Gritty. If there was one word to sum up Alf Tupper, it was that. And Alf enjoyed the contest, enjoyed pitting himself against the elements and other runners. He certainly looks happy here, perhaps somewhere on the Yorkshire moors?

Alf Tupper, styled ‘The Tough Of The Track’, was the flagship character in The Victor comic, published from 1961 until the early 1990s.

Alf started life in the all-text comic The Rover in the late 1940s, but transferred to the picture-strip Victor when it launched.

He was a hero to several generations of British middle-distance runners, including Ron Hill, Brendan Foster and Steve Cram.

He was also my favourite – when I got The Victor every week, it was always a better comic if it was an Alf week. (After the end of each story, which might last for eight or ten weeks, there would be a hiatus during which there was no Alf.)

Alf may have been from the wrong side of the tracks, but was on the side of the angels. He was indomitable – he embodied the virtues that the British like to think they have.

And of course he was a working-class hero – the phrase “The Tough of the Track” was a sort of pun – it referred to his humble background as much as his gritty determination in competition.

These are all original screenprints. An original print is a work of art printed by hand, from a plate, block, stone, or stencil (which is the case here - screenprints are made using screen stencils) that has been created by the artist for the purpose of producing the image.

Available for £40 until the end of the weekend.

Handmade screen print on cotton paper.

Marked AP (artist's proof) in pencil by me, the printer, John Patrick Reynolds.

Standard size: 26cm x 19cm In red.
Medium size: 48cm x 38cm In yellow.
Large size: 76cm x 56cm. In yellow

© D.C. Thomson & Co., Ltd.

Alf Tupper's gritty mantra