Dusting Off : Roy of the Rovers, 20th March 1993

Something a bit different for this week’s Dusting Off, as I recently dug out a pile of issues (actually borrowed off a mate) of Roy of the Rovers, in order to look something up in them – and I thought it might be fun to attempt to review one. For non-UK readers who don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, Roy of the Rovers was a weekly comic strip begun in the 1950s, chronicling the adventures of a football (soccer) player named Roy Race, and his team, Melchester Rovers. It was part of a great culture of British sporting comics – one that gradually died out as the 1980s and 1990s went on – and by far the most successful example, starting in an anthology series called Tiger before moving to its own eponymous comic in the ’70s.

Keeping it in the family...

Taken from the MotD annual 2001. As always open in a new tab to read. Enjoy!!!

The 10 best comic book footballers

Surprisingly enough, Roy is NOT No1 on this list! Click below to see more

"Να γίνουμε σαν τον Ρόυ"!!!

Άρθρο του αγαπητού φίλου Νίκου Νικολαϊδη στο ανανεωμένο blog http://roycomesback.blogspot.gr/

Για όλους εμάς που μεγαλώσαμε στις δεκαετίες του'70, του '80 αλλά και του '90 διαβάζοντας (πρώτα στο περιοδικό "Ζαγκόρ" κι έπειτα στο "Δυναμικό ΑΓΟΡΙ" ή στο "ΓΚΟΛ") τις περιπέτειες του "Άσσου των γηπέδων", του "κανονιέρη" αρχηγού της φημισμένης 'Melchester' Ρόϋ Ρέης ("Roy of the Rovers"), η μαγεία αυτού του χαρακτήρα δεν έχει σβηστεί από τη μνήμη.

The Match of the Day Years - February 2001

This is the RotR strip published in the last issue of MotD magazine in February 2001. You can download the full series of the MotD era strips on the right column of the blog. Let's hope we see more new RotR adventures in the future...

The Match of the Day Years - January 2001

The Match of the Day Years - December 2000

The Rovers are alive...

...in Stroky Knoght's fantastic blog. The guy's done an excellent job in keeping the Rovers alive and much more than that. He's a very talented person and has brought old stories back to life. Literally! So don't forget to check http://royoftheroversstorkyk.blogspot.gr/ every now and then and see what Stroky has come up with. He's even made a 3-D RotR story! Magnificent work, really!

The Match of the Day Years - November 2000

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The Match of the Day Years - October 2000

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The Match of the Day Years - September 2000

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Football Comics

On this site I have drawn a distinction between football magazines and football comics. (My definition is that magazines are aimed at adults and comics are aimed at children/teenagers)

Comic strips existed in post war newspapers but the stand out launch in British football comics was the "Tiger- The Sport and Adventure Picture Story Weekly" on the 11th of September 1954.This first issue featured for the first time "Roy of the Rovers" and was an immediate hit. Derek Birnage edited the comic. Roy of the Rovers became synonymous with the Tiger comic and during the 1960's Tiger had a circulation of over 300,000 copies. Tiger survived for 1555 issues and incorporated a number of titles including 'Champion' (1955), 'Comet' (1959), 'Hurricane' (1965), 'Jag' (1969), 'Scorcher' (1974) and 'Speed' in 1980 before being incorporated itself into 'Eagle' (second series) (1985).

The Match of the Day Years - August 2000

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The Match of the Day Years - July 2000

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Profiles Of the Great and Good: Roy Race: It's Real Roy of the Rovers Stuff Here!

Roy of the Rovers was by far the most popular football comic ever.

Running from 1954 to 2001, stories covered various issues—Roy as a teen trying to break into the famed "Melchester Rovers" team, winning every trophy imaginable, representing his country in the World Cup, playing with pop stars and even relegation.

He even had an unstoppable shot called the "Racy Rocket"....ah, those were the days.

Roy Race made his debut in the Tiger comic in 1954. Tiger was from the same stable as the famed "Eagle Comic" which focused on the science-fiction end of things, with Dan Dare as it's banner character.

The Match of the Day Years - June 2000

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Roy of the Rovers Corinthian re-paints

Check them out here

The Match of the Day Years - May 2000

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Roy of the Rovers - a lesson in fair play?

Last week’s demise of The Dandy brought to mind another childhood source of entertainment and insight, Roy of the Rovers.
Like most other 10 year olds, each week I eagerly awaited the arrival of The Tiger comic, featuring the life and times of Melchester’s star player.

Fair Play?
However, on one shocking occasion, a rival player, in full view of the reader, but out-of-sight of the referee, actually flicked the ball with his hand to enhance his shot. This unlawful move so outraged me I rapidly scanned the rest of the strip in vain for evidence that the move had been noted as the subject of a penalty, at least..

The Match of the Day Years - April 2000

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