Tiger 5th April 1975

It's been a busy weekend, and it took me three attempts to read this week's comic. Strange to think that when I was a child I thought that grown-ups could do whatever they want, whenever they want. Reality is a hard teacher, and I now know there is barely a moment of the day that belongs to me, especially Monday to Friday. Even so, nibbling at this week's comic has proven to be just the tonic for an otherwise busy life, and we had some brilliant moments in this week's comic. Nipper ended this week's issue on a high, but there is plenty to enjoy before that, with seven other stories all delivering a variety of drama and humour, some better than others of course, but that's all subjective and completely at my discretion.  

Tiger

5th April 1975

Roy Of The Rovers

Roy and his Rovers are facing a hostile reception from the Zarnov home fans as they prepare for their second leg of the European cup-winners cup quarter-final. 

The team has spent the night at the stadium and, unknown to the mob outside, is currently running a training session. This doesn't last long, and as a Zarnov fan pops his head over the fence, Roy and his men are sighted and soon running for cover as cans and bricks are thrown at them.

Tearse words are exchanged with the Zarnov players as they prepare for the match, and five minutes after kickoff the trouble starts. A heavy tackle by a Zarnov player goes unpunished and it is clear that the referee is scared stiff to blow his whistle. 

Despite the tense atmosphere, Roy plays well and it looks as though he is about to create a chance for Blackie when he is struck in the head by a can thrown from the crowd. 

Again the referee remains silent, and it is all too much for Lofty Peak who loses his temper. As the opposing player dribbles away with the ball at his feet, Lofty luges at him from behind, bringing him down just outside of the penalty area. 

The referee blows for a free kick, but with the crowd at full throat, he confers with an equally nervous linesman, before deciding that it is actually inside the box and worthy of a penalty.

There is nothing Roy can do but watch on helplessly as the penalty is converted and think that as things stand they have very little chance of getting back into the game. 

This story is reaching its apex, and all the hard work put into the earlier issues is coming to fruition as Roy battles the Zarnov team, and the intimidated officials. We have a good mix of on-field and off-field drama, and both combine to give us a well-balanced and interesting storyline. It's all supported by a strong sense of storytelling in the artwork, and the strips are both visually and mentally stimulating. Roy is giving us a solid football story, rooted in the realities of the time, and I am enjoying every moment of it. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Hey, ref - lost your whistle?"

Skid Solo 

Skid is back on track and testing his new Grand Prix car. As is the way with these things, he encounters the unpredictable as a horse and rider are on the track, forcing him into evasive action. 

It's a close thing, and it is only through his driving skill that Skid avoids disaster. Back at the pits, Skid is speaking with Sandy when the horseman comes over to apologise. The horse had bolted and he had no control of him.

Skid takes this moment to give their new apprentice mechanic, Tommy Carter, a life lesson, and he reminds him that a good driver should be prepared for anything. Tommy takes it onboard and tells Skid that he will be sure to remember that when he starts to drive. 
Skid is surprised to learn that he doesn't drive yet, and immediately takes him out in a small, sedate, vehicle for a lesson. 

Tommy is delighted and proves to be a quick learner. Pleased with his ability, Skid takes him for a second lesson. However, this time things don't go so well, and in the final panels, Tommy too faces a horse running onto the track. Braking as hard as he can, he finds the car isn't stopping in time, and we are faced with a possible crash going into next week's issue. 

I say possible crash because I suspect that Tommy will find a way to avoid it, based on Skid's earlier lesson to be prepared for anything. The clean lines of the artwork helped move this simple story along smoothly and my eye moved swiftly across the page. Nice to see Tommy already behind the wheel, and based on what we see here I predict a bright future for him. The joy on his face brightened the whole comic, and as I mentioned last week, he is the most relatable character of this story for any young boy reading. I'm not so sure that a runaway horse on the track is believable, but I am happy to forgo believability for the sake of Tommy to advance his driving. Lowkey drama with characters I'd like to be around makes this a steady entry for the annuals of Skid Solo. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "I watched ye go round...the lad'll make a bonny driver! He's got his wits about him!"

Martin's Marvellous Mini

First run of their hill climb and Tiny and Martin have already managed to cover a television crew in a shower of mud. 

The commentator is far from impressed and lets those watching at home exactly what has happened, only to receive another spray of mud as the boys drive off. 

They are second after their first run, and watching their competitors they find the time to beat is four minutes and one second. Giving their all, they manage to beat this time in their final attempt and emerge victorious with a cheque for two hundred and fifty pounds.

It seems that for now, their troubles are over, but as they speed away from the event Tiny accidentally loses the cheque out the window. Quickly stopped in they see it has blown into a field, but as they arrive on the scene they find that a pig has got to it and is eating it. 

A very amusing end to the strip, and one I did not expect as we watched the boys compete in the hill climb. The look on the faces of Tiny and Martin says it all, and given the size of the pigs in the final panel, I don't think they will be retrieving the cheque anytime soon. The hill climb also started amusingly, with just a shade of drama and conflict between the camera crew and the two pals. It was a gentle conflict, and easily resolved by the end of the race with no further damage. Such is the gentle nature of this story and the characters. I admire it for this and find the world the characters live in to be soothing compared to the world we currently live in. It is a beautiful escapism and a lovely way to spend five minutes. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "So the hill climb is won by Martin Baker and Tiny Hill in their mini...after that performance, I'll just have to forgive them for all that mud-slinging!" 

Tallon Of The Track 

Ugh, the balalaika is back. After it was mysteriously stolen, Sven has now found it returned in the changing room. Jo tells Sven to lock the stupid thing away and to forget about it, and reading here at home I agree with every word. 

Out on the track, Dave is taking part in heat seven, and with a demonstration of great riding leads the team home for a one-two finish and maximum points. This lifts the team, and the rest of the meeting is theirs, eventually emerging winners by forty-two points to thirty-six.

With talk of flying home to Britain, it seems our Soviet adventure is over, but there's one final matter to attend to. Sven wants to thank the old man who gave him the balalaika, and the next day Jo and Sven make their way across Moscow to the hospital where the old man is. Sven immediately asks the obvious question - what is the balalaika mystery all about, to which the man replies, in the final words of the strip, that he must examine the balalaika very carefully. 

I look forward to the return to Britain and hope I never have to type the word "balalaika" ever again. I am curious to see how this ends, although at no point in this story was I ever excited about it. The racing looked great on the page, but was ultimately boring, while the reappearance of the balalaika was put to one side for the majority of the strip, only to resurface as a plot point in the final two panels. Next week will give us some closure, and I for one cannot wait until we are back in Britain and back to some proper speedway action.

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "Calm down, Sven, you're practically dragging my arm off!"

Johnny Cougar with Spash Gorton 

Grarg the robot is causing destruction in a small Yorkshire village and now has his eyes firmly on the wrestling contest taking place in the local hall. With a sword in hand, nothing can stop him, and he smashes his way into the hall to confront the wrestlers in the ring. 

For a brief moment, the wrestlers eye him up, planning to throw him from the ring, but Grarg is too strong, and quickly grabs both men by the throat and tosses them off the apron, knocking them both out. 

At that moment, Johnny arrives outside of the hall, and seeing the damage assumes that Grarg must be within. Johnny climbs into the ring to face Grarg, and Grarg announces his intentions by lashing out at Johnny with a fearsome blow that destroys the ring post. Thus the scene is set for a battle between the two, a battle we shall have to come back next week to witness. 

We have already seen one battle between Grag and Johnny, and one would assume that this fight will end the same, with Johnny defeated at the hands of the robot. However, now Johnny knows what he is up against I expect he shall use his brains rather than his brawn to beat Grag, and this is the hook that makes me want to return next week. This week didn't greatly progress the story, it was more about moving the pieces into place for this final confrontation. Grarg bashed his way into the ring, and now Johnny has arrived next to him. It took a couple of pages for this to happen, although we had plenty along the way to demonstrate the enormity of the task ahead of Johnny, Next week will bring it all together, and the match should be a battle for the ages. I'll be here, you should too. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Ticket please! You can't g-get in free, just because you're w-waving a sword!" 

Hot Shot Hamish 

It's the day of the vital cup tie against Westboro' and Princes Park has arrived in the back of a lorry after a bus crash the night before. With three injured players, Donald McGregor, the boot boy, has been drafted into the side, and he looks pretty nervous as they take to the field. 

Hamish promises to look after him, and as the game begins it is Westboro' who takes the initiative, constantly attacking Princes Park's goal for the first twenty minutes. 

Princes Park weathers this storm, and their defenders gradually take control. The ball falls to young Donald, and he pokes it through a gap where Hamish unleashes the hot-shot. It cannons off the crossbar, falling fortuitously at the feet of Donald who easily enough chips it in. 

Donald is overjoyed, but his work is far from finished. With a one-nil lead, Princes Park is forced to defend for the second half, and Donald proves his worth, clearing the ball off the line when it seems an equaliser is about to be scored. With time almost up on the clock, he is forced into one final defensive action, and as he goes to clear the ball upfield he is heavily tackled by two Westboro' players. 

The whistle is blown for full-time, and the Princes' players celebrate their hard-fought victory and progression to the semi-final Coming off the field for a well-earned hot bath they fail to notice that Donald isn't with them. It is Hamish who realises that he has collapsed out on the field, and the big man goes back to collect him. Walking off with the boy in his arms, Hamish informs Mister McWhacker he needs a doctor, and fast.

Gripping stuff, and although we have seen similar stories before, I still felt myself caught up in the drama of the game. Like Skid Solo and Tommy Carter, Donald McGregor was a relatable character for any young boy reading, and seeing his delight in scoring a goal is a dream come true. Even fifty-year-old me would love to score a goal for Princes Park in front of the crowd. The humour was low-key this week, but with drama ratcheted up to ten, I barely noticed, so caught up as I was in the game. A poignant moment at the end of the game as Hamish carried Donald off the pitch, I felt a tug at my heart and an urgent need to pick up the next issue to see what happens. Once again, Hot Shot Hamish gets the balance right throughout the story and is one of the stronger strips in the comic. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Kick it anywhere! Over the stand will do!"     

Billy's Boots

Billy Dane and Jimmy Dawson are excited by the prospect of the final of the schools' cup which is being played at a first-division club's ground in London. First, there is the small matter of the semi-final. Thoughts of the semi-final dominate their thoughts throughout the week leading up to the game, and Billy can barely concentrate on his class lessons. The teacher becomes aware of this distraction, and Billy is forced to write five hundred lines as punishment. 

The football team rallies around to help, each writing lines for him and emulating his handwriting style. After handing in his lines, Billy is allowed on the team coach. He thinks they have got away with it, but in the classroom the teacher can see immediately the handwriting styles are all different. He tells the sports master that he can see at least half the football team's effort there, but no punishment is meted out as they decide that it shows good team spirit. 

At the game, the Groundswood team is nervous, and so is their opposition, Calderwell. It is Calderwell who makes the most mistakes early on, and Groundwood is on the attack with the winger launching a cross for Billy to latch onto. Billy jumps for the header and nods it back to Jimmy just like they practiced. Jimmy makes no mistake with his shot, and the ball hits the back of the net for the first goal of the game.

One goal becomes three as Billy scores before Jimmy gets his second. Three-nil is how the game ends and Groundwood are through to the final in London. In the dressing room, Billy is excited but is soon brought back to earth by the comment that Granger will be fit for the final and Billy might not be picked for the team.

Such is the world of Billy Dane, sometimes you are up and sometimes you are down. The game was good this week, and Billy played well, which is all we can ask. The real joy of the comic though was the scenes of Billy sitting distractedly in class and being punished. Instantly relatable, I remember feeling well, and reading this I was taken right back to when I was a lad. Seeing the team come to Billy's aid was a warm moment, although it was eclipsed by the even better scene immediately after when the two teachers could see what was going on but elected not to punish the boys. Wonderful to read on the page and far better than the game could ever hope to be. Billy is back on the downward spiral for next week's issue, we shall see just how bad things get for him, but I have a feeling that everything will turn out just right. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "I should imagine that at least half the football team worked on Dane's lines for him. Well, it shows a good team spirit...this time I'll let him get away with it!" 

Nipper

Nipper's game for the reserve team is going extremely well, and in front of Nipper's adoring fans, they soon have a four-nil lead, with Nipper bagging an early hat-trick. It's a massacre, and the visiting managers decide they have seen enough, deciding to leave the game early.

Meanwhile, at Blackport stadium, the fans that have turned up for Blackport's game start chanting they want Nipper, much to the chagrin of Blackport's director, Norton.  Angrily waving his players forward, the inevitable happens and they concede a goal when Redstone counter-attacks. 

At the end of the game, the Blackport team trudge off to the boos of their own fans. Back in the dressing room, the results of the other matches roll in and they are shocked to hear that the reserve team has won by an incredible nine goals to two, with Nipper scoring seven of those goals. 

The team talk of Nipper's success, while a fuming Clive Norton listens in from the corridor. Storming back to his office, Norton takes a call from the manager of Gateshead, who is keen to sign up Nipper. We don't know the outcome of the call, but the final panel of the story shows Norton looking out his office window at the cheering fans as the reserves arrive back from their game, and thinking to himself that it is time he had a final showdown with Nipper.

Seven goals was stretching it a bit, but it made the story's outcome inevitable and left no doubt that this was the only possible path for Norton. Aside from the seven goals, the rest of the storyline was tight and we had a great contrast between the two teams as Blackport looked woeful in Nipper's absence. The drama of the strip was highlighted by the excellent artwork this week, and we had several marvellous panels where the expressions captured what was happening beautifully. The pick of them was the moment Norton took the call in his office. His face looks devious and crafty, while the face of the watching secretary looks aghast at what is about to unfold. A superb panel, it is a story unto itself and worth savouring. Artwork like this is why I hold Tiger comic in such esteem, and it looks even better blown up large on my computer screen.  

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "My turn now! I may be small, but I can bloomin' well jump!"

 

Issue final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Roy Of The Rovers

Best Line: "Anyway, lock that stupid thing away and forget about it! We have the rest of the speedway meeting to worry about!"

Best Panel:

Roy's Sports Quiz: