Football's Comic Book Heroes

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The Goal Thief: 16-year-old Kenny Banks is taken on as an apprentice by 2nd division Tandridge Town. Then his father breaks into the ground to steal the trophies... Roy of the Rovers stories – Match of the Day – May 2001", Roy of the Rovers.com, archived from the original on 7 December 2010 , retrieved 22 June 2010 Make someone you know smile as they star in their very own best selling book. Your name plays for your favourite football team. The perfect gift for all fans. For those of us who wanted something different, Action Comic provided in the mid-seventies. Next to strips such as Hook Jaw and Kids Rule OK (“a sort of Day of the Triffids meets Grange Hill meets Pasolini’s Salo,” according to The Guardian), Tom Tully’s strip Looking for Lefty could be seen as rather mild fare.

Match's 2009 average weekly circulation of 100,007 is 11.5% down on its figures of 12 months earlier. While "Match" remains the biggest selling teenage football magazine in the country, its circulation seems unlikely to again reach its 200,000-plus heights of the mid 1990s, particularly in the face of stiff competition from Match Of The Day magazine. Challenge Your Chum to quiz football: a quiz for readers to move a ball up and down the printed pitch into the goal by answering football questions. Scorcher Team of the Week: a different schoolboy team featured each week has their team photograph published and wins a Scorcher football. Tomlinson, Alan; Young, Christopher (2000), "Golden Boys and Golden Memories: Fiction, Ideology, and Reality in Roy of the Rovers and the Death of the Hero", in Jones, Dudley; Watkins, Tony (eds.), A Necessary Fantasy?: the Heroic Figure in Children's Popular Culture: Vol 18, Garland Publishing, pp.177–206, ISBN 978-0-8153-1844-6This week’s episode certainly gave us a lot to think about. Can licensing IP open windows of opportunity? How can you protect and build your brand? For the answers to these questions and more IP related advice, visit our IP Basics online guide. 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] 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). In 1978 DC published a special in which their boy Superman took on the greatest boxer of all time in the ring. Written by Dennis O’Neil and drawn by Neal Adams, it was a special treasury edition that never made it to any newsagents I frequented as a kid. But there was an ad for it in every DC comic I read and the cover was enough in itself to make me salivate. issues of TIGER and Scorcher from 12 October 1974 to 30 August 1980 ( Industrial action prevented publication of 3 issues in December 1978 and a further 5 in May and June 1980)

The monthly stated that the Roy whose career ended in 1993 had been born in 1954 (the year the strip first appeared), and had debuted, aged 16, in the Rovers' European Cup Final win of 1970 (which had actually taken place in 1969, not 1970, in the strip). All stories before then were implied to have featured his father, also named Roy. Looking like a young Kyle MacLachlan, Andy Steel burst on to the scene as a prodigiously talented 15 year old. He had the ability to win matches for First Division club Millside on his own. After turning up for his debut on a bicycle, Steel proceeded to run the midfield, score in a 3-0 win against Brookhampton and read all about it in the Sunday papers with his Uncle Bill (Sample headline: 'Handy Andy'). He made himself unpopular at school by being a goody-two-shoes. The magazine that he originated in, Hot Shot , was perhaps unsurprisingly fronted by Gary Lineker. Dawkes, Phil (21 January 2021). "Roy of the Rovers: How has Melchester striker stayed relevant 67 years on?". BBC . Retrieved 25 March 2022. Especially during the 1980s, real-life personalities often made appearances. Former Division One stars Bob Wilson and Emlyn Hughes were brought out of retirement to play for Melchester in 1985, along with longtime fans of the strip Martin Kemp and Steve Norman, of the pop group Spandau Ballet. [54] Geoff Boycott served for several years as Melchester's chairman, [11] and Sir Alf Ramsey had briefly taken over as manager of Melchester in 1982, while Roy lay in his coma. [2] Players such as Malcolm Macdonald and Trevor Francis would sometimes line up alongside Roy in England matches, despite the fact that the clubs they played for in real life were never featured in the strip. [55] Deborah Meaden explained her views on the business’ branding. Describing it as “gift branding” she wanted to see more of James’ history come through. A strong brand can be highly valuable. A brand is a ‘promise of an experience’ and offers consumers assurance about the nature of the product or service they will receive.

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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 Rose, Neil (April 2004), "Race Against Time", When Saturday Comes, archived from the original on 28 August 2010 , retrieved 21 June 2010 After the Dragons’ taste test went down a treat, it seemed like James’ pitch turned a little sharp. Roy of the Rovers stories– Monthly Magazine", Roy of the Rovers.com, archived from the original on 9 December 2009 , retrieved 22 June 2010

Got this for my nephew he dreams of playing for England, absolutely footy mad has all the strips and balls, but this is something to keep, really nice idea and was impressed by the quality of the artwork. Highly recommend to others’ Helen Football-themed stories were a staple of British comics for boys from the 1950s onwards, and Roy of the Rovers was the most popular. [1] The strip usually saw Rovers competing for honours at the top of the English and European game, although in some years the storylines would see the club struggle for form, including a relegation from the First Division in the early 1980s. As well as dealing in on-pitch action, Roy of the Rovers featured high drama off the pitch, with kidnapping storylines a recurring feature of its early decades. From the 1970s onwards, stories included a shooting, a terrorist atrocity, and several celebrity guest appearances. Rovers played in a fictional universe made up of invented teams; however, real-life players including Emlyn Hughes, Bob Wilson and Malcolm Macdonald made appearances in the strip, as did former England manager Alf Ramsey. This personalised football comic featuring whoever you want and their grassroots football team is the perfect football gift. Retro, high spec comic with the opportunity for the buyer to add a personalised message. Collectors Corner – Memorabilia", Roy of the Rovers.com, archived from the original on 15 July 2011 , retrieved 16 June 2010 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

Recently published by Nobrow, Bosman’s sweet comic strip contains a sequence in which a mummy and a trainee magician play a game of basketball. To the death! It was the crowd that told us what was happening given that action replays weren’t really possible. You might say they were the comic book equivalent of the chorus in ancient Greek theatre. That’s the danger of a little learning, isn’t it? In February 2008 it became apparent that "Match" would once again face fresh circulation challenges when it was announced that the BBC would be launching Match Of The Day magazine into the weekly football marketplace and "Shoot" declared their intention to return to weekly publication, although this didn't last long as Shoot closed in June 2008. Disagree with our selection? We thought so. Write and tell us who or what should be there instead, justifying your choice in no more than 50 words.