The Comic Connection – No.8 – Tiger and Jag – 2nd May 1970

This is the second time I’ve featured ‘Tiger and Jag’ in the series and this one is an earlier edition from 1970. ‘Skid Solo’ adorns the cover and then continues inside for a further two pages.

Readers were then invited to: ‘Take your seats for the wrestling contest of the year !’ – It looked like being the fight of the year…Mick McManus versus Johnny Cougar !’ – In the early rounds of the fight there had been non-stop action…then the Seminole wrestler landed a double karate chop to the ears of the Southern Area Welterweight Champion…

Next up it was: ‘A Life or Death Struggle for the Beatnik Swimmer’ – ‘Splash Gorton’. Beatnik swimmer Splash Gorton had been forced to attack a strange old man who was trying to sink a nineteenth century paddle-boat in the Mississippi River. There was also a boy aboard and just as Splash managed to avert disaster…

In the next instalment of ‘Roy of the Rovers’, it was the FA Cup Final at Wembley and Melchester were taken to extra time by Seaford Athletic.

Spread over the centre pages in colour were: ‘Football Family Robinson’. Thatchem United were a unique family football club playing in the Third Division. It was owned and managed by members of the Robinson family and only Robinsons played in the team. The family had won the League Cup but was in danger of relegation from the Third Division, and had to make sure of winning its last home game. At the last minute the family’s player-manager, Fred, disappeared on a mysterious mission. His place was taken by Giraffe Robinson who, although very tall, was a hopeless header of the ball. At half-time the family were one-down thanks to an own goal by Giraffe !

The next character was: ‘Philip Driver’ – Philip Driver and “Peanut” Jones resigned from the British Secret Service and Philip became a professional golfer. But their ex-chief tricked them into taking another job. They agreed to capture a spy, Tony Murco…but they became trapped with Murco on an island with a millionaire who proposed a strange golf fixture.

Following ‘Smiler’s Crazy Page’ was: ‘Fairs Please’ – Felix Fair and his nephew Frank, worked on the buses as a driver-conductor team. A rival bus company, run by Sid Smart was trying to steal the Fairs’ passengers and put their company out of business. The Fairs fought back, only to finish up with both vehicles jammed together under a bridge.

‘The Barbed-Wire X1’ – A new prisoner arrived in the Crag Stalag, a World War Two prison camp in Germany, and proved to be a crack footballer. He was given the place of Sergeant Mike O’Toole in the camp soccer team when the Irishman was accused of being a traitor. But Mike had been framed and he suspected that the new prisoner, Dickie Black, had been planted in the camp by the Germans. So by disguising his pal Hamish MacTavish as a German camp guard, he hoped to scare Black into a confession….

‘Big Hit Swift’ – Barry Swift, a brilliant young cricketer, was invited to play for Midshire. To have become a full-time member of the team would have interfered with his business career, but he agreed to play in week-end matches in the County League. Before the opening game Barry and his younger brother Jim went to watch the last hours of play on the third day of a Championship match…

‘Carr Street United’ – Tom Brown’s Carr Street United – boys from the back-streets – were playing Ginger Baker’s Rovers in a warehouse that was thought to be haunted. Suddenly a ghostly form floated towards them…

Finally on the back page, there was an offer from Lyons Maid -‘Build up your own team of racing cars absolutely free with Rev – Lyons Maid’s new lolly. Rev has three great flavours: cola, pineapple and strawberry. As soon as you’ve got your first 5 Rev wrappers you’re ready for the starting grid. And every 5 wrappers you collect will bring you another car. Just fill in the coupon and send it, with 5 wrappers for each car, to the address at the bottom.’

Steve Russell