Tiger 13th March 1976

I don't want to write an introduction.

I want to jump right into the action and dive into my favourite comic immediately. They say Gen Z is all about instant gratification, but let me tell you, this Gen Xer is exactly the same. In some respects, it is even more so. Who knows how many years I have left on this earth? The number is limited, and every day is important. I can't afford to muck around doing things I don't want to. All I want to do is relax and read my comics while I can, and that's exactly what I'm going to do now. 

Tiger

13th March 1976

Skid Solo

Tommy Carter's first Grand Prix race earns him a place on the front cover of this week's Tiger comic. Surrounded by the stars of the sport, Tommy is nervous on the starting grid and takes his frustrations out on Sandy. 

The race begins, and poor Tommy almost loses control at the first corner as he drives too fast and furious. Regaining his composure, his confidence grows as he passes the Italian Champion Toni Mareillia on the fourth lap. 

Buoyed by this, Tommy begins to think himself bulletproof. He blows by several other drivers, and with each manoeuvre, he pushes himself and the car faster. 

He eventually overtakes Sparrow Smith for the lead, but he has pushed the car too hard, and minutes later, things come to an end as the car overheats. 

Sandy tells him off, pointing out that he knows better than to thrash the car all the way. Put in his place, Tommy watches the rest of the race from the stands. After the race, he hears the other drivers talking about how he was driving like an idiot, and one of them even calls him a no-hoper. At this point, Skid steps in and tells them all that although Tommy is new, he is faster than all of them, and Skid is banking on him being a world champion one day. This raises Tommy's spirits. With someone like Skid backing you, you have to do your best.

This is the story we have been waiting for. Tommy Smith is finally in a Grand Prix car and taking on the best in the business. We see his nervousness on the cover, surrounded by the race cars and listing the famous drivers. The scene is well set before we turn the page, and the following story doesn't disappoint. 

The story is well told and balanced. Tommy is portrayed as being a fast driver, yet very much a boy- exactly as it should be. The story straddles this line throughout, and it never strays too far one way or another. 

I enjoyed seeing Tommy making mistakes on the track, a reminder that he is still young, and I especially enjoyed seeing the other drivers talking about him behind his back at the end of the race. This worked for me on two levels. Firstly, it helped keep Tommy in his place and offered Skid Solo a chance to inject himself into the story. It also played to the insecurity of every young boy and the feeling you get when others talk about you. The look on his face captures this feeling perfectly and helps Tommy earn some empathy from the reader. Not everyone has driven a speed race car around the track, but we have all experienced gossip and small talk in one way or another, and at this moment, the reader is in Tommy's shoes. 

Next week, we are told it's Skid Solo's birthday. I don't know what we will see in terms of motor racing, but I predict a birthday cake will appear, and the story of Tommy and his journey will take a back seat. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Sparrow Smith is leading! If I can get past him, I'm leading!"

Johnny Cougar

Last week, Johnny found himself in a three-way fight against The Pirate and The Masked Maniac. At the end of the episode, Johnny and the Pirate are knocked down by the Masked Maniac and face a serious count. 

Both bounce back this week, and with partnerships rapidly falling apart, it's every man for himself. There is some fast-paced action before the strip wraps up with all three men running at each other from different parts of the ring for a flying head butt that knocks all three men down. 

This was all action all the way, with wrestling dominating from start to finish. It was only two pages, and with large panels filling the second page, the story and action moved quickly. 

The story itself didn't develop much beyond what we saw last week. We still have the three men equally matched, and although there were some short-lived partnerships, they didn't provide any real advantage for the wrestlers.  

The star of the show wasn't Johnny Cougar, but rather the artist. The wrestling looked believable, was exciting, and we didn't need to read the words to follow the story. I appreciated the craft of the story, and my eyes ran excitedly across the page as I took in all the action. Sometimes simple is best, and this delivered the story in a highly efficient manner that made the silliness of the characters seem less important than the actual match they were competing in. With wrestling filling every panel, this was a great strip for both wrestling fans and fans of sports in general.    

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "So it's every man for himself... that's good enough for me!"

Hot Shot Hamish

Princes Park is playing a vital away game against Alexanda town, but find themselves bogged down by a muddy pitch. 

There is chaos in the mud, with Hamish scoring the winning goal when the opposing goalkeeper catches a chunk of mud flying off his boot rather than the ball. 

Hamish returns home to Mister McCash with Jock McBell and is awoken in the morning by a servant preparing some riding clothes for him. McCash and McBell are heading out for a genteel ride, and despite his better judgement, Hamish is convinced to come along. 

On a horse, aptly named Firecracker, Hamish is soon separated from the others and finds himself lost in the swamp. A strange man emerges from the fog, demanding to know who this is on his land. Hamish tells him that he is Balfour, to which the man replies that he is a McKirky, an ancient enemy of the Balfours. 

The final panel was great, but the rest of the story couldn't come close to it for interest or drama. The story of the muddy pitch was weak and delivered little, while the events leading up to Hamish meeting McKirky were low-key and merely set the scene. 

The image of Hamish on a horse did lighten the mood mid-story, although this too paled in comparison to the appearance of McKirky. The humour wasn't strong enough, and despite raising a smile, it couldn't make me laugh. 

McKirky promises much, and one can only hope that next week builds on his appearance here. He looks mysterious and dangerous and offers numerous potential storylines. What will happen next is anyone's guess, but I'm sure it will be better than what we have here.   

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "I should have stuck to football! Here I am lost! No roads in sight...no houses...no horse...nothing!"

Billy's Boots

It's the last minute of Groundswood's vital quarter-final in the school's cup, and Billy lobs a pass over the defence to his pal Jimmy Dawson. Jimmy's shot is saved, but Billy is quick to the rebound and scores with an impressive strike from just inside the area. 

All talk is of the semi-final, but first Billy and Jimmy pay a visit to Mickey Brown, who was injured during the game and is now in hospital with his leg in plaster. Mickey can't do his paper round, but Billy volunteers to do it, thinking it will be good exercise for the semifinal. 

Billy makes good time running around the paper round when disaster strikes. He runs headlong into a man on the street, dropping his football. The man becomes angry, kicking Billy's ball over the fence and telling him he has no right to play in the street. 

Billy goes to retrieve his ball, but as he peers over the fence, he sees a man and woman looking to see what the crash was before discovering the ball has broken the greenhouse and smashed up the man's orchids. 

At football training, all Billy can think about is the trouble he might be in. His lack of concentration doesn't go unnoticed by Mr Harris, who decides he will have a word with Billy afterwards. 

The football action that opened the strip was good enough, but it was the following page and the appearance of two businessmen that enthralled me. With their suits and bowler hats, they were a throwback to an older era, an era before my time, and they presented a real curiosity on the page. Having them holding umbrellas added to the Englishness of the image, and I was fascinated by it. 

The fallout from this encounter propelled the drama to the next page and continued to influence the story through to the next week. On the back of this chance meeting, we now have two new characters introduced with the couple whose plants were damaged, as well as Billy's play being affected and Mr Harris looking to get involved. This adds several elements of interest, and coupled with the injury to Micky Brown, the story is branching in different directions. I'm not sure even his boots can get him out of this one. Whatever happens next, Billy will have to face the consequences on his own.    

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Steady on, Simpson, old man!" 

Tornado Jones

Tornado Jones has received a telegram inviting him for some work in the film industry. Arriving at set, Jones is told he will play the part of a dispatch rider in a war film, and he is soon dressed in character and ready to go. 

Instructed to follow the white arrows in the forest, things soon go wrong for Jones. He crashes through a brick wall (luckily made of cardboard) before driving wildly down the hill toward the car park. He comes to a calamitous end as he crashes into a jeep, sending the driver and Wild Bill Bannon flying. Bill Bannon comes up with his fits clenched, and Jones is warned that he's trouble with a capital T.

Although I am not overly fussed by the thought of Tornado Jones being a stunt rider, it did give us several attention-grabbing images. The pick of these was Jones smashing through the brick wall, an image that pre-empted the crash that would round out the strip. 

The stunt riding could be short-lived, and from what we have seen here, there does not seem to be much future in it for Jones or for the storyline. Already, we are seeing a move out of the immediate story with Jones crashing into Bill Bannon. This will either spin off into a direct confrontation with Jones and Bannon, or it will greatly colour what comes next in the making of the movie. I shall be happy either way we go. The movie has failed to deliver thus far, but the appearance of Bill Bannon has reset the clock in the final panel, and wherever we go from here, he is bound to play a big part in it. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Wow, that was quite a prang...and the bloke I clobbered doesn't look too happy about it!" 

Martin's Marvellous Mini 

Hot on the heels of a kidnapped Henry, Tiny and Martin find themselves in a fun house on Mr Twastle's Island. Tiny has disappeared through a trap door on the floor, and Martin follows his voice until they are reunited at the centre of a hedge maze. Henry is there too and tells them that he was kidnapped by two of Mr Twastle's waiters who are asking for two thousand pounds for his return. 

All three drive at high speed back to Mr Twastle, and when they arrive, they learn that he has already paid the ransom. Tiny and Martin get back into the car, and after some more high-speed driving, they see the kidnappers sailing out of the harbour. With little pause for thought, they jump on the nearest boat to give chase. However, as they leave the harbour, they find the seas rougher than expected, and the boat struggles to stay upright. 

"When a man is tired of Twastles Island, he is tired of life" - Samuel Johnson

Well, sir, mark me down as tired of life. I am weary of this constant tomfoolery on Twastles Island. I thought we had had enough of this from the last time we were here, yet one year later, I still see characters falling through trap doors or running around mazes. The first time, I passed it off as fun; this time, I was not so accommodating, especially as there was a kidnapping at hand, something far more exciting and thrilling than seeing Tiny disappear through the floor. 

The final panels restored the comic's reputation somewhat, and we ended on the right note as Tiny and Martin gave chase - albeit on a boat at sea rather than their normal means of transport. This was a better fit for the weighty storyline, and although one could laugh at their final predicament, it wasn't played for laughs. 

Although I wasn't a fan of this week's episode, the second half played much better than the first, and we are well placed for a strong issue next week. Seeing the boys at sea promises much, and as long as we don't return to the island, I shall be happy with whatever comes next. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Fancy asking two thousand pounds...for me!"

Nipper

Nipper is lining up a penalty against the Dutch side, with only Jan, his nemesis of the last two weeks, in his way. 

Nipper sends the keeper the wrong way, but his shot hits the post. The English players race for the rebound, but Jan is too good for them and makes the save. He continues his sterling efforts in goal, foiling Nipper at every opportunity. Nipper is eventually subbed off, and Jan continues his heroics until the end.

After the game, Nipper tries apologising to Jan, but Jan tells him he won't accept the apology. Nipper inspired him to great heights, and he promises more of the same next time. 

Nipper wonders what he means by next time but finds out when he returns to Blackport training. Blackport's next European opponent is Zeeden of Holland, with Jan Eyke in goal. 

Storming action and magnificent artwork ensure that Nipper stays at the top of my reading pile this week. The action was cast equally across both Nipper and Jan Eyke, with Jan almost stealing the story from Nipper's top billing. He was excellent throughout the story and well served by the artwork and storyline that accompanied him. He looked strong, yet carried a natural humanity about him that played well within the strip. He was a tough opponent who never came across as a villain. Instead, he was Nipper's equal in every way -  which should drive the story for the coming weeks. 

It goes without saying that the best panels belonged to Jan, and there were a number of images showing him pulling off dynamic saves. All of these helped ramp up the tension and, coupled with the frustrated facial expressions of Nipper, helped build the idea that Jan is a human barrier as well as a mental one for Nipper. The most pleasing aspect of this is that it isn't just a one-off, and Nipper must face Jan again in the European Cup. Expect plenty more of the same, with lots of dramatic saves as Jan continues to keep Nipper at bay. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Have a rest, lad... it's just one of those games! I don't think you'd score if we played all night!"

Roy Of The Rovers

Roy has put his faith in Gerry Holloway, and although Holloway arrives twenty minutes after kickoff he is subbed into the game. 

The team is still disjointed, but a quick throw-in by Roy sends Duncan McKay away. McKay crosses to Blackie, only for Holloway to appear and head the ball home for the opening goal. 

Holloway is quiet for the rest of the game, until midway through the second half when he unexpectedly manages to catch up with a loose ball that was threatening to go out. A beautiful cross lands at Roy's feet, and Roy strikes the second goal to win the match. 

After the game Roy tells Blackie that he will explain why he is lenient on Holloway, knowing that his reason had better be good or he will face a full-scale mutiny. 

The Holloway storyline is gaining momentum, and after last week saying that I hoped it would end soon, I once again find myself engaged with the story as Holloway takes the field. 

Helped in no small part by the various factions coming together in the story and David Sque's efficient artwork, things moved quickly. Other weeks have barely moved in the Holloway story, and this week more than makes up for it as the story jumped forward on the back of Holloway's strong performance on the field. With Roy promising to tell the team why he has been lenient on Holloway, I expect the story to take another large step forward next week.

Although this wasn't my favourite story this week, it wasn't too far off it, a surprising development after last week. It just goes to show that while form is temporary, class is permanent. The class of Barrie Tomlinson and David Sque is clearly on display here, and with last week's issue forgotten, once again, the future looks good for Roy Of The Rovers. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "Er, sorry about that, Roy, but I thought I had a better chance than Blackie!"

Issue final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Skid Solo 

Best Line: "If I can pass Mareilla...I can pass the others too! All of them!"

Best Panel:

Roy's Sports Quiz: