Tiger 21st February 1976

Alcohol.
Alcohol is the reason there was no blog last week. 
Alcohol and karaoke - one of the most deadly combinations known to mankind.  All I can say is just be thankful you weren't there as I mangled my way through Oasis's back catalogue (they deserved it). No matter how bad the night was, the real damage came the next day as I failed to rise at 7am, 8am, or 9am. It was almost lunch before I felt human enough to get out of bed, and although I got up, not a lot happened that Sunday afternoon apart from the couch having a weary visitor and the TV flicking through channels. 

A new week and a new me. I'm not out there running marathons, but I am in my library, not reading great works of literature, but rather the comics of my youth - which just so happen to be great works of literature. Well, maybe not Johnny Cougar this week, but certainly many of the other stories are taking us on a worthy journey. With characters developing as the world around them grows ever more complicated, it's a lifelong journey, and some of the characters are proving to be just as fallible as me. At least in 1976 none of them had ever heard of a karaoke machine. Just imagine a middle-aged Billy Dane and Jimmy Dawson belting out a drunken "Wonderwall." Now that's a story I'd like to read!

21st February 1976

Johnny Cougar

Johnny Cougar suffered a concussion in his last match, and this week begins with Johnny having an intense gym workout. He passes with flying colours and decides he is fine to take part in his next match against The Pirate. 

As he walks towards the ring for this bout, The Masked Maniac emerges from the crowd, telling Johnny that despite their previous difference, he fully supports Johnny and needs him to beat The Pirate. 

 As Johnny enters the ring, The Pirate raises the Skull and Cross Bone Flag. Johnny has his own flag, showing Johnny triumphant over The Pirate. The flag enrages The Pirate, who slashes it down with his cutlass, before pointing to a plank erected beside the ring and telling Johnny that he'll be walking down it before the end of the match. 

The opening panels didn't fill me with great hope for this story. While seeing Johnny training was moderately interesting, it wasn't a dynamic start to the story. Nor was it the hook to bring me into the story, and it was a ho-hum beginning to a story featured on the cover.

Things improved inside, and after some unnecessary panels with Splash, we arrived at the arena for some wrestling.  The Chinaman and Footballer fighting gave us some heavy impacts that demonstrated what a physical sport wrestling is, before the arrival of The Pirate.

I'm not normally one for silliness, but I couldn't help but smile at the outfit of The Pirate, or indeed the entire conceit. It was wacky, yet it worked in the context of the story. Yes, he had a cutlass and a flag, but it was no more outrageous than the Footballer and the Masked Maniac, and it did admire the chutzpah of the writer for committing this to paper. 

I like where we finished, and although the story was uneven, things look good for future episodes. A strong beginning would have been nice, but like so many things it matters not where you start but where you finish, and this week we finished in a very good spot indeed.  

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Avast there, me hearties...victory will soon be mine...and then I'll have proved that I'm the greatest matman who ever sailed the seven seas!" 

Billy's Boots

Billy and his pal Jimmy are doing a cross-country run, while Jimmy moans that he won't be selected in the next game. Billy tries to reassure him, but their conversation is interrupted when they stumble upon an animal trap. At the same moment, a gamekeeper appears and the two boys are accused of poaching and taken to the owner of the land, Colonel Everitt. 

Colonel Everitt tells the boys they were trespassing, even if they didn't place the trap. He tells them that he will report this to their headmaster, and the following day Billy and Jimmy find he has kept his word. They are both on the noticeboard to play for the school team, but a furious Mr Harris storms into the corridor, crosses their names off the team lists and tells them to report to the headmaster. 

They receive a week's detention, and come the weekend they find they don't have a football game. They try the Merrydowners first, but they have a full team. They then learn of a charity match, and they decide to go and watch. The call goes out at halftime, asking if anyone can play football. Billy and Jimmy report to the player's tunnel, and they are told it's a gimmick for the match. They are the only volunteers, and they can play in the second half. Then, Billy remembers that he doesn't have his boots, and the strip ends with him worried that he will embarrass himself in front of a crowd. 

Another story of two halves and I liked both of them. I greatly enjoyed meeting Colonel Everitt in the first portion of the story, and I wouldn't mind seeing more of him in future episodes. The trespassing story was dealt with quickly, and, although we could potentially return for more drama, it was correct to quickly move on to football matters. 

Part of me wants to tell you that the football side of the story was far-fetched, but we are reading a story about a boy with magical boots, so the point is moot. The panels showing Billy Jimmy and Billy at the game with their bobble hats were firm favourites, not only keeping the two boys warm but also warming the cockles of my heart. It is amazing how something so simple can be so evocative, and I felt twelve years old again as I gazed upon the pals watching from the stands. 

The final call to the field was predictable, but no less enjoyable. I think every Tiger reader can see what is coming next, and I am already cringing on Billy's behalf. Once again we finish a story with me feeling sorry for Billy, who just can't seem to catch a break. 

It's been a tough couple of weeks for Billy, and with no respite in sight next week, he looks to continue this difficult run. Although I feel sorry for him, it does make for good reading, and despite my empathy for the character, I am quietly looking forward to seeing how he will overcome these challenges.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "I don't see what can happen...we haven't done anything!" 

Martin's Marvellous Mini

The boys have returned to Buxton Street, but the mini is now sitting at the bottom of a hole next to an unexploded bomb from World War Two. 

The army saves the day, using a crane to lift the car out. The bomb is then exploded by the army, although it causes some damage to the houses in the street, especially number 17. The street will be repaired, although the occupants of number 17 are worried about where their children will sleep while these repairs take place. 

Tiny and Martin decide they could take the two children, Henry and Linda, to the holiday island owned by Mr Twastle of their last adventure. The ride to the ferry is relatively uneventful, although Henry proves to be a lively character. He becomes worse once they board the ferry, with his misbehaviour getting out of hand, ending with him collapsing the two deck chairs Martin and Tiny are relaxing on. 

So Mr Twastle and his island live on in the pages of Martin's Marvellous Mini. You just can't keep a good man down. We are in the midst of a curious story of children, yet I am wondering how much we will see of the island and Mr Twastle in future issues. 

The bomb part of the story was fun, and the explosion breaking all the windows of the street was particularly satisfying. Obviously done in a pre-Heath and Safety era, the explosive team was laissez-faire with their attitude and final solution for the bomb. Reading this now, it feels like we have come a very long way. 

I took an instant dislike to the children, which I guess is the intention of the writer. They didn't feel mischievous or high-spirited, but rather downright nasty, horrible little beings. Tiny and Martin are better men than me. With my temper, Henry would have been turfed over the side of the boat at the first sign of trouble. I don't care if he does look like a young Roy Race, I wouldn't be putting up with any of his nonsense. 

Given my poor attitude to Henry (sorry not sorry) I am not sure I am going to enjoy next week's issue. That is unless Tiny and Martin take a firm hand and Henry is put back in his box in the most satisfied manner possible.   

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Could be trouble? He is trouble! I hate to think what he's up to right now..."

Nipper

Nipper has regained his memory mid-game against Morino. Pointing his finger at Zampia, he tells him he knows he kicked him all over the pitch last time they met, and now he's up to it again. 

It looks as though Nipper is about to boil over, but instead, it's Zampia who loses control. As his teammates urge him to concentrate on the game rather than his personal battles, Zampia suddenly snaps and strikes his own captain. This action results in him being shown a red card, and Morino is reduced to ten men. 

The game resumes, and Nipper scores with his famous horizontal bicycle kick. Nipper hasn't fully regained his memory, but it is slowly coming back and he is more like his former self. 

A week later, Blackport won the return leg against Morino, and they are through to the next stage of the European competition. Jogging off the field Mike Bateson tells Nipper he expects he will be a threat on the field come Wednesday. Nipper questions this, as he doesn't know of a game on Wednesday. His memory loss is again at play, and Nipper has no idea that has been picked for the England under Twenty-thee team nor can he recollect any of the training sessions or the tactics that will be employed. 

Aided by clean artwork, this was another great Nipper story with many highlights scattered across its two pages. 

The opening panel with Nipper confronting Zampia, and Zampia striking his own captain was superb, and the rest of the story was able to cruise on the back of this sensational opening. I didn't think I would care too much about Nipper and Zampia, but it delivered more than it promised. It was clever that when Zampia did explode, it was against his own teammates. leaving Nipper to carry on with his own problems without being directly impacted by Zampia. The best panel of the story was of Zampia striking his captain, and although I don't normally condone violence, I loved seeing this played out. 

We had another treat soon after as Nipper scored with his patented horizontal bicycle-kick. Again, an arresting image that snatched my attention. The panel in which he did this stood out as it sat over the page from the previous grand panel of Zampia, meaning neither detracted from the other.  

We had a lovely moment in the dressing room as Nipper says he has another memory that has come back to him - Mike Bateson owes him five pounds. It had the players laughing and me too as the easy friendship made light of the serious situation Nipper finds himself in.

The final quarter of the story was the weakest part. Morino is easily dispatched in the second leg and it takes only two panels to close the chapter on this European Challenge. A new challenge appears on the page as Nipper learns that he is in the England Under Twenty-Three team, although he has no recall of any of the training sessions. You needn't worry Nipper, I have no recollection of the training sessions either as this is the first we have heard of you being in the team and taking part in the build-up to the game. The last two months have been entirely dedicated to Nipper's memory loss, and it's strange that this has never been mentioned before. One can only assume it's an idea that's only just occurred to the writers, and although I want to see what happens next, there is the feeling that this has been shoehorned in. 

It doesn't matter too much, we should rejoice at seeing Nipper wearing the three lions on his chest, and we are quickly moving into more drama as he takes the field for his country. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "No - it's no good. Everything else is a complete blank! Except for one thing..."

Tornado Jones

Tornado Jones has opened his big mouth on TV and now faces the prospect of having to leap the Avon Gorge near Bristol. Surveying the gorge, Jones doesn't like his chances, although it's too late to back out now. 

Jones presents his drawings of a rocket car to Professor Caine of the aero research centre. Professor Caine has been tasked with helping Jones build his rocket car, and upon looking at Jones's designs he tells him it's too heavy.

Professor Caine has a mockup of the gorge in his laboratory and launches a model of Jones's car to test it. Unsurprisingly it crashes into the side of the gorge and explodes. Jones's solution is simple - put a bigger rocket on it. The Professor points out that the car will probably break up under the strain of bigger rockets, but Jones is adamant and the Professor goes along with his wishes. 

The rest of the preparations proceed smoothly and we see the ramp being built before later in the strip the professor unvails Jones's car. Jones sits in the driver's seat, satisfied with what has been built when he suddenly clutches his throat and falls backwards. 

This story was all about the preparations, and as such it didn't carry much drama until the final panel. Even this final panel didn't grab the reader, as the affliction that has struck Jones is unknown and unseen on the page. A man clutching his throat can't compare with the sight of him soaring across a gorge, and it felt a step down from the promise earlier in the strip. 

That said, the preparations were worth my time, and I did enjoy seeing the care in setting up the stunt and the story. We now have a good sense of what faces Jones, and the potential for tragedy. The sight of the car exploding at the mockup was warning enough and gave a visual idea of what awaits us next week if Jones should overcome his current issue. 

It's hard to dislike Tornado Jones. Even a relatively flat issue like this one carries some wonderful art, and I am always transfixed by the facial expressions that James Bleach bestows upon his characters. Not much was happening on the page, yet Jones's face always had movement to it and it felt like there was always a quiet drama lurking just behind his eyes. Hopefully, that drama will come forward onto the page next week, and we get a stunt worthy of the art.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "So increase the engine-size and build the real thing, professor! For this stunt, its going to be do or die!" 

Skid Solo

Tommy "Crash Carter" has been entered into another sports car race, and he is having trouble. In practice, he takes the wrong line into Shepard's Corner and comes off the track. It takes some advice from Skid, and a demonstration on the blackboard to show him the error of his ways. 

The race starts, and Tommy has no trouble at Shepard's Corner. Not so some of the other drivers, and we see some making the same mistake as Tommy earlier. Later in the race, Tommy approaches the corner taking his usual line, only to find he is at the wrong corner and he comes off the track. 

After the race Skid asks him if he took the wrong line. Tommy says yes and no, he did take the right line, but at the wrong corner.

Once again Skid is playing mentor, and he is proving to be very good in this role. He is always patient with Tommy and gives him just the right advice, along with enough trust for Tommy to make his own mistakes. The overall feel of the strip was quaint, and there was something rather homely in the quiet way Skid delivered his lessons, like a well-intentioned and patient father. 

Tommy continues to make mistakes, but I am continuing to enjoy it, and I am quite happy with the speed the story is progressing. Tommy still has a lot to learn, and each week he takes another step forward as he moves steadily toward his eventual goal. I am not sure I shall enjoy the story as much once Tommy gets there, it's the journey rather than the destination, but for now, I am quite entertained. 

The drama of the story was low-key, yet it kept its foot steadily on the accelerator through the story, and we motored nicely through to the finish. There was a steady build to it all, with Skid issuing advice earlier in the strip, Tommy making good on this advice before the final disaster befell him and we had Skid give one last piece of advice. This advice, dispensed Captain Kirk style, could have become preachy, but it all stayed on just the right side of the line and we finished well poised for the next step in Tommy's education. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Yes, every mistake...is a lesson learned...and remember you can never stop learning!"

Roy Of The Rovers

Roy has scored the first goal of the match against Railford, courtesy of a delightful overhead kick by Gerry Holloway. It is a moment of genius from Holloway, although some of the Rovers players dismiss it as luck. 

Despite barely touching the ball in the game, nor seemingly even making an effort, it is Holloway who scores the second goal, pouncing on a rebound to seal the match. 

After the game, the Rover's players remain unconvinced. Holloway barely made an effort, yet both goals came when he got involved in the game. 

On Monday morning Roy finds two first-team squad players waiting at his office. they are unhappy that Roy selected a fourth-division player ahead of them, and Roy calms the situation, telling them that Holloway is cup-tied and Roy will be selecting them for the next game. 

Eager to prove himself a dynamo on the field, one of these players, Trevor Cassidy, throws himself into the action. This overeagerness results in a rash foul, and from the resulting free-kick Hansfield scores the first goal of the game. This worries Roy as Hansfield now have their tails up and is going for a spot of giant-killing. 

We have seen Rovers knocked over by smaller clubs many times in their history and if it were to happen here I would not be surprised. Still, it's early in the game, and I foresee some Racey heroics ahead of us. 

I didn't enjoy the first game, or the Holloway storyline, although it does seem to be developing. Pivoting to two disgruntled players helped broaden the scope and it gives us a couple of weeks away from Holloway and a chance for the story to breathe.

These unhappy p[layers are far more dramatic than the team's displeasure with Holloway's play on the field, and my favourite panels of the strip were when Roy came to his office on Monday morning to find two unhappy squad players waiting for him. I'm not sure how big a squad Rovers have, but now Roy has some sort of sympathy for the Chelsea manager who has more squad players than he can fit into the dressing room. 

A hard-fought cup match next week should satisfy my need for intense football action, and given that Rovers are already one nil down, we should be in for a good climax to the game. With disgruntled players everywhere he looks, Roy will be in for a tough time to weave his team together, and this should be just as interesting as the football over the next few weeks. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "A spot of trouble I'm afraid, Roy! Len Peters and Trevor Cassidy are demanding to see you!"

Hot Shot Hamish 

Princes Park has been ravaged by influenza, and reduced to eight men are grimly hanging on in a vital game. Hamish is everywhere, desperately defending the line, but eventually, he cracks, punching the ball away to save a certain goal but surrendering a penalty. 

The penalty is converted, and Princes Park needs a miracle. That miracle appears a minute later as a heavily bandaged Jock McBell emerges from the tunnel. He jogs onto the pitch, with his concussion now better and the game resumes. 

McBells first touch is a good one, as he floats the ball into the box where Hamish is waiting. Hamish nods it down, then hammers home the hot shot to tie the game at one each. 

The rest of the game is a tussle with a pile of players collapsing on the ball. A single foot emerges from this heap to kick the ball home for a goal, and Princes Park is the victor. Pulling the foot from the pile of bodies, Hamish finds it belongs to Jock McBell and McBell is hailed as the hero of the moment. 

Hamish takes him home to celebrate, but as they approach the front door Hamish tells him that the house belongs to Ian McCash. At this name, McBell becomes enraged, telling Hamish that he has been looking for him for fifteen years and now it's time for revenge. 

Hamish delivers again with another story packed with whimsical images and emotive storylines. The redemption of McBell was well played, and by the time he tapped in the match-winning goal we had been on quite a journey with him. The journey is set to continue next week, and the final panel of McBell preparing for a wee stooshie was the exclamation point on an eventful strip.

Hamish carried the storytelling load earlier in the strip. He was everywhere on the field and this was well captured by the art of Julio Schiaffino.  Schiaffino excelled in showing the pinball nature of the game - the opening panel of the strip set the standard early and was surpassed several times throughout the comic, each time a small nugget of delight for the reader. 

The most memorable image was that of McBell stretching out a leg to score the match-winning goal. The following image of Hamish pulling in the leg to find McBell was equally fun, and the two panels were the lynchpin of this week's strip. 

It looked as if the story of McBell had run its course, but the final panels saw the story find another gear. The current strands of Hamish life are beginning to come together, forming a huge knot of a problem for him. How he resolves this remains to be seen, there are no clues readily available on the page, but however he resolves his issues, I know it will be with good humour and some exotic artwork. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Ian McCash...so this is where he's been hiding. I've been looking for that mon for fifteen years...to get ma revenge!"

Issue final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story:  Hot Shot Hamish  

Best Line: "...the five pounds that you borrowed off me last week, Bateson! Cough up!"

Best Panel:

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