Tiger 14th September 1974

14th September 1974 is Tiger's twentieth birthday, and exactly one week before my first birthday. Needless to say, I don't remember either event. Twenty is quite a milestone, and to celebrate Tiger has it's three biggest stars on the cover - Roy Race, Johnny Cougar, and Skid Solo. Inside I thought there may have been a special story or a nod to the past, but instead, we have the regular strips, and the only nod to its birthday is birthday messages following each story from various stars. We have Jackie Stewart, Dennis Amiss, Eric Morecambe, Bobby Charlton, Gordon Banks, Peter Oosterhuis, Joe Bugner, and Barry Briggs. Quite the lineup! There is also a sports supplement which would have been quite informative in the pre-internet age. Overall, it is a low-key celebration, but in hindsight one well worth celebrating. Plenty of British comics have come and gone over the years, and any sort of milestone deserves to be celebrated. There will be further birthdays for Tiger, and with a bit of luck we'll reach each of them in the blog over the coming years. 

Tiger

14th September 1974

Skid Solo

It is the Italian Grand Prix this week, and with only four points separating the top four drivers in the championship, there is tension in the air. 

The German driver Von Vargen starts well and holds the lead for most of the race's first half. However, he has a stroke of bad luck with the car beginning to break up. His bad luck is also Al Ledstock's bad luck, for as his exhaust pipe breaks off it strikes Ledstock and both drivers crash off the track. 

Just over halfway through the race and Italian driver Mareillia makes his move, taking the lead. His lead is shortlived as Solo accelerates past. Mareillia tries to keep up with Solo, but overdoes it and finds himself spinning out of the race. 

There is another change in the position and going into the final lap, we have the top four drivers separated by just four seconds, with Corbonne holding the lead. Solo still has something extra to give, and he manages to get by Corbonne with Sparrow Smith right behind him. 

It's a dash to the finish with Solo and Smith neck and neck, but as they cross the line it is Solo who has a slender lead. That gives him a six-point buffer at the top of the championship, with the Canada and US races remaining. 

The previous two weeks of Skid Solo have been brilliant. This week doesn't come close to those, but it is eminently enjoyable. The motor racing is fast, close and absorbing. I did have to suspend belief about the top four drivers of the championship being separated by four seconds in the final lap, but I did so willingly. Similarly, seeing Al Ledstock being hit in the face with an exhaust pipe and then emerging unharmed did take me out of the story, if only for a split second. Despite that, I enjoyed the whole scenario with Ledstock and Von Vargen and found the panel with the exhaust pipe unexpectedly thrilling. A lighter story than last week, but exactly the type of Grand Prix story I like. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Hey, Buddy...I think this is yours!"

The Tigers

After stretching the current cricket storyline on for several months, it all wraps up very quickly this week. 

Chunky is opening the bowling for his team, and it unfolds exactly as I expect. First, he slips, bowling a wild delivery that is unplayable and bowls the batter out. He is then stung on the elbow, and this accelerates the second half of the story as his painful elbow makes his bowling technique extremely effective and soon he has bowled out the team for twenty-five runs, giving Digby cricket team a one-run win. 

That's it, that's the whole story. Not a lot to read here and not a whole lot to say. Seeing Chunky bowling one wobbly delivery was fun, seeing him bowl a few was repetitive and a little boring. I thought that this part of the story may have gone on for a couple of weeks, but it is dealt with quickly, and I wonder what could be coming next. No clue at the end of the story for us, we shall have to return next week to see what sport Chunky turns his hand to.

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "Boggling bananas, that bewildered him. It fooled me a bit too!"

Martin's Marvellous Mini 

Things look dangerous for Martin and Tiny as they find themselves in a crocodile-infested river in their attempt to escape a local chieftain. Martin is cracking jokes, but Tiny just wants to get out of the river as soon as they can. 

As the river gets deeper, Tiny climbs onto the roof of the car to better direct Martin. This works well for the two of them and soon the car is back on dry land.

While our pals evade the crocodiles, the local chieftain is displeased to find his race opponents have escaped him. He makes his anger known and dispatches his bodyguards to bring them back. 

Driving through long grass, Tiny is still on the roof of the car plotting the best route. Martin is making good time and fails to notice as Tiny hits a tree and falls off. 

Ten minutes later Martin realises that he's lost Martin. Before he has a chance to go back and find him he is forced to take cover and Kubah Kaln's bodyguard rides past him in search of him and Tiny. 

The danger passed, and he drives slowly back where he finds Tiny still in the long grass, waving his red shirt to catch his attention. Reunited, Martin tells Tiny what he has seen, and Martin doesn't like the sound of it at all. 

Better than last week, and we had several scenes that looked appealing on the page. The river action with the crocodiles jump-started this week's strip. Also eye-catching was driving through the long grass with Tiny on top of the vehicle. The final panels of the horsemen looking for them brought a new hint of danger and was more than enough to bring me back next week. A lot was packed into these two pages, and with a colourful backdrop to their adventures, this was very pleasing to the eye - especially the panel with Martin with his shirt off. Still not back to their best, but very good. 

Rating: 8.5/10

Best line: "He can't go faster than a bullet though! You did say they had rifles, didn't you? I don't like it, chum...I don't like it at all!" 

Roy Of The Rovers.

After meandering for a couple of weeks, the story picks up in this week's issue. Roy is unhappy to see Charlie's fans turn up to a training session, but he is beginning to smell a rat as he wonders why Charlie has fans when he has only just won a talent contest and made a trial record. The fact that it seems to be the same group of fans every time only heightens these suspicions. 

Luckily Roy's showbiz friend Marty Miller appears at the training session, and Roy asks if he could make some discreet enquiries on his behalf. 

The evening before the game the team is relaxed, yet Roy still harbours reservations about Tubby Morton in goal. Roy is right in his reservations, for as the game starts the Rovers give the ball away to Barnley and they immediately attack. Lofty Peak is put under pressure and makes a backpass. It should be easily taken by Morton, but he hesitates and stays on his line. The team call for him to come out and dive at the feet of the opposition player, but he moves slowly and Barnley score. 

It's a shambles and Roy suspects that Morton has lost his nerve and is frightened to risk any physical contact. 

Roy is connecting the dots and is the smartest man on these pages. I was happy to see him beginning to piece together the background manoeuvering with Charlie Carter, and I expect that we shall see this come to a head in the next couple of weeks. Likewise, Roy's assessment of Morton seems fair, and this will probably be front and foremost next week. Some nice-looking art complimented the story, with the panel of the Rover's player picking the ball out of the back of the net being one of my favourites. This is a story that is strong and getting stronger and expect next week's issue to be up the stakes again.  

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "The little chump's lost it! And the Barnley strikers are breaking fast!"

Football Family Robinson 

It's half-time and the family are bemoaning their lack of luck in the first half. It is then that the cause of their bad luck appears, with Fred appearing at the doorway with the pagan head under his arm. 

All eyes turn accusingly to Ma who had been charged with disposing of the head. She is visibly upset and explains that he put it in the dustbin but the dustman refused to take it. 

The team returns to the field with some players blaming Ma, while others call on the team to bring the smile back to Ma's face. 

Blackford strikes first, and it looks like a certain goal until Crash makes the save of his life. This swings the momentum of the match and the family begins a sweeping move that results in a goal that brings Ma to her feet cheering. 

Winning the match by a single goal, the family return home. Deciding to once again ditch the head, it is thrown from the family van and into a ditch. Unfortunately, a group of fans are following the van on their motorbikes and thinking that something has fallen from the van stop to pick up the head with the intention of returning it to the family. 

Last week I was strong in my dislike for this story, yet this week it has won me back over, Seeing the family overcoming the bad luck to win the match was a good start, as was seeing them throw the head from the van. We still have a final turn as the fans attempt to return the head, but it's hard to imagine this will go for too much longer. As usual, the best panels were the ones with Viv in them, and although she didn't get much page time, she did get a sharp line that made me happy. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "It's sour chops!"

A Horse Called Ugly

With a pistol pointed at his head and Anglea tied up nearby, Joe is up to his neck in trouble. Angela is smart and resourceful, and with a cry to look out, the gunman is temporarily distracted and affords Joe an opportunity to leap to safety over the edge. Joe falls through the opening where the other kidnapper is. 

Luigi begins to climb down the ladder to join both of them, but Angela isn't finished yet and she kicks the ladder over, leading to Luigi tumbling down to Ferdi and Joe. 

Outnumber by the two kidnappers, Joe puts up quite a struggle, tossing Ferdi Johnny-Cougar style across the room. His timing couldn't have been better for just at that moment the police burst in, having been alerted by the note that Joe planted under Ugly's saddle and sent to Farmer Coker. 

There are only tying up loose ends left, and Joe and Angela hand over the stolen painting to the authorities. The next day they are back at the horseshow where the organisers have decided that Joe and Ugly can ride the final high jump again, and this time Joe and Ugly are victorious. We finish with a wrap-up panel of Joe and Ugly receiving compliments as Joe asserts that a horse called Ugly will always be the greatest.

I feel deflated now this story has finished. Some of the action with Luigo and Ferdi was delicious, and to be honest I never wanted it to end. These were some great villains, and seeing Joe doing his best to rescue Angela from peril has propelled the last few issues. There were a couple of weaker issues in this overall story, but for the most part, it has been strong throughout, and this finish is a satisfying conclusion to all that has come before. It was a slow burn at the beginning but climaxed beautifully. The final panel was perhaps too much, Joe and Ugly getting a trophy and compliment, but the final panels where Joe beat the kidnappers was the true finish as far as my reading. Solid story, with some peaks throughout, I can only hope the next story plays as well as this one. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Oh no you don't! Johhny Cougar would be proud of this throw!"

Johnny Cougar with Splash Gorton 

Johnny Cougar has recovered from his poisoning, and with his Dutch opponent held above his head, Cougar is about to get some revenge on the KO Kid who he sees in the crowd. 

It plays out exactly as you'd expect. Johnny tosses the Dutchman out over the ropes and directly on the KO Kid, knocking them both out. With a vial of poison found on him, the KO Kid is arrested, while in the ring Johnny has won the tag-team match for his team. 

Tagteam match over, Staff Sergeant Martin reminds Johnny that they promised to fight each other once the match was over. Despite both taking a beating in the previous match, they face off and begin a match. 

Both deliver heavy blows and although Martin briefly has the upper hand, it is Cougar that triumphs. This concludes Johnny's time in Germany, and we finish with Splash asking which country will they visit next, a question that will remain unanswered until next week. 

This was a very fast wrap-up of a story that has been running for a couple of months now. We could see what Johnny was going to do once he saw the KO Kid at the end of the last issue, and once he was dealt with in the first half page, the story effectively ended. The rest was tidying up loose ends, with the fight against Staff Sergeant Martin only taking five panels to tell. I had been enjoying the story, and this concluding issue felt all too fast for what had come before. It was too easy, and the final bout against Martin wasn't the payoff I expected or deserved. Once again, we are looking at the story to reset next week, and a new location always enthuses me. I need it after this simplified finish and easy finish to a story that deserved perhaps just one more wrinkle in the plot. 

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "That's the third matman you've knocked out today, Johnny-baby...fantastic!" 

Tallon Of The Track 

We haven't seen a track invasion before, but that is where we start the story, with Sven Jannson fans swarming onto the track. His pop fans follow him everywhere and remain undaunted by a dirty speedway track. 

The Swedish singer doesn't seem to know what to do, and it's up to Jo to yell at him to get on his bike and ride off, which he obligingly does so. 

With Sven out of the way, police are able to clear the track and the match resumes. In the race Sven is well off the pace, finishing last by a long way. Jo asks him what happened, and he replies that the earlier invasion upset him, but Jo suspects there is more that he isn't telling here. 

It doesn't feel particularly dramatic, and I am disappointed in this story. Tallon Of The Track was excellent for a long time, but there has been a drop in quality in the last few weeks. The art remains strong, and I love looking at the panels, but when I read the story there's not much for me to enjoy. I'll be back next week, but only in the hope that it gets better soon. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Right, everyone, give me a hand! Help me get these idiots out of the stadium!"

Issue final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Martin's Marvellous Mini  

Best Line: "Just look at all those teeth...now I know what it feels like to be a dentist!"

Best Panel: 

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