Friday, 11 July 2014
The Funster's Final Film Fun
Peter has posted the final Cheeky's Movie Masterpiece strip from Whoopee!
Thursday, 10 July 2014
Cheeky Weekly cover date 09 June 1979
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| Art: Frank McDiarmid |
Progressing to page 2 it becomes
evident that the artwork in that location has been produced by Frank McDiarmid pencils. A swift reference to the Cheeky Weekly Artist Index reveals this is the first FMP page since the 26 May 1979 comic.
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| Art: Frank McDiarmid pencils |
Aged automaton 6 Million Dollar Gran appears to be
impinging upon Granny Gumdrop's area of expertise in this episode –
I like the parachute gag.
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| Art: Ian Knox |
The latest Star Guest emissary to
Cheeky Weekly is Lazy Bones who somewhat surprisingly has summoned the energy necessary to
make the journey from Whizzer and Chips.
Luscious Lily Pop is the source of
the Mystery Comic this week, wherein our moneyed mate Mustapha Million follows Gran's example by incorporating a parachute into his adventure.
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| Art: Joe McCaffrey |
There are echoes of Gran's encounter with an aquatic adversary during the comical Caledonian capers evident in Elephant on the Run when our pachyderm pal masquerades as the Loch Porridge Monster, a ploy which displeases the genuine loch-dwelling leviathan...
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| Art: Robert Nixon |
There's a full complement of Mystery Comic strips in this week's issue, the first time none of the characters have been absent since 10 March 1979.
Returning to the Cheeky Weekly
section of the comic, pages 21 and 22 contain the concluding
instalment of the incredibly dull Spotter Book of Town and Around, so
good riddance to that. The final panel of Thursday looks as though it
was originally intended to introduce Speed Squad (who are absent this
week), however as Cheeky explains, the following page is in fact the
site of Joke-Box Jury (featuring, as it often did, some jokes
which would be judged inappropriate today).
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| Art: Frank McDiarmid pencils |
Page 29 reveals that the toothy funster and chums will be getting down with the boogie beats next issue...
Cheeky's Saturday is devoted to a cricket match, and our grinning pal leads his team to
victory over Teacher's opposing side. The final panel features a
rather odd-looking toothy funster in the midst of the celebrations.
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| Art: Frank McDiarmid pencils |
After last week's all-pure-Frank McDiarmid Cheeky's Week, we're rationed to a single page of pure Frank this issue, as Frank McDiarmid pencils contribute 8 Cheeky's Week elements and Mike Lacey delivers the Burpo Special.
Cheeky's Week Artists Cover Date 09-Jun-1979
| Artist | Elements |
| Frank McDiarmid pencils | 8 |
| Mike Lacey | 1 |
| Frank McDiarmid | 1 |
| Cheeky Weekly | Cover Date: 09-Jun-1979, Issue 83 of 117 |
| Page | Details |
| 1 | Cheeky's Week - Art Frank McDiarmid |
| 2 | Sunday - Art Frank McDiarmid pencils |
| 3 | 6 Million Dollar Gran - Art Ian Knox |
| 4 | 6 Million Dollar Gran - Art Ian Knox |
| 5 | 6 Million Dollar Gran - Art Ian Knox |
| 6 | Monday - Art Frank McDiarmid pencils |
| 7 | Calculator Kid - Art Terry Bave |
| 8 | Ad: Mr Bellamy's |
| 9 | Tuesday - Art Frank McDiarmid pencils |
| 10 | Paddywack - Art Jack Clayton |
| 11 | Star Guest 'Lazy Bones' - Art Colin Whittock (single art on feature) |
| 12 | Wednesday - Art Frank McDiarmid pencils |
| 13 | Tub 'Mystery Comic' 31 of 34 - Art Nigel Edwards |
| 14 | Mustapha Million 'Mystery Comic' 32 of 34 - Art Joe McCaffrey |
| 15 | Mustapha Million 'Mystery Comic' 32 of 34 - Art Joe McCaffrey |
| 16 | Elephant On The Run 'Mystery Comic' 31 of 34 - Art Robert Nixon |
| 17 | Elephant On The Run 'Mystery Comic' 31 of 34 - Art Robert Nixon |
| 18 | Mystery Boy reprint from Whizzer and Chips 'Mystery Comic' 34 of 37 - Art John Richardson |
| 19 | Why, Dad, Why? 'Mystery Comic' 25 of 28 - Art John K. Geering |
| 20 | Disaster Des 'Mystery Comic' 27 of 30 - Art Mike Lacey |
| 21 | Cheeky Spotter Book of Town and Around (final appearance) |
| 22 | Cheeky Spotter Book of Town and Around (final appearance) |
| 23 | Thursday - Art Frank McDiarmid pencils |
| 24 | Joke-Box Jury |
| 25 | Friday - Art Frank McDiarmid pencils |
| 26 | Menace of the Alpha Man reprint from Shiver and Shake - Art Eric Bradbury |
| 27 | Menace of the Alpha Man reprint from Shiver and Shake - Art Eric Bradbury |
| 28 | Chit-Chat |
| 29 | Ad: IPC 'Cheeky Weekly: Disco Issue next week'Ad: 'Buster Holiday Special' 2 of 3 |
| 30 | Saturday - Art Frank McDiarmid pencils |
| 31 | Saturday - Art Frank McDiarmid pencils |
| 32 | The Burpo Special 'Hypno-Tessa' - Art Mike Lacey |
Monday, 30 June 2014
Whizzer and Chips - The Cheeky Raids part 2
After Mustapha Million's raid in the first combined issue of Whizzer and Chips and Whoopee dated 06 April 1985, three further issues passed without raids involving ex-Cheeky Weekly characters. However, our middle-eastern pal's excursion into Whizzer evidently rankled with those wily Whizz-Kids, as four weeks after he intruded upon the Whizzer pages, Mustapha was himself targeted in a revenge raid. Can you spot the interloper? Scroll down to see the culprit revealed.
...Bloggs from the Store Wars strip.
Just for a bit of fun, I'm going to be keeping a tally of the number of raids perpetrated by and executed upon the ex-Cheeky Weekly characters...
Current score: Ex-Cheeky Weekly Raiders 1 - Whizzer Raiders 1
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| Whizzer and Chips 04 May 1985 Art: Joe McCaffrey |
...Bloggs from the Store Wars strip.
Just for a bit of fun, I'm going to be keeping a tally of the number of raids perpetrated by and executed upon the ex-Cheeky Weekly characters...
Current score: Ex-Cheeky Weekly Raiders 1 - Whizzer Raiders 1
| Whizzer and Chips Cover Date | Raider | Raided |
| 06 April 1985 | Mustapha Million | Super Steve |
| 04 May 1985 | Bloggs (Store Wars) | Mustapha Million |
Thursday, 26 June 2014
The Cut-Out Features – Cheeky Diary 1978
As 1977 drew to a conclusion, Cheeky Weekly readers
concerned that they lacked somewhere in which to record their doings over the forthcoming year were no
doubt relieved to read the announcement on page 30 of the comic dated 26 November - the first instalment of the Cheeky Diary 1978 was
to appear in the following issue.
The Cheeky diary was prominently
featured on the cover of the 03 December 1977 comic, in which the
debut instalment appeared on pages 31 and 32. In fact all four
instalments of the diary were similarly located, allowing each part
to benefit from the colour printing that was available on the back
cover/page 32.
Friends of Cheeky who were so
inclined could cut out and fold each section in half to make 4 diary
pages. Having collected all the sections readers were able to
assemble the pages (taking care to observe the correct chronology)
into a booklet wherein they could chronicle 12 months of japes and jollifications.
The diary cover features an
appearance of what I refer to as the 'standard Cheeky face (printed numerous times during Cheeky
Weekly's run and used at the top of this blog), which I have always assumed was produced
as a reference drawing or 'model sheet'.
Apart from the standard face, all the diary art was by Jim Petrie (this wouldn't be the last time Jim would contribute a cut-out feature).
Unlike a more traditional daily diary, this booklet provided space to record events by week only, with our grinning pal sharing chortlesome banter with one of his chums in each slot. Jim gave Cheeky a nice assortment of expressions, and there was a bonus centre spread.
Readers of the toothy funster's title were given the opportunity to record their daily happenings in the the What did YOU do today? section, introduced into the Cheeky pages as of the 30 September 1978 issue, as the comic underwent its second revamp.
Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Cheeky Weekly Star Guests in Whoopee (part 5)
As IPC's 1979 Star Guest promotion
reached week 10, the toothy funster himself was called
upon to represent his comic within the pages of Whoopee! dated 02
June. This was Cheeky's second full-page Star Guest outing, his
previous being in 28 April's Whizzer and Chips.
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| Whoopee! 02 June 1979 Art: Barrie Appleby Many thanks to Irmantas for this scan |
As with Cheeky's earlier Star Guest
appearance, Barrie Appleby supplies the artwork. Frank McDiarmid
provided all the Cheeky's Week elements in the toothy funster's comic that week, so was presumably too busy to take on the promotional
strip as well. Whoopee! readers are introduced to a different set of Cheeky's pals to those featured in his earlier Star Guest visit to Whizzer and Chips, but this strip doesn't benefit from the spot colour that livened up that earlier page.
Our grinning pal, never afraid to
address readers directly, informs Whoopee! fans that they can enjoy
more of his corny jokes in Cheeky Weekly so, as with Cheeky's
previous Star Guest outing, there's no need for Star Guest's customary caption at the bottom of the page directing interested
parties toward the source title. Any comic consumers persuaded to
place an immediate order for the toothy funster's funny paper could have
enjoyed a 36-week run of Cheeky Weekly before it succumbed to the
inevitable merge and was absorbed into Whoopee! itself.
Tuesday, 10 June 2014
Cheeky Weekly cover date 02 June 1979
Issue 82 of the toothy funster's
comic kicks off with a Frank McDiarmid Cheeky's Week...Sunday
involving Krazy Town stalwarts Gloomy Glad (making her second and
final cover appearance), Manhole Man (his 17th appearance
on the front page) and Jogging Jeremy (cover appearance number 6 for the feeble fitness fanatic).
Bubblegum Boy, still drifting above the streets, is on the cover for
the 11th time. Frank adds to the comedic cover capers with
a Dick Turpin graffiti gag. Maybe the tag line to the closing
front page joke gave someone the idea for the strip of the same name
which commenced in the 14 July 1979 issue.
Nigel Edwards stands in for regular
artist Ian Knox on this week's 6 Million Dollar Gran, in which the
synthetic senior citizen visits the village fete with customarily
chaotic consequences.
Calculator Kid has a run-in with
fearsome Basher Briggs this week. All bullies in comics are called
Basher Briggs – is it the same bloke in all the stories? Strips
featuring bullies end with the hero triumphant and the ruffian's evil
designs thwarted, but we all know that in real life the bully would
be waiting outside the school gates the following day with the
intention of administering a severe thumping.
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| Art: Terry Bave |
This week's Star Guest, appearing within the Cheeky Weekly section rather than within the Mystery Comic as it has on 5 previous occasions, is the ever-beaming Smiler from Whoopee! Let's enjoy this story in which the indomitable hero encounters a car mechanic whose attitude problem suggests he may very possibly be Basher Briggs' dad...
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| Art: Nick Baker To see more of Nick's work head over to Kazoop |
The Mystery Comic is wrapped inside Cheeky's Wednesday dinner-time napkin this week. This issue of the perplexing publication is the briefest yet, at only 6 pages (it's the shortest of all 37 issues), so although there are no ads or other intrusions (this week's instalment of The Cheeky Spotter Book of Town and Around is located within the Cheeky section), Disaster Des and Why, Dad, Why? are absent.
On the Thursday page, Frank McDiarmid
includes a running gag inspired by a famously talkative dog on TV's That's Life!
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| Art: Frank McDiarmid |
On the Chit-Chat page, our grinning pal passes on some news about a forthcoming special issue of his comic...
Unlike recent issues, there's no
particular theme to Cheeky's Saturday – he's just wandering around
swapping jokes with his pals, much as he does every day. There's no
Burpo Special this week - the back cover is the location of a Trebor
competition in celebration of the news that their Chews are now
bigger than ever, a fact which no doubt has dentists all over the
country firing up theirs drills in readiness.
Pleasingly, Frank McDiarmid delivers all 9 Cheeky's Week elements in this issue (the last all-pure-Frank Cheeky's Week was in the comic dated 21 April 1979).| Cheeky Weekly | Cover Date: 02-Jun-1979, Issue 82 of 117 |
| Page | Details |
| 1 | Cheeky's Week - Art Frank McDiarmid |
| 2 | Sunday - Art Frank McDiarmid |
| 3 | 6 Million Dollar Gran - Art Nigel Edwards |
| 4 | 6 Million Dollar Gran - Art Nigel Edwards |
| 5 | 6 Million Dollar Gran - Art Nigel Edwards |
| 6 | Monday - Art Frank McDiarmid |
| 7 | Calculator Kid - Art Terry Bave |
| 8 | Star Guest 'Smiler' - Art Nick Baker (single art on feature) |
| 9 | Tuesday - Art Frank McDiarmid |
| 10 | Paddywack - Art Jack Clayton |
| 11 | Ad: The Stickits (first appearance) |
| 12 | Wednesday - Art Frank McDiarmid |
| 13 | Tub 'Mystery Comic' 30 of 34 - Art Nigel Edwards |
| 14 | Mustapha Million 'Mystery Comic' 31 of 34 - Art Joe McCaffrey |
| 15 | Mustapha Million 'Mystery Comic' 31 of 34 - Art Joe McCaffrey |
| 16 | Elephant On The Run 'Mystery Comic' 30 of 34 - Art Robert Nixon |
| 17 | Elephant On The Run 'Mystery Comic' 30 of 34 - Art Robert Nixon |
| 18 | Mystery Boy reprint from Whizzer and Chips 'Mystery Comic' 33 of 37 - Art John Richardson |
| 19 | Cheeky Spotter Book of Town and Around |
| 20 | Cheeky Spotter Book of Town and Around |
| 21 | Ad: IPC 'Buster Holiday Special' 1 of 3 \Ad: North Pacific Flyers |
| 22 | Thursday - Art Frank McDiarmid |
| 23 | Speed Squad - Art Jimmy Hansen |
| 24 | Ad: Glo-Putty and Glo-Doh (single appearance) |
| 25 | Friday - Art Frank McDiarmid |
| 26 | Menace of the Alpha Man reprint from Shiver and Shake - Art Eric Bradbury |
| 27 | Menace of the Alpha Man reprint from Shiver and Shake - Art Eric Bradbury |
| 28 | Chit-Chat |
| 29 | Ad: IPC 'Jackpot' 5 of 7 Ad: 'Look and Learn' 14 of 16 |
| 30 | Saturday - Art Frank McDiarmid |
| 31 | Saturday - Art Frank McDiarmid |
| 32 | Ad: Trebor 'Chews Superman competition' 2 of 2 |
Cheeky's Week Artists Cover Date 02-Jun-1979
| Artist | Elements |
| Frank McDiarmid | 9 |
Monday, 2 June 2014
Whizzer and Chips - The Cheeky Raids part 1
Starts Today!
Since its inception Whizzer and Chips styled itself as 'two comics in one', and messages to readers from Sid (leader of the Whizz-Kids) and Shiner (head Chip-ite) within its pages encouraged a friendly rivalry between those who preferred Whizzer and those whose taste leaned more towards Chips. A weekly notice advised kids that the two comics could be separated by careful manipulation of the staples, but I doubt many readers did that on a regular basis.
By the time Whoopee merged into Whizzer and Chips, the latter title had established a long tradition of 'raids', whereby a character from one section of the comic would make an unexpected appearance (by means of a cut-and-pasted image) within the pages of the other.
In this new series of posts I'll be documenting the raids involving the ex-Cheeky Weekly characters, either as perpetrator or victim. Mustapha Million and Calculator Kid were the two features that originated in Cheeky Weekly and survived into Whizzer and Chips as regular weekly strips, with Stage School making only two appearances after the merge.
Our prosperous pal Mustapha Million certainly didn't waste time in embarking on a raid, as he intruded upon the Super Steve v NME Nasties strip in the first combined Whizzer and Chips and Whoopee, dated 06 April 1985...
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| Whizzer and Chips 06 April 1985 Art: Robert Nixon |
The gimlet-eyed among you couldn't have failed to notice Sweeny Toddler gatecrashing the strip and exposing the invader, but as made clear by Chief Chip-ite Shiner this wasn't a raid, the terrible toddler appeared on several pages of both sections in that issue (but not on Mustapha or Calc's pages) as he sought out the location of his strip. It turned out that his adventure appeared on the back page in that edition, but Sweeny subsequently deposed Sid from the prestigious front-cover slot he had previously shared with his serpent sidekick Slippy.
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| Whizzer and Chips 13 April 1985 |
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