Tiger (Fleetway)

Tiger was a British comic magazine published from 1954 to 1985.

This article is about the British comic magazine. For the American comic strip, see Tiger (comic strip).
Tiger
Publication information
PublisherIPC Magazines Ltd
Fleetway
ScheduleWeekly
FormatOngoing series
Publication dateSeptember 11 1954 – March 30 1985
No. of issues1555
Main character(s)Roy of the Rovers
Editor(s)Derek Birnage

The comic was launched under the editorship of Derek Birnage[1] on 11 September 1954,[2] under the name Tiger – The Sport and Adventure Picture Story Weekly,[3] and featured predominantly sporting strips. Its most popular strip was "Roy of the Rovers," a football-based strip recounting the life of Roy Race and the team he played for, Melchester Rovers. This strip proved so successful it was spun out of Tiger and into its own comic.[4]

The next editor was Barrie Tomlinson. Barrie became Group Editor in 1976, with Paul Gettens as editor. Following successive mergers with other Fleetway publications in the 1960s the comic was known as Tiger and Hurricane, then Tiger and Jag, then it was coupled with the football magazine Scorcher in 1974, resulting in Tiger and Scorcher appearing for more than 6 years. Later there was a further, less successful, merger with another comic called Speed, in 1980.

The end finally came on 30 March 1985, with some strips moving to The Eagle[5] from issue #159 of that comic, dated 6 April 1985, which was temporarily titled Eagle and Tiger. In all, 1,555 issues were published, as well as a number of hard-cover annuals.[6]

Editorial Assistants included Tony Peagam, Paul Gettens, and Terence Magee. Art Editors included Mike Swanson and Trish Gordon-Pugh. Art Assistant: Maurice Dolphin. Letterers: Stanley Richardson, Paul Bensberg, Peter Knight, John Aldrich.

List of strips

This list is incomplete. You can help to complete it.

  • "Billy's Boots" (writer Fred Baker artist John Gilliat) – moved to Eagle, then Roy of the Rovers. A schoolboy believes his footballing success is down to a special pair of old boots.
  • "Death Wish" (writer Barrie Tomlinson artist Vanyo) – from Speed, moved to Eagle. A racing driver disfigured by an accident wears a leather mask and takes on increasingly dangerous stunts. This strip began just four years after a similar accident at the Nürburgring in which racing driver Niki Lauda suffered severe burns.
  • "Fairs Please!"
  • "File of Fame" (writer Terence Magee artist Jim Bleach)
  • "Fisty Flynn"
  • "Football Family Robinson" (writer Fred Baker, artist Joe Colquhoun) about a lower division side called Thatchem United. All players had to be Robinson family members under the tutelage of Grandma Robinson. Team members included Crash Robinson (goalie), Alf Robinson, Fred Robinson, Grizzly Bear Robinson, Ron Robinson and Tich Robinson. Their biggest moment was when they got to Wembley and won the League Cup, in a manner similar to Swindon Town's 1969 victory over Arsenal in the same competition. The story resumed in Roy of the Rovers in the late 1970s.
  • "Golden Boy" – moved to Eagle
  • A" Horse Called Ugly"
  • "Hot Shot Hamish" (writer Fred Baker artist Julio Schiaffino) – moved to Roy of the Rovers. A comedy about a Scottish footballer with a powerful kick.
  • "Jet-Ace Logan"
  • "Johnny Cougar" (writer Barrie Tomlinson artist Sandy James) – A native American wrestler who grappled with a number of colourful opponents.
  • "King Of The Track" (writer Paul Gettens, artist Yvonne Hutton)
  • "MacTavish and O'Toole"
  • "Martin's Marvellous Mini" (writer Fred Baker, artist David Sque[7])
  • "Nipper" (writer Tom Tully, artist Roylance)
  • "Olac the Gladiator"
  • "Paceman"
  • "Phillip Driver"
  • "Rod And Line (writer Paul Gettens)
  • "Roy of the Rovers" (writer Tom Tully, artists David Sque[8] and Yvonne Hutton) – spun off into its own comic in 1976 (but continued to have stories in Tiger for a couple of years after this)
  • "Skid Solo" (writer Fred Baker, artist John Vernon) – about a British Formula 1 Driver in the 80s.
  • "Sintek"
  • "The Slogger from Down Under"
  • "The Strong Guy"
  • "Star Rider" – moved to Eagle
  • "The Suicide Six"
  • "Tallon of the Track" – tomboy Jo Tallon runs the Flying Ospreys speedway team
  • "Topps On Two Wheels" (title later changed to "Topps") - from Speed, about a motorcycle stunt rider based loosely on Eddie Kidd.
  • "The Tough Game" – a rugby league story involving the exploits of three friends, Duggie Batson, Big Ernie Barnes and Ape Man.
  • "Typhoon Tracy, Trouble-shooter"

In addition, sports stars such as Tony Greig, Geoff Boycott, Trevor Francis, Ian Botham and Charlie Nicholas wrote columns for Tiger. Also many TV stars such as Morecambe and Wise appeared in Christmas issues, usually dressed up as Santa Claus.

Notes and references
  1. Philip, Robert (January 31, 2004). "Philip on Saturday: Roy Race creator dies". The Telegraph.
  2. "Comic Stories". Roy of the Rovers.com. Archived from the original on 2005-02-05. Retrieved 2005-06-09.
  3. "Collectors Corner – Bibliography and Guide Prices". Roy of the Rovers.com. Archived from the original on 2005-02-10. Retrieved 2005-06-09.
  4. O'Meara, Tom (September 20, 2004). "He shoots ... he scores!". The Guardian.
  5. "Comic Stories".
  6. "Tiger Comic". British Comics.com. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  7. "David Sque Illustrations — Comic Strips".
  8. "David Sque Illustrations — Comic Strips".
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