Pete is our sport's reporter

[geoff42]

I'm intrigued by the artist who did single pages for Tiger that recounted a compact biography of the current footballer and cricket stars back in the late seventies, which was called "Pete is our sport's reporter". It was a distinctive comical style from which I recognize within several issues of Roy of the Rovers - Smith and Son, namely. He definitely drew for DC Thomson as well. It was either Hotspur or Wizard, but his art was unmistakable. Can anyone shed any light on this artist?

[geoff42]

It's a shame that so many artists that worked on both IPC and DC Thomsons in the seventies will never be identified - many will have shuffled off this mortal coil by now, and the main offices of said publishers would probably have taken little information as regards said artists, thus denying us of a complete index with regards to creators of specific stories. Oh, how the yanks must be laughing at us.

[dishes]

I think you're a bit pessimistic as regards the seventies- they weren't that long ago. Even if the artists themselves are deceased, (mostly the ones who were elderly at the time) someone will know and remember. It's just that there hasn't been a concerted enough effort to collect all the information. This forum has lots of knowledgeable people and seem to be able to answer most of these "who drew it" questions sooner or later. What you say is true of earlier eras though.

[Richard S.]

Can you post a scan of the strip? That would help

[Raven]

Yes, you're assuming that people have the relevant issues of Tiger.

[Lew Stringer]

It's a shame that so many artists that worked on both IPC and DC Thomsons in the seventies will never be identified - many will have shuffled off this mortal coil by now, and the main offices of said publishers would probably have taken little information as regards said artists, thus denying us of a complete index with regards to creators of specific stories. Oh, how the yanks must be laughing at us.

According to Steve Holland's The Fleetway Companion index of IPC comics the artist you're asking about was Paul Trevillion and the feature began in the issue of Tiger dated 22nd February 1975.

[geoff42]

sorry folks for my lack of offering scans (I'm not very technologically minded) I have scanned the pages and tried to upload but told that they are too big to transfer to this site. I don't get it. I've seen whole pages shown before on this site. Do you have to compress the image in some way to get round this? Anyway, thanks for that information, Lew. I would never have got that with google.

[geoff42]

the scans are offered in JPEG image, obviously too big. Do I have to somehow change this? Told you I wasn't technologically minded.

[geoff42]

you reminded me, Lew, (arrgghh, it's been so long buried away) I also have a copy of Steve Holland's "Fleetway Companion" book. Just had a rummage through and, you know, there are a lot of "anons" as regards writers/artists on Roy of Rovers. There is very, very little info as regards Mike's mini men. He states that Angelo Torado drew "smith and son" in Roy of Rovers in '78 ( the same who drew Martin's Marvellous Mini in "Tiger and Scorcher") but he certainly didn't draw the earlier strips of smith and son. From a glance, it seems even Steve Holland had trouble in tracking the writers and artists from Roy of Rovers (a comic from 1977). Millionaire Villa has a lot of "anons". The later stories are well catalogued, I accept, but not the early ones. A completest would be disillusioned with the first year of Roy of Rovers indeed. Perhaps I am not so pessimistic after all.

[geoff42]

Roy of the Rovers, a comic from late 1976, I hasten to make amends

[geoff42]

Sorry to go on about Roy of the Rovers, but what intrigues me is this: on the Milliionaire Villa strip, the artist responsible for the first 9 issues is "anon"; the next issue is dedicated to Bill Lacey and, from thereon, the rest is "anon" for the rest of its run. Bill Lacey draws one episode and is recognised whereas so and so drew 9 issues, another drew a lot more and nothing is known about them. It doesn't make sense. Would Barrie Tomlinson be able to help, one wonders, as he was the editor at the time.