Tiger 15th March 1975

I'm pleased to report that this week's issue is a return to form and once again all the stories we know so well are reaching their apex. Skid Solo and Roy Of The Rovers are all ratcheting up the tension, while Martin's Marvellous Mini crests on the back of Martin crashing in the ocean. This week's issue was a joy to read, and it felt like barely ten minutes had passed with it in my hands before I was on the final page and facing a return to reality.          

Tiger

15th March 1975

Skid Solo

There is barely time to draw a breath as Skid Solo begins with Skid pulling into the pits with a badly damaged sports car. A brief caption and dialogue soon brings us up to speed- Skid is still in South Africa where he has decided to take part in a sports car race. Skid is third and pulls in on the twenty-sixth lap due to the damage inflicted upon his vehicle by, in his own words, that idiot Pierre Daval who has tried to run him off the track. 

A brief flashback explains why Daval would do such a thing. The previous night at the hotel Daval had spoken threateningly to Skid. Skid is not a man to take abuse lightly, and in reply sent a trolly towards Daval, knocking him over and into the fountain. An incensed promised revenge, and judging by the first few panels he has had it. 

After cutting away the damage on his car, Skid is back on the track and shaping for a battle with Daval. Working his way through the field he finds himself behind Daval, whereupon he shunts him from behind. Daval doesn't like it one little bit and the two change words. The war of words is short-lived, and Skid again pushes Daval from behind, knocking him off at the corner and into a lake. Once again Daval is soaked and angry as hell. 

Skid takes the chequered flag for the victory. However, celebrations are cut short by the news that Daval has been to the track authorities and reported Skid with dangerous driving. The gloves are off, and in the ultimate panel, Skid promises to fight the charges and take him on again. 

I thought the way we jumped directly into the story was great and it accelerated us directly into the action. It also gave us another memorable cover image, which I guess was why the story was structured this way. Apart from the cover, the art also gave us the fantastic scowling face of Daval. This angry face carried most of the intensity and was the energy that propelled the rest of the story. It was a nice touch having Daval in the water not once but twice, and this bookend put a tidy bow on this first part of the story, with just enough threads hanging to make the next issue compelling. Once again Skid Solo excels in a comic full of champions and we'll be back next week to see how he fares against this new adversary. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "That idiot, Pierre Daval, drove me off the track at Raven's bend..."     

Roy Of The Rovers

As Rovers struggle against the rough and tumble Zarnov team, Roy is once again convinced he has seen Tony Storme in the crowd holding yet another message for him and the team. Investigating further, he can find no sign of him, although the message left behind is loud and clear - Cernik is too big for Roy, keep the ball on the deck.

Roy relays this message to his team, and it pays off with a goal. Even better it is captioned with a note proclaiming it as a "rocket" - the first time that Roy's shot has been described as such in the comic - a historic event worth noting. 

Although the Zarnov resort to their usual dirty tactics, Rovers manages to hold on for the win. The only note of concern is the behaviour of the visiting fans, and Roy and his men leave the field under a barrage of rubbish being thrown at them by these fans. Roy voices his concern, rightly pointing out this is a home game for Melchester Rovers, and things will be much worse when they play the return leg at Zarnov's home ground.

This wasn't quite the fiery encounter I expected after last week's issue. The sense of danger drifted by, and although the Zarnov team did display plenty of fight and bending of the rules, it never felt out-and-out dangerous. Next week should up these stakes, and I anticipate a much feistier encounter for Roy and his team. This was a nice issue to build the rivalry between the teams and a signpost towards trouble further up the road, and as such I was quietly drawn into the story and what will unfold in the coming weeks.  

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "Roy, you're standing off-side! What are you staring at?"  

Martin's Marvellous Mini

With Martin plunging off the side of the boat in a soap-box car at the end of the last issue, we are off to a wet start this week as the ship is forced to turn around and pick him up.  

This dunking does nothing to dampen the spirits of our two pals, and soon enough the soap-box car is repaired and ready to continue its race to do as many laps as possible before sundown. The one problem is that now sundown is less than an hour away and they only manage to get ten laps in. That's good enough for one of the passengers, Hilda Parsons, to win the jackpot, and she is pleased for her meagre winnings. 

With the soap-box racing drama behind them, the plot moves forward with Tiny and Martin looking out at the rough weather, while in the hold beneath them, the first damage has already been wrought by the winds as a heavy wooden crate topples onto George.

This story did a good job of mopping up the remains of last week's soap-box racing and subsequent fall out of Martin's dive into the water. Although it was light, I found it amusing and the warmth of the characters once again carried the day. The blue of the ocean was a nice contrast to the months of browns as the boys were in Australia, and this helped brighten the comic, and the storyline, considerably. We still are a few days away from an arrival in Britain, and although Geogre is damaged, I don't think we will get too much more drama out of this boat ride home. What awaits us in Britain I can't even begin to guess, however, I know this much - I can't wait for it.  

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "I've won...I've got the ten-lap ticket!" 

Tallon Of The Track

Bikes and bodies are all over the track in Moscow in the wake of a spectator, a musician who earlier presented Sven with a balalaika, running out in the middle of a race.

While the Russian is carted off to the hospital, the rest of the riders carry on with the meeting. Sven only has a twisted ankle, and he recuperates in the dressing room while the Ospreys continue the heats. 

They win two races and look comfortable, so Jo wanders back to check on Sven. She tells him that weird things have happened since he was given the balalaika. Sven agrees and then points out to Jo that while they were racing it has now vanished altogether. 

Although I was pleased that no one was seriously hurt in the accident, I wasn't pleased with the overall flow of this week's story. The McGuffin of the balalaika feels like it has been with us for months now (in reality this is the third week) and there is too much made of it. I was intrigued by the warning the elderly Russian delivered to Sven, but then we were derailed by the track meeting which dominated most of the strip. Under normal circumstances that would have been fine, but it was a boring race meet and didn't move the story any further forward. Ospreys won their races, with only a drizzle of drama, and the story only advanced once Jo went to the changing room to check on Sven. There is a mystery to be solved here, one that needs to be pulled into the light soon before I lose all interest and mentally check out.

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "You...must...beware! Beware!"

Billy's Boots

Without his boots, Billy is playing badly for his school. How many times I will have to write that in the coming years, I wonder. Johnson and Bates have stolen his boots, and even as Billy wonders where they have got to, they are making plans to chuck them in the river. 

This they do, although Billy has been tipped off that the boys were seen carrying his boots by the river, and he arrives just in time to see the boots floating away. A quick dash beside the river, and Billy scrambles onto a bridge where he hopes to grab them as they float by. 

He grabs them all right but ends up in the river for his troubles. Luckily a fisherman sees Billy struggling in the water, and paddles to his aid. Pulled up on the boat, Billy is still clutching his prize boots, much to the surprise of the fisherman. 

Making his way home in borrowed clothing, Billy dries his boots. The next day he finds he has been dropped from the school team, which although isn't surprising is still nevertheless upsetting to Billy. 

Billy is called to play for the reserve team in a match against the first team. With his boots back on his feet, his confidence is buoyed, and juggling the ball before the match Billy feels confident about turning in a good performance to show the school that he deserves a spot in the first team. 

A very typical Billy's Boots story, with Billy retrieving his boots from a nearly lost situation to turning out at the match with something to prove. I should be tired of it, but I'm not.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Come on, Dane...get changed! I want the reserves to play hard and give the cup team a good workout. No sulking because you've been dropped!"

Hot Shot Hamish

With the ground subsiding near one of the stands, Hamish finds himself sinking in thick mud, and sinking fast! The story of off to a fast start as a fire engine wails its way to the ground in hopes of rescuing Hamish before he sinks to Australia (his words, not mine). 

The rescue is quickly affected, and Hamish is soon clean of mud and ready for the game. This cleanliness doesn't last long as the field is a muddy mess, and soon enough Hamish is once again covered in mud as he struggles to get the ball for his team. 

It's not just Hamish who is struggling with the mud, and Princes Park goes one-nil down as the goalkeeper fails to catch a slippery ball and concedes the goal. 

Worst news awaits at halftime as the draw of the next round of the cup is announced. Princes Park has drawn Westboro' town at home. That sounded OK until the team found that the authorities had decided to close their ground after this current much due to the danger presented by the stand that was damaged in the heavy rain. 

The team and managers are despondent as the second half begins. However, there is a light on the horizon as it's suggested that if they sell one of their players they afford to repair the stand. The obvious choice is Hamish, and we finish the strip with Mister McWhacker seriously considering the idea. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "What aboot Hamish? There's many a club that would pay good money for that laddie!" 

Johnny Cougar with Splash Gorton. 

Johnny has discovered that Grarg, his previous opponent, is actually a robot, and he rapidly descends from his vantage point to tell Splash.

A plan is quickly formulated, with Splash creating a diversion at the front door while Johnny investigates this robot further. 

The diversion is successful, and Johnny sneaks silently into the room where the robot stands impassively. Johnny examines Grarg closely, noting how human he looks despite his internal robotics. With Grarg unmoving, Johnny taunts him, becoming angry that he was defeated by a robot. Unfortunately, he finishes his rant with the word "attack" which is a keyword used to set the robot in motion.

And attack he does, with Grarg striking out at Johnny and setting Johnny on the defensive. Johnny is struggling to contain Grarg, who picks up a large desk and tosses it at Johnny. As Johnny wryly comments in the final panel, he has started something he cannot stop, and the robot means to quickly finish him off.

This was just what I wanted to read. Johnny has rumbled the mysteries within the castle, and we have a worthy competition with Grarg to drive the action into next week. It looked fantastic on the page, with both the story and the artwork powerfully combining into a fantastic issue. I hope this story runs for many more issues, it is back to its best and I love every panel.    

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "This wrestler not so tough when no-one there to operate him! Come, o fake one, where is your wrestling skill now?"  

Nipper

While brawling with his England teammate Denton, Nipper is pulled aside and informed of the car accident involving Andy Stewart and Ron Bayliss. The English manager tells him to get changed, and they are soon in a car speeding to the hospital to check on the status of Nipper's club manager and trainer. 

They are in a serious condition, and the English manager tells Nipper that they will be laid up for a couple of months at least. This starts Nipper worrying about who will replace them, although on a positive note the English manager tells him he won't report Nipper for the fight with Denton - he has been punished enough with this shocking crash. 

Nipper sums it up succinctly in the following panel as he talks to his dog - what a mess. This mess gets worse when he picks up a paper and finds his fight with Denton reported on the front page. It seems someone has leaked this incident to the papers. 

Nipper rightly assumes that the new manager at Blackport won't look on this kindly, and so it proves as Clive Norton, chairman of the board of directors, takes over Andy Stewart's role in his absence, and immediately calls Nipper to his office. 

Nipper's punishment is severe and despite scoring two goals for England, he is dropped to the Blackport Reserve squad until further notice.  

Another great story, and one that didn't rely on action on the page to tell its tale. The expressions said enough, and we had a lot of character work going on in the dialogue to carry the main thrust. Every word on the page felt true to the character speaking it, and the nitty-gritty of Nipper and his world was brought to life on the page. Just as good as Johnny Cougar for the connection between art and word, this was an extremely strong ending to a great issue of Tiger. Nipper still has a mountain of trouble, and I expect this high standard will be maintained for some weeks.  

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "How could you, Lawrence? How dare you ruin the club's reputation with such an exhibition of...of hooliganism!" 

Issue final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Nipper

Best Line: "It's too late for excuses, young man! Your back-street insolence might have been tolerated in the past, but not anymore! It's time you were brought to heel..!"

Best Panel:

Roy's Sports Quiz: