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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Sunday 13 November 2016

Cheeky Weekly cover date 06 October 1979

Art: Produced by copy-and-paste
from artwork drawn by Frank McDiarmid.
See text for details
The above-title banner again refers to 6 Million Dollar Gran as bionic whereas, as readers who've been following the title since issue one will know, she's a robot.

The rather minimalist, odd-looking cover illustration this week is the result of cover cannibalism - the images of Manhole Man, Cheeky and Jogging Jeremy first appeared on the front pages of the 09 June 1979, 11 August 1979 and 20 January 1979 comics respectively. However, the most striking thing about this cover is the absence of something. This is a landmark issue of the toothy funster's comic, yet there's no mention of that fact on the front page (nor anywhere inside). The 1970s has seen new comics regularly terminate with unseemly haste. Krazy, the title from which Cheeky Weekly erupted, managed to survive for only 79 issues as did Shiver and Shake, while Monster Fun troubled newsagents' delivery boys and girls for a mere 73 weeks. One would think that IPC would be keen to celebrate the relative longevity of our grinning pal's comic as it reaches its 100th issue. Anyway, the fact that Cheeky Weekly has reached its century is testament to the talented artists and writers whose work on this groundbreaking title has kept it buoyant, thus thwarting the accountants who are so keen to cull comics that are perceived to be underperforming.


MikeLacey is the artist depicting Cheeky's Sunday on page 2, but it seems the toothy funster concluded his paper round immediately after the cover gag as there is no sign of the deliveries we usually witness in this location.

Art: Mike Lacey

Despite the fact that the 100th issue is not celebrated, Cheeky and his pals do get to enjoy a party thanks to Gran...

Art: Nigel Edwards




The final panel of Gran's story, with a caption carrying a phrase such as “Join the party in our 100th issue”, would have made a better front cover for this edition. But who is the character wearing glasses and chomping on a sausage roll in front of Elephant? Nigel Edwards did a great job in depicting a selection of characters from across the comic but did he, seeking reference material for his artwork, somehow confuse Dads As Lads (which made its debut in Whoopee! in 1976), with Cheeky Weekly's own paternal/filial feature  Why, Dad, Why?


Whoopee! 01 March 1980
Art: Bill Mevin (thanks Andy!)


Page 11 does carry news of a special celebratory comic, but it's an advert for the 10th anniversary issue of Whizzer and Chips, containing  a free gift plus part one of a mini facsimile of the debut edition.


The aspiring artistes of Stage School appear only in the final two panels of this week's story, and even then they are unrecognisable.

Art: Robert Nixon

The Chit-Chat page contains another reference to celebrations, but this time the festivities are in honour of the art editor's birthday.


Tub - Art: Nigel Edwards

JimmyHansen takes over the Cheeky artwork duties as of Thursday...

Art: Jimmy Hansen

Beneath a banner reading 'Here's a special appearance of a Cheeky Annual favourite' is a tale of telephonic tribulations starring Ringer Dinger, a reprint from Whizzer and Chips. Dinger had indeed made 4 appearances in the 1979 Cheeky Annual (published in late '78), and rung up a bumper 5 adventures in the toothy funster's current 1980 Annual, which was first advertised in Cheeky Weekly dated 22 September 1979. I wonder whether something happened to the artwork that was originally intended for the Sunday page in this issue, necessitating the shunting forward of another day's art onto page 2 and thus the inclusion of this phone-fun filler. Dinger will be called upon to make up the page count in a further 2 editions of Cheeky Weekly. Ringer Dinger in the Cheeky Weekly Index

Art: Terry Bave
Dinger's dad appears to lose his voice in
the final panel judging by the empty speech bubble



On Saturday Cheeky is tasked with walking the neighbour's dog, a Saint Bernard. Canine comedy ensues, before attention turns to the back garden in Snail of the Century which, as has become the tradition, brings the comic to a close.

Mike Lacey and Jimmy Hansen each provide 4 Cheeky's Week elements this week, with Frank McDiarmid being represented thanks to the art assistant's work with scissors and glue on the front cover.


Cheeky's Week Artists Cover Date 06-Oct-1979
Artist Elements
Jimmy Hansen4
Mike Lacey4
Frank McDiarmid1



Cheeky Weekly Cover Date: 06-Oct-1979, Issue 100 of 117
PageDetails
1Cover Feature 'Jogging Jeremy and Manhole Man' - Art Frank McDiarmid
2Sunday - Art Mike Lacey
3Calculator Kid - Art Terry Bave
46 Million Dollar Gran - Art Nigel Edwards
56 Million Dollar Gran - Art Nigel Edwards
66 Million Dollar Gran - Art Nigel Edwards
7Monday - Art Mike Lacey
8Ad: Trebor (final appearance) 'Olympic Game' 2 of 2
9Joke-Box Jury
10Tuesday - Art Mike Lacey
11Ad: IPC 'Whoopee Guy Fawkes mask' 3 of 3 Ad: 'Whizzer and Chips 10th birthday issue'
12The Gang reprint from Whizzer and Chips - Art Robert MacGillivray
13The Gang reprint from Whizzer and Chips - Art Robert MacGillivray
14Paddywack - Art Jack Clayton
15Mystery Boy reprint from Whizzer and Chips
16Elephant On The Run - Art Vic Neill (first art on feature)
17Elephant On The Run - Art Vic Neill (first art on feature)
18Wednesday - Art Mike Lacey
19Stage School - Art Robert Nixon
20Chit-Chat
21Chit-Chat\Tub - Art Nigel Edwards
22Thursday - Art Jimmy Hansen (final art on feature)
23Speed Squad - Art Jimmy Hansen
24Mustapha Million - Art Joe McCaffrey
25What's New, Kids
26Friday - Art Jimmy Hansen (single art on feature)
27Ad: IPC 'Buster Book' 1 of 2 Ad: 'Top Soccer' 3 of 3
28Ringer Dinger (first appearance) reprint from Whizzer and Chips - Art Terry Bave (first art on feature)
29Disaster Des - Art Mike Lacey
30Saturday - Art Jimmy Hansen (single art on feature)
31Saturday - Art Jimmy Hansen (single art on feature)
32Snail of the Century - Art Frank McDiarmid

5 comments:

  1. Dads as Lads was by Bill Mevin :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oops, I got me Bills mixed up - thanks, will change it!

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  2. Sadly, in W&C this week, The Slimms gave way to reprints; and perhaps W&C’s birthday the following week was IPC’s main concern, not Cheeky’s 100th issue. Were it not for the horrors of the final weeks of 1978, both for Cheeky and other comics, the 100th issue would have been 15/9/79 but I’m sure you don’t need reminding of that. It’s interesting and saddening in equal measure that in W&C earlier that year, Sid was thwarted from getting his “surprise” presents, with Slippy complicit in Sid’s parents’ machinations. Clear reuse of Christmassy material. I’ll have to check if The Slimms from the end of 1978 is similar in style to the Christmas story seen in Dec 1979, as it’s not a reprint.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To be honest I'm not sure whether IPC ever celebrated the 100th issue of any of their titles. As regards the repurposing of Christmas material, you'll no doubt be aware that the Cheeky Weekly editor (who was probably also the W&C editor - Bob Paynter?) was a past master at such modifications.

      Delete
  3. Well there was Eagle’s 100th in Feb ’84, and W&C’s 700th issue in May ’83. The Slimms’ ‘creaking scales’ logo was replaced by a black and white version on 2/12/78, just in time for the strike, he said with undisguised acrimony. This was seen on 22nd (I think) and 29th Dec ’79, indicating they were holdovers.

    ReplyDelete