Hamish's Hotshot Tiger Blog: Tiger 16th November 1974

The cast of Tiger is spread all over the place this week. Johnny Cougar is still living in the forest with Robin Good, Tallon Of the Track is heading to Russia, and the boys in Martin's Marvellous Mini are caught in an Australian bushfire. For all that though, this is a tepid issue with only a couple of stand-out moments. We seem to have hit a flat spot with several of the stories becalmed by the lack of dramatic winds. All I can do is read on, I know there is exciting tales on the shores ahead of us, we just have to get there.

16th November 1974

Roy Of The Rovers

Melchester Rover's Tony Storme and Archie Miller, the opposing manager of Carford, are about to come to blows on the cover of this week's issue. It is a quick-thinking Roy who saves the day, although he is injured, with a sharply kicked ball into the side of Tony's head, distracting both managers from their fight.

Roy comes off injured as the referee regains control of the previously wild match. Carford centre back, Coggin, is still determined to do some damage to the Rovers side. He pushes his luck one too many times and gets sent off after earning a second yellow card.

With Carford down to ten men, the game is Melchester's. It is the ever-reliable Blackie Grey who scores a second goal that secures the victory.

Off the field, things aren't so happy. Storme and Miller clash again in a verbal exchange, before Rover's chairman, Ben Galloway, hauls Storme off for another tongue-lashing. This does little for Tony Storme's mood and he takes it out on the team, demanding they have a training session the following morning, in what traditionally is their day off.

Roy is watching from the sidelines, his injury preventing him from taking part, as he ponders a solution to the conflict between the two managers. It is Penny who offers hope as she appears in the final panel, telling Roy she has found one sentence in a book that could sort the whole thing out.

That must be a powerful sentence because midway through this story it seems nothing could bring Tony Storme and Archie Miller together. There was anger and tension all through this strip, across a variety of people, and it was this tension that pinned the story together. Football was secondary to the verbal exchanges and we had a variety of angles brought up by various characters. I'm always happy to see Blackie score a goal, but elsewhere there wasn't a lot of joy in the comic full of conflict.

Rating: 6/10

Best Line: "This is fantastic! The two managers are going for each other!"

Skid Solo

After taking a disastrous detour last week, Skid Solo has finally made it to Mexico. He may have made it to Mexico, but he still must find the town of El Marco where the race is taking place.

It's a race against time, and Skid seeks the advice of a local as to the shortest route. The route is pointed out, but as Skid drives off the local muses that although it is the shortest route, it is not the fastest route.

A wild ride through the mountains ensues for the team as they desperately try to make up time, They are further hampered by a puncture, with a large thorn spiking their hopes.

One rapid wheel change later and the three amigos arrive at El Marco. There is one more challenge for them to face as a tornado descends upon the town at the very moment. With the rest of the townsfolk, they seek shelter in a basement and can only watch on as their car is buried beneath a falling wall. Emerging from safety, they find the car still driveable, and they quickly make for the track.

The race organiser is pleased to see them, but Skid wonders why no one else is around. The race organiser then explains that he has been trying to contact Skid - he made a mistake with his dates when he wrote to Skid - the race is not today, but tomorrow. We finish with an apology and the race organiser hoping that Skid didn't have too much trouble getting there.

A similar story to last week, with the team struggling to get to where they are going, this did little to excite me. It felt like a retread and unnecessary. The art was great and it was only the plot that I had trouble with. This is par for the course for Skid Solo in the off-season, and without the framework of the Grand Prix Championship some of these smaller stories pale in comparison to the high-octane action of Skid on the track. Next week should be better with the promise of some track action, and I shall put this story behind me.

Rating: 4/10

Best line: "Great jumping Haggis! It's a tornado!"

Martin's Marvellous Mini

With a bush fire rapidly approaching a lone ranch house, Tiny and Martin have little time to find out if anyone is at home. Speeding towards the front door they find a boy emerging, unaware of the fire raging nearby. It turns out that his father is also in the house, although he has a broken leg, while the mother is in town with their car.

Grabbing the cash, their pets, and whatever else they can, the boy, the father, Tiny and Martin, squeeze into George for an escape. It looks like they may have left it too late as the fire has now encircled the house, but Tiny drives them at high speed into the flames. It's a gamble that pays off and although George emerges with some fire damage, they drive directly into a river where they can extinguish any flames and take stock.

They have emerged unscathed, and driving to the nearest township they encounter the man's wife. He quickly tells her of all that has happened, and how they have lost everything, This tugs at the heartstrings of Tiny and Martin, and after a quick chat they decide to donate the rest of their winnings from their previous race to the couple.

Once again broke, all they can do is continue on with the ranchers' race. Realising that they are only twenty miles away, they head off towards the finish line to see what happens.

A simple story, there was one panel in particular that elevated it. The panel where the rancher tells his wife that they have lost everything as they hold each other on the street is magnificent and adds a wonderfully human moment to the story. This moment could have been told in a number of ways, and this was the most realistic and emotional. The rest of the story is car action as we have come to expect, and very fine action at that, but it didn't come close to this panel at the heart of the story. An unexpected joy, I left the strip with a completely different feeling from what I entered with. I love that this comic can still surprise me, and this was one of the best surprises of recent months.

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Helen...our home's gone...everything destroyed! These men saved us..."

Nipper

Nipper has found a vital clue in Crawford's office about why Crawford has it in for him, but it seems it is too late as behind him the long arm of the law has entered the room.

Nipper reacts instinctively, charging at the newcomer, little realising that he is a policeman. As they pick themselves up, Nipper realises what he has done and he now faces a great deal of trouble.

It is Andy Stewart who has to come down to the police station to bail him out, and as you might imagine he is not pleased at all. One can feel the heat of his red cheeks radiating off the page as he points his finger at Nipper and tells him what he thinks.

Suitably chastised, Nipper returns home where he pulls out the photo he found in Crawford's office. It's a photo of the legendary "Manny" Hopwood, holder of the club's scoring record. Nipper is convinced that there must be a link between Crawford and Hopwood, and is determined to find out what it is.

The story ends on a down note as after a strong training run Nipper is called into Andy Stewart's office. There he is informed that the editor of the Chronicle has agreed to settle out of court, but only on the condition that Blackport punish Nipper. To this end Nipper is fined two hundred pounds and suspended for the next six games, effectively ending his quest of breaking the goal-scoring record.

Apart from the incident with the policeman in the first panels, most of this story was dominated by talking heads. Not a bad thing, especially when one of those heads is the always-on-the-verge-of-fury Andy Stewart. Faces have always been the strong point of the Nipper comic, more so than the on-field action, and this week's story once again accentuates this. Angry, surprised, and determined, we see it all here in the most expressive form. The story didn't progress much, but that doesn't bother me too much when we have delightful artwork such as this. Solid rather than spectacular, this is another good instalment for Nipper.

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Right, lad! I don't care if you're the greatest footballer in the land - you're flaming well in for it now..!"

Tallon Of The Track

With the 1974 season officially over, the Ospreys are off to Russia to take part in a series of invitational meetings. There is one small delay at the airport as the pop star of the team, Sven Jansson, has to see off his fans, but soon enough they are in the air and bound for Russia.

Things are fine for the first several hours of the flight until they hit a bad storm. A flash of lightning and the plane is hit, sending it diving out of the sky. The captain mages to pull off a miraculous landing, but as they stumble out of the wreckage they realise that they are two hundred miles from Leningrad. With no food or radio, Jo suggests they unpack their bikes from the cargo hold and ride them the rest of the way to Leningrad.

I already know that I am going to enjoy next week's strip much more than this one. The prospect of seeing Jo and her team racing across two hundred miles towards Leningrad is a mouth-water prospect indeed. Meanwhile, in the present, I found this story rather plodding. It was all about setting up next week, and the first half of the story was heavily padded, ensuring that Jo's idea for riding to Leningrad occurs on the last panel. On the first page, we have six panels devoted to Sven farewelling his fans, and although it wasn't offensive, it did slow the rest of the story down. I did have flashbacks to Football Family Robinson and their plane crash six months ago, and I certainly hope this story doesn't become as plodding as that one. It's hard not to look ahead to next week's issue and, much like Skid Solo in this issue, I can't wait to put this issue behind us.

Rating: 4/10

Best line: "A flash of lightning! The 'plane's been hit!"

Hot-shot Hamish

Playing for a local Spanish team in a derby game, Hamish has found himself fouled, knocked down, and stamped upon. Now one nil down, his Hebridean temper has been aroused, and soon after the restart, he unleashes the hot-shot on the hapless opposition.

Not only does it restore his dignity, but it also reveals his location to the passing McBrain who is looking for him. McBrain rushes to talk to him, and Hamish promises to return, once he finishes this game of course.

The rest of the game is rough and tumble, and McBrain frets that Hamish will injure himself before his game for Princes Park on Saturday. However, Hamish is made of sturdy stuff and gives as good as he gets, finishing the game uninjured and with a one-one draw.

Back in Glasgow Hamish returns to his lodgings, only to find his Daddy waiting for him. There's trouble back on the island with oil-men, and Daddy insists that Hamish come back with him to defend the family's pride. Hamish is torn, with the football game the following day, but his Daddy is adamant as we finish the story with Daddy's impassioned plea.

Not as good as the previous weeks, but having Hamish's Daddy adds a new dimension and sharpness to the strip. He is the opposite of the relaxed Hamish, and after a relaxing time in Spain, it seems we are in for a far more intense adventure back on the island. Hamish's time in Spain finished rather abruptly, but it feels like the right time to bring the curtain down on that story. Meanwhile, the appearance of Daddy has injected a new life into the strip, and there is little time to dwell on Spain as we are thrust into the next storyline. Battle lines are being drawn, and it will be interesting to see how Hamish will go over the next few issues.

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "Football? Ye Canna think about footba' when yer heritage is being taken from ye! Ye're a disgrace to the name o' Balfour! Ye'll come back wi. me...or I'll shake the stuffing oot o' ye, ye Jelly-baby!"

Johnny Cougar and Splash Gorton

While Robin Good and his men are intent on robbing an armoured van, Johnny Cougar sees his chance to strike back. Stealing through the forest he sneaks up on the cage where his pal Splash is being held. Splash sees him, and calls to the guard causing a distraction.

This distraction is all that Johnny needs, and he surprises the guard from behind. The next page is devoted to them scuffling before Johnny delivers a knockout blow and frees Splash.

We finish with Cougar striding off to give the evil ones "heap good reception" and a surprise they won't forget.

Two and a half pages and almost all of it devoted to Splash in his cage and Johnny working on freeing him. I love wrestling action as much as the next man, perhaps more, but the fight between Johnny and the guard was too long, and and a poor substitute for proper in-ring action. I have never warmed to this story. Last week I thought I had cracked it, but this week is a step down from that and I am back to my negative feelings about it. The sooner Johnny and Splash deal to Robin Good the better and we can move on to something more substantial.

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Great action, Johnny-baby! The U.S. Cavalry couldn't have done it better!"

Billy's Boots

Billy has beaten the opposing centre-half twice and made him look foolish in a trial for Groundwood town. Now Thomson has revenge on his mind and Billy is warned to look out.

A rough challenge lays Billy out, but once on his feet his old boots work their magic and he scores a goal. This pleases managers and Billy is invited to turn out of the youth team next Saturday.

The following day at school Billy finds he has been named for the school team for the cup game on Wednesday, The rest of the day Billy dreams of what might happen with a game on both Wednesday and Saturday and then rushes home to read his book on Dead-shot Keen to see if he faced a similar situation.

He did face a similar situation, and throughout his midweek game he was distracted by thoughts of the weekend game, as well as picking up an injury. In the Saturday game, Dead-shot Keen was never his best, his injury causing him to miss an easy goal. This revelation has Billy in two minds about what he should do in regard to pulling out of one of the matches, and if so which one.

A solid story, there is nothing too taxing here. The football action was good and we saw some of Billy's better play on the field. Off-field we see some of the self-doubt that seems to plague the poor chap, and this is just as revealing and important to the strip as anything else. Billy is never one to know his own mind and spends a great deal of the comic worrying about things. Add his whinyness to the mix and he can be rather unlikable. However I do find him sympathetic rather than annoying, and in this issue that is the side of the fence I come down on. I do hope it goes well for him next week, although it will be a lot more interesting if it doesn't.

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "Well, there's one thing about this football...it keeps you off the streets! Now eat this up..."