a b Wilson, Chris (23 March 2009), "Roy of the Rovers profile: All You Need to Know About the Classic Football Comic", Daily Mirror , retrieved 10 June 2010 The magazine was relaunched as a monthly in September 1993, but finally closed in March 1995, after a further 19issues. Rose, Neil (April 2004), "Race Against Time", When Saturday Comes, archived from the original on 28 August 2010 , retrieved 21 June 2010 The Pink Floyd Super All-Action Official Music Programme for Boys and Girls, the Pink Floyd 1974 tour programme, contained a quartet of comic strips, each based on one of the band members. The strip featuring Roger Waters was entitled ‘Rog of the Rovers’… Steve Holland has more on this project here on Bear Alley. Digital Editions Like its predecessor volume the Football Quizbook 1979 – 1980 has some reprint art in it and (unsurprisingly) lots of questions about football, as well as a foreword by Trevor Francis.

Barrie Tomlinson’s recently -released Real Roy of the Rovers Stuff, telling the real-world story behind the creation of the football legend, complements this rather nicely. Designed with a comic strip opening each chapter, the text takes the reader through Roy’s many incarnations and gets the inside stories from the editors, illustrators and story creators who worked on the comic through the years. It also has memories and contributions from sports celebrities involved in the comic, such as Bobby Charlton and Gary Lineker.Football was used increasingly to sell boys’ comics during the 1960s and 70s, culminating in 1970 when IPC (successor to AP/Fleetway) launched two football-themed comics, Scorcher and the short-lived Score ‘n’ Roar. The explosion of soccer features owed much to ‘Roy of the Rovers’ combination of on-pitch drama with bizarre subplots and running commentary from the crowd, all lovingly parodied in Viz’s ‘Billy the Fish’. The first Roy of the Rovers annual was published in 1957 (cover-dated 1958), demonstrating the character’s massive popularity. In February 1964, however, the series lost its permanent spot on the cover of Tiger, alternating thereafter with other features. Tiger was companion comic to Lion, Amalgamated Press’s answer to Hulton’s Eagle. For the new title’s lead feature, AP opted for a very different setting from the outer space of Lion‘s “Dan Dare”-inspired “Captain Condor” whilst turning to the same writer.

In 1985, as part of a widespread revamp of Roy of the Rovers, The Hard Man transformed into Dexter's Dozen. Seen as surplus to requirements at Danefield, Dexter transferred to fourth division Burnside Athletic. Artist Mike White replaced Maxted, and the strip initially took a more serious approach. However, in later installments Viktor reappeared, and the strip took on a more humorous tone again. The series came to an end in 1986, when Dexter was transferred by Tomlinson out of his own strip to join Melchester Rovers in the main Roy of the Rovers story. Published in 2014 by Century this is “the greatest story ever told by the world’s most beloved sportsman, Roy of the Rovers, in his own words for the first time.” There was a time when Mirror Books (an offshoot of the Mirror newspaper) published quiz books, and the first Roy of the Rovers Football Quiz Book was published in 1978 (above, featuring a foreword by comedian Eric Morecambe), followed by another the following year. Both were edited by longtime Roy of the Rovers editor Barrie Tomlinson.The Best of Roy of the Rovers: 1970s, introduced by comedian and TV presenter Frank Skinner was a collection of the best 1970s adventures. McGinty, Stephen (15 January 2004), "A teen mag for boys–but will they buy it?", The Scotsman, archived from the original on 29 January 2005 , retrieved 10 June 2010 After 22years of continued popularity, the strip was judged successful enough to sustain its own weekly comic, the eponymous Roy of the Rovers, launched on 25 September 1976. The comic ran for 851issues, until 20 March 1993, [a] and included other football strips and features. TOFFS produced a range of replica Meclchester Rovers shirts in recent years, but these are no longer available. Comparisons have been drawn between the fictional Roy Race and the captain of England's 1966 World Cup winning team, Bobby Moore, whose playing career spanned a similar time-scale to that of Roy's. Moore's death in 1993, just days after the last edition of the Roy of the Rovers comic was published, produced a "literature of tribute", framed around themes "remarkably similar to those at the center of the Roy Race fiction and ideology... there was a clear sense of mourning for the loss of an age". [67]

Even before the establishment of the weekly comic, Tiger published Roy of the Rovers annuals every year from 1958 onwards. In 1958, the annual was simply known as the Roy of the Rovers Football Annual. For 1959 and 1960, the title changed to Tiger Book of Roy of the Rovers, and after that the titles would be Tiger Roy of the Rovers Annual (or slight variations thereon) until the last one in 1975, after which the Roy of the Rovers Annuals themselves would begin, to tie in with the standalone comic. The final three annuals of this iteration, however, would change their title to Roy of the Rovers Yearbook. Johnston, Rich (25 August 2016). "Rebellion Buys Fleetway Archive – Roy of the Rovers, Oink, Tammy, Battle, Whizzer And Chips And More". Bleeding Cool . Retrieved 4 November 2016. Roy of the Rovers taught sportsmanship, etiquette and why a fractured ankle, a broken rib and an early case of Polio should never stand between a determined team captain and victory in the FA Cup." [13]Behind the Scenes – The Artists", Roy of the Rovers.com, archived from the original on 30 December 2010 , retrieved 21 June 2010 Pre-season visits to fictional South American republics like Parador generally saw them embroiled in off-pitch intrigue.

Football Family Robinson" (1978-79, written by Tom Tully, drawn by Joe Colquhoun, John Gillatt, Sandy James) September 1976– 20March 1993 as a weekly, relaunched as a monthly in September 1993 until March 1995 [1] In September 1970, Tiger began a second feature, ‘Roy Race’s Schooldays’, but it was not until twenty-three years after his first appearance that the character finally graduated into his own weekly in September 1976. Roy continued to appear simultaneously in Tiger until March 1978. Alongside the launch of Roy’s digital collections in 2012, as well as its own publishing, Egmont also licensed a new range of Roy of the Rovers-related merchandise, including Blow Football, Table Football, wallet and keyring, sold only by Marks and Spencer. The issues were unnumbered; the total of 853 issues is given in Duncan McAlpine's Comic Book Price Guide 1996/97 Edition. [4]The Amstrad CPC Resource: Roy of the Rovers by Gremlin Graphics for the Amstrad CPC/GX 4000", CPC Zone, archived from the original on 27 September 2007 , retrieved 15 August 2009 Artist Joe Colquhoun had previously drawn strips for the struggling Champion before taking on ‘Roy’. When Pepper dropped out after four instalments due to the demands of an unwieldy workload, Colquhoun assumed the writing duties, assisted by Tiger‘s editorial staff on the technical aspects of the game, admitting that he knew “damn all about soccer”. He continued to write and draw the strip, which appeared for many years under the by-line ‘Stewart Colwyn’, until February 1959, returning for a second stint as artist only from 1965-67.