Mustapha Million

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Mustapha Million was the name of an eponymous fictional character in the UK comic Cheeky, which later merged with Whoopee!.

Mustapha was a boy, presumably of Middle Eastern descent, who created a fortune for himself & his father by discovering oil. In the first story, with their newfound wealth Mustapha's father sends his son to England to receive a decent education. Sad with leaving his friends at home behind, he endeavours to make new friends in England. His father buys him a plot of land, a mansion, & tutors, body guards & minders 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. Mustpaha would regularly hear something & misinterpret it, normally involving a friend in trouble, or who Mustapha THINKS might be in trouble, or need some help. He would then make use of his wealth to help his friends only to find it wasn't needed.

During the early Cheeky & Whoopee! days Mustapha was drawn by comic artist Joe McCaffrey. Sometime around when Whoopee! merged with sister comic Whizzer and Chips, Frank Diarmid took over drawing duties. The stories were a little edgier, not necessarily having the happy endings that the McCaffrey strips used to have. Mustapha appeared to be a more understanding of English culture & 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, & Funny Fortnightly.