Tiger, a British comics periodical, was published on a weekly basis by Amalgamated Press, Fleetway Publications, and IPC Magazines from September 11, 1954, until March 30, 1985. Initially, the magazine was released in a large tabloid size, resembling newspapers. While it included some action-adventure stories, Tiger primarily focused on sport strips. One of its most renowned stories was “Roy of the Rovers,” which made its debut in the first issue and became the comic’s most beloved story. Eventually, “Roy of the Rovers” received its own comic in 1975.
Tiger became one of the longest-running titles of the company, running for 31 years before merging with Eagle in 1985. This post primarily focuses on the mergers that occurred in the history of Tiger.
Just 28 weeks after its launch, Tiger joined forces with The Champion, a sporting paper that was originally launched in 1922. It remained with Tiger until issue 260 on October 17, 1959. Shortly after, Comet, which had run for 580 issues from September 20, 1946, was also absorbed by Tiger. However, its name only remained with Tiger for seven months. Tiger continued on its own for five years before taking on another comic, Hurricane. Hurricane had a short lifespan, running for 63 issues between February 19, 1964, and May 8, 1965. One of its most beloved stories was Skid Solo.
Hurricane was then replaced by Jag, which had a run of 48 issues from May 4, 1968, to March 29, 1969. Jag’s biggest contribution to Tiger was Football Family Robinson. After Jag disappeared from the masthead on September 7, 1974, another title, Scorcher, was merged into Tiger just five weeks later. Scorcher ran for 248 issues from January 1970 to October 5, 1974, and brought with it some of Tiger’s most popular stories, including Billy’s Boots, Nipper, and Hot-Shot Hamish. Scorcher stayed for a little less than six years.
Approximately two months after Scorcher disappeared from the masthead, Speed joined the comic. IPC launched Speed on February 23, 1980, and it continued for 31 issues until October 25, 1980. From November 1, 1980, to December 19, 1981, Speed remained with Tiger. After that, there were no more mergers, and Tiger remained as Tiger for the duration of its run. On the issue dated March 30, 1985, the cover boldly announced “Big News For All Readers… Inside!” Tiger was about to cease to exist. Starting from April 6, 1985, Eagle absorbed the 31-year-old publication and became Eagle and Tiger until June 14, 1986, which marked the final appearance of Tiger on the comic’s masthead.
Tiger – 11 September 1954 to 19 March 1955
Tiger incorporating The Champion – 26 March 1955 to 17 October 1959
Tiger and Comet – 24 October to 7 May 1960
Tiger – 14 May 1960 to 8 May 1965
Tiger and Hurricane – 15 May 1965 to 22 February 1969
Tiger – 1 to 29 March 1969
Tiger and Jag – 5 April 1969 to 7 September 1974
Tiger – 14 September to 5 October 1974
Tiger and Scorcher – 12 October 1974 to 30 August 1980
Tiger – 6 September to 25 October 1980
Tiger and Speed – 1 November 1980 to 12 December 1981
Tiger – 19 December 1981 to 30 March 1985
Eagle and Tiger – 6 April 1985 to 14 June 1986
Selected covers including all the mergers
Click to see full size
