Tiger 2nd March 1974

I didn't update the blog last week. I had a couple of wisdom teeth removed and was under the weather for several days. It's hard to enjoy comics when you're feeling miserable and every time I opened a comic I was taken out of the moment by the constant painful reminder of what had happened in my mouth. But, I'm back on board this week and happy to report that once again I am ready to drift off into the world of Tiger for the next hour. Such welcome relief. 

Tiger

2nd March 1974

Roy Of The Rovers

An F.A. Cup tie with just a few minutes left on the clock and a penalty to be taken. Who better to take it than Roy himself. Thus we begin this week's Roy Of The Rovers story with Roy once again stepping up to the mark to save the day. I think Roy Of The Rovers is at its best when it sticks to pure football and all the drama I need is in these opening panels as Roy steps up to take the penalty. You can't beat the drama that is inherent in a game of football and as Roys's shot is blocked by the keeper I can't help but groan as if I was actually at the game. However, Roy always finds a way and with a diving header, he sends the ball into the back of the net for a victory. Phew! The rest of the story is devoted to the Rover's injuries worries and their harshest critic, George Slater, who still thinks they won't be able to achieve the double. With an ever-growing injury list it looks like he may well be right.  With a depleted team, Rovers take the field at Wembley for the league cup final, where they inevitably give away an early penalty. I feel like Rovers is my own team and I feel every injury on the pitch. My heart drops as they give away this early penalty, and by the end of this week's episode I know the writers have done a good job of keeping me engaged through the story. Perhaps some people want more than a football story, but this is the heart of Roy Of The Rovers, and I am well satisfied by what is laid out here.   

Rating: 7/10

Best Line: "As of now, every one of my players is undergoing some kind of treatment! If you want them to play on Wednesday they'll have to do it one walking sticks!"

Skid Solo

Finally, Grand Prix season is upon us! After waiting several months we have arrived at the part of the Skid Solo stories I enjoy most, racing on the track. We are still in Australia, preparing for the first race of the season when Skid's car is dropped as it is unloaded from the ship. However, he is approached by a local designer who asks if he would be prepared to drive the car he has been building. After a fast and furious test drive, Skid agrees, and with four new tires, he prepares for the race. Sandy is aghast, and even more so when Skid tells him that if he goes well he will race it all season, he is that impressed with its speed. There is plenty to like through the story, and the sight of the Grand Prix cars appearing in the story as my heart fluttering from the start. The new car designer is an interesting-looking chap, and judging by how fast his car was during Skid's test drive we could well be in for a very interesting season. The artwork is sublime in its crisp clean lines, and it serves the build-up to the race well, presenting the story efficiently without clutter or drawing attention to itself. We are off to a good start for the race season and I look forward to next week when the flag finally drops on the first race. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line:  "You're really going to drive that thing, Skid?"  

Martin's Marvellous Mini

I am disappointed from the start with this week's story. Not with the story itself, the artwork, or in fact any creative decision. I am disappointed that in the first panels we find the Loch Ness monster isn't real, no matter what Martin and Tiny think they saw last week. We soon learn that the monster is a hoax, helped in part by the two Americans that Tiny and Martin are racing against. These two take our heroes into their confidence and swear them to secrecy, the Loch Ness monster they saw is a mini-sub, designed to give kids rides during the summer months. Great idea, I must admit, but sadly my faith in the Loch Ness monster is shaken. First Santa, now this, how many more lies are waiting for me to uncover? The rest of the story unfolds easily enough, with the next leg of the rally beginning, and once again the weather is about to take a hand. We have had both flooding and snowing intervene so far, and this week it is the wind that upsets the race, as Martin and Tiny witness a large lorry being blown off the road. They stop to help, but the lorry driver is mostly concerned about his dog that is in the back, a plot point that we will have to wait until next week to be resolved. I like this story a lot, the Loch Ness section was a lot of fun, despite my disappointment, and the lorry blowing off the road looks suitably dramatic, as do our boys standing in the wind with collars turned up. Pretty to look at and pretty to read, once again this stays at the top of my reading pile. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "He..he's gone right off the road...and into that swamp!"

Johnny Cougar with Splash Gorton

A new Johnny Cougar story this week and after a sedate start, it quickly gets wild. As their ship cruises into Sydney harbour, Johnny and Splash look forward to some well-earned rest and relaxation. They soon get a rude awakening when they learn that Johnny has been signed up for a wrestling competition, and is facing an opponent called the Monster - a man so wild he is sleeping in a cage at the zoo so the public doesn't have to face him. He certainly lives up to his name from what we see of him on the page, but Johhny isn't one to take a backwards step for anyone, and the next day during his morning run he makes for the zoo, perhaps hoping to see this monster. In the last panel, we see that perhaps he will get his wish, and the monster awakens in his cage, disturbed that he has been awoken. Sure, we have seen Johnny fight wild men before, so this is par for the course, and this early encounter will give us a good idea of what is to come in future issues. The monster is well-designed, he looks like a man with enough wild features to carry justifying the monster tag he is given. It is very early days for this story, but given its location, and the look of Johnny's nemesis, it is shaping up well for what comes next. 

Rating: 5/10

Best Line:  "Pheeew...it's making this cat feel like an old man! I should have stayed in the hotel with the ice-chick!"

Football Family Robinson 

Two threads run constantly through this week's story. Digger is making save after save on the field, while Crash tries time and again to tell the family the result of his check-up - he's fit and ready to play. That is the entire story this week, and it's only in the final two panels that Crash is able to pass on the news of his results, and Ma realises they have a big problem - there isn't room for two goalkeepers. The on-field action looks great and is much more enjoyable than the panels of Crash trying to tell what has happened on his side. It is all important for what is coming but makes this issue a stepping stone rather than a vital moment in the ongoing story. Now that we have some clarity, I expect next week will give us much more to enjoy, but for now, this was a nice placeholder.  

Rating: 6/10

Best line:  "Ma, we've got a real problem on our hands!"

Tallon Of The Track

A holdall full of stolen jewels is pretty damning evidence against Dan Rowley, but full credit to Jo Tallon, she plays with an even hand and tells the others they have to speak to Dan to get his side of the story. Things escalate quickly after these opening panels, and using the jewels as bait, Jo and Dave hide in the dark overnight, waiting to see if Dan comes back for his bag. Someone does come for the jewels but it's not Dan, and Jo and Dave pursue a mysterious figure across the track before the vanishes. The story isn't done there, Jo sees a figure disappearing down a manhole and approaches, only to find him reappearing with a shotgun gun pointing directly at her and Dave. Of all the stories in Tiger, it is Jo Tallon who seems to find herself up against tough criminals the most, and even with a gun pointed at her, I have faith that she will triumph. This story has taken a turn, last week it certainly looked like Dan Rowley was the villain of the piece, but on the back of Jo's sense of justice the story has shifted and we are off into unexplored territory. No motorcycle action this week, but it hardly matters as there is plenty happening elsewhere to keep us enthralled, and this is another very strong episode from Tallon Of The Track and the story moves from simmer to boiling.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line:  "I still can't believe he's a criminal, Dave!"

The Tigers

A vast improvement for The Tigers. With a soap box derby ahead of us, we have several amusing panels as Chunky Clark procures the equipment needed to build his cart, and as someone who in his youth spent many hours building carts myself, I can confirm that his cart looks pretty impressive. Equally impressive is Ron's cart, and soon enough we see them competing. It's never smooth running for Ron and Chunky, and Ron is quickly in the water, victim to his own team's shenanigans, with Chunky looking to follow shortly after as the story closes with a crash inevitable. The theme of this week's story speaks to me and my own childhood, and I am heartened to see the carts and racing that follows. The humour is gentle and not quite so slapstick, giving this week's strip a well-balanced feel and setting the tone for what I hope will be a worthy storyline. No complaints at all from my end, this isn't the best story in this week's issue, but it is solid enough and I enjoy it more than I expect. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Hurraaaaah, I've pipped him! I'm the mostest and fastest"

A Horse Called Ugly

With Joe and Ugly off to the rodeo, Carlos remains steadfast in his attempt to discredit both of them. It is a gentle approach to the rodeo, the first page showing Joe and Ugly arriving, and the posters proclaiming Joe as 'El Magnifico' for his role in saving Don Pedro. We return to Ugly's roots on the following page, and he and Joe give a display in showjumping, something we haven't seen for quite some time on these pages. With a gleeful Carlos looking on, Ugly refuses one of the jumps, leading to some in the crowd branding him a coward. Like the preceding "The Tigers" this is a gentle story, with a page of soft set-up, before we get to the action of the second page. The characters continue to develop, and as always, any panel with a close-up of a face is worth taking the time to admire. Not so much horse artwork this week, but there is enough meat in the story that I'm not too bothered. One feels next week things may come to a head, but for now, the story is building nicely and stays well-rounded.       

Rating: 7/10

Best line:  "It is the great Joe! El Magnifico!" 

Issue final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Skid Solo 

Best Line:  "Howling cats! It accelerates like a moon rocket!"

Best Panel: