Roy of the Rovers editor dies aged 88

Tributes have been paid to the editor of classic British football comic Roy of the Rovers.

Barrie Tomlinson, who was born and lived most of his life in St Albans, died on Tuesday, aged 88, his daughter Jennifer Tomlinson said.

He "absolutely loved doing the comics" and was known for portraying the character of Roy Race as a real person who was "his best friend", she added.

Race, a star striker for the fictional team of Melchester Rovers, initially appeared in the comic Tiger in 1954, and later in his own standalone title until its closure in February 1993.

The Roy of the Rovers strip then featured in the BBC's Match of the Day magazine until its closure in 2001.

Tomlinson, who was also editor of Tiger, wrote the Scorer football strip, which appeared in the Daily Mirror for 22 years, and authored two books, Real Roy of the Rovers Stuff and Comic Book Hero.

Jennifer said her father, who moved to Saffron Walden, Essex, to be close to her, died at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge.

"It was a life well lived," she said.

After posting about his death on social media, she said she was "blown away by the messages; they've been so nice".

She added: "It's amazing how much impact he had on people.

"He would want to be remembered for Roy of the Rovers as he started it as a separate title."

Book publisher Simon & Schuster UK said Tomlinson was a comics writer and former group editor at IPC Magazines, who wrote strips including Death Wish and Turbo Jones for Wildcat.

He was also involved with Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles and Scream! comics.

Jennifer said: "He was a lovely man with a great sense of humour who absolutely loved doing the comics.

"He loved to try and get all the famous people of the time involved, like Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, even the Duke of Edinburgh wrote something in one of the comics.

"He liked to portray Roy as a real person – that was always how he did it. He was his best friend.

"When I was growing up, with my brother James, we were really lucky as we had all the comics for free and we'd get toys and [had] one of the first computer games.

"He met so many famous people. It's amazing as a kid to see your dad with all these famous people."

She said after a private family funeral, the family was planning a celebration of his life in St Albans.

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