Tiger 19th July 1975

Forget the age of marvels, we are living in the Marvel age. Billion-dollar movies, each with bigger, stronger, and gaudier, superheroes. These heroes may have started with human frailties, but with each movie, their humanity feels further and further away. They may claim to have humble beginnings, but who can remember them as the movies clobber us over the head with the idea of all-powerful heroes. 

This is the second Marvel age I have lived through. I well remember as a child in the late seventies how hugely popular Spiderman was at the time. Every other kid had a pile of Spiderman comics, or a closet stuffed full of Spiderman toys and paraphernalia. Even my spendthrift parents weren't immune, and for my sixth birthday, I received a Spiderman gun that fired ping-pong balls, along with a Spider van to add to my non-existent matchbox car collection.

In the face of this tsunami of Marvel merchandising and comic empire, you might wonder why I chose to read UK boys' comics over the pile of Marvel and DC comics that cluttered every other child's room. A single word- relatability. Spiderman may have been pitched as an average teen with all the concerns that go along with that, but he never struggled to make the first eleven. He didn't play football in the winter and cricket in the summer. He never worried about if his boots matched the other players on the pitch, or practised football in the backyard of his Grans. Billy Dane did, and I could relate to him. I couldn't relate to a teenager fighting crime at night, but I could relate to Nipper, small and scrapping for every minute on the pitch. I could relate to Hot Shot Hamish, sharing both a name and beautiful flowing golden locks (sadly just a memory for this bald man now). 

These were my heroes, characters that inhabited the same world as me. I may not have ridden a speedway bike like Jo Tallon, but I had been to the speedway enough with my father to understand and smell and sound of being at the track. Jo was my hero, pushing herself and her bike week after week. Skid Solo was my hero, doing deeds on the track while nurturing a young lad the same age as me. Hot Hamish, Roy Race, Nipper Lawrence - all heroes. Martin and Tiny could well have been any number of my friend's older brothers as they became teenagers and gained our licences. They weren't spandex-wearing, or powerful, but they were heroes to me. It turns out it's true what they say. Not all heroes wear capes.   

Tiger

19th July 1975

Billy's Boots

Billy has been invited to take part in a practice game for the county side. Last week we saw him start badly, but on the cover of this week's edition his boots have taken a hand, and after shortening his run-up Billy clean bowls the batter.

Billy is feeling pleased with himself, but while fielding on the boundary he is distracted by his classmates. He misses a catch, and the ball strikes him on the shin, forcing Billy to leave the game injured. 

Back at school, Mister Renton tells Billy's team that Billy and Jimmy's punishment is now over and after being dropped from the team for two games are are now back in.

Their first game back they are playing Cranworth school. Looking through the scorebook, one of Billy's teammates observes that no team has scored more than fifty against Cranworth, leading to the assumption that Cranworth must have some good bowlers. 

However, out on the pitch, we see that it's not good bowling that is making for the low scores, but rather a rough pitch that makes the ball almost unplayable. One of the Groundswood boys is out almost immediately, and the strip ends this week with Billy walking out to bat, while his friends offer a dustbin lid to strap to his chest to stop him getting hit. 

These last few weeks of Billy playing cricket have been superb, and this is another strong entry in this storyline. Billy's first delivery was well worth its front-page status and set us up for another issue of ups and downs for the lad. From his bowling performance, things took a turn as he was brought back to earth in the outfield, a nice little lesson tucked into the pages for any boy who gets overconfident after a good performance. The interaction with Mister Renton is also an aspect of the story that delivers more than it should given how little space is dedicated to it. In just a single panel Mister Renton displays his power over Billy and his friends, and although he is installing strong discipline it also shows he has some humanity. This makes for a well-rounded character that is crucial to the lives of Billy and his friends. However, it's not Mister Renton who has the best line in the story, it's the Math teacher who delivers the hottest line we have seen in a Billy's Boots story for some time. It also happens to be the best line in the comic. Lovely writing, and it gives the story an extra edge that makes me smile just thinking about it.

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "Gosh, the Cranworth lot are even more scruffy than we are!"

Skid Solo

Another day of hard graft by Sandy McGrath, and it looks like Skid's car will be ready in time for the British Grand Prix. 

Skid makes the start line in his car cobbled together from two vehicles. Driving aggressively, he leads the field early on, before pulling into the pits with steering issues. 

A quick repair by Sandy and Tommy soon has him back on track. He makes up the lost time, breaking the lap record, and regains the lead. But again he suffers car issues, this time an overheating problem, and Sandy makes another repair. 

The next lap Skid is back in the pits. He has had steering problems again, although this time much more severe and has crashed into a barrier. 

With his race over, Skid tells Tommy that it's best to keep busy at a time like this. With that in mind, he offers to take Tommy for a driving lesson. This lesson is going well until Tommy is rear-ended by a truck as he slows down at some traffic lights. The truck driver blames Tommy, but after he recognises Skid he changes his tune, asking for an autograph and offering to pay for the damages. 

An uneven story for Skid this week and I didn't like it anywhere near as much as I should have. My biggest problem is that immediately after crashing out of the race, Skid leaves the track to take Tommy for a driving lesson. I understand that this is a comic and not reality, but even so, I found this a bit on the nose - especially coming from a professional such as Skid Solo. He has always been the model of professionalism on these pages, and it suddenly seemed out of character to see him leave with Tommy. Before this incident, I had greatly enjoyed the race, and the trials and tribulations facing Skid and his men. Drama after drama stacked up, and through it all Skid kept driving with a steely determination. It felt like we were back to the very best of Skid Solo, so it was disappointing to have it all swept away by Tommy's driving lesson. Even so, the lesson could have been handled better, and the way it finally played out with the lorry driver was weak and not to the usual standard I have come to expect. The motor racing was a solid eight, while Tommy's lesson was a four, giving the strip an uneven score of six. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "That Mon's always got a chance as long as his wheels keep turning!" 

Martin's Marvellous Mini 

Tiny and Martin are at Silverstone for a mini race, but during practice, a wheel falls off and the car skids off the track. 

Assessing the damage, they find it is fixable with the right parts. They have no money, but Martin sets off to buy the parts they need, promising to pay everyone back the following day once they have won the race day. 

Race day goes well, and Martin is leading the race by a handy margin. However, he has a bit of bad luck as a stone is flicked up off the track and shatters his windshield. This sends him crashing off the track and out of the race. 

Back at the pits, Martin is towed in. The tow driver tells him it's five pounds for the tow, but he can pay tomorrow. At that moment the race organiser also tells them that they haven't paid their entry fee, and he will also collect his money tomorrow. The boys have a quick tally up and come to the realisation that they need one hundred and thirty pounds by the next day or they will be facing some big trouble. 

Glorious to look at, absolutely glorious. The colours for this issue are spot on, and the story popped off the page at me. The second page was a treat, and seeing Tiny dressed as a program seller was a moment that made me laugh. The final panel and the looks on their faces were the best of the lot and a great way to leave this week's story. Expressive and emotive, the artwork emphasised the dialogue and made an impression that only comics can. Tiny and Martin and their money issues is a never-ending saga (has there ever been another strip in a boys' comic so focussed on money?) that throws up scenario after scenario. Everyone is thrown into the mix here, and we end with the situation where the boys owe money to everyone, a situation I can relate to, although it probably went over my head when I was a boy. If I knew how much of my life would be given over to worrying about mortgage payments etc, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed Martin's Marvellous Mini and their money issues as much as I did when I was a boy. Still, I find it even more relatable as an adult, and I shall be scouring next week's issue to steal their money-making ideas for myself. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "And all we've got is a fifty pence each...and a very badly broken mini..."

Johnny Cougar

Johnny Cougar and Golden Boy receive a warm welcome at the athletic stadium as they prepare to compete against each other in a marathon series of competitions. 

The first competition is a 1500-metre race, a race that Cougar wins easily after pacing himself throughout the run. 

Next is the high jump, and Johnny also wins this easily, electing to watch as Golden Boy takes on a variety of steadily increasing heights before Cougar beats them all with the Fosbury Flop. 

The next event is the 200-metres. Cougar is winning again when suddenly Golden Boy trips him. At the speed they are going Cougar could be badly hurt in a fall, but we'll have to wait until next week to see what happens next.

A simple enough story, and one I enjoyed without ever becoming too involved. The artwork highlighted this and kept out of the way as the story told itself. After the intensity of the wrestling match, this issue gave us a chance to catch our breath as the action on the page slowed down. We had three events, but none of them was particularly taxing, and they were each neatly compartmentalised. The only real drama on the page was the third event, and even then it was the final panel where we finally had some conflict. A light story, the highlight oddly enough was the opening panel as they paraded around the stadium in the back of a car. It wasn't the Cougar I have come to expect, but I enjoyed the change of pace and it was a nice read for a Sunday morning. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Brave words...Cougar think you should save your breath...you going to need it!"

Nipper

Nipper is about to open the batting for Grove Lane Cricket Club, facing the lightning-fast bowler Typhoon Tuggey, who is making it a personal mission to hurt Nipper. 

Tuggey delivers on his promise. The first ball almost takes Nipper's head off,  while the second and third ones are too fast to see and smash Nipper in the hand, and in the stomach. 

Sir Henry is watching on with his son Roger, and he tells Roger that he hopes he is learning a thing or two from Nipper. 

Out in the middle Nipper finally manages to get a single and escape the onslaught. However, his batting partner is out the next ball, clean bowled by Tuggey. Roger comes to the crease looking scared stiff and anxious about facing Tuggey, Nipper can see that he's scared and appeals to Tuggey to take it easy on the lad, but Tuggey merely laughs and tells Nipper that all of Grove Lane's players are fair game as far as he's concerned.

This story carries a lot of promise but has yet to deliver. We have now got a handle on Tuggey and his intentions, and although we saw Nipper struck by some frightful blows, the worst is yet to come. Having the chairman's son Roger thrown into the mix added an extra angle int this conflict between Nipper and Tuggey, and things look like they are out of Nipper's hands for now. This was a nice touch, and I appreciated that for once Nipper cannot dictate what happens on the page. It is a chance for other characters to come forward and move the story along, and I think the conflict between Roger and Tuggey will give the story another layer that will help it become a deeper and more interesting read. Maybe none of this will happen, and I will be eating my words next week, but for now, I am happy with the direction we are pointing and waiting to see what will happen next. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "By gad! A blow like that would have felled an oak tree...yet Lawrence is bouncing right back again!"

Roy Of The Rovers

Roy has promised his French friend Jules that he will help him find his kidnapped son, but first, he must find a way of wrangling his way out of an English team trip to the movies. 

Roy has a scheme, and it works perfectly. Putting in some extra training with the English team, he returns to his locker and tells the manager that he has lost the key to his locker where all his street clothes are. The manager is frustrated, but there is nothing he can do. Roy tells him that he'll rush back to the hotel get his clothes, and then meet them directly at the cinema. This they agree to and Roy is soon on his way to meet up with Jules. 

He and Jules fill a suitcase with newspapers instead of ransom money and drop it off at the appointed spot. The money floats down the river, and further on it is fished out by two masked men. They are shocked when they find that Roy has also been in the river, floating under the suitcase, and he catches one with a punch before grappling with the other. 

Jules is quickly on the scene, and the pair of them soon have the kidnappers sedated and waiting for the police. Roy leaves Jules to wait and scampers off, desperate to meet up with his English colleagues and hoping all this drama doesn't affect his performance on the field the following day. 

Excitement plus, with barely a football in sight. I hadn't expected things to escalate as fast as they did and the story was up and running before I knew it. The artwork in the story was better than I have seen in a long time, and I think a large part of this was having Roy away from the football field. The scenario he was in was far more interesting to the eye, and the artist gave us several great panels of Roy in action. Roy bursting from the water to strike the kidnappers was a standout, as was the brief fight that ensued. This story has been building for several weeks now, and this week we got the payoff with a healthy dose of action and some great Roy Race moments. It's not over yet, but it is hard to see how this issue will be topped and it feels like this will be the pinnacle of this storyline. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "I guess they didn't expect us to turn up this morning! You chump, Roy! We're due at the cinema in half-an-hour! The manager has got a reception laid on!" 

Hot Shot Hamish

Hamish is stuck at the top of a mountain, while the rest of his team are off playing. The local guide tells Hamish that there are two ways down; the fast way or the slow way. Hamish elects to take the fast way and finds himself unceremoniously pushed off the side.

Still tied to his guide, Hamish is soon on his way down as his guide negotiates the sheer cliff. As they reach the lower slopes they see some grass skiers, and Hamish offers that he wouldn't mind trying that himself. His guide obliges him, and Hamish is soon zooming down the hill. Despite a warning from the guide, Hamish ends up in the local river, where he comes out drenched and covered with mud. 

Back at the hotel, Hamish settles down in front of the TV with some locals to watch the Princes Park game. Princes Park is already two-nil up when there is a heavy foul committed against one of their players. Hamish is unhappy and yells at the TV. At the ground, a fight breaks out between the players and spectators, and back at the hotel, Hamish is soon engaged in some fisticuffs of his own as a brawl develops in the TV room over the decision. 

The first half of this week's story had some light humour, but the thigh-slapping laugh-out-loud moments were in the final panels as the fighting started. You can't beat an old-fashioned brawl, and with the exaggerated cartoon aspects of Hamish thrown it, this was a doozy. I temporarily forgot this was a football story, and just revelled in the expressions of Hamish and his combatants on the page. It wasn't as silly as some of the previous issues, and even having Hamish on grass skis was funny rather than just foolish. We are in the midst of a humourous streak for Hot Shot Hamish, with some of the drama of the football season temporally forgotten and replaced with a more sedately paced and amusing storyline. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Hooligan! Does your team no' ken how to play football?"

Tallon Of The Track 

Club chairman Basil Oldfield wants to bring new blood into the Ospreys team and tells Jo Tallon that he wants to bring in Bill Bolton. Jo is unhappy with the situation, although there is little she can do about it at this moment and for now they must wait until Bolton's trial with the Lions has finished.

Wanting to take her mind off the team, Dave offers Jo to enter a scramble meeting with him the next Saturday. She readily accepts, and come Saturday both are geared up and waiting to go at the start of the scramble. Their good mood is interrupted but the appearance of Bill Bolton who has also entered the scramble. Showering Jo with mud, he once again riles her up and Jo is furious when she finds she'll be racing against him in the intermediate event.

The event begins, and Jo and Bolton prove to be a cut above everyone else. Soon they are both far out in front, with Bolton holding an advantage over Jo. Coming over the hill, Jo can see Bolton has stopped at the bottom of the hill and is currently opening a gate. Jo can't fathom why, as the scramble goes straight past the gate, but we will be sure to find out come next week. 

I'm still not feeling enthusiastic about this story, although my interest has been piqued somewhat by this scramble race. It seems Jo has her work cut out to win over Bolton, and he doesn't look like he will bend easily to her will. Paired with the scramble race, we have two story threads crisscrossing each other, and each should provide fuel for the other. To have a storyline of purely Jo clashing in the team would be repetitive after the previous storyline, and throwing in this scramble has raised the stakes, and my interest, considerably. Next week may well be make or break as far as my interest in the story goes, but things are looking promising and I have high hopes for the next issue. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Tut-tut, what an accusation! A nice, quiet, well-bred lad like me wouldn't dream of doing a thing like that!" 

Issue final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story:  Roy Of The Rovers 

Best Line: "If you two hurry up and sit down, you can get professional coaching here...in maths!" 

Best Panel:

Roy's Sports Quiz: