Mustapha Million
Encyclopedia
Mustapha Million was the name of an eponymous fictional character
in the UK comic Cheeky, which later merged with Whoopee!
. Mustapha Million later appeared in Whizzer and Chips
after Whoopee! merged with it.
Mustapha was a boy, presumably of Middle East
ern descent, who created a fortune for himself and his father by discovering oil. His name is a play on words for "Must have a million [pounds]". In the first story, with their newfound wealth Mustapha's father sends his son to the UK for education. Sad at leaving his friends at home behind, he endeavours to make new friends at his new school. His father provides him with a mansion, tutors, and bodyguards to keep young Mustapha out of trouble.
A lot of earlier stories revolve around Mustapha trying to fit in with his friends at his new home. Mustapha would regularly hear something and misinterpret it, normally involving a friend in trouble, or one who Mustapha believes to need assistance. He would then make use of his wealth to help his friends only to find it wasn't needed. Several attempts include giving the paper boy huge tips, causing him to retire and buy a mansion.
Reg Parlett was the original Mustapha Million artist in Cheeky Weekly, but in later issues the strip was drawn by Joe McCaffrey, who continued to draw the strip after it moved into Whoopee!. Sometime around when Whoopee! merged with sister comic Whizzer and Chips, Frank McDiarmid took over drawing duties. The stories were a little edgier, not necessarily having the happy endings of the McCaffrey strips. Mustapha appeared to be more understanding of British culture and just wanted to have fun. Another change for these stories would be the fact that Mustapha's friends would often end up annoyed at him for something that happened during the story.
When Whizzer and Chips merged with Buster Comic in 1990, Mustapha was not one of the characters that was brought over. Early McCaffrey strips could still be regularly seen in Big Comic Fortnightly and Funny Fortnightly.
Music critic Alexis Petridis
got his break in journalism writing scripts for early Mustapha Million comics.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the UK comic Cheeky, which later merged with Whoopee!
Whoopee! (comic)
Whoopee! was a British comic that ran from 9 March 1974 to 30 March 1985, when it merged with Whizzer and Chips. It was published by IPC Magazines Ltd....
. Mustapha Million later appeared in Whizzer and Chips
Whizzer and Chips
Whizzer and Chips was a British comic magazine that ran from 18 October 1969 to 27 October 1990, when it merged with the comic Buster. As with most comics of the time, Whizzer and Chips was dated one week ahead....
after Whoopee! merged with it.
Mustapha was a boy, presumably of Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern descent, who created a fortune for himself and his father by discovering oil. His name is a play on words for "Must have a million [pounds]". In the first story, with their newfound wealth Mustapha's father sends his son to the UK for education. Sad at leaving his friends at home behind, he endeavours to make new friends at his new school. His father provides him with a mansion, tutors, and bodyguards to keep young Mustapha out of trouble.
A lot of earlier stories revolve around Mustapha trying to fit in with his friends at his new home. Mustapha would regularly hear something and misinterpret it, normally involving a friend in trouble, or one who Mustapha believes to need assistance. He would then make use of his wealth to help his friends only to find it wasn't needed. Several attempts include giving the paper boy huge tips, causing him to retire and buy a mansion.
Reg Parlett was the original Mustapha Million artist in Cheeky Weekly, but in later issues the strip was drawn by Joe McCaffrey, who continued to draw the strip after it moved into Whoopee!. Sometime around when Whoopee! merged with sister comic Whizzer and Chips, Frank McDiarmid took over drawing duties. The stories were a little edgier, not necessarily having the happy endings of the McCaffrey strips. Mustapha appeared to be more understanding of British culture and just wanted to have fun. Another change for these stories would be the fact that Mustapha's friends would often end up annoyed at him for something that happened during the story.
When Whizzer and Chips merged with Buster Comic in 1990, Mustapha was not one of the characters that was brought over. Early McCaffrey strips could still be regularly seen in Big Comic Fortnightly and Funny Fortnightly.
Music critic Alexis Petridis
Alexis Petridis
Alexis Petridis is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for UK newspaper The Guardian, as well as a regular and contributor to the magazine GQ.Petridis began his career writing for Varsity whilst a student at the University of Cambridge...
got his break in journalism writing scripts for early Mustapha Million comics.