Tiger 27th March 1976

"Can they do it on a cold, rainy night in Stoke?"
    -Andy Grey

This week, Billy's Boots answers that question with Billy's Groundwood team playing on a waterlogged pitch. It may not be night, but it is definitely cold and wet. Of course, Billy has a trump card; he has already read Dead-Shot Keen's book and holds no fear of such adverse conditions. Elsewhere in Tiger comic, the other footballers all have obstacles to overcome. For Roy, of Roy of the Rovers, it's an early injury; for Nipper, it is a keeper that can't be beaten. My personal favorite, Hot Shot Hamish, has personal abuse from the crowd, which is putting him off his game. All I can say is he must be pleased that he didn't play in the era of social media. This is a storming issue of Tiger, although none of the stories can top Billy and his boots putting on a blinding performance in the wet. Can they do it on a cold, rainy night in Stoke? Billy Dane can. 

27th March 1976

Bily's Boots

Billy's School, Groundwood, has reached the semifinals of the Schools Cup, and the game is being played on a waterlogged pitch after heavy overnight rain. 

Billy hopes to slide the ball into the net like the Dead-Shot Keen goal he read about, but conditions are making any sort of positive play difficult. There are chances, but the opposing goalkeeper is having a good day, and at halftime, the scores are still locked. 

Mister Harris gives the team clean shirts during the break and tells them to run hard at the large defenders. The clean shirts make a difference, and the team plays brightly in the second half. Billy earns his chance, and after a nice pass to Jimmy Dawson, Billy runs hard, and as the keeper fumbles the cross, Billy slides in at the far post to score the solitary goal of the match. 

Coming off the field, Billy sees trouble brewing as the couple whose greenhouse he broke are at the sideline. Sure enough, as the team celebrates in the changing room, Mister Harris appears and tells Billy that the Headmaster wants to talk to him immediately. 

This was a great Billy's Boots story. It contained all the elements that excited me as a boy, and there wasn't a single flat moment in the strip. The colour image on the front page let us know exactly what to expect within, and although we didn't get to see Billy score his goal in colour, the image of Dead-Shot Keen scoring his was just as thrilling. 

The off-field drama was well played and didn't interfere with the game, yet it came to a head at just the right moment. We had a fantastic build-up of Billy struggling on the pitch before finding a way to score the winning goal, only for this final action to bring it all crashing to earth. The threat of the Headmaster was made all the better by the fact that it is unknown what he is going to say. The image of the boys telling Billy the worst outcomes was, as I remember as a boy, just the type of thing you don't want to hear when you are in trouble. 

This great storytelling is capped off by stupendous artwork that seems to have gone up a notch in the last couple of months. We had some dynamic scenes on the football field, but even the still panels contained drama in the way they were drawn. The image of Billy walking off the field and seeing the couple springs to mind, as does the final panel as he walks out to face the headmaster. Any number of panels could compete for my favourite of the week, and I already know that this won't be bettered anywhere else in the comic. 

Rating: 10/10

Best line: "Perhaps the Head's going to expel you for something!" 

Roy Of The Rovers

Rovers lost the first leg of the League Cup semi-final 3-0 and are desperate to overturn this deficit in the return leg. However, they are playing with several youngsters in the team, and Roy, in an attempt to lead from the front, has now injured himself in scoring the first goal. 

Despite some magic spray, Roy is forced to retire from the field. Big Duncan McKay steps up in Roy's absence, and the team respond to his fighting spirit. Just after halftime, McKay scores a goal, and Rovers are only trailing by one on aggregate. 

The young team plays hard, but they can't break the Hansfield defense. In the game's final seconds, the ball falls for Vernon Eliot for a clear shot, but at that moment, the referee whistles for full time, and Rovers are knocked out. 

Roy isn't too disheartened, and he compliments the Hansfield manager as they shake hands. He then tells Rovers that there is still the Leaguie and the F.A. Cup. However, Blackie looks to a smiling figure in the stands and thinks that man could make sure they miss out on everything. 

I have no clue who this mystery man is or how he may impact on Melchester Rovers, so it is with some intrigue that I will read next week. He cuts a dashing figure in the crowd, and is obviously known to Blackie, so no doubt Roy will be well aware of who he is aswell. 

The rest of the story was a solid tale of a football match, and it played out as one might expect. We saw Roy's injury, a flurry of chances, and some thoughtful substitutions as some of Rovers' better-known players came to the fore. Duncan McKay (always referred to as Big Duncan McKay), Lofty Peak, Vernon Eliot, and Blackie Grey all appeared at various moments, each playing a role in the theatrics of the game. It was nice to see some of them again, and I only wish each had a larger role. Sometimes it feels like Rovers is only four players, and it is a lottery as to which four we see on the page. 

I enjoyed the football side of this story immensely, and the final panel hints at a wider storyline coming. We still haven't fully resolved the issues surrounding Gerry Holloway, and with new layers being added, the story is continuing to grow in a way that demands I read closely. Built on a solid base of football, we can't go too far wrong with the other aspects of the story, and the strip is in good shape as we continue the march toward Roy's wedding. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Good old Duncan! He's making our youngsters work so hard, they haven't even missed me!"

Johnny Cougar

Johnny Cougar is in a three-way fight with The Masked Maniac and The Pirate, and as we pick up the action this week, Johnny Cougar is standing strong over the other two wrestlers as The Pirate faces a count out. 

Seconds later, it's all over for the Pirate, and the match is now a two-man fight between Cougar and The Masked Maniac. 

The rest of the fight is a hard-hitting affair. Both wrestlers have their moments, and there is intense physical action throughout. Johnny Cougar emerges victorious, finishing The Masked Maniac with a double-handed smash. 

With the cup awarded, all thoughts turn to what might come next, with Splash Gorton telling us that after all this action, everything might seem dull, but he and Johnny will be sure to find something exciting to do. 

Like Roy of the Rovers before it, this strip was built on solid sporting action. The wrestling looked intense on the page, with the artist conveying the physicality of the wrestlers well. The blows looked fearsome, and the impact earth-shaking - just what you would expect from two large men batting it out in the ring. 

Over the last three months, the story has been built on the unique characteristics of the wrestlers, yet that was largely absent in these last two issues. All the frivolities have been shorn off, and we are left with the basics, big men wrestling it out in the ring. This purity surprisingly made the story more engaging, and of this story arc, this was one of the better episodes. I am surprised by this, although it does remind me of the mantra of any good football manager: "We have to get back to basics." That's exactly what Johnny Cougar did this week, and it gave us an enjoyable story based on nothing more than two men wrestling. As for next week, well, that's a whole other story... 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Phew, what a fall...I felt the whole ring shake!" 

Skid Solo 

Another week, another sports car race for Tommy Carter as he proves his worth on the track in the absence of Skid Solo. 

Tommy hasn't had a good time of it so far, and a flashback shows us his earlier troubles. Skid and Sandy are unable to make it to the race, but Skid has arranged for another mechanic to help Tommy at the track.  At first, he was refused entry to the track, the guards thinking he was too young. After producing his ID, Tommy is waved in. In the pits, he is checking his car when an angry mechanic tells him to leave the car alone. The mechanic doesn't realize that Tommy is the driver he has been assigned to, and after an angry exchange, the pair part on bad terms. 

As the race starts, Tommy is determined to put all this behind him. He makes a fast start but soon finds other cars are easily driving by him. He pulls into the pits and tells the mechanic something is wrong with the car. The two have another argument, but this time, Tommy puts the mechanic in his place and tells him to have a look at the engine and get it sorted, or he'll never work again. 

The reluctant mechanic does as he is told, and as Tommy pulls back onto the track, the mechanic ruefully looks at the spark plugs in his hands and hopes that Tommy never finds out that he forgot to change them before the race.  

As a fan of angry faces on the comic page, this story appealed to me. We had angry faces glaring at us from almost every panel, and we could feel the pressure of Tommy's situation. The artwork in this regard was outstanding, and while it is often the cars that thrill me, in this case, it was the furious faces that propelled the action. 

I'm not normally a fan of flashbacks, and it does feel like we have had a lot recently, but it worked well in this case and helped connect the arresting first image with the wider story. The opening panel of the cars on the grid caught the eyes, with the flashbacks building the backstory nicely to get us back to this point.

Skid was almost totally absent this week, only appearing in a single panel early in the strip. It didn't matter too much; Tommy is becoming stronger as a character and is now at the stage where he can carry the story by himself. The image of him dressing down his mechanic highlighted his growth and was the defining moment of this week's story. 

We have more to come next week, although it may well be anti-climatic after what we have read here. A good race won't be enough to satisfy me; I want to see Tommy conquer both the track and the officials.  

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "You might have won a few, mate...but you've never won at the Hatch Lane track before! Win today's race...and you will be someone!" 

Tornado Jones

Tornado Jones has been challenged by a rival stuntman, Bill Bannon, to a five-lap race around the studio perimeter fence. However, Bannon has released a smoke flare, and the blinded Tornado Jones crashed through a gate and into a lot where a western is being filmed.

There is mayhem as he blindly drives down the main street, climaxing as he crashes into a saloon where a gunfight is being filmed. With a morning's filming now ruined, Jones doesn't wait around to suffer the consequences and instead rushes back to his race. 

A shortcut through "Tarzan" and then "Napoleon's retreat from Moscow" sees him rejoin the race just seconds behind Bannon. After a furious final lap, Jones pips Bannon at the post and wins by a wheel length.

Bannon is gracious in defeat, and the pair shake hands. Jones reports to the movie set the following day, ready to take on the job as chief stunt man. However, he is greeted with the news that the studio has decided not to fund this movie, and once again, Tornado Jones is out of a job. 

This was an enjoyable romp, although the final panels were a letdown for both Jones and the reader. Until then, the story had been fast moving and exciting, but it all proved to be for nothing, leaving the action feeling empty and worthless. There was no reward for what we read, and although I don't need a happy ending, I do need a payoff that feels worthy of what has come before. 

The humour of the story was far better balanced than previous Tornado Jones stories, and I liked the way these humorous moments were woven into the story. Jones taking a short-cut through Tarzan and a Napoleonic epic weren't overplayed but provided a smile as Jones continued with his chaos. The race remained the main driver of the action and was the focus even when Jones was engaging in some silliness. This kept the story moving even while I was laughing and helped frame the humour.   

The final panel tells us that Tornado Jones will be taking a break next week but will be returning in two weeks. I don't know what will be taking his place. I don't think a one-shot story will appear, and I can only assume that the next issue will be a story short. We shall see, but it will be good to read Tornado Jones with fresh eyes upon his return. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "And I'm so mad, I don't care who I upset - not even Tarazan of the Apes!" 

Nipper

Nipper is playing against the Dutch Club Zeeden and facing the goalkeeper Jan Eyek, who seems to hold an uncanny mastery over Nipper. 

Nipper has tempered his desire to score and instead set up Mike Bateson for the first goal. He continues to play in this style and acts as a decoy as Blackport scores a second goal. 

The Dutch team see that Nipper is acting as a decoy and changes their tactics. This gives Nipper more space, and soon he is through one-on-one with Jan Eyke. Eyke stops Nipper dead with a rugby tackle, and from the resulting penalty, Len Duggan scores. 

Well into the second half, Nipper finally scores himself, and the game ends with a four-nil victory to Blackport. Coming off the field, Nipper thanks former player Bill Robinson for his advice. Bill had told Nipper that Eyke was so desperate to stop Nipper that he virtually forgot the other forwards, and so it proved on the field. 

The final panel points to trouble in Nipper's future as an evil newcomer arrives at Nipper's house, about to find out if the rumours are true and planning to make a lot of money out of Nipper. 

The story of Nipper and Jan Eyke has played out, and it finished as we guessed last week. There weren't a lot of surprises on the field, apart from Eyke not being sent off for rugby tackling Nipper. It was a different game in 1976, and surely, such an effort in modern times would earn Eyke a straight red card. 

I have enjoyed this story arc with Nipper and Eyke, although I am quietly pleased to see that Nipper's memory loss hasn't been forgotten through all this. The appearance of an evil newcomer (and he did very much look like an evil newcomer) in the final panel signals a return to this memory loss storyline, and this time it appears far more serious than forgetting tactics on the football field. This newcomer looks the business, and I expect we shall learn a lot more about him very quickly next week. 

We still haven't had any repercussions for the students that kidnapped Nipper, and I am beginning to wonder if this current story will ever make a loop back there to see they face justice. It looks unlikely from here, and it does feel like a thread that has never been tied with the story. I'm not too concerned, but it does cross my mind from time to time that these people are still out there, and nobody seems too bothered to punish them.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "He's stopped Nipper, all right - with one of the best rugger tackles I've ever seen!" 

 Surely that's a red card?

Martin's Marvellous Mini

Tiny and Martin are on the holiday island and are charged with keeping an eye on young Henry, who lives on their street. Henry is currently out of control on a motor-bike and careens over the top of a sand dune with Tiny and Martin close behind in the mini. 

It all comes to a rapid end as Henry goes over the handlebars and into the water. Although surrounded by crabs, he emerges unscathed, and the boys drive him back to the hotel, with Tiny riding the motorcycle.

The week ends, and the boys return the now much-politer Henry to his family. From there, they venture onto the Castle Motor Club that Mister Twastle has signed them up to, and they are told that they have been entered into the Cairo to Cape Town rally. 

This excites the pair (and me), but some club members are rather sniffy about their appearance and their old car. Tiny becomes incensed and angrily approaches them, with Martin doing his best to pull him back.  

Not a poor story for Martin's Marvellous Mini, but one that concentrated on wrapping up their time with Henry and setting the groundwork for the next adventure. The story of Henry paled into insignificance after reading that they are about to embark on the Cairo to Cape Town rally, and the previous page felt lightweight after this revelation. 

I never cared much for the story of Henry and their time on the island, so I was rather relieved to see it finish this week. It had a low-key ending fitting for the story, and like so much of the rest of the story, it felt undercooked. Henry was never in serious trouble, and he didn't bring a great deal of humour to the strip. He and the story sat in no-mans land for most of its run and failed to make much of an impression on me throughout.

One person who did make an impression was the castle's owner where the motoring club is based. He looked suspiciously like the man in the final panel of the Roy of the Rovers strip, and although there is no connection between the two, I can't help but note it. 

This week's strip didn't excite me, but I'm all in for the Cairo to Cape Town rally. Throw in an angry Tiny and some snobby Motor Club members, and there is drama aplenty on the horizon. The story of Henry will be soon forgotten as we embrace some proper motoring action and another spectacular travelogue from Tiny and Martin. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Who do you think you are...Tornado Jones?" 

Hot Shot Hamish 

Hamish has fixed up a trial for young Jamie McKirky but now finds himself facing the wrath of Jamie's father. McKirky is waving his sword at Hamish but is subdued when the rest of the team throw a goal net over him before carrying him from the field. 

The trial for Jamie begins, and he proves himself adept with the ball. However, he isn't quite good enough and is a good amateur rather than a professional player. Hamish sends Jamie on his way with a handshake and the promise to try again next season once he has more experience. 

Princes Park's next game is on Saturday, and as the game begins, Hamish finds himself the target of constant abuse from McKirky in the stands. It's loud, and it's personal, and Hamish finds his game suffering as a consequence.  Things come to a head in the final panel as Hamish loses his cool and storms off the pitch, threatening to sort McKirky out. 

An uneven story from Hot Shot Hamish this week. It started strongly, then sagged in the middle before finding its feet again in the final third. The opening sequence of him fighting McKirky was fun, although not as long as I wanted, and it started the story strongly. The final outcome of this fight was well-played, and I enjoyed the creative use of the goal nets.

The trial of young Jamie wasn't so appealing and consisted of half of a page of Jamie using various skills on the field while McWhacker critiqued them. It was as exciting as Jamie's skills. All very good, but not what we expect from a Hot Shot Hamish Story. 

The final third with the game and the abuse from McKirky felt far more intune wth a Hot Shot Hamish story and strongly reminded me of the games when Hamish's Daddie was in attendance.  McKirky and Hamish's Daddie are cut from the same cloth, and I would love to see them both on the page at the same time. They may happen down the line, but for now, it is enough to see McKirky and the trouble he is giving Hamish. His first few appearances have been silly, but now McKirky has become a more well-rounded character and a worthy nemesis for Hamish -all of which should serve up a cracking story in the next few weeks. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "That's about yere mark, ye daft pudding!" 

Issue final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: Billy's Boots 

Best Line: "You check that engine now! And if you ever speak to me like that again...I'll see you never get a job on another track for the rest of your life! Now move..."

Best Panel:

Roy's Sports Quiz: