Tiger 8th February 1975

I missed updating the blog last week because I, ahem, over-indulged at the office Christmas party. It seems getting older doesn't mean getting wiser. Back again this week, although a little tired from a long busy year. I'm looking forward to a break from work over Christmas, and you know what I'll be doing with my days off. That's right - reading comics!  

Tiger

8th February  1975

Roy of the Rovers

Melchester Rovers are out of the F.A. Cup having suffered a shock defeat against non-league Sleeford. The stunned faces on the cover of this week's Tiger say it all, and the postmortem begins immediately once they reach the dressing room. Roy gets to the point succinctly - Sleeford took their chances and Rovers didn't.

The team are still despondent as they board their coach, with Sammy Spangler feeling the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. Roy reassures him that he'll be fine, it's the manager he is worried about as it is always the manager who has to carry the responsibility. 

And so it proves, with Roy arriving at Sam Butler's (one of the directors) house two days later to plead Tony Stormes case. Normally Roy's words would carry some weight but Tony Storme has vanished since the team arrived back from Sleeford and Sam Butler is far from impressed. 

Roy takes control of the training session in his absence, although the team has no enthusiasm in the wake of Tony going missing. The club is a mess, and Roy is called away from the training session to speak with the directors. Here he learns that there is still no word from the missing manager, and in the meantime, the directors would like Roy to step up and manage the club as a player-manager.

My previous complaints about Sammy Spangler vanish with this issue and I love the direction were are heading in with Roy taking on the player-manger role. The story now has much more meat to it, and the frivolous Sammy Spangler storyline has taken a back seat. I'm sure there is more to come, but for now, it is Roy who is grabbing all the headlines. It was also pleasing to see Melchelster Rovers directors take a stronger role in this story, and seeing where Sam Butler lived was a gentle reminder of the money behind Rovers. With his chauffeur-driven car and large mansion, he reeked of money and a luxurious lifestyle. No mention of a super-yacht, but no doubt he has the 1970's equivalent. He was also the right man to make a strong decision, and seeing him take charge in the board room was entirely fitting for the wealthy man we met on the previous page. Elsewhere, the rest of the Rovers are absent on the pages. Sure, we did see Noel Baxter trying to cheer the team, and there were glimpses of the team training, but the bulk of the story belonged to Roy and the board. Even with the team in the background, this was an excellent issue and one that lays out some heavy groundwork for the coming weeks. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "And I mean you, Roy! We want you...until further notice...to take over as player manager of Melchester Rovers!" 

Skid Solo

After seeing how fast the Martine cars were last week, Sandy is hard at work on Skid's car. A new engine and cooling system means that the car now has a lot more power and Skid is soon on the track putting it through its paces. 

The car is fast alright, and Skid finds himself braking too hard to get through the corners. A couple of panels later he is off the track as the car proves too fast to handle. Coming into the pits, Sandy looks over the car for the cause of the problems. There is nothing immediately obvious, and soon Skid is back on the track.

Skid pushes the car and once again he finds himself sliding off the track. Returning to Sandy he tells him they have serious problems. Again Sandy takes the car to pieces, and again he can find nothing wrong with it. 

Perhaps a holiday would help, and the two friends fly off to Switzerland for the weekend. It is here that they find themselves watching the ski champion coming down the mountain at speeds over sixty miles an hour. Skid and Sandy aren't impressed. He is fast but loses speed and he slides sideways. He doesn't look like a champion as he falls right in front of them. There is a lesson here. He speaks to them and tells them that he has new faster skis, and must teach himself to ski all over again. Skid makes the connection to his car and tells Sandy that he must teach himself to drive his car in a different way from before. It's not a fault with the car, and it is his technique that has been the problem. 

Not the most thrilling cliffhanger in this issue. I do want to see the outcome of Skid driving a faster car, although I am not compelled to immediately pick up the next issue. The story remained low-key with very few stand-out panels, something I rarely say about a Skid Solo story. I would like to have enjoyed it more, but it was all too gentle and drifted by me rather slowly. I have already seen next week's story (I accidentally read the wrong issue when I started today) so I know that it is about to get a whole lot better and with that thought I can file this away without a second thought and look forward to next week.  

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "Aye. I watched ye! Swinging it around like a merry-go-round! I'll strip it doon and check everything!"

Martin's Marvellous Mini

Stranded in the middle of the desert, facing an unwanted passenger with a rifle, there is nothing Tiny and Martin can do but obey his demands. Soon they are speeding towards Perth with night about to fall. 

Making camp, they sleep soundly, eventually waking up to find both their car and the uninvited passenger, gone. With little choice, they pack up their belongings and start following the car tracks through the desert. 

A stroke of luck over the page as the helicopter sent to find them picks them up and soon enough they are in Perth where another shock awaits them. On the front page of the paper is the very man who stole their car, now wanted for a bank heist. 

There is a second stroke of luck further down the page as they see their mini drive-by on the streets of Perth. Like any good movie, they jump into the nearest passing car, telling the startled driver to "follow that car:"

However, all this is witnessed by a nearby policeman who thinks he is witnessing a kidnapping and immediately puts out a general alarm. 

Plenty going on this week, and once again it all gets a boost from its wonderful colouring. I wouldn't have thought the desert would give much scope for the colouring, yet it was splendid and I could feel the heat beating down as I looked at the artwork on the page. The story wasn't quite as good as the artwork, and I was disappointed when the thief told Martin early on that he didn't have bullets with his rifle. At this point, the two of them could have easily overwhelmed him, although I guess this would have greatly shortened the story. I'm not sure why the writer made the decision to reveal this, we have seen plenty of loaded weapons in the past and even had people shooting at Tiny and Martin, so there was no need to sanitise it for a younger audience - this was nothing new for the reader. I'm curious and I wish I knew more. The rest of the story moved rapidly, although I faced more disappointment with the two strokes of luck. Being found in the desert was the first, although I could wave this away as it was on the cusp of believable with the helicopter being sent for them and them following the car tracks. The second stroke of luck with them seeing George on the streets of Perth was harder to swallow. Perth isn't exactly a tiny town, and randomly seeing their car, especially after it had been used in a robbery earlier in the day, seems highly unlikely. I'm going to accept it as I love the story, but I would like to writers to steady the ship in next week's issue. This week was uneven, and I read this story with a lot of goodwill based on our past together. 

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "Martin! Wakeup! George has gone!"

Hot Shot Hamish

Hamish has got himself involved in a toboggan race, with Wallie Campbell's family home on the line. A test run goes well, and Hamish feels he is just as fast as he was as a kid. 

The McDonalds are watching with interest, although they aren't worried about the race, especially given that they have spent a lot of money on the best toboggan money can buy.

And so it proves, Hamish has a fast start that sees his toboggan get away from him and the McDonalds take an easy victory.

The McDonalds have now won the Campbell's house, and Hamish feels personally responsible. Wallie bets all his land and cattle on a victory by Princes Park on the weekend, and the McDonalds take the bet once Hamish also throws his island and everything he owns into the pot. With a lot riding on Princes Park's next game, the scene is set for some intense football action next week.

A weak entry this week for Hot Shot Hamish. After building up the toboggan race last week, it was all over too quickly this week and never gave me the thrill that I thought it would. The sharp dialogue that we have become used to is largely absent, and with not a football in sight, there was very little to carry the story. Hamish is one of my favourite characters, and not just because we share a name, but after reading this week's story it is hard to see why. We have had some cracking issues in the last few months, this isn't one of them, and all I can do is hope for a return to form soon. 

Rating: 5/10

Best line:  "Ye'll have nothing. Neither will that great big oaf ye call yere friend. Princes are a terrible side!" 

Johnny Cougar with Splash Gorton 

A strange castle and the laboratory of a half-crazed scientist, the new Johnny Cougar story is looking good from the very first panel. 

The story is laid out simply, the professor has been working on a robot named Grarg. This robot looks like a normal man, although as we soon learn through a series of demonstrations he is big, strong, and tough. 

The gentleman this robot has been built for is most pleased with the displays of strength and resistance, and has plans for sporting domination, starting with Johnny Cougar.

The obvious question is who is this man, and why has he spent so much money on a robot just to beat Johnny Cougar. I'm sure he could find much better uses for such an amazing invention. Despite this, I enjoyed the story immensely. I'm a sucker for a remote castle and a mad scientist, so I was on board from the first panel. The subsequent panels are filled to the brim with splendid artwork only serves to hook me in further. Not a lot happened so I read the story twice, mostly so I could indulge in the artwork a second time. It was worth the time, and I can't wait to see what happens next. There is no better endorsement of a story - you can guarantee that this will be the first story I turn to next week. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "At last, at last! All is ready! Grarg is ready to face the world! My work is finished!" 

Tallon Of The Track 

We start with a man bound and gagged, not an unusual sight on the pages of Tallon Of The Track. Jos sums it up best with her comment "This whole set-up is getting crazier by the minute!" 

With the speedway competition reaching its peak, Jo hasn't much time, and she quickly tries the door where the man is captive, only to find it locked and no way in. She is interrupted by Kurkov, leader of the Gorbski Lions they are racing against, who tells her to forget what she saw and get back to the speedway track. His gun speaks volumes and soon we are back in the thick of the on-track action. 

Things are not going well for the Ospreys and Jo arrives just as the race ends and the Ospreys are trailing overall by twenty points to twenty-one. Kurkov takes his place for the next race, and Jo takes her chance to investigate the man she saw tied up in the hut. 

Taking Debenko with her, they make short work of the guard who has been placed at the door. Debenko then uses his brute strength to smash down the door and announces with surprise that he knows this man who has been tied up. 

We'll have to wait until next week to find out who it is and this was a nice little hook at the end of the story. If not for this final panel, I would have been much more disappointed with the story, and it was just about enough to save it from the scorn I was about to pour upon it. Kurkov made it far too easy for Jo to make her way back to the hut, and although he put a guard on the door I was surprised that Jo wasn't kept under a more careful watch. The rest of the story was passable, helped in no small part by the excellent art bestowed upon it. Always the strongest point of this strip, the art throughout the story this week was outstanding and a good mix of bike action and facial expressions. I delighted in all of it and although the story let me down, I felt that the art more than compensated. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "What new craziness is this, little Tallonski? A man in daar hut? Tied up, you say?" 

Billy's Boots 

Billy has a game for Faraday Athletic, but on Friday evening his sports master has asked him to turn out for the school team. Faced with conflicting matches Billy must choose one over the other. As usual, he turns to the pages of Dead-Shot Keen's life for a solution and decides to go with the team that asked for him first, in this case, Faraday Athletic. 

Getting to the game, Billy encounters Mister Slade, who senses something isn't right. Billy explains his situation, and Slade tells him to play for the school- he can play for Faraday anytime. He then offers Billy a lift to the school game, where he arrives just as the game kicks off. 

Billy is still getting changed when the opposing team, Melton, scores. The team is unhappy that they have started with ten men and conceded a goal, and Billy needs to quickly make amends. 

However, his combination with Jimmy Dawson isn't what it was the other day, and Billy soon gives away the ball which leads to a second goal by Meltton.

The crowd are against Billy for letting his side down badly and booing him to get off as we finish on a low in the final panel. 

A lot of conflict and distress across these pages, and I felt for Billy as he faced all his problems. Not as intense as other weeks, it still came across as real and the pain etched on Billy's face captured his inner turmoil perfectly. Nothing magical about his boots this week, although I'm sure they'll come into play in the next outing. Billy is still frustratingly whiney, but I can't help but feel for the kid, and this week's story played to a young boy's angst and growing pains. Awkwardness abounds, and next week should see more of the same. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Get a move on, boy! They've kicked off without you!" 

Nipper

A watershed moment in this issue as Nipper moves into his caravan, a living arrangement that will be a permanent fixture in the coming years. 

Already christened "Nipper's Nest" he proudly shows it off to his girlfriend Kerry, and his best pal Mike Beatson. 

Neither is impressed, and some hard work from the trio has the caravan brought up to a more fitting standard for a football superstar. 

Once Mike and Kerry have left, Nipper takes some time to have a practice kick around, before the rain sends him running for the sanctuary of his caravan. It is not quite the sanctuary he expects, and the leaky roof is an obvious problem. Nipper spends a good part of the night on the roof doing running repairs, and as the next day dawns he is not in a good state to play his first game for the English under-23s. 

His troubles get worse on the way to meet the English team. First, he encounters Mister Tremlow from the welfare people. He has to run away from him, and ends up on a bus, with his dog Stumpy still keeping him company. He had intended to leave him with Len Duggan but now must carry him on a couple of trains and a taxi ride to the hotel where the England party are staying. 

The hotel has a strict no-dogs policy, and Nipper is forced to hide Stumpy up his jumper as he enters the hotel. However, he comes unstuck with the appearance of a cat, and as Stumpy tears off after the cat Nipper sees his international career going up in smoke. 

First, let me say that I don't remember Nipper's girlfriend being so beautiful. You shouldn't fall in love with comic characters, but if I was going to she would certainly be in with a chance. Let's overlook the fact that she looks a little like Nipper, although I don't know if that reflects badly on me, or on him. There was no football this week, yet I enjoyed this just as much as any other Nipper story. The story was fast-moving, and I felt we covered a lot of new ground. The appearance of Nipper's caravan was great, as were the associated troubles he had with it. I did feel sorry for him, but it looked so wonderful on the page that I hoped that more bad luck would befall him. The final image of the cat and dog was stretching towards silly, and it was only that I had such a cracking time before this that I am happy to overlook it. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "I'll sort it out with him when we get back, Stumpy! All that matters to me at the moment is playing for England..." 

Issue final ratings:

Overall: 6.5/10

Best Story: Roy Of The Rovers 

Best Line: "Yes! But we haven't got time to advertise! We need someone who holds the trust and confidence of the players! A man who can inspire them to pick up the pieces, and start winning again!"

Best Panel:

Roy's Sports Quiz: