The 1950s through to the early 1980s was a golden age for British comics. Eagle introduced the world to the science fiction hero Dan Dare, The Victor and Battle catered for those who enjoyed war stories, titles such as Girl and Judy delighted female readers and The Beano, The Dandy and others provided fun and humour for readers of all ages. For sports fans, there was a comic which was without rival - Tiger, which ran from September 1954 to March 1985.
Originally published by Amalgamated Press, and later by Fleetway Publications and IPC Magazines, Tiger initially featured a mix of sport and more adventure-orientated comic strips. The first issue cost the princely sum of 3d and included a free "space gun novelty".
The cover story of this first issue was a football strip called Roy of the Rovers.
Initially written by Frank S Pepper and illustrated by Joe Colquhoun (who would famously go on to draw the World War One story Charley's War for Battle), the story featured teenage football striker Roy Race who played for fictional club Melchester Rovers. Other early stories in the comic included The Speedster from Blakemoor (about a racing driver, Les Dyson, who was wrongly sent to prison), the school-based Dodger Caine, and the historical tale of a medieval archer, Will Strongbow.
The first editor of Tiger was Derek Birnage, who had previously edited The Champion and would go on to edit the humour comics Smash! and Buster. Birnage would himself write for the comic under the pseudonym Frank Winsor. As the title continued into the 1960s, other popular characters were introduced such as Johnny Cougar, a story about a Native American wrestler from the alligator swamps of Florida.
In 1963, Birnage was succeeded by David Gregory (later to edit the football magazine Shoot!) who stayed on the title until 1969. He was in turn followed by Barrie Tomlinson, who had begun his career as a subeditor on the adventure comic Lion.
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THE FEW ON SCREEN
Steven Taylor looks at the Battle of Britain across film and TV
Table Service
Rachel Toy looks at the history of Ridgway Homemaker tableware
Hever Forever
Claire Saul studies the newly refurbished Boleyn Apartment at Hever Castle & Gardens - a castle fit for a queen
Shining a Light
Tony O’Neil tunes into the history of the last manned lightvessel
The Man With the Goldeneye
Film stills photographer Keith Hamshere describes how he came to enter the world of James Bond
THE ORIGINAL GOLDEN BALLS
lan Wheeler looks back on 70 years of Tiger comic and Roy of the Rovers, and chats to the man who edited and oversaw both titles
To Play the Queen
Chris Hallam looks back on the life of one of the UK’s best known lookalikes
POOLING RESOURCES
Martin Handley looks at what life was like after the Vernons Girls
POSTCARD FROM= SUSSEX
Bob Barton indulges in pleasure piers and fairground delights, as well as fulfilling a long-held ambition to visit the home of Rudyard Kipling
Oh, Miss Jones
Chris Hallam looks back at the origins and legacy of Rising Damp, ITV's most successful sitcom