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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, KRAZY, WHOOPEE!, WHOOPEE, WOW!, WHIZZER AND CHIPS and BUSTER ARE ™ REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, COPYRIGHT ©  REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ***
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Sunday 22 January 2012

Cheeky's Week - Artists by issue and %

Below is an analysis of the Cheeky's Week content of Cheeky Weekly by issue and artists, showing the number of Cheeky's Week elements contributed by each artist (or combination thereof in the case of Frank McDiarmid pencils), and the percentage contribution each artist made to the issue.

Note how the number of Cheeky's Week elements decreases over the comic's run, no doubt to the relief of Frank McDiarmid and the other artists valiantly coping (and succeeding brilliantly) with the demand to depict a whole week of the toothy funster's doings in each issue.  Early issues have 13 Cheeky's Week elements (and hitting an all-time peak of 14 in the 31 December 1977 Christmas issue, all of which were pure Frank), then dropping to 10 as at revamp 2, and to 9 in summer 1979.

Also the number of artists/combinations thereof collaborating on a single issue peaks in spring 1978, with the 08 April 1978 issue featuring 5 Cheeky's Week contributors, then (with a few exceptions) falls back over the following months. As of the introduction of the second revamp with the issue cover dated 30 September 1978, a policy appears to have been introduced whereby every other issue featured pure Frank McDiarmid Cheeky's Week art, with just a single artist (or collaboration in the case of Frank McDiarmid pencils) contributing the artwork on the alternate weeks, although the rule starts to break down somewhat in early 1979.

Just a reminder that not all the Cheeky's Week elements in an issue filled a whole page - for example, Wednesday (conclusion) was only a single row of panels, as was What A Cheek.

Most recent update: 03 May 2018 - The page 30 conclusion to Saturday in the 17 December 1977 issue (consisting of 2 cut-and-paste panels) had not previously been reflected in the figures below.

Updated 19 June 2016 - 18 Cheeky's Week elements that were previously attributed to Mike Lacey have now been credited to Jimmy Hansen.

Updated 14 February 2016 - reassigned 2 episodes of Snail of the Century from Frank McDiarmid to Barrie Appleby

Updated 26 May 2013

Cheeky's Week artists: % by issue
Cover Date Total Cheeky's Week elements Artist Number of Cheeky's Week elements %
22-Oct-197713
Frank McDiarmid13100
29-Oct-197713
Frank McDiarmid13100
05-Nov-197713
Frank McDiarmid13100
12-Nov-197713
Frank McDiarmid pencils1185
Frank McDiarmid215
19-Nov-197712
Frank McDiarmid650
Frank McDiarmid pencils542
Cut and Paste18
26-Nov-197713
Frank McDiarmid pencils1292
Frank McDiarmid18
03-Dec-197713
Frank McDiarmid pencils1185
Frank McDiarmid215
10-Dec-197713
Frank McDiarmid754
Frank McDiarmid pencils538
Cut and Paste18
17-Dec-197713
Frank McDiarmid pencils862
Frank McDiarmid323
Dick Millington18
Cut and Paste18
24-Dec-197713
Dick Millington1185
Frank McDiarmid18
Frank McDiarmid pencils18
31-Dec-197714
Frank McDiarmid14100
07-Jan-197812
Frank McDiarmid pencils12100
14-Jan-197812
Unknown Cheeky Artist 112100
21-Jan-197812
Frank McDiarmid867
Frank McDiarmid pencils325
Unknown Cheeky Artist 118
28-Jan-197811
Unknown Cheeky Artist 1545
Frank McDiarmid pencils436
Cut and Paste19
Frank McDiarmid19
04-Feb-197810
Frank McDiarmid990
Cut and Paste110
11-Feb-197813
Frank McDiarmid pencils538
Unknown Cheeky Artist 1538
Jim Watson323
18-Feb-197813
Frank McDiarmid754
Unknown Cheeky Artist 1431
Frank McDiarmid pencils215
25-Feb-197813
Frank McDiarmid pencils969
Frank McDiarmid431
04-Mar-197813
Frank McDiarmid862
Unknown Cheeky Artist 1538
11-Mar-197813
Unknown Cheeky Artist 1646
Barrie Appleby646
Frank McDiarmid pencils18
18-Mar-197813
Frank McDiarmid pencils754
Frank McDiarmid646
25-Mar-197813
Unknown Cheeky Artist 1646
Barrie Appleby431
Frank McDiarmid pencils215
Frank McDiarmid18
01-Apr-197813
Frank McDiarmid538
Frank McDiarmid pencils538
Jim Watson215
Unknown Cheeky Artist 118
08-Apr-197813
Barrie Appleby538
Unknown Cheeky Artist 1431
Jim Watson215
Frank McDiarmid pencils18
Frank McDiarmid18
15-Apr-197813
Frank McDiarmid969
Frank McDiarmid pencils431
22-Apr-197813
Frank McDiarmid646
Barrie Appleby538
Unknown Cheeky Artist 118
Frank McDiarmid pencils18
29-Apr-197812
Jim Watson542
Frank McDiarmid pencils433
Frank McDiarmid217
Unknown Cheeky Artist 118
06-May-197813
Frank McDiarmid754
Barrie Appleby538
Unknown Cheeky Artist 118
13-May-197813
Frank McDiarmid pencils754
Frank McDiarmid646
20-May-197813
Barrie Appleby754
Jim Watson538
Frank McDiarmid18
27-May-197813
Dick Millington1185
Barrie Appleby18
Frank McDiarmid18
03-Jun-197813
Frank McDiarmid pencils862
Jim Watson431
Barrie Appleby18
10-Jun-197813
Barrie Appleby754
Jim Watson538
Frank McDiarmid18
17-Jun-197812
Mike Lacey1192
Barrie Appleby18
24-Jun-197813
Barrie Appleby646
Frank McDiarmid pencils538
Frank McDiarmid215
01-Jul-197811
Frank McDiarmid982
Frank McDiarmid pencils19
Barrie Appleby19
08-Jul-197812
Frank McDiarmid pencils1083
Barrie Appleby217
15-Jul-197812
Mike Lacey1083
Frank McDiarmid pencils18
Barrie Appleby18
22-Jul-197812
Barrie Appleby1192
Frank McDiarmid18
29-Jul-197812
Frank McDiarmid1192
Frank McDiarmid pencils18
05-Aug-197812
Frank McDiarmid1192
Mike Lacey18
12-Aug-197812
Frank McDiarmid pencils1083
Frank McDiarmid18
Barrie Appleby18
19-Aug-197811
Frank McDiarmid1091
Barrie Appleby19
26-Aug-197812
Mike Lacey1083
Barrie Appleby18
Frank McDiarmid18
02-Sep-197811
Frank McDiarmid pencils1091
Frank McDiarmid19
09-Sep-197810
Frank McDiarmid10100
16-Sep-197810
Frank McDiarmid10100
23-Sep-197811
Frank McDiarmid pencils1091
Frank McDiarmid19
30-Sep-197811
Frank McDiarmid11100
07-Oct-197811
Mike Lacey11100
14-Oct-197811
Frank McDiarmid11100
21-Oct-197811
Frank McDiarmid pencils11100
28-Oct-197811
Frank McDiarmid11100
04-Nov-197811
Mike Lacey11100
11-Nov-197811
Frank McDiarmid11100
18-Nov-197811
Frank McDiarmid pencils11100
25-Nov-197811
Frank McDiarmid11100
02-Dec-19789
Mike Lacey9100
09-Dec-197810
Frank McDiarmid10100
06-Jan-197910
Frank McDiarmid pencils990
Frank McDiarmid110
13-Jan-197911
Frank McDiarmid11100
20-Jan-197910
Frank McDiarmid10100
27-Jan-197910
Mike Lacey10100
03-Feb-197910
Frank McDiarmid550
Mike Lacey550
10-Feb-197910
Barrie Appleby990
Frank McDiarmid110
17-Feb-197910
Frank McDiarmid10100
24-Feb-19799
Mike Lacey9100
03-Mar-197910
Frank McDiarmid10100
10-Mar-197910
Frank McDiarmid990
Barrie Appleby110
17-Mar-197910
Mike Lacey990
Frank McDiarmid110
24-Mar-19799
Frank McDiarmid9100
31-Mar-19798
Frank McDiarmid450
Barrie Appleby450
07-Apr-197910
Frank McDiarmid660
Mike Lacey440
14-Apr-197910
Frank McDiarmid pencils880
Frank McDiarmid220
21-Apr-197910
Frank McDiarmid10100
28-Apr-197910
Frank McDiarmid550
Barrie Appleby440
Mike Lacey110
05-May-197910
Frank McDiarmid990
Mike Lacey110
12-May-197910
Mike Lacey550
Frank McDiarmid550
19-May-197911
Frank McDiarmid1091
Jimmy Hansen218
26-May-197910
Frank McDiarmid pencils440
Jimmy Hansen440
Frank McDiarmid110
Barrie Appleby110
02-Jun-19799
Frank McDiarmid9100
09-Jun-197910
Frank McDiarmid pencils880
Mike Lacey110
Frank McDiarmid110
16-Jun-197910
Mike Lacey990
Frank McDiarmid110
23-Jun-197910
Frank McDiarmid990
Dick Millington110
30-Jun-197910
Dick Millington880
Frank McDiarmid110
Mike Lacey110
07-Jul-19798
Frank McDiarmid8100
14-Jul-19799
Mike Lacey889
Frank McDiarmid111
21-Jul-19799
Frank McDiarmid556
Frank McDiarmid pencils444
28-Jul-19799
Dick Millington889
Frank McDiarmid111
04-Aug-19798
Frank McDiarmid8100
11-Aug-19799
Frank McDiarmid9100
18-Aug-19799
Frank McDiarmid pencils556
Frank McDiarmid444
25-Aug-19799
Frank McDiarmid667
Frank McDiarmid pencils333
01-Sep-19799
Mike Lacey889
Frank McDiarmid111
08-Sep-19799
Frank McDiarmid9100
15-Sep-19799
Jimmy Hansen444
Mike Lacey444
Frank McDiarmid111
22-Sep-19798
Not known563
Frank McDiarmid pencils338
29-Sep-19799
Frank McDiarmid9100
06-Oct-19799
Mike Lacey444
Jimmy Hansen444
Frank McDiarmid111
13-Oct-19799
Frank McDiarmid889
Barrie Appleby111
20-Oct-19799
Jimmy Hansen444
Mike Lacey444
Barrie Appleby111
27-Oct-19799
Frank McDiarmid9100
03-Nov-19799
Mike Lacey444
Dick Millington444
Frank McDiarmid111
10-Nov-19798
Bob Hill450
Barrie Appleby450
17-Nov-19799
Frank McDiarmid9100
24-Nov-19799
Frank McDiarmid9100
01-Dec-19799
Mike Lacey889
Frank McDiarmid111
08-Dec-19799
Frank McDiarmid9100
15-Dec-19799
Frank McDiarmid9100
22-Dec-19799
Frank McDiarmid556
Mike Lacey444
29-Dec-197913
Frank McDiarmid13100
05-Jan-198010
Frank McDiarmid10100
12-Jan-19809
Mike Lacey889
Frank McDiarmid111
19-Jan-19809
Frank McDiarmid9100
26-Jan-19809
Frank McDiarmid556
Mike Lacey444
02-Feb-19809
Frank McDiarmid9100

Wednesday 18 January 2012

The One-Offs - Auntie Daisy's Ancestor

Auntie Daisy's unnamed antecedent made a one-off appearance, implicating herself in the fateful events at Pudding Lane, in the issue dated 23 September 1978.



Character Total Issues First Appearance Final Appearance
Auntie Daisy's Ancestor123-Sep-197823-Sep-1978

Sunday 15 January 2012

Revamp 2

A full-blown revamp hit Cheeky Weekly's 50th issue dated 30 September 1978.  Rather similarly to the first revamp, this second upheaval took place around a cut-out feature.  In the case of the first revamp, the changes had occurred around 1978's mini comics promotion, while revamp 2 was instigated around the 4-week Crack-A-Joke game promotion which began in the 02 September 1978 issue.

Features to end in preparation for revamp 2;

  • Creepy Sleepy Tale and related strip, Wednesday (conclusion), both had their final appearances in the comic dated 26 August 1978, as did Old Comic.  The demise of these features freed up space for the Crack-A-Joke Game to begin the following week.
  • Archie's Angels came to an end in the 16 September 1978 issue, the penultimate issue to carry elements of the Crack-A-Joke Game.
  • Sunday evening, Teacher's Teasers and What A Cheek all ended in the 23 September 1978 issue, the final issue before the revamp.
  • The Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf reprint from Cor!! made its second and final Cheeky Weekly appearance in the 30 September 1978 issue, although the cartoon supporting feature element of Saturday's cinema show continued with Warner Brothers cartoon strips.

New features appearing during revamp 2;


A couple of features emerged, blinking, from IPC's vaults for a single time before being summarily returned to oblivion, as the comic geared up for the revamp;

  • Hickory Dickory Doc, another reprint from Cor!! that was used to represent a supporting feature cartoon, made its sole Cheeky Weekly appearance in the 16 September 1978 issue, and Sonny Storm, yet another reanimated Cor!! character, blew into and out of the comic dated 23 September 1978.
Although Archie's Angels and Sonny Storm, both strips whose role in Cheeky Weekly had been to represent the adventure serial element of Cheeky's weekly cinema visit, had come to an end by 30 September 1978, the cinema serial idea had not been dropped.  A new (to Cheeky Weekly, anyway) adventure strip would commence in the 07 October 1978 issue.

In addition to the new features, revamp 2 saw a change in the design of the Cheeky's Week pages.  Previously, each day of the week was introduced with a caption above the top row of artwork, as from revamp 2 a more conventional title panel, reading Cheeky's Week and including an entry from Cheeky's Diary, kicked off each new day.  In addition to this, a new element was introduced at the bottom of the first of each of the Cheeky's Week pages, with a caption reading What did YOU do today?, and giving a space in which readers were invited to record their daily doings.

Cynics among Cheeky Weekly's readership may have considered that the introduction of these new elements onto Cheeky's pages had an ulterior motive. Taken over a whole issue, the space lost to the new title panel and reader's diary would amount to a whole page or more, reducing the workload for the toiling artists working to fill a whole Cheeky's Week each issue, and of course saving money for IPC.

As can be seen here, revamp 2 had the effect of reducing the total number of Cheeky's Week elements from a pre-revamp average of 13 elements per issue to 10.

The revamp continued in the following week's issue, as the 07 October 1978 comic saw the introduction of 2 more new strips; Laugh and Learn, and The Terrible Trail to Taggart's Treasure, a reprint from Shiver and Shake.

A new policy on Cheeky's Week artists appeared to have been instigated at this revamp. Whereas previously the majority of issues had seen multiple artists contribute to each comic's Cheeky strips, as of 30 September 1978 only one artist (or collaboration) from the usual pool of illustrators provided each issue's Cheeky's Week content. The issues and artists can be seen here.

As of revamp 2, the number of Cheeky's Week elements per issue was reduced to 11, from a previous average 13, then down to 10 as of early 1979. This reduction in Cheeky elements probably made the editor confident that the new 'one Cheeky artist per issue' policy could be maintained, but it began to break down in early 1979.

Revamps were common in comics of the period, as editors tried to fine-tune the contents of their titles to yield maximum readership.  It's interesting that readers were invited to fill out a popularity poll in the comic dated 09 September 1978, a mere 3 weeks before 30 September's reshuffle.  Surely by 09 September, the new features had already been completed.  Maybe the changes introduced at revamp 2 were in response to the first readers' poll in the issue dated 10 December 1977.  Alternatively, the changes may have been made as a consequence of unsolicited reader feedback, or possibly the Cheeky Weekly editor decided to introduce a comic-within-comic to emulate long-running IPC stablemate Whizzer and Chips, which had adopted a 2-comics-in-one approach from its first issue.

Comparison of features: Issues 26-Aug-1978 and 30-Sep-1978
26-Aug-1978 30-Sep-1978
6 Million Dollar Gran6 Million Dollar Gran
Archie's AngelsX - Final appearance was 16-Sep-1978
Calculator KidCalculator Kid
Cover FeatureCover Feature
Creepy Sleepy TaleX - Final appearance was 26-Aug-1978
FridayFriday
IntervalInterval
Joke-Box JuryJoke-Box Jury
MondayMonday
Mustapha MillionMustapha Million
Old ComicX - Final appearance was 26-Aug-1978
PaddywackPaddywack
Pin-up palX - Will return
SaturdaySaturday
Skateboard SquadSkateboard Squad
SundaySunday
Sunday eveningX - Final appearance was 23-Sep-1978
Teacher's TeasersX - Final appearance was 23-Sep-1978
ThursdayThursday
TuesdayTuesday
Tweety and SylvesterTweety and Sylvester
WednesdayWednesday
Wednesday (conclusion)X - Final appearance was 26-Aug-1978
What a CheekX - Final appearance was 23-Sep-1978
What's New, KidsX - Will return
X - New after 26-Aug-1978: Begins 30-Sep-1978Cheeky's Pal Puzzle
X - New after 26-Aug-1978: Begins 30-Sep-1978Cheeky's Week
X - New after 26-Aug-1978: Begins 30-Sep-1978Disaster Des
X - New after 26-Aug-1978: Begins 30-Sep-1978Elephant On The Run
X - New after 26-Aug-1978: Begins 30-Sep-1978Hoi! What do you get up to all week
X - New after 26-Aug-1978: Begins 30-Sep-1978Mystery Boy
X - New after 26-Aug-1978: Begins 02-Sep-1978Silly Snaps
X - New after 26-Aug-1978: Begins 30-Sep-1978Tub
X - Started before 26-Aug-1978, Ends 30-Sep-1978Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf
X - New after 26-Aug-1978: Begins 30-Sep-1978Why, Dad, Why?
Started and finished within datesCrack-A-Joke Game Start 02-Sep-1978, End 23-Sep-1978
Started and finished within datesHickory Dickory Doc Start 16-Sep-1978, End 16-Sep-1978
Started and finished within datesMarx Toys Competition Start 16-Sep-1978, End 16-Sep-1978
Started and finished within datesReaders poll Start 09-Sep-1978, End 09-Sep-1978
Started and finished within datesSonny Storm Start 23-Sep-1978, End 23-Sep-1978

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Updates

I have updated the final table in each of the following feature posts, to break down the artists-by-date data into Mystery Comic vs non-Mystery Comic appearances.

Mustapha Million

Why, Dad, Why?

Sunday 8 January 2012

Cheeky Weekly cover date 30 September 1978

As we reach Cheeky Weekly's 50th issue, there are signs on the cover that big changes are afoot.  It appears that the whole Mystery Comic is on view inside, and a new cover feature, Cheeky's Week…Sunday, takes over from What A Cheek, although the three-panel gag format of the previous strip continues.

Flipping over to page 2 reveals some more changes - there's no title to the Sunday page - we're now to infer that it follows on from the cover's Cheeky's Week…Sunday feature, and a What Did YOU Do Today? diary-type section occupies the bottom of the page.  It also appears that Cheeky's favourite TV show, 6 Million Dollar Gran, has been moved to a mid-day time slot, which is fortunate for us readers as the Sunday evening element of Cheeky's Week came to an end last week.

On page 6, Cheeky explains the purpose of the new diary section of his pages.  I think his rather ill-mannered Hoi! is something he picked up from Snail.


There's another new development when we arrive at the Monday feature - a panel reading 'Cheeky's Week…Monday' and displaying an extract from Cheeky's diary now introduces the strip instead of the Monday caption across the top of the page which appeared previously.  This, together with the What Did YOU Do Today diary area at the bottom of the page, appears once for each of the remaining days of Cheeky's Week in the comic (it doesn't appear on the Interval or second Saturday pages).


The Skateboard Squad title panel which appeared for the first time last week has been dropped in favour of a more streamlined banner-style introductory panel showing the team proudly flying a, er, banner.  The fact that the title panel now spans the width of the page means that the name of the strip can be displayed in full rather than being broken down into three words as it was last week.


On Wednesday, Cheeky dials 1978 in the time-travelling phone box and skips back a couple of days to the moment when the single copy of this week's Mystery Comic came off the printing press.  Never having seen a complete issue of this mysterious publication, we eagerly turn the page to view the cover, and get our first look at the Tub strip.  Next up is the first episode of Why, Dad, Why?, followed by the debut of adventure serial Mystery Boy (a retitled reprint of the Who Is Sandy? strip from Whizzer and Chips, 1971).

The following Mystery Comic page introduces us to the peripatetic pachyderm and his plastic-clad pursuer in the first instalment of Robert Nixon's 2-page Elephant On The Run, after which we encounter good old Mustapha Million, the only Mystery Comic character that we had seen up until now.

Rounding off the Mystery Comic section is another newcomer, juvenile jinx Disaster Des.

Page 21 returns us to Cheeky's Week for a look at the toothy funster's doings on Thursday, and Calculator Kid, who evidently survived the revamp, enjoys a robbery-foiling adventure on page 22.  Another non-Cheeky strip to remain is Paddywack, who fills page 25 with his customary confusion.

In the final panel of page 26, Cheeky tells us that there's an all-cartoon programme in this week's cinema show.  So after an interruption on the following page featuring an advertisement for The Superkids Club, promoting the Superkids range of boots and shoes, the first cartoon, in the form of a Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf reprint from Cor!!, hits the screen.  After the interval, the second cartoon starts and the bad news is that those blasted Warner Brothers cartoon strips have survived the revamp.  This week it's flippin' Tweety and Sylvester again.

The post-cinema conclusion to Saturday occupies the back cover, and includes a new feature within the page - a puzzle introduced by one of Cheeky's pals.  It's presented by Herman, and apparently he got it from The Traffic Warden's Bumper Fun Book.


All of the Mystery Comic features with the exception of Mustapha Million are new this week, as is the Cheeky's Pal Puzzle idea on the back cover.  The Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf feature makes its second and final Cheeky Weekly appearance.

There are no debuts or departures among the Cheeky's Week cast in this issue.  As always seems to be the case with special issues (for which we're all grateful), all the Cheeky's Week art this week is pure Frank McDiarmid.  I don't include Cheeky's appearance on page 6 (which is a Barrie Appleby rendition of the toothy funster) as a Cheeky's Week feature.

In the table below, the identifier 'Mystery Comic' after a feature indicates that it appears as part of The Mystery Comic.

Cheeky Weekly Cover Date: 30-Sep-1978, Issue 50 of 117
PageDetails
1Cover Feature 'Mystery Comic'\Cheeky's Week (first appearance) - Art Frank McDiarmid (first art on feature)
2Sunday - Art Frank McDiarmid
36 Million Dollar Gran - Art Ian Knox
46 Million Dollar Gran - Art Ian Knox
56 Million Dollar Gran - Art Ian Knox
6Hoi! What do you get up to all week? (single appearance)\Ad: IPC 'Knockout Annual' 1 of 3
7Monday - Art Frank McDiarmid
8Silly Snaps
9Silly Snaps
10Tuesday - Art Frank McDiarmid
11Skateboard Squad - Art Jimmy Hansen
12Wednesday - Art Frank McDiarmid
13Tub (first appearance) 'Mystery Comic' 1 of 34 - Art Nigel Edwards (first art on feature)
14Why, Dad, Why? (first appearance) 'Mystery Comic' 1 of 28 - Art John K. Geering (first art on feature)
15Mystery Boy (first appearance) reprint from Whizzer and Chips 'Mystery Comic' 1 of 37 - Art John Richardson (first art on feature)
16Elephant On The Run (first appearance) 'Mystery Comic' 1 of 34 - Art Robert Nixon (first art on feature)
17Elephant On The Run (first appearance) 'Mystery Comic' 1 of 34 - Art Robert Nixon (first art on feature)
18Mustapha Million 'Mystery Comic' 1 of 34 - Art Reg Parlett
19Mustapha Million 'Mystery Comic' 1 of 34 - Art Reg Parlett
20Disaster Des (first appearance) 'Mystery Comic' 1 of 30 - Art Mike Lacey (first art on feature)
21Thursday - Art Frank McDiarmid
22Calculator Kid - Art Terry Bave
23Joke-Box Jury
24Friday - Art Frank McDiarmid
25Paddywack - Art Jack Clayton
26Saturday - Art Frank McDiarmid
27Ad: Superkids Club (single appearance)
28Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? (final appearance) reprint from Cor!!
29Interval - Art Frank McDiarmid
30Tweety and Sylvester 'Tabs Keeping Tabby'
31Tweety and Sylvester 'Tabs Keeping Tabby'
32Saturday - Art Frank McDiarmid\Cheeky's Pal Puzzle (first appearance) 'Herman' - Art Frank McDiarmid (first art on feature)

Cheeky's Week Artists Cover Date 30-Sep-1978



Artist Elements
Frank McDiarmid10

Thursday 5 January 2012

Profile - Auntie Daisy


School dinners have been a source of playground humour since the first caveman herded a group of junior troglodytes into a cavern to teach them how to draw on the walls, and his wife slapped a pile of mastodon fritters in front of them at lunchtime.  Cheeky Weekly's creators probably thought a school dinner lady would be a popular addition to the roster of Cheeky's pals, as readers would be keen to adapt school dinner jokes and apply them to their own school canteen staff.

It would seem that Auntie Daisy the school meals lady was indeed a hit with readers, as she was absent from only 15 issues of Cheeky Weekly after her debut in the 19 November 1977 comic.  The disastrous dinner lady had been appearing regularly in the 'Ello, it's Cheeky strip in Krazy since the 12 February 1977 issue of that comic.  She continued to appear there, while also appearing in Cheeky Weekly, until Krazy's demise.  In total Daisy appeared in 102 issues of Cheeky Weekly.

Daisy's first Cheeky Weekly appearance
Cheeky's encounters with Daisy generally occurred over 3 panels.  In the first panel, Cheeky would make some disparaging remarks about her culinary skills.  Daisy would attempt to restore her tarnished reputation with a counterclaim in the second panel, and in the final frame of the sequence, the toothy funster would unleash his devastating riposte, revealing the true horror of Daisy's recipes.


When Cheeky delivered Daisy's newspaper on Sundays, smoke would often be seen wafting from her front door.

Daisy was one of the guests at Cheeky's new year party in the 07 January 1978 comic.  Nosy Norah and Libby were aghast later in the same issue when Cheeky told them that he was going to Auntie Daisy's house for a snack.  However the real reason for the toothy funster's visit was to pick up a copy of The Mystery Comic, which Daisy had concealed in her recipe book.  

It was Daisy's turn to step into the spotlight and feature throughout Cheeky's Week (apart from Tuesday) in the comic dated 22 April 1978.  On Sunday a worried-looking Cheeky learned that she would be preparing a special dish for him, and during the week our toothy pal's anxiety grew as he observed Daisy gathering various unappetising ingredients.

Climax of the 22 April 1978 issue
The clueless culinarian featured on the cover of 04 February 1978's skateboard issue, as she sped past Cheeky on her home-baked skateboard, plucking her copy of The Sunday Sausage-Burner from the toothy funster's paper delivery bag as she went.  The shocking chef was back on the cover for the 25 March 1978 issue, observing a school dinner gag from our toothy pal.  There were school canteen capers featuring the ruinous recipe wrangler on the cover of the 01 July 1978 issue, and on the front of the comic dated 26 August 1978 Daisy's brief role in keeping the army marching on its stomach is revealed.  Daisy was again on the cover, this time as a member of the Joke-Box Jury judges, on 09 September 1978.

The comical comestible creator also featured in cover strips dated 24 March 1979, 09 June 1979 and 23 June 1979.

Daisy was again among the invitees to Cheeky's new year party in the issue dated 13 January 1979.

In the comic dated 10 February 1979, it was revealed that the notorious nosh nobbler was among that elite band of Cheeky's pals who had been awarded the iron cross (Herman and Ursula being the other two).

There was an inauspicious start to the party held by Daisy for Cheeky and his pals in the 12 May 1979 issue, as the toothy funster passed a delivery man carrying boxes of indigestion tablets to the dinner demolisher's front door.  Even Crunching Chris couldn't get a sound out of Daisy's soggy biscuits.

Daisy threw her kitchen open to the public in the comic dated 18 August 1979, and this time it was her crisps that Chris (who obviously hadn't learned his lesson 3 months earlier) couldn't crunch.


A primitive form of life appears to be evolving from the roiling contents of Daisy's saucepan in the Pin-Up Pal poster which appeared in the 01 April 1978 comic, and the calamitous cook was the subject of 10 February 1979's Burpo Special.


We can only speculate as to the significance of the C on Daisy's hat - cook? chef? Something less than complimentary?  Who knows?

Character Total Issues First Appearance Final Appearance
Auntie Daisy10219-Nov-197702-Feb-1980

Missing From Issues
22-Oct-1977
29-Oct-1977
05-Nov-1977
12-Nov-1977
17-Dec-1977
24-Dec-1977
21-Jan-1978
28-Jan-1978
29-Apr-1978
08-Jul-1978
19-Aug-1978
10-Mar-1979
25-Aug-1979
22-Sep-1979
29-Dec-1979

Auntie Daisy - Number of appearances by Element
Element Number of Appearances
Tuesday19
Saturday18
Sunday17
Monday15
Thursday15
Friday12
Wednesday11
Cheeky's Week3
Cover Feature2
Sunday evening2
What a Cheek2
Christmas Morning1
New Year's Eve1
Saturday - April Fool's Day1
Shrove Tuesday1
Suddenly1

Auntie Daisy - Number of appearances by Page
Page Number of Appearances
217
2110
18
98
128
107
195
235
255
54
74
84
154
204
304
314
63
223
263
32
42
112
182
242
281

Count of elements by artist
Character Artist Total Elements
Auntie DaisyFrank McDiarmid60
Auntie DaisyMike Lacey22
Auntie DaisyFrank McDiarmid pencils19
Auntie DaisyBarrie Appleby8
Auntie DaisyUnknown Cheeky Artist 15
Auntie DaisyDick Millington5
Auntie DaisyJim Watson2