The Black Archer (1966 - 67)

The notion of a modern-day Robin Hood type of character isn't new to comics. DC Comics' Green Arrow has been around in one form or another since 1941, (and is now the star of the Arrow TV series) and Marvel's Hawkeye debuted in 1964. With the issue dated 2nd July 1966, Tiger and Hurricane introduced their own version, - The Black Archer.

To be frank, The Black Archer wasn't a very memorable character, but I thought its novelty might interest some of you. Above is the origin story, illustrated by the great Eric Bradbury. 

I only have sporadic issues of Tiger from this period but by the 19th November 1966 issue, The Black Archer had a different artist. The following three pages look like the work of Sandy James to me...

You'll also note that the character has moved away from his original urban vigilante theme into a more fantastic vein, fighting bizarre villains. This was undoubtedly inspired by the success of the Batman TV series. By January 1967, The Black Archer was facing a very peculiar looking character called The Remover...

By now, the artwork was by John Gillatt, another of Fleetway's many top illustrators. Tiger's rotating cover strips meant that it appeared on the front page on at least one occasion (issue dated 18th February 1967)...

As you can see, the scripts were not great, but it was a quirky strip and it featured some very nice artwork so it deserves to be remembered for that at least. If you're interested in seeking it out, The Black Archer ran in Tiger and Hurricane from 2nd July 1966 to 7th October 1967.