalculator Kid
07 June 1986Mustapha MillionJoker
28 June 1986Sweet ToothMustapha Million
26 July 1986
Calculator Kid ends this issue
No Cheeky-related raid this issueNo Cheeky-related raid this issue
16 August 1986Mustapha MillionJoker
23 August 1986Sweet ToothMustapha Million
18 October 1986Winnie the Royal NagMustapha Million
06 December 1986Toy BoyMustapha Million
13 December 1986Mustapha MillionOdd-Ball
17 January 1987SidMustapha Million
14 February 1987Odd-BallMustapha Million
11 April 1987Pa BumpkinMustapha Million
25 April 1987Mustapha MillionOdd-Ball
20 June 1987Toy BoyMustapha Million
27 June 1987Mustapha MillionMemory Banks
25 July 1987Lazy BonesMustapha Million
22 August 1987Winnie the Royal NagMustapha Million
12 September 1987Mustapha MillionSweet Tooth
19 September 1987Odd-BallMustapha Million
24 October 1987Odd-BallMustapha Million
12 December 1987JokerMustapha Million
13 February 1988Bloggs (Store Wars)Mustapha Million
20 February 1988Mustapha MillionJoker
12 March 1988Odd-BallMustapha Million
23 April 1988JokerMustapha Million
28 May 1988
Readers asked not to let their Whizz-kid or Chip-ite sympathies colour their favourite strip votes
No Cheeky-related raid this issueNo Cheeky-related raid this issue
11 June 1988SlippyMustapha Million
16 July 1988Toy BoyMustapha Million
30 July 1988 New raids halted

05 August 1989 (raid reprinted from 25 Aug 1984)CheekyStore Wars
12 August 1989 Resumption of new raids (one per week)No Cheeky-related raid this issueNo Cheeky-related raid this issue
02 September 1989JokerMustapha Million
16 September 1989SlippyMustapha Million
23 September 1989 Weekly reciprocal raids resumeNo Cheeky-related raid this issueNo Cheeky-related raid this issue
28 October 1989
Mustapha Million

Sweeny Toddler
Bobby's Ghoul

Mustapha Million
11 November 1989 - Tarman is the Chip-ite raider into Whizzer, but I have been unable to identify any raider into Chips


18 November 1989 Mustapha MillionSid's Whizz-kids page
02 December 1989 JokerMustapha Million
23 December 1989 - Junior Rotter is the Chip-ite raider into Whizzer, but I have been unable to identify any raider into Chips

30 December 1989 - Slippy is the Whizz-kid raider into Chips, but I have been unable to identify any raider into Whizzer


Monday 3 June 2024

Whizz-ites vs Chip-kids - Part 3

This is another post in the series that sees me ruthlessly unmasking the traitorous characters who posed as both Whizz-kids and Chip-ites during their appearances in Whizzer and Chips. My investigation covers Whizzer and Chips' weekly editions dated 06 April 1985 to 28 April 1990. For the reasons why, see the first post in this series.

Boy Boss meets Jasper Ferret - the first episode of Boy Boss, Wow! 07 August 1982. Art: Frank McDiarmid

The latest feature to come under the spotlight as I work alphabetically through the list of turncoats is one whose disloyal nature was exposed by AndyB in his comment here. Boy Boss, a feature relating the tribulations and triumphs experienced by a young lad while running a multinational conglomerate (rather unimaginatively named The Company) was clearly popular with comic audiences of the time, first appearing in Wow!, migrating to Whoopee, then making a further transition to Whizzer and Chips, where it was allocated a regular slot within the comic's Whizzer section as of the first 'Whizzer and Chips now including Whoopee' issue dated 06 April 1985. Following his 14th Whizzer appearance in the comic dated 13 July 1985 the curiously-coiffed tycoon, whose hairstyle had become more angular as time passed, no doubt a symptom of the stress of his executive position, seemingly took early retirement and was absent for a number of weeks.

However, it became clear in the 26 October 1985 edition, when BB returned within the Chips portion (sorry) of the comic, that the suspension of corporate capers had been due to high-level negotiations between chief Chip-ite Shiner and The Company's accountant (and Boy Boss' nemesis) Jasper Ferret regarding the youthful magnate's relocation from Whizzer to the rival title.

Whizzer and Chips 26 October 1985
Frank again


I'm guessing that the caption with which the above story commences (clearly designed for the benefit of readers unfamiliar with the strip's premise) was included because IPC management hoped that Whizzer and Chips would recruit new readers who were attracted to the comic by the 28 September 1985 issue's Zoom Balloon free gift, thus joining the ranks of Whizz-kids and Chip-ites after Boy Boss' summer '85 hiatus began. A jubilant Shiner and frustrated Sid appear in the final panel, but the strip is also intruded upon by a sneaky Whizz-kid raider.

In order to accommodate Boy Boss within the pages of Chips, another youngster in an adult role, Captain Kid ('The Pint-Sized Pirate'), was ousted when his seafaring shenanigans ended in a final timber-shivering appearance dated 21 September 1985. Boy Boss didn't immediately move into the junior mariner's former location in the comic due to the disruption caused over the following 4 issues by the presence of weekly Cut-Out Pocket Story Books featuring the antics of JR, The Bumpkin Billionaires, Lolly Pop and Joker respectively. In the same edition that contained  the final Pocket Story Book, dated 19 October 1985, readers were informed that Sweeny Toddler had infiltrated all of them, and that a 'surprise prize package' would be won by the first 50 respondents to correctly identify the number of times the teeny terror had been present. Sharing the same half-page panel in which the competition was announced was the news that a new character, Glow Boy, would be joining Whizzer (thus filling the gap resulting from Boy Boss' defection to Chips) the following week.

Having transferred his allegiance, Boy Boss remained a Chip-ite until his strip was retired after the 26 July 1986 edition. The story wasn't brought to any sort of conclusion and the young executive retained his position as head of The Company.

Unlike the two traitors exposed in the earlier instalments of this series of posts, whose betrayals went unremarked in the comic, Boy Boss' crossing of the ideological boundary was not only acknowledged but worked into the big-business ethos of the strip.