First Issue:  21st January 1978

Last Issue:  3rd October 1981

Copyright:  DC Thomson

Scoop Comic

The first story to appear in 'Scoop' comic was 'Stark - Footballer of the Future'. Jon Stark was a 'Match Winner for Hire'. With a match fee of £1000, £250 per goal, no win - no fee, Jon Stark was a pure mercenary who was disliked by the mangers who employed him but loved by the fans. 'Stark - Footballer of the Future' was in some ways a prediction of the way football and finance would eventually become intertwined. Football coaches such as Jose Mourinho and players like Ronaldhino and David Beckham have become more than mere coaches or players but have become global mega brands worth millions. Other stories in Scoop included 'Doomed...to Win!', 'Killer', 'Speed Kings' and 'This Goalie's Got Guts'. Scoop comic ran for some 194 issues before merging into Victor comic dated 17th October 1981.

We can only assume that because Scoop was a Thursday publication and Victor was a Saturday publication, this accounted for the gap of 1 week between publication dates with Scoop finishing 3rd October 1981 and the first issue of the merged comics not appearing until the issue dated 17th October 1981.

First Issue - Victor and Scoop Comic 17th October 1981

Doomed...To Win!

"Yesterday...he was Ted Rascoe, Top British athlete...then came the plane crash. Today...he is Ben Norton, his shattered body rebuilt with hypertronic parts...and now completely in the power of his creator , Professor Frankheim."