Mention Roy of the Rovers and you’ll bring a smile to almost any football fan over the age of 50. Melchester Rover and their star striker Roy are legends in both the football and comic book worlds. And now Roy is back for a new young audience of football fans with help from The National Football Museum and football clubs around the UK. They were looking for a way to bring Roy to younger football fans through an interactive installation to provide a fully branded drawing table to drawer and colour cartoons of Roy.
For a long time the NFM has wanted to engage kids with Roy through interactive games and creativity. One activity that kids love is drawing Roy in their own way on newspaper and comic strips to help tell their own fun story. So popular was this activity they decided to dedicate a whole section of the museum to it and wanted a workspace for the kids which would help inspire them.
They asked us to design and build a light table for kids branded in Melchester Rover club colours so they could trace and draw like never before.
We came up with a handful of initial possibilities with one design being refined further and tested with help from some of our own kids!
Roy of the Rovers is a British comic strip and football series that was first published in 1954. Created by Frank S. Pepper and Joe Colquhoun, the series follows the exploits of Roy Race, a young footballer who rises from obscurity to become a superstar for the fictional Melchester Rovers.
Over the years, Roy of the Rovers has become an iconic part of British popular culture, known for its exciting storylines and larger-than-life characters. The comic strip has been adapted into several television series, books, and video games, and has inspired generations of football fans.
One of the key aspects of Roy of the Rovers is its emphasis on sportsmanship and fair play. Throughout the series, Roy and his teammates face various challenges both on and off the field, but they always strive to do the right thing and play with integrity.
Another important element of the series is its focus on family values and teamwork. Roy's family, including his father, who is also a former footballer, and his younger brother, Rocky, are a key part of the storyline, and the importance of working together and supporting one another is emphasised throughout the series.
The character of Roy Race has also become an important cultural icon in his own right, symbolising the ideals of hard work, determination, and sportsmanship. His image has been used in various advertisements and promotional materials over the years, and he is still remembered fondly by many football fans today.
In recent years, Roy of the Rovers has been reimagined for a new generation of readers, with a modernised storyline and updated artwork. Despite these changes, however, the core values and themes of the series remain the same, and it continues to be a beloved part of British sporting culture.