On this day, 2 April 1983: Tiger
A nice cover here for Tiger, featuring Sintek – a cyborg, created by a greedy sports promoter and whose attempts to win his freedom led him into secret agent action. This issue of Tiger was the last before a minor re-vamp, which would see Billy’s Boots switch to the front cover on a regular basis, and Hot-shot Hamish printed in colour. It also marked the final episodes of two Tiger legends – Native American wrestler Johnny Cougar, who had been with the comic on an almost unbroken basis since 1962, and First Division footballer Nipper Lawrence, who started out in Scorcher in 1970 and had been with Tiger since those two comics merged in 1974. I think its fair to say that both characters were products of their day, and the sports scene of the 1980s demanded different types of heroes, but they were memorably written and drawn, and much-loved.
Nipper: Fred Baker (writer), Charles Roylance (artist)
Nipper: Fred Baker (writer), Charles Roylance (artist)
Johnny Cougar: Barrie Tomlinson (writer), Sandy James (artist)
Johnny Cougar: Barrie Tomlinson (writer), Sandy James (artist)
