Tiger 7th September 1974

Next week's issue of Tiger is the twenty-anniversary issue. I am expecting something special and will read this week's issue carefully, looking for clues to what lies ahead.  My first impression is there doesn't seem to be anything big in the works, but I'm keeping an open mind and quietly hoping so. I know I should try to be in the movement as I read, but I can't help myself and find my thoughts drifting forward. Of course, I'm reading this almost fifty years later, so even thinking ahead, everything is behind me and has already happened. 

Tiger

7th September 1974

Roy Of The Rovers.

Roy's goalie troubles are still to the fore this week, with Charlie looking to leave the club and Tubby Morton still unproven after coming back from a broken leg.

There is an early test for Tubby on the front cover of the issue as Roy launches one of his rockets at him, but Tubby does well and makes the save. The follow-up strike by Roy, to the other corner of the goal, sees Tubby reacting quickly and pulling off an equally fine save.

Tubby is named in the team, but Roy still isn't sure he's ready for the next two games, first at Barnley and then the first game of their cup winners cup campaign against Dutch side Zeeden.

The team train in anticipation of a tough Zeeden defence, and once again Tubby Morton performs well on the training pitch. The team is happy enough, but yet again Roy harbours reservations. 

On the other side of the coin, Charlie Carter is in awe of the young fans clamouring to see him as he arrives at the team bus. Little does he know that these fans have been planted by his dodgy agent, Mister Sharp. 

On the coach Tubby and Charlie sit together, all is seemingly well in the world of goalkeepers, while just behind them Roy continues with his worries. 

Great to see the team training, we usually only see a glimpse and not a couple of pages like we have here. However very little happened to move the story forward. Tubby looks good with his saves, and Charlie is still in the same position as the previous issue. Roy is still worrying, so we are no closer to a resolution than we were a couple of weeks again. We really need this Barnely game to shake things up and a heavy dose of drama in the next issue wouldn't go astray right now. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "I was convinced that Tubby hadn't fully recovered from breaking his right leg, two seasons ago! But he seems to be bursting with confidence!"

Skid Solo

Skid Solo was the best story last week with the very best panel. It maintains that high standard and the very first panel of the story is just as good as anything we saw last week, if not better. 

Shot at by an escaped convict, Skid and his car plunge into a lake. 

Still a hostage to the convict, Sparrow slows down to see if Skid is OK, only to be told to continue driving or else. 

While Sparrow drives on, Skid is rescued from the lake by a passing boat. Taken to the shore, he is offered a car, an offer he quickly accepts and soon he is back on the road and chasing down the kidnapper. 

Unaware of this, Sparrow can see little way out of the situation. Still at gunpoint, he reaches the airport where he is told to drive straight through the fence. In a dramatic panel, he does so and is soon speeding across the runway towards a passenger aircraft. 

With a gun pointed at his head, Sparrow is marched onto the aircraft where the kidnapper tells the pilot and crew that this is hi-jack and they are to do as he says. 

Not far behind, Skid hears the breaking news on the radio, and a minute later he is driving through the smashed fence where Sparrow drove through. Seeing the plane still there, Skid drives quickly towards it and parks direct under the wheels. 

In the cabin, the convict angrily demands them to tell him to move out of the way. He is temporarily distracted, allowing Sparrow and the co-pilot to deliver a knockout punch and save the situation. 

We finish with Skid and Sparrow reunited and their talk quickly moving on from the kidnapping and hijacking and onto their favourite subject, next week's Italian Grand Prix.

Skid has a reputation for being fast, and this story matched his personality. It was non-stop from start to finish, and not a single panel was wasted. It was almost too fast for its own good, yet the conclusion was satisfying and I didn't feel the least bit cheated. Last week was an excellent setup, and this week was the payoff with the villain being caught and Skid cheating death. Again, I have several panels vying for the panel of the week, and although I'm a massive fan of Grand Prix action, it's hard to imagine that next week will be anywhere near as good as this visually. 

Rating 9/10

Best line: "Ahoy there...do you like swimming with your clothes on, m'sieur? Or are you in trouble?" 

Martin's Marvellous Mini

Martin and Tiny have been sidetracked in their London to Sydney rally and now in Eastern Asia find themselves forced into competing against the local chieftain.  

They have little choice in the matter, a drawn sword convinces them that it's in their best interest to take part in the fifty-lap race. 

The odds are stacked against them, they are racing in George, while the local chieftain is driving a formula three racer. Even with their two-minute head start, by the tenth lap the formula three car has caught them. Martin does the right thing and lets him pass, but he regrets this decision as the formula three car swerves erratically in front of them, slowing down and making a nuisance of himself. 

Tired of the shenanigans, they decide it's best if they leave the race as soon as they can, and on the following lap, they take a sudden turn off the track and over the grassy bank. 

It is a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire, and they find themselves dropping down into a river. Worse yet, the logs they thought were on the surface are actually crocodiles.

A month ago Martin's Marvellous Mini was at its peak, and since then we have seen the story drop off in interest and intensity. Six months ago I would have lapped this up, but after the previous highs, it feels flat. With fresh eyes this would have been great, and I'm sure any new reader would get a lot of joy from the pages, but for me, the lingering memory of the July issues tarnishes these panels. Sometimes you are competing against your own history, and in this case, the story pales against what came just a few weeks previous.

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "But not too deep...we're in a car...not a submarine! As long as we avoid those logs..."

The Tigers

Maybe I haven't been paying attention for the last few weeks, but I've just noticed that the village team that Chunky Clark and the Digby Cricket team playing against is called the Willowtree Wasps. I'm sure this is a new name that just dropped in now, it's hard to believe that I would miss something like that. 

After promising the team a century last week, Chunky Clark is almost out first ball against the Willowtree Wasps. I say almost as he is cleanly caught out, only for the umpire to call a no-ball.

With this reprieve, Chunky rides his luck for the rest of the story, as he manages to swot the ball through a variety of mishaps for the rest of the page, pulling his team from fourteen runs through to twenty-six runs, before he eventually runs out of partners. 

All this is hi-jinx on the page, yet predictable, and none of it feels essential. It brings a smile rather than a laugh, and we are ready to move on by the time the two Digby batters trudge back to the changing rooms. 

We end with Chunky once again facing the wrath of his own captain, having been given the responsibility of opening the bowling and told that he had better be good. 

A lot of Chunky using his luck while batting in this issue, and although it felt fun it didn't amount to much. I liked it but any thoughts of it vanished as I turned the page. Overall it was light, and the best panel of the whole strip was the final one as his captain threatens him. Nice, but instantly forgettable. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "It's cool-thinking and knack that helps me...I'll do better when I open my eyes."

Football Family Robinson 

Facing a flat tired and further bad luck from the cursed pagan head, the Football Family Robinson are standard beside the road when we first see them in this issue. 

The family still are unaware of Ma's guilty secret, she has the cursed head with them, still hidden in the van.

With the van out of action, Ma lays out a plan. Specky is sent in advance to let the referee know they will be late. Viv takes control of the hitchhiking situation, flagging down a driver, then when the door swings open telling the driver that it's not her that needs the ride, but rather it's Specky. Oh, the disappointment for the driver. Still, we have all fallen for this scam before, it shouldn't be too much of a surprise for anyone who has ever stopped for a pretty girl.

At the game, the team create several goal-scoring opportunities, only to miss out every time, once for a foul, and once when Titch pokes the ball wide. They should be two-nil up at half time and the team curses their luck as they walk off. 

Fred has injured his shoulder, and he goes back to the van for a bottle of embrocation. It is then that he discovers the head is still with them, and we finish the strip with Fred wondering how Ma is going to explain this.  

The football action looked great, but I wasn't so fussed by the pagan head that bookended the episode. It has potential, but constantly feels drawn out and my interest is waning. We are crawling towards a conclusion and I can't wait. I liked the concept at the beginning, but the execution hasn't lived up to my expectation and I'm ready to move on now. 

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "We should be two up. If I didn't know that Ma had got rid of old sour chops I'd say that head was still working against us"

Tallon Of The Track

It's time for the teen pop star Sven Jansson to show us what he's made off, and this week's episode centres on his trial for Jo at the track.

First impressions aren't great, with Sven's silver-plated bike and a retinue of assistants, including his dresser Luigi to help him into his leathers. 

Dressed and ready to go, Sven and Jo are finally on the track and about to race. Jo gets off to a fast start and holds the lead for most of the first lap, but then Sven shows us his talent as get catches her on the final bend.  

For the rest of the race, the two riders are neck and neck and the battle is fierce for control. Jo holds her nerve until the very last corner. She takes the corner a trifle wide and Sven strikes, changing direction and powering his bike through the inside of the corner. He continues to accelerate and the race finishes with Sven holding an eight-yard lead. 

Jo recognises that he has a natural talent on her hands, and instantly offers Sven a place on the team, an offer that he accepts without hesitation.

Sven's debut takes place against Latchford Lions, and a capacity crowd are on hand to see his first ride with the team. Things quickly go awry though as a large section of the crowd surge onto the track and Sven is surrounded by a crowd of teenage fans. It goes without saying that Jo is horrified and we finish the strip with her dismayed face summing up her feelings. 

After teasing us for several weeks, it was great to be back on the track and see the bikes in action. Sven's race against Jo was handled well and despite my reservations about the character I found I warmed to him quickly once he was riding. This story had been in a holding pattern for the last couple of weeks, and we finally have taken a great leap forward with this issue. Things are developing quickly and I am curious to see how Jo will face this invasion of teenyboppers. I want to see what will happen next week, a feeling I haven't had about this story in the last two weeks.

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "No, I'm going to handle mister fancy-pants myself!"

Johnny Cougar with Splash Gorton

Johnny's Cougar is still in a dazed state as his tag-team partner, Staff Sergeant Martin, takes a beating in the ring. 

Help is coming though, and we see Splash running back to the arena with an old Seminole concoction in his hand that promises to revive Johnny. 

Feeding Johnny the potion Splash waits expectantly. It doesn't take effect immediately, but soon enough Johnny's eyes light up and he is back to his abnormal self. 

Energised, he tags himself into the bout. This changes the completion of the fight dramatically as he throws his opponent across the ring. Not wishing to face the furious Johnny Cougar, the German tags in his Dutch partner, only for Johnny to hit the Dutchman with a two-footed drop kick. Raising his fallen opponent above his head, Johnny sees the K.O. Kid in the crowd and formulates a plan to get revenge right away.

That revenge we will have to wait until next week to see as this is the last panel of this week's strip. It did take half the pages for Johnny to get the cure into him, but once he did the story picked up considerably. I have enjoyed seeing Johnny struggle the last two weeks, but I enjoyed seeing him cured and getting back into the fight even more.  The art was superb in the way it showed the energy he was giving off, and he almost seemed to jump off the page once he had the cure. It looks like it will be more of the same next week, and I'm all for it. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "We change...I'm getting out of here before I get scalped!" 

A Horse Called Ugly

This is the issue where it all comes together in Joe's attempt to rescue Angela from her kidnappers. 

Waiting at the crossroads with painting in hand, it looks like Joe and Ugly will finally see Angela again. However, the crooks have other plans, and although Joe hands over the painting, there is no Angela in exchange, only an empty promise to release her once the villains are far away. 

Joe isn't buying it and he discreetly follows them back to their hideout. Joe gives Ugly a message to take back to Farmer Coker, and then he carefully climbs through the back entrance. 

He is just in time as Luigi and Ferdi have the tied-up Angela between them and are about to make their escape. Joe springs into action, knocking them off their feet as Angela's gag falls off.  Angela calls to Joe to be careful and then goes one better as she trips Ferdi, sending him tumbling into the darkness below. 

Joe lends over the edge and assesses that Ferdi is knocked unconscious, but he has little time to digest this as Luigi pulls out his pistol and threatens to end this right now.

If not for the excellent Skid Solo earlier in the comic this would be my favourite story. Lots of action, and some real drama baring its teeth near the end. Ugly shows that he is just as good as any wonder horse, carrying the message as instructed, and Joe showed some decisive leadership throughout. Not to be outdone, Angela was as feisty as ever and her cameo role near the end of the strip was enjoyable. We are reaching a climax here, and after a great last month, it looks like we will be going out with a bang. 

Rating: 8.5/10

Best line: "Come here, you crook...you're not going anywhere!"

 

Issue final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Skid Solo 

Best Line: "You may borrow my car if you wish, m'sieur. But tell me...why do you like chasing convicts so much? It is dangerous, yes?"

Best Panel: 

Roy's Sports Quiz: