Mickey the Monkey was a comic strip which featured the eponymous fictional monkey, Mickey. The character was the cover star of British comic The Topper from its launch in 1953 until the 1970s. The strip appeared throughout the comic's run, until its merger with The Beezer. The final story was in The Beezer Annual

The Beezer Annual

The Beezer Annual was the final name of the book that had been published every year since 1957, to tie in with the children's comic The Beezer. 46 were made over the years. Since they were traditionally published in the autumn and in time for Christmas, since 1965 they had the date of the following...

2003. It was originally drawn by Dudley D. Watkins

Dudley D. Watkins

Dudley Dexter Watkins was a British cartoonist and illustrator. He is best known for his characters Oor Wullie and The Broons; comic strips featuring them have appeared in Scottish newspaper The Sunday Post since 1936, along with annual compilations...

, but after his death in 1969 Vic Neill

Vic Neill

Vic Neill was a British cartoonist who drew for D.C. Thomson and I.P.C.'s comics. His first notable comic work was on Sparky strip Peter Piper. In 1969, he replaced Dudley Dexter Watkins on Topper cover star Mickey the Monkey after Watkins' sudden death. Neill was a big admirer of Watkins' artwork....

 took over as artist.

Appearances in popular culture

The Clash

The Clash

The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...

 Drummer Topper Headon

Topper Headon

Headon was extensively interviewed for the Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten documentary film about the late Clash frontman. He related his experiences during this period, how he became addicted to heroin and how there were problems before his dismissal...

, real name Nicholas Bowen Headon, earned his nickname from the band's guitarist Mick Jones

Mick Jones (The Clash)

Michael Geoffrey "Mick" Jones is the former lead guitarist, secondary vocalist and co-founder for the British punk rock band The Clash until his dismissal in 1983. He went on to form the band Big Audio Dynamite with Don Letts before line-up changes led to the formation of Big Audio Dynamite II and...

due to his resemblance to Mickey the Monkey.