Tiger 2nd February 1974

All is right with the world. Johnny Cougar is on the cover in full colour throwing his opponent around the ring. As long as such images exist I will be happy. As an invitation to turn the page and see what is happening it couldn't be any better. But it is better, there are eight other stories that I'm dying to read. I want to know what's happening with Skid Solo, with Martin's Marvellous Mini, with a Horse called Ugly. And there's only one way to find out. Bear with me, I'm going in. 

Tiger

2nd February 1974

Johnny Cougar with Splash Gorton

Despite the excellent front cover and in-ring action, not a lot actually happens in Johnny Cougar this week. Sure, he tosses his opponent aside and hits him with a dropkick for victory, but the rest of the story is Johnny setting off in a boat to find Splash, while the villains themselves recount their nefarious plan once more for those that haven't been following along. It's only in the final panels as Splash is throwing overboard is there a sense of danger, and a reason to turn the page (besides the excellent art, of course). However, it is enjoyable enough, and Johnny always looks great when he's wrestling. I'm happy to see the story is still progressing, and although it's not the most dramatic of issues, it looks great in every panel. 

Rating: 6/10

Best Line:  "Okay, give me a hand with the beatnik. We're in the deep water now...it's time to say goodbye to our stupid friend..."

Skid Solo

Skid continues with his winter storylines, as this week he gives chase to a couple of stolen moon buggies. It's not as crazy as it sounds, two moon buggies have been stolen and are wired to explode after fifteen minutes. It's a race against the clock as Skid pursues the criminals across country on his motorbike, before driving the buggies to the middle of a field where they safely detonate. Like Johnny Cougar, the art looks great, even if the story strikes me as a little odd. The fact that the buggies were stolen not far from Skid, and he just happened to see them driving across the field is fortuitous, and has me stretching my beliefs to make it plausible. The countdown before the explosion puts me in the mind of a Hollywood movie, and I do like seeing Skid rushing to complete his mission. There's no such thing as a typical Skid Solo story when he is between seasons, and this one fits the bill for unpredictability. An oddity, but a fun ride.  

Rating: 5/10

Best line:  "In ten minutes time...they'll be spread all over the place if we don't find 'em before the charges go off!" 

Martin's Marvellous Mini

The race is on, and my heart races just seeing George speeding along the road in the first panel of this week's strip. Reaching the checkpoint we learn that they are up to fourth place, not bad as we're only two panels into the story. Cows make another appearance this week, forcing Tiny and Martin to detour across country, providing great rally car action as George is put through his paces. They do have a couple of hair-raising moments as they drive around a frozen lake, but nothing compares to the drama of the final panels as a bullet hole appears in the windshield and it becomes apparent someone is shooting at them. Who it could be, we'll have to wait until next week, but I find this story is beginning to heat up now after a few mild episodes over Christmas. With lots of driving action in full colour, I am well pleased and more than happy with what I am reading. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "That...that wasn't a stone! It was a bullet!"

Tallon Of The Track

Tallon Of The Track is back on track, and the racing in Paris is fast and furious. Jo thinks she saw Dave in the crowd, but this panel is swept away by all that follows it as the racing on the track dominates. The French maintain a small lead, and it is up to Jo to win it for the Ospreys. In a furious last race, there is a bad crash, and the strip ends with Jo and her leathers in flame. But before this, there were a couple of panels that make me smile, especially as the riders called the French "Frenchies" which seemed quaintly of the 1970s. There are also the equally dodgy French accents bestowed on the characters, but I'm more than happy to overlook this for the flavour of the comic. We have some brilliant panels capturing the spirit of the race action, but it is the final image of Jo and the flames that top all this and makes for a sensational finish to this week's story. Once again, Tallon Of The Track captures my imagination, and my heart, with its dynamic artwork and exciting storylines. 

Best line:  "Sacre Bleu...an explosion! The fuel has ignited!"

Rating: 8/10

Roy Of The Rovers

Can we please have a moment to appreciate Tony Storme rocking a bucket hat 20 years before it became peak fashion on the Madchester scene? Tony is obviously a man well ahead of his time, and a fashion icon to us all. Roy of the Rovers isn't just about fashion, we also have a page of football action before the story settles into mostly talking heads. Casting our minds back to last week, you may recall that Geoff Giles is in trouble for a studs first tackle, and this week he suffers the worst possible outcome - being sent off. The torn sock of his Carford opponent is all the damning evidence the referee requires. However, the Rovers manage to prevent any more goals, driven on by their number one fan, Ivor T. Winthrop, who implores them to attack rather than defend after being reduced to ten men. From here on in its all talk, as Rovers prepare for their next game while talking through Geoff's disciplinary committee meeting, a meeting that none of the Carford players will be appearing at on Geoff's behalf. We finish with Ivor T. Winthrop in the crowd, musing that he has evidence that Geoff is innocent. Not the most gripping of stories this week. Super fan Ivor T. Winthrop is a nice addition to the cast, and I can't stop thinking about Tony Storme's bucket hat. Roy of the Rovers is safely in the middle of the road this week. It's still trundling along, but there's nothing here that grabs me by the scruff of the neck.

Rating: 5/10

Best Line: "No harder than me, Tony! But I still say I didn't clog that player...!"

A Horse Called Ugly

It feels like Joe and Ugly have been in South America for a long time now, and any thoughts of show jumping in Britain are long since gone in my memory. We are deep into adventure stories now, and this edition of Joe and Ugly's adventure has further revelations about the mysterious stranger that they encountered at the end of last week. We learn that the stranger that appeared out of the darkness is in fact Don Pedro De Maquela Y Granadoulos. As Joe quite rightly observes, it is enough names for three people, and I shan't be typing it out many times here. The last blog post had me gushing about the artwork, and once again that is the main attraction as the plot itself mostly consists of talking about who Don Pedro De Maquela Y Granadoulos is (a wealthy ranch holder), and what his intentions are (to buy Ugly and breed him). We also meet Don Pedro De Maquela Y Granadoulos's son who reveals a lot of this to Joe, and things are delicately poised for what will come next week. Not a lot of horse panels, but the work and detail drawn on the faces of the humans are just as dramatic as any storyline or action scene. I look forward to seeing how this will develop, and although not as good as last week, I still found this to be a strong edition. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line:  "Gosh, you've got enough names there for three people!" 

Football Family Robinson 

Alas, poor Bluey is still missing and Digger just can't perform in goal while his best mate is gone. Surprisingly, this is a fun-filled episode devoted to the search for Bluey. We have a couple of red herrings, some angry Viv panels, and still no Bluey. I enjoy all of it, even if there's no football at all, or indeed no action whatsoever. We also get a twist in the last lines as Viv takes another call of a possible lead, one she dismisses out of hand, only for the final panel to reveal that someone has found Bluey. I didn't think I would enjoy this anywhere near as much as I did. Laid out on paper and I'd say "No thanks, not for me" but in truth, it was a great read and I lapped up every panel. I never thought a football strip about a lost Kangaroo would have me hooked, but here I am already looking forward to next week. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line:  "Well, let's hope this one knows the difference between a Kangaroo and a tramp in an old brown raincoat!"

The Tigers

I am underwhelmed by The Tigers this week which is a shame because the last few weeks had me chuckling. However, this time out I find the humour sadly lacking and even some of Chunky's lines that normally bring a smile to my face are absent. We are onto the final challenge of the youth club race and the boys are to take part in a Donkey race over the hill, The strip starts brightly and the first panel of Chunky driving a donkey-drawn cart is superb. It is also as good as it gets, as we see Ron Burton watching on before coming up with a scheme of his own. We don't get to see what this scheme is as the following day the race begins with Chunky's Donkey not moving - it is use to pulling a cart and won't move with just a rider. It's all rather dour, but one can only hope that it's merely laying out the groundwork for a fantastic week next week. Fingers crossed, as right now I want to like it but can't get past its mediocrity.   

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "Don't bring that brute back! It's eaten everything in the garden except my trees!"

Issue final ratings:

Overall: 6/10

Best Story: Tallon Of The Track 

Best Line:  "Someone's shooting at us!"

Best Panel: