Roy of the Rovers artist Lisa Henke was asked by staff at St Maria Goretti Catholic Primary School if she could give some tips on drawing Roy’s younger sister, Rocky – and was happy to oblige.
“My year 5’s are studying the Women’s Football World Cup,” a teacher tweeted to Lisa, “and are reading Tom Palmer’s Roy of the Rovers spinoff.
“We love your character Rocky! Please tweet us back with some tips on how to draw her.”
Lisa, who’s also drawn the cover and the “Rocky of the Rovers” strip for the new Tammy & Jinty Special, on sale this week in all good newsagents, offered pupils at the school, near Preston, Lancashire, her How to Draw Rocky Guide, also sharing the results with her Twitter followers, to the delight of Tom Palmer, among others.
As we previously reported, the National Literacy Trust, Rebellion and The Football Association have teamed up to launch a free live story starring Rocky Race, sister of Roy (Roy of the Rovers), following the journey of England’s Lionesses at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France this summer. The team have just reached the quarter finals.
The story is being written and published, chapter-by-chapter, as the Lionesses progress through the tournament. It’s designed to be read aloud in the classroom or at home – and will be available on the National Literacy Trust’s website throughout the tournament.
The aim was to use the power of football and the excitement around events as they unfold on and off the pitch at the Women’s World Cup to get children aged 8 to 14 excited about reading – and in the case of pupils at St Maria, it’s definitely worked!

Tammy & Jinty Special 2019 – on sale later this week
• To download the first chapter of Rocky of the Rovers: France 2019, visit: literacytrust.org.uk/womensworldcup
• Schools in England can also access free resources and lesson planning tools with a women’s football focus from children’s charity the Youth Sport Trust, working in partnership with The FA. The Youth Sport Trust resources can be accessed via girlsfootballinschools.org
• Roy of he Rovers Official Site: royoftheroversofficial.com
Roy of he Rovers © Rebellion Publishing Ltd
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News