MELCHESTER GOALKEEPERS

GOALKEEPERS When Roy broke through into the Melchester Rovers first team in 1955, LEN DOLLAND had the goalkeepers jersey. It is unclear when Dolland took over the regular slot and from whom he took it over, it was never mentioned in any of the comics. Dolland remained a mainstay in the team until 1958, when Rovers legend TUBBY MORTON would take over his place. Morton was signed from Tranbridge United. Unclear as to why Dolland lost his place,...

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ROVERS 2000

By the time that the MoTD magazine came to an end in 2001, the Rovers were coming to the end of their season. They were chasing Champions League qualification, and were needing the revenue from that competition so that Diana and Roy could complete their takeover of the Rovers from the Vinter Brothers. Not a lot was known about the Rovers of 2000, as the script did not allow for much detail to be given about the players. We take a look at the squad...

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ABOUT

Britishness is hard to define. It took Danny Boyle, the man behind the Olympic opening ceremony, two hours, 800 nurses and a heck of a lot of fireworks to define it. Some would argue he could have encapsulated it in two comics: the Beano and the Dandy. Goofy, rude and cheeky, stuffed with bad gags, custard pies and a din of interjections – Thwack! Twang! Zoink! Glug! – these comic books are a mini-riot printed on shoddy paper. The theme is...

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ISSUE 1: THE AFTERMATH

I have decided with the melchester storyline to begin with a continuation from the crash, rather than continuing it from the end of the MoTD era. Personally I feel there is to many unanswered questions from the helicopter crash. The RoTR monthlies although an official continuation of the magazine, left the reader with more questions than answers. What happened to Blackie? Where did Terry Spring go? When did Johnny Dexter retire? to name but...

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TOP 10 COMIC FOOTBALLERS

Ever watched your team on Tv and heard the commentator say ‘real roy of the rovers stuff’. It’s a common phrase that has incorporated itself into the vocabulary of football fans all over the world, mainly the ones who are above the age of 30 and thats because if you are younger than that its probably not as likely that you were brought up on the staple diet of reading a weekly football comic. Roy of the Rovers was as regular to kids of the...

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RISE AND FALL OF COMICS

By the time the mid 90's came round the era of the weekly comic was very rapidly coming to a close. Tiger had ceased as had Roy of the Rovers, and by now the industry was struggling to recover from the various troughs it had been experiencing in the early 90's. The peak of the 70's and 80's had long gone and thus the market has never re-emerged to share in its bygone highs. War stories have long struggled to maintain much relevance beyond nostalgia,...

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ROTR COVERS 2

Up until 1976 Roy of the Rovers had appeared as a weekly strip in Tiger. It had done so for over 20 years, however all that changed in September 1976, when it became a publication rather than just a strip. Over the next 17 years a multitude of stars adorned the front cover, ranging from Melchester Rovers and Roy Race himself, to Johnny Dexter, Durrells Palace, Barnes United and even the Kid from Argentina. The following is a list of the covers...

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