Roy of the Rovers Makes a Triumphant Return to Form

A Missing Piece of Cultural History, says Simon Callow

"Great...Leaves you wanting more melchester magic!" Richard Luck, film4.com

Roy Race: Star striker, former England Captain, husband, father and - now - film star! After fifteen long years on the bench, a new documentary by acclaimed filmmakers Luke Dormehl and Tom Atkinson is about to reintroduce everyone to the world's most famous sporting comic hero!

Roy of the Rovers' career began in 1954, created by Frank S. Pepper to join the ranks of popular boy's football comic characters. Since then Roy has led his team Melchester Rovers to multiple FA Cup wins, played alongside Martin Kemp and Steve Norman of Spandau Ballet, and survived a helicopter crash, assassination attempts and marriage problems... all the while retaining his famously clean-cut and cheerful image.

Director Luke Dormehl said "I've always been a massive fan of Roy of the Rovers. He's one of this country's most recognisable comic characters and really represents everything that's good about British football."

The timing of the new film could not be better. After a lengthy period out of print, 2008 has seen some of Roy's classic comic strips reprinted for the first time - much to the delight of an entire generation of fans.

Producer Tom Atkinson said "Right now, Interest in the character is huge! After keeping a low profile in the Nineties, more and more fans are saying they'd love to see him make a return. The time was definitely right to make this film!"

The short documentary is due to be shown throughout the next year in film festivals. In a rare move in keeping with the modern era of free album downloads, the whole film is viewable for free online at:

www.egmont.co.uk/roy

Director Luke Dormehl added "We had such a great time working on "Roy" that we'd love to expand it into a feature length film. Roy Race is really a national treasure and if the interest's out there, we'd certainly be game!"

http://hubpages.com/hub/Roy-of-the-Rovers-Makes-a-Triumphant-Return-to-Form

The Match of the Day Years - December 1997

Profiles Of The Great And Good: Roy Race, Its 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.

Οι παιδικοί μας χάρτινοι φίλοι

"...Παρομοίως και το Αγόρι (αρχικά Δυναμικό Αγόρι), σημαντική παρουσία στον χώρο των νεανικών εκδόσεων, πρωτοεμφανίστηκε το 1975 και κυκλοφόρησε για σχεδόν μία εικοσαετία. Οι ιστορίες του περιλάμβαναν τις περιπέτειες του «Ελ Ζαμπάτο», του «Δικαστή Ντρεντ» και του «Roy of the Rovers», ενώ συνοδευόταν και αυτό από αφίσες και σιδερότυπα..."

Ένα πόλύ καλό άρθρο για τα Ελληνικά κόμικς μπορείτε να διαβάσετε εδώ

Roy of the Rovers fans from all over the world

Nowadays the comics are vastly different and I for one prefer the older style. I wish they would recommence the stories or else reprint the old ones again. I went onto the website, Impressive. It would be nice to have photo's of the issue or else I would like to know a bit more about the contents within the issue - Nipper transfers to Melchester, Roy plays for England, Last ever Jack and Jimmy story type of thing. Thank you for the work in putting it together.

Ρόυ Ρέης

Το άρθρο που ακολουθεί το βρήκα στο site Comics and More (www.gkosk.wordpress.com) κι έχω την εντύπωση ότι το έχει γράψει ο φίλος μου Νίκος Νικολαΐδης. Αξίζει τον κόπο να το διαβάστε:

Ρου Ρέης, ο θρυλικός αρχηγός της Μέλτσεστερ Ρόβερς. Ενας από τους πιο σημαντικούς ήρωες των παιδικών μου χρόνων. Τον πρωτογνόρισα το 1971 όταν για κάθε εβδομάδα και για 2 χρόνια αποτελούσε μέρος του αγαπημένου μας περιοδικού Ζαγκόρ΄από το τεύχος 53. Τον ξαναβρίσκω το 1975 στο Δυναμικό Αγόρι όπου παρουσιάζει τα χρόνια του σαν έφηβος στο σχολείο. Συνεχίζει στο Αγόρι το 1976 με τίτλο “Ο Ρου Ξαναγυρίζει” μέχρι το 1982. Αφού για τρία χρόνια χάνονται τα ίχνη του επιστρέφει στο Αγόρι το 1985 μέχρι το 1991 που κλείνει το περιοδικό. Δυστυχώς οι περιπέτειες που διαβάσαμε δεν είχαν συνέχεια πάντα. Στο Ζαγκόρ ήταν από το 1965 ως το 1971 και στο Αγόρι απο τη δεκαετία του 70 μέχρι και αυτές τις δεκαετίες του 80.