Tiger 17th May 1975

I have returned from Tokyo, and despite my best intentions I never once had a chance to steal away with a comic for half an hour to myself. Family matters took up most of my time and attention, and even if I had time I doubt I would have had the energy to update the blog. This week though I feel revitalised being back in the fresh autumn air of New Zealand, and I read this issue with a renewed vigour. I had to reacquaint myself with some of the stories, and I think reading with fresh eyes helped elevate several of the stories that I felt had become stale. This was an exciting, and dare I say it, action-packed issue, and the half hour I spent reading it felt like quality time with an old friend.   

Tiger

17th May 1975

Johnny Cougar

We have a fast start to this week's issue as Johnny Cougar deals with that snake-in-the-grass, The Highwayman, throwing him hard against the ring post.

Inside the comic, the action continues with a furious Cougar unrelentingly battering his opponent before we reach the inevitable count-out by the bottom of the page. 

I had forgotten why we were here, but the appearance of Mister Mitchell and the three schoolboys who asked Johnny for help in the last panel jog my memory and I recall the wider story. 

This wider story ramps up soon after, with the lights suddenly cutting out. In the confusion, Mister Mitchell disappears and Johnny is soon running from the arena to confront the men who have kidnapped the teacher. 

A swift forearm deals with one of the kidnappers, but the second pulls a gun and we finish the strip with Johnny staring down the barrel. 

Absence has made my heart grow fonder, and I fell in love with Johnny all over again as I read this issue. The wrestling looked dynamic and powerful, with Johnny especially looking the business and he smashed The Highwayman. The larger story also moved quickly along, and the appearance of a gun in the final panel raised the stakes considerably. The first few issues of this adventure were slow-moving, but finally, it feels like we are into something that is dramatic and looks great on the page.   

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "You wait for Cougar and then we go and have heap big bottles of pop."

Billy's Boots

It's cricket season and the first season in which we see Billy turn his hand to the gentlemen's game. 

Billy and his friends are a ragtag bunch, barely managing to dress in whites. The other team from the famous cricketing school of Stately Moreton turn their noses up at the appearance of Groundswood team, and they grow even more obnoxious when they find out how poor the Groundswood team play. 

Batting first, it's only Jimmy Dawson who offers any resistance to Stately Morton, but eventually even he is out and the team leave the field having scored only 97 runs. 

The team looks downcast, but Billy is itching to have a bowl and prove his worth, something we will have to wait until next week to see.

I didn't think I would warm to Billy playing cricket, so, surprisingly, I find myself excited at the prospect of seeing him bowl next week. I'm always a sucker for an underdog story such as the one we have here, and after this week's issue, I am hooked. With a worthy opponent, and one that I instantly took a dislike to, there is a lot riding on this game, and I certainly know who I will be supporting. Billy has the opportunity to be the hero, and I will be with him every step of the way. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "I don't understand why we have to play Groundwood! They look a load of scruffs!" 

Martin's Marvellous Mini

Tiny and Martin are preparing to race in a Scandanivan rally when they receive some bad news. The organisers tell them that they cannot race as Mister Vedgic, whom the boys unwittingly gave a ride to last week, has told the organisers that if Tiny and Martin race he will withdraw his own Ravnian team. 

The lads won't stand for this, and they challenge Mister Vedgic publically while he is on TV, escalating to the point that they wager ten thousand drikla on the outcome of the race. 

Tiny and Martin think they have the upper hand, surmising that ten thousand drikla is probably only worth fifty pounds, so they are beyond shocked over the page when they learn that it is equivalent to five thousand pounds. 

However, it seems that they will do just fine, and they take an early lead in the rally, easily putting a good distance between themselves and the Ravenian cars. Things take a turn though as the course becomes rougher, and in the final panel of the strip, we see that Misrter Vedgic has been putting false signposts out, sending Tiny and Mrtin into a trap. 

Splendid stuff, and there is no sight more thrilling than seeing Tiny and Martin accelerate into a rally. There was a little manoeuvering early in the strip to get the race happening,  and we now have some real stakes in the race which should make what comes next all the more dramatic. Like the previous two stories, we have hit a fertile patch and everything is set up for a thrilling race next week, with plenty more high jinks and excitement still to come. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "That's what the sign says old pal! Hang on...it's really steep!"

Nipper

It's the most important game of the season, Nipper has the goal-scoring record within his grasp and a win will see Blackport win the league, but Nipper and Mike are playing cricket in the carpark at halftime, all for a wager of five pounds. Boys will be boys. 

Mike is attempting to bowl Nipper out with six balls, and although the big boy throws his all into his bowling, Nipper somehow manages to defend his stumps for the first four balls. 

There is no time to finish, and they are quickly pushed onto the pitch as the second half begins. Mike Beatson strikes a furious cross into the box which catches Nipper in the side of the head and into the back of the net.

There is some complaint from Nipper, but Mike tells him that he just wants to see him break the goal-scoring record. Sure enough, in the final seconds of the game, Mike again passes the ball through for Nipper who duly pokes it home for his record-breaking goal and seals the season for Blackport.

There are great celebrations in the dressing room, and thoughts soon turn to finishing the cricket they started at halftime. Nipper admits that cricket is a better game than he thought, while Mike confessors that Nipper seems to have a natural ability with the bat. As they resume play, Nipper tells Mike that he would like to up the stakes, and if he can defend the last two balls he would like to play with Mike at Grove Lane. Mike is horrified at the prospect, but we will have to wait until next week to see what happens. 

I understand the cricket story needs to be put in place for the coming weeks, but it did undo a lot of the excitement of this final football match and Nipper breaking the goal-scoring record. This goal-scoring record storyline has been percolating for many months, and there was very little payoff here as Nipper scores the goal he needs. A single panel sees him receive the cup and acknowledge his achievement, but we never hear from the people who drove the story early on or no wider context is given for his achievement. Despite this, I do enjoy the humour behind the approaching cricket story, and the relationship between Nipper and Mike is brought to the fore, with the competitiveness between the two a highlight, along with Mike's accompanying facial expression. It bodes well for what is coming, and although I felt this issue undersold the football side of the story, the cricket story is already making amends. It will be a whole new world next week as we enter the cricket season, and I shall be most interested to see where we go from here. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Say goodbye to five pounds, Nipper!" 

Tallon Of The Track

Jo is locked in speed dual against millionaire Miles Guthrie, and this week they battle it out over a fifty-mile, two-day event. In an extra twist, they will be racing with sidecars.  

With Dave riding as her passenger, Jo gets off to a fast start as Dave proves himself more than able at shifting his weight to get them around tight corners. 

However, Jo and Guthrie converge upon a single narrow gap in a wall, and with only room for one Guthrie knocks Jo and Dave off their bike. They race on, but minutes later Jo discovers that the fuel tank was damaged in the collision and they are losing fuel fast. Their only hope is that Dave can plug the hole, and fast. 

There was a lot of set-up this week, with the race only beginning on the second page. It was well worth the wait, and once the race commenced we were treated to several spectacular panels that captured the action, any of which could be blown up to poster size and framed. Each panel captured a small piece of my heart, and I temporarily forgot about the story as I lost myself deep in each panel. I may not have appreciated it when I was younger, but these strips deserve to be displayed in a larger format where they can be truly appreciated, and the artwork from this issue is some of the best we have had in Tallon Of The Track in months. It is hard to be objective about this week's issue in the face of such enthralling artwork, and this strip is back to being the best in the comic. 

Rating: 8.5/10

Best line: "There's only a narrow gap in the wall at the top! Guthrie is trying to get there before us and snatch the lead!"

Roy Of The Rovers

We have reached the second leg of the European Cup Winners Cup semi-final, and Melchester Rovers are arriving in Germany for the return match against Durmstadt.

Roy has disappeared and the team are concerned about their chances without their talismanic leader. And so it comes to pass, with no manager and no captain, Melchester is shaky from the very beginning of the game and Durmstadt soon has a two-nil lead.

In the crowd, the mystery man who has been feeding the team advice is watching on. Taking action, he sneaks to the dressing room and lobs a message through an open window for the team to find at halftime. From the darkness comes another figure, and we see that Roy has been watching on, and he soon catches the mysterious man. He pulls his scarf away to reveal who it is, but we never see ourselves as the action moves quickly back to the field. 

Durnstadt has now taken a three-nil lead, when from the tunnel comes a sprightly Roy Race dressed and ready to play. Waving to the crowd, he quickly is substituted onto the field and lets the team know that his plan to draw the mystery man out into the open has worked. Blackie is eager to know who it is, but Roy tells him he'll have to wait until halftime, as right now they have to save the game. 

Finally, after what feels like months, the mystery man has been revealed. Surely next week Rovers will win the game, the mystery man will make himself known to all, and we can advance to the final of the European Cup Winner Cup. This was a big issue for Roy Of The Rovers. In other issues, it has felt like we were treading water, but in this case, we took several huge steps forward and the end of this saga is looming large. We had just enough football action to keep me satisfied, and the scenes of Roy bursting from the shadows were compelling and added a thrill to the story. Like Tallon Of The Track, the story accelerated as it went on, and after a steady start, it turned up the heat on the subsequent pages. After a tepid few months, Roy and his team are delivering an exciting story, and for the first time in many months, I will be turning to the Roy Of The Rovers story first when I pick up the next issue. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Look...see who's striding from the runner! Surely it can't be..." 

Skid Solo

Tommy Carter on his scooter features in the first panel of this week's Skid Solo story, and it will be Tommy and his scooter that drives the action for the great of the strip. 

The weather is poor, and Tommy is carefully following Skid and Sandy's car as they drive through the rain. There is soon trouble as the car reaches a portion of the road that is flooded and they become stranded. 

While Skid and Sandy begin to walk, Tommy sets off on his scooter to find a local garage. This he achieves easily enough, but unfortunately, he arrives just as the garage is being held up by a crook with a gun.

This crook forces Tommy at gunpoint to get into a truck and drive. Tommy drives past Skid and Sandy who are still walking, and Skid recognises that it is Tommny and something is wrong.

Reaching the garage, Skid and Sandy quickly piece together what has happened and soon a fleet of police cars are on the hunt for the truck. 

The gunman forces Tommy to take evasive action several times, but eventually after swinging the truck into the forest, the truck collides with a tree and the police surround them,.

All's well that ends well, and Skid and Sandy are soon on the scene and asking if Tommy is likely to get a reward. Tommy ruefully tells them that he won't be getting a reward and that in fact, he is lucky he wasn't arrested for driving without L-plates, without insurance and without a licence to drive heavy goods vehicles.

Apart from this throw-away humour in the final panel, this was another solid story. Skid Solo often ends with these humourous panels that round out the action, although in this case, it undid a lot of the drama and tension in what overwise had been a thrilling and exciting ride. Running into villains seems to be par for the course for Skid Solo, with a story such as this appearing every six months or so, and once again we see Skid (or should I say Tommy) come out on top. This isn't the best in genre (there was one a year ago that was outstanding) but it was still a good read and something I felt satisfied with. Tommy is continuing to evolve as a character, and I appreciate that he is getting plenty of time on the page for us to see him develop. A nice side dish from the usual Skid-centric stories, and I look forward to seeing Tommy grow before our eyes.

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "Get up into that truck and drive! If you don't do just as I tell you...you'll be finished!"

Hot-Shot Hamish 

Hamish has disappeared after missing the penalty that could have saved the game for Princes Park and put the Scottish Cup into extra time. 

While management frets about where Hamish might be, Hamish is miles away having taken a new job working with pick in hand. The contractors have a kick around during their lunch break, but Hamish elects to keep himself to himself, and sits alone eating his sandwiches. However, a loose ball bounces his way, and Hamish kicks it in a powerful strike that shatters the windows of the bulldozer. 

With this event, his colleagues recognise him as the famous Hot-shot Hamish. Surrounding him, they all encourage him to turn out for Scotland on Saturday for the international match he has been selected for. After this peer pressure, Hamish despondently reports to the Scottish trainer, and come match day he is seated in the locker room. 

He is still downhearted. and even the appearance of Mister McWhacker, who has come to wish him luck, can't lift his spirits. However, once he pulls on his Scottish jumper he becomes a new man and we end the comic with Hamish promising to play his heart out for his country. 

Hamish's disappearance was short-lived and could have been a much larger story. I enjoyed the scenes of Hamish with the Scottish team, but it was his time with the road gang that was the highlight of the story, and a few more weeks of that would have done me quite nicely. Hamish fits so well with the other workers, it would be easy for him to slide into their world for a little longer, and I would have liked to see even more interaction between him and the other workers. Although short-lived, it still made me smile. Next week shall be a notable issue, Hamish's debut for Scotland, and for all my handwringing about Hamish's quick return, it should be a must-read for any fan of the big man. I shall read the next issue in a celebratory mood and will crack an Irn-bru in honour of Hamish's debut for his national side. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Here, put this shirt on, mon...ye'll feel a different person!"

Issue final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: Tallon Of The Track

Best Line: "Sorry to disappoint you...but I've got another friend right here...and this one fires bullets! So back off right now...or you'll be paying a sudden visit to your happy hunting ground!"

Best Panel:

Roy's Sports Quiz: