Tiger 12th July 1975

This week's issue is surprisingly consistent, with every strip delivering a solid story. Although nothing stood out, neither did anything underperform.  Most stories are building nicely towards a larger event, with several improving on their previous week's edition. This left me wanting more, and by the time I finished this comic and was well-primed for whatever comes next. Just like football, consistency is more important than flash, and this week's comic is a solid midfielder rather than an over-priced striker. 

Tiger

12th July 1975

Johnny Cougar

Johnny Cougar has the upper hand in his wrestling bout against Golden Boy, but Golden Boy is far from done and still has a couple of tricks up his sleeve.

Cannoning off the ropes, Golden Boy catches Cougar with an almighty head butt. As Coiugar falls to the floor, Golden Boy follows this up with what should be a match-winning elbow smash.

However, Cougar has other ideas on the matter and just manages to move his head before Golden Boy's elbow comes crashing down hard into the mat. 

Golden Boy is now injured, and Couagr wraps up the match with a furious throw that tosses Golden Boy out of the ring and into the crowd. Cougar wins by a knockout, and the audience wonders how the winner will be decided now that Golden Boy has won the boxing and Cougar has won the wrestling. 

The ring announcing enlightens us all in the final panel, telling the crowd that the two men will compete in a marathon series of competitions in the local Athletics Stadium next week,. These competitions will test the strength, skill and stamina of both men and only the very fittest will triumph. 

The ending of this bout was inevitable, yet highly enjoyable as we were presented with several captivating images of Cougar throwing his opponent across the ring. Like the previous issue, the story focused entirely on the wrestling match and played to the strength of the Cougar character. With the artwork showing the two wrestlers' bodies in the best possible light, as well as beautifully rendering the faces of those watching, the story practically leapt off the page at me and was a visual treat throughout. I may not have been entirely enthused about Golden Boy or the premise behind the fight, but I can't deny that it looked great and hooked me from start to finish. This is a boy's comic doing what boys' comics do best - fast-paced action with two sportsmen who look more like superheroes. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Johnny let him go...the Golden's Boy's become a human rocket!" 

Hot Shot Hamish 

With Hamish in goal, Princes Park has gone two goals down against their Austrian opponents. Mister McWhacker has seen enough, quickly pulls Hamish out of goal, and puts him back in the outfield where he expects Hamish to score three goals. 

Hamish makes an immediate impression, dribbling the ball past several players before putting the ball in the back of the net....for an own goal. 

Mister McWhacker's halftime team talk is succinct - it's all Hamish's faulty and they should play him out of the game,

This they do, although they still end up losing three-one. The next day Hamish is rested for the game and while the team travel to the neighbouring town Hamish goes sightseeing. 

He tries out the ski lift but finds he doesn't have a head for heights and faints as the lift carries him to the top of the mountain. From the top he has only two options - take the ski lift back down or walk down while roped together with a mountain guide. Hamish elects to go with the guide and he tells those around him that he is no longer a footballer...he is a mountain climber.

A humorous story and one that had a fine balance between football and off-field shenanigans. Both served up funny situations, although I did find Hamish on the ski lift to be the funniest part of the strip. The size of Hamish compared to the seat was funny in itself and coupled with the look on his face, one couldn't help but laugh. On the field, his own goal was funny, but having scored several own goals myself I couldn't laugh too hard at the big man. This isn't quite classic Hot Shot Hamish, yet it was close enough to give me several laughs that were well-deserved.   

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "No ye don't, mon! I'm no getting on that tiny wee seat again!"

Martins Marvellous Mini 

Tiny and Martin can only watch on helplessly as their hard-won money is blown overboard as they catch the ferry home. 

Arriving back in Britain they find themselves again looking for a way to make money, and as they drive away from the docks they see just the thing with a billboard advertising the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. 

Thinking that they might be able to enter one of the supporting races they drive to Silverstone where they are disappointed to find that all the places have been taken for the mini races. However, they are offered jobs as programme sellers, an opportunity they have no option but to take. 

As they begin to sell programs they see the minis practising on the track, and as luck would have it there is a serious accident that sees several minis unable to take part in any further racing. 

Martin and Tiny are offered their spot for the races, providing that can put in some good practice times. Their first lap is extremely fast, only a second outside the lap record, and their place in the race is assured. However, as Martin takes the car out for a few more practice laps, he finds one of the rear wheels coming off and we end with him crashing off the track and into a hay bale. 

Another week of ups and downs for Martin and Tiny. As we see many times throughout their storylines, something good happens, only for something bad to occur over the page. This week they lost their money (boo!), and then see the sign for Silverstone (yay!). At Siverstone they are told there are no spaces in the race for them (boo!) before a bad crash offers them a chance (yay!). A fast lap time (yay!) followed by a crash off the track (boo!) rounds out this issue and I am exhausted by the end of it. I generally like the direction we are heading, although I would have liked to see anyone one of these key moments stretched out a little more. Told across two issues, this week's strip could have had more time to breathe, and each one of their ups and downs would have carried more weight. Still, what do I know, I only read the comics, I don't write them. Similar to Hot Shot Hamish before it, this isn't a classic issue for Martin's Marvellous Mini, although it was likeable and sets up expectations that it will only get better in the coming weeks.  

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "I say! Those types were selling programmes yesterday! Surely they're not competing!"

Billy's Boots

Billy and Jimmy are trialling for the county Colts team, and when we last left them Billy was just about to face their fastest bowler. It doesn't go well for Billy. The bowler is much too fast for him, and he ends up on the ground looking back ruefully at the bowler, 

Explaining to the coach that he's only a schoolboy and has never faced a bowler that fast, the coach decides to see how he goes bowling. 

On this front, Billy delivers in spades, with his magic boots helping him bowl a variety of high-speed deliveries at the county opener, before eventually bowling him with a slower ball. 

The coach is suitably impressed, and Billy finds himself in the team for Saturday's game,  opening the bowling no less. 

This proves to be a different kettle of fish, and Billy is smashed to the boundary for his first two balls. However, for his third delivery, he shortens his run up and can feel the boots are up to something - something we'll have to wait until next week to see.

I may have said it last week, but I prefer this cricket storyline to any of the football stories we have seen from Billy's Boots in the previous months. I like that there is more adult involvement, and we have an expanded cast of characters, some more important than others. There is also extra detail in the artwork and it is more nuanced than we have previously seen. Several panels were outstanding this week, and in particular, I had a soft spot for the montage showing the professional cricketer facing a barrage of deliveries from Billy. Splendid stuff and it added extra depth to a story that is already pushing the boundaries of what it had previously been. I spent more time reading this story than any other this week, and that is attributable to the artwork and the extra detail at play. It drew me into the story like no other and although it wasn't my favorite story this week, it was a very close second.   

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "I told you...I've only played schoolboy cricket! We don't have bowlers who are that fast!" 

Roy Of The Rovers 

Roy is on the trail of his good friend Jules Bernand who has sneaked off from the hotel. 

It doesn't take long for Roy to get to the bottom of Jules's evasiveness. Snatching a note left for Jules in a phone box, Roy finds that Jules's nephew has been kidnapped with the kidnappers demanding that Jules pay one hundred thousand pounds for his release. 

Roy offers to help Jules and tells him he will formulate a plan before the rendezvous with the kidnappers on Wednesday night, just two hours before the Nations Cup Match. 

Roy phones Blackie and his team and finds the Rovers have won the five-a-side tournament without him. Roy then joins the England team in preparation for the match against the French and practises the tactics that will hopefully win them the game. All seems to be going well, but in the final panel, the manager tells the team that he will be taking them to a movie, a western, before the match to help them relax, right at the same time that Roy is supposed to meet Jules for the rendezvous. 

The plot accelerated with this issue, and I found myself well and truly caught up in the action. I had been lukewarm about this story the last two weeks, but this week it all came together in a thrilling ride that has me hungry for more. There was very little football, aside from the practice, instead, we are entirely focused on the kidnapping and Roy's offer to help Jules. The five-a-side was wrapped up quickly, and I'm pleased to see it wasn't played out on the page, instead a single call to Blackie was all that was required to wrap that up while Roy concentrated his attention on Jules. A fast-paced issue this week, and the story continues to quickly unfold, making next week's issue unmissable and one of the first stories I will turn to. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "I'm going to help you get Armand back! And it won't cost you a penny! When you meet those kidnappers, I'll be right behind you!

Skid Solo

The team is practising for the British Grand Prix when disaster strikes. Distracted by a low-flying helicopter, Skid spins off the track. He is unharmed but furious at what has happened. He takes out his anger on the helicopter pilots before rudely telling Tommy and Sandy to fix the car as he storms off. 

In the office, Skid gives another blast to the race officials and then threatens the photographers waiting outside for him. 

Back at the pits, the news is not good and Sandy has been unable to fix the car. Tommy is sent to get the spare car, and with the help of another mechanic, they soon have the spare loaded onto a trailer. However, as they drive through the night back to Silverstone, they suddenly come across a car on the wrong side of the road, and the car trailer is overturned. Although no one is hurt, Skid now has no car for the Grand Prix and is forced to withdraw,.

Although Skid tells Sandy he can't drive without a car, and will instead help teach Tommy to drive, Sandy to determined to find Skid another vehicle, and that is where we end this week;'s strip. 

It's not very often we see Skid angry like this, and it is almost out of character to see him being angry at a range of people. I liked it, and it helped bolster the character of Skid who can sometimes be one-dimensional and a goody-goody. Seeing him show some raw emotion made him more relatable, and I felt for him as he took his anger out on those around him. The artwork did a fine job of capturing his angry expressions, as well as those around him. Not only did the artist give us the human aspect of the story, but they also provided several great panels of the cars, especially of Tommy and the mechanic driving at night to fetch the spare car. These panels were the best in the story and gave some weight to the events happening away from the track. Another strong issue for Skid Solo, and with Sandy vowing to get Skid a new car, we still have some way to go.     

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Clear off! If you print a picture of me...I'll sue you!" 

Tallon Of The Track 

The Ospreys have lost their last four matches and are placed in a lowly fifteenth in division one. With falling attendance, Basil Oldfield, the club chairman, angrily tells Jo that the team had better buck their ideas up. Jo tells him that he should relax, he is confident about tonight's event. 

However, the performance on the track tells a different story. Dave Trent is going well in his heat, but the opposing rider, a youngster named Bill Bolton, manages to sneak by him. Dave keeps the pressure on, but Bill Bolton refuses to let him pass. Dave is forced to the fence, whereupon he loses control and crashes out of the race. 

Bill Bolton wins, and when confronted by Jo about his tactics he is unrepentant. He tells her that it's a shame that speedway rules don't allow women to compete, as he would enjoy beating her out on the track. 

Jo is angry, but all she can do is watch on as Billy Bolton comes first in all four of his scheduled races. To add fuel to the fire burning inside her, Jo is approached by Basil Oldfield at the end of the meeting, who tells her that the team needs an injection of new talent and he intends on signing Billy Bolton to the team. 

Another story about adding to the team, and after the last storyline of signing a new recruit, it seems we are retreading old ground. Perhaps this time around the writer thought he could do better, I don't know, but I do wonder why we didn't go this route last month when Jo was searching for new talent. I love seeing the bikes on the track, and the various scraps that Jo gets herself into, so this story of recruiting riders feels regressive and boring to me. The politics of signing riders to the team, and the conflict between management may be the stuff of Netflix dramas, but in a boys' comic, it feels out of place and doesn't compare to previous storylines. Next week may prove me wrong, I hope so, and although some aspects of this week's strip were outstanding, I couldn't help but feel it could have been better.    

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "All we've picked up is one rotten point! I'm going to have a word with Bill Bolton!"

Nipper

Nipper has accidentally knocked a visitor into a pile of old tyres. When the visitor comes up fighting, Nipper is taken aback and wonders who it could be. 

We soon find out it is Typhoon Tuggey from the Blackton Cricket Club. He is upset about a phone call that Nipper has apparently made, although Nipper knows nothing about it.   

Tuggey has a reputation as a nasty piece of work, and with Blackton being the next match for Nipper and his team, Nipper fears for his safety. He even talks about giving up cricket and just sticking with football. 

Game day arrives, and Nipper dutifully rides his motorcycle to the game. Here he has a piece of bad luck, for just as he arrives at the gate of the ground so too does Tuggey, and the pair collide on their respective motorcycles. 

Tuggey is furious, leaving Nipper further worried about facing Tuggey's bowling. It's no surprise then to see Nipper being greeted by the captain who tells him that he has won the toss and Nipper will be opening the batting against the fuming Tuggey. 

I like this new twist to the cricket story, with the off-field events affecting the on-field game. A nice rivalry is simmering away, and it is being brought to the boil for next week's issue which should escalate things further. I had previously questioned the need for Nipper to play cricket in the offseason, but I have reconsidered this after reading Harry Redknapp's book, and the stories of West Ham players in the sixties playing cricket after training. It was a different world back then, something I don't always remember as I read these stories with a modern eye. The more I read it, the more I realize the world of Nipper is firmly rooted in the past, with its tales of urchins playing in the street and footballers having other jobs outside of the game. Not only a good read, but one that touches on an era that has sadly passed and despite my best efforts I remain a stranger to the world of Nipper.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "No thanks, Mike! I've had enough of this cricket lark!"

Issue final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story:  Roy Of The Rovers 

Best Line: "Well...he's got the longest run-up I've ever seen for a boy! He's got to be fast!" 

Best Panel:

Roy's Sports Quiz: