Roy of the Rovers: The King!

In the RotR Monthlies Fleetway tried to change the story, trying to explain how Roy Race's career spanned 4 decades. A rather controversial decision for many of the fans. Here's the first of the installments. As always, open in a new tab and click to enlarge.

The Match of the Day Years - September 1999

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The rise and fall of the great British football comic

Will there ever be room for another Roy of the Rovers?

In a number of areas, British comics are enjoying something of a resurgence at the moment. There are a slew of intelligent and inventive indie comics creators, particularly working in the autobiographical field, in print and online. British writers and artists are again among the foremost talents pushing the envelope in the mainstream superhero field. And even 2000 AD is going through a fresh purple patch of critical acclaim and publicity for both the weekly comic, and the cult hit Dredd movie adaptation.

The Match of the Day Years - August 1999

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The Match of the Day Years - July 1999

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Back to the future: How comic book heroes came to life in the Premier League - Was Wenger a reader of The Cannonball Kidd and did Crouchie first play for Rockley Rangers?

The era of the football comic book hero may have been consigned to history but the storylines that entertained young boys nationwide every week would not look out of place on the back pages of today's newspapers.

For over a hundred years, the hopes and dreams of football fans were played out in weekly magazines such as Hotspur, Wizard, Buddy, Champ and Tiger by heroes Roy of the Rovers, 'Hot Shot' Hamish, Charlie 'Iron' Barr, Nipper Lawrence, Andy Steele Playmaker and Limp-Along Leslie.
Those superstars played for Melchester Rovers or Blackport Rovers, wore boots more appropriate to deep sea diving and often played on pitches more akin to slurry pits.

But the modern-day youngster now enjoys interactive, 24-hour, wall-to-wall coverage of the nation's game played in purpose-built stadiums on picture perfect surfaces, yet the narratives they devour are much the same as the football stories that comic readers enjoyed.

From corrupt chairmen to success in adversity, cup final heartache, last-minute winners and fancy-dan players, there's much that football lovers from different generations have had in common over the years. It would seem that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Continue reading (enjoying some fabulous comic strips) here