Striker (comic) - History

History

Publication

The strip first appeared in 1985 in a black-and-white format, changing to colour in 1990. It retained the drawn style until 1998, when it was relaunched as Striker VR in a 3D-rendered format. While praised for its new style (3D-rendered art was rare at the time), Nash was not satisfied with the results and for the rest of the year used the drawn format, with John Cooper temporarily taking over as artist while Nash remained as writer. The 3D format returned in early 1999, with the strip renamed Striker 3D. The strip's popularity was evident; by 2001, all but two of The Sun's other comic strips had been dropped to allow space for Striker.

In late 2003, Striker broke away from The Sun and became its own magazine. While it still maintained a loyal fan base, many larger retailers refused to stock it and it suffered from financial problems throughout its run. It nearly folded in mid-2004, but was saved by a share issue to its readers. The magazine lasted for another year before ceasing production in 2005. In the meantime The Sun replaced Striker with its own 3D football strip, called The Premier. The Premier was derided for its poor-quality art (which was initially compared unfavourably to Striker VR, although it later improved somewhat) and predictable, ludicrous story lines; when it left The Sun, The Premier's plot was quite similar to a storyline in Striker three years earlier. After an uncertain few months (when it appeared in the Daily Record), it was agreed to bring Striker back to The Sun in October 2005 (replacing The Premier). The Striker archives were at one point available online. Part of the storyline from summer 2004 reappeared in The Sun as a flashback conversation between Eric, Nick and Vanessa.

Thamesford

In the strip, Thamesford were based in London and managed by Jim Cassidy. Shortly after Jarvis joined the club, another striker (Gary Lewis) decided Nick was a threat to him and framed him for rape. Lewis' plot failed when the accusing girl proved to be mentally unstable at trial, claiming to have slept with a host of First Division players. Lewis' involvement in the affair remained unknown to most, but he soon found himself in trouble when he drunkenly crashed a car he was driving. In a panic, he swapped his unconscious girlfriend (who was also Jarvis' ex-girlfriend) into the driver's seat told the police she was the driver. Nick eventually proved that Lewis was the driver, resulting in Lewis' imprisonment for subverting the course of justice and ending his footballing career.

Other plot lines included Jarvis being framed for drug possession; a club chairman from America fleeing a guilt-ridden past; Jarvis being forced (at gunpoint) to marry the pregnant daughter of a Mafia boss; helping a Russian player and his wife defect to the West; and getting involved with a juvenile delinquent with promising football skills and an abusive father. Many plots revolved around Jarvis' relationship with manager Jim Cassidy (who frequently called for aspirin for the headaches Jarvis and others caused him, and desired his players to appear more on the—sporting—back pages of the newspapers rather than the headlines in front.

In 1992, Jarvis bought a house from the club's newly-appointed chairman, and the chairman's father (also his predecessor as chairman) had stipulated in his will that the owner of the house also owned his estate and the football club. After attempting to murder Nick, the chairman drained the club's bank accounts and nearly bankrupted it, before fleeing the country. Nick sold the property to pay some of the club's debts, but a disgruntled former director of the club persuaded their bank to initiate bankruptcy procedures. Nick and Cassidy were forced to sell every player except Nick and a few younger players, filling out the squad from cheap (or free) transfers from lower-league clubs. Shortly after an FA Cup victory in 1994, Nick sold his stake in the club and left. By this time, however, he was considered past his prime; the only club interested in him were the Conference side, Warbury.

During the Thamesford years, the position of club chairman seemed to be cursed. Several died, two fled the country to escape prosecution and Nick had a hard time as club owner; the chairman with the smoothest ride was rock star Rod Stewart.

Warbury era

Jarvis joined the Warbury Warriors as player-manager, under a brief from chairman Eric Openshaw to get the side to the Premier League by 1998 (which would have meant getting promotion every year afterwards). Openshaw had a bet with the owner of a supermarket chain that he could do this; if Warbury failed, he would bankrupt the club and hand their ground over to his rival. Openshaw was nearly successful, since the side lost the 1998 Division One play-off final. By that time it was irrelevant; a former player burned the stadium down the previous year, invalidating the bet.

Warbury reached the Premiership the following year, struggling before finding their feet in their second season. Openshaw's refusal to spend money on extra players took its toll during their third season, and the side was relegated. Toward the end of that season, two corrupt businessmen (Charles Bullion-Browne and Jeremy Grubbet) purchased Warbury to close the club down, since they only wanted the land Gasworks Road stadium sat on. Jarvis was forced out, and the club went briefly out of business. Their plan eventually failed when it was discovered that a 1-foot-wide (0.30 m) "ransom strip" around the whole ground was owned by an old lady named Ethel, who would not give permission for the ground to be used for anything other than sport. Without the stadium, they lost interest in their acquisition and sold it back to Openshaw. Jarvis played for an Australian club until his leg was severed in a shark attack. Although his leg was reattached, his playing days were over. He returned to Warbury near the end of the season, but since the players were out of condition, the training facilities dilapidated, and the club having forfeited any points from the matches they didn't play, they were again relegated.

In Division Two the side won promotion easily, but the season was marred by two events. Openshaw's wife Vanessa was kidnapped by a gang who forced the club to lose 9-0 to Manchester United in a League Cup match. The criminals' ineptitude made it easy for the police to catch them, however, and the result was voided (although United won the rematch). Due to injuries to their main goalkeepers Jarvis signed an American goalkeeper, Chuck Rivers. Rivers suffered from depression and abused drugs; he committed suicide after some of his former drug dealers nearly killed one of his teammates.

In the Championship (the former Division One), Openshaw sold part of the club to a Russian gangster known as Boris Anokov. Gary Lewis (now managing a nearby pub) hatched a new plot: he would fake his own death at Jarvis' hands and claim the insurance money. Anokov found Lewis useful; he made him turn the pub into a brothel, giving Lewis the money to buy the pub and transfer it to Boris. Lewis never bought the pub, fleeing to the Cayman Islands with Boris' money. Jarvis was nearly convicted for the murder, but Lewis eventually confessed to the crime (after Anokov was killed by a rival gangster) and was imprisoned.

After a poor start to the 2005–2006 season (and being refused permission to sign Joe Rock, a player from The Premier), Jarvis attempted to resign and become manager of Portsmouth. However, Openshaw recorded an insulting phone call made by Jarvis, edited it and replayed it to Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric; Jarvis seemed to be turning down the job offer and insulting Mandaric. A Chinese businesswoman (Li Ming) bought the club to turn them into the country's top side, and Openshaw remained in charge. Desperate to receive a £10 million payout promised by Li if Warbury was promoted to the Premiership, Openshaw convinced Jarvis to sign Ramiro Alvarez (a player from Juventus). Alvarez, however, spoke no English, played badly and went AWOL when Jarvis refused to play him in the first team (as promised by Openshaw). Alvarez' high salary caused unrest between Jarvis and the players. Li Ming was unhappy with her investment, telling Jarvis he would be fired if Warbury filed to reach the Premiership at the end of the season.

As the season continued, Jarvis and Li Ming began to fall in love, and during a session of martial artsthey decided to pursue a relationship. When Openshaw vanished under mysterious mysterious circumstances, Vanessa discovered that he arranged a DNA test for his son Todd which had proven he was not the boy's father (Jarvis was). Meanwhile, Warbury won the play-off final and would be returning to the Premiership after a four-year absence. Li Ming's father discovered her relationship with Jarvis, and demanded its end. Her rivalry with Vanessa for Jarvis' affections led her to fire him.

Openshaw returned several weeks after he disappeared; he had gone hiking to Devon to clear his head after finding out about Todd's lineage. He then walked the moors for some time, before being bitten by a snake (and claiming it was an adder, though he suffered no ill-effects from the bite). Looking for help, he found a pub run by a woman called Doris. Eric and Doris fell in love; when they returned to Warbury, Eric told Vanessa he would divorce her and marry Doris.

Li Ming was unable to find a new manager, as none of the candidates (including Sven-Göran Eriksson) were suitable. She rehired Nick, telling him she did not want to restart their relationship. When she informed her father she would not be handing over control of the club to her brother, her father slapped her and told his daughter that he would cut off her trust fund. With the club in dire straits (and favourites for relegation at the end of the season), Li Ming found herself under pressure to raise money to buy new players. With the transfer window about to close until January, Li Ming secured an investment fund to buy players; the conditions were that she was only given a limited selection of players to choose from and if they were sold, the fund would take most of the profits.

Due to bad blood between Li Ming and her father, the Warbury chairwoman was attacked in the Warbury club car park and then kidnapped. Li's captors demanded a £2 million ransom from Li's father. As Li's father and brother finally reached the hideout, Li was escaping. She heard a shot and ran outside, to see her father lying motionless on the floor. Her brother, Chan, told her the captors had shot him; he then turned the gun on Li, saying he had to kill her because their father favoured Li . Li tried to reason with Chan; their father woke up and distracted him, and he dropped the gun. However, after punching Li Chan grabbed the gun. About to shoot, he slipped, fell down a well and died. Li's father then told her he was sorry for trying to control her decisions and left everything to her.

Warbury managed to scramble to mid-table with a late run of good results, before they achieved their highest-ever finish of fourth place in the 2007-08 season, entering the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history. Despite mediocre league form in the 2008-09 season (mostly due to club captain Kurt Panzer suffering mental health problems caused by his being blackmailed by a German couple whose son he had unwittingly killed in his youth), Warbury progressed through to the Champions League final, where they were victorious.

Amid the backdrop of Warbury's European adventure, Nick and Li Ming had begun a relationship and by the summer of 2009 had agreed to get married. However, Li Ming announced at a formal dinner (without consulting him beforehand) that Nick would leave his job as Warbury manager to become manager of the Chinese national team. Nick was so outraged by this action that he ended his relationship with Li Ming, who in turn withdrew her financial support for Warbury and attempted to have the club bankrupted, with an attempt by star striker Fabian De Guisson to purchase the club only accelerating its seeming demise. Fortunately a saviour appeared at the last minute in the guise of Sheikh Mustapha Futti Khalub, who purchased the bankrupt club and with Eric's help was able to persuade the Premier League not to expel them. Despite the heavy points deductions imposed on the club, Nick was able to steer them to Premier League survival on the last day, only for he and Eric to be sacked days later for not being high-profile enough for the Sheikh's liking. At this point the story went on hiatus for two-and-a-half years.

When the strip returned to The Sun in early 2013, it was revealed that Warbury had suffered successive relegations to League One in the intervening years, and that they were threatened with bankruptcy and expulsion from the Football League due to an unpaid tax bill (which the Sheikh denied responsibility for, as it dated back to Li Ming's ownership of the club). Nick and Eric had both retired from football in the meantime, with the former having become a television pundit (a job which he quickly lost after repeatedly staring at his female co-host's legs). It subsequently turned out that the Sheikh's kingdom had fallen into a financial crisis, and in order to raise enough money to prevent it from being annexed by the United Arab Emirates, he sold the club back to Li Ming, who had since come to regret her actions in attempting to destroy the club four years previously, and quickly moved to re-hire Nick and Eric.