Cover Story - Rover 1961-1973

[Kashgar]

One of the most appealing features of the 'Rover & Adventure', 'Rover & Wizard' and the plain, old 'Rover' in the last twelve years of its existence were the eye-catching, full page cover illustrations that so many of them featured.
What follows is a listing of all the artists who provided the artwork for those scintillating covers.
We begin the story with the first combined issue of 'Rover & Adventure' in January 1961 although as the first cover was a split, combined effort it was, in itself, not indicative of what was to follow.
21/1 Doug Phillips/Fred Sturrock
28/1-30/12 Ron Smith
1962
6/1-14/4 Ron Smith
21/4 Ian Kennedy
28/4-7/7 Ron Smith
14/7 Ian Kennedy
21/7-15/9 Ron Smith
22/9 Ian Kennedy
29/9-3/11 Ron Smith
10/11 Ian Kennedy
17/11, 24/11 Ron Smith
1/12 Ian Kennedy
8/12-29/12 Ron Smith

[Kashgar]

'Rover & Adventure' cover artists (continued)
1963
5/1-23/2 Ron Smith
2/3, 9/3 Ian Kennedy
16/3-27/4 Ron Smith
4/5 Ian Kennedy
11/5-1/6 Ron Smith
8/6 Ian Kennedy
15/6-13/7 Ron Smith
20/7, 27/7 Ian Kennedy
3/8 Ron Smith
10/8 Ian Kennedy
17/8-14/9 Ron Smith
21/9 Ian Kennedy
28/9 Jerry Butchart
5/10 Ron Smith
12/10 Jerry Butchart ( last Rover & Adventure)
Title now becomes, for two issues, 'Rover' in large type at the top of cover
incorporating 'Adventure' in much smaller type at the bottom of the cover.
19/10 Larry Horak
26/10 Ian Kennedy
Title now becomes simple 'Rover' for three issues
2/11, 9/11 Ian Kennedy
16/11 Free gift cover
Title then becomes 'Rover & Wizard' following the amalgamation of the two titles
23/11 Free gift cover
30/11 Ian Kennedy
7/12 Jerry Butchart
14/12-28/12 Ron Smith

1964
4/1 Ian Kennedy
11/1 Graham Millar
18/1 Ron Smith
25/1 Ian Kennedy
1/2 Graham Millar
8/2 Ron Smith
15/2 Ian Mackay
22/2 Ian Kennedy
29/2-25/4 Ian Mackay
2/5 Ron Smith
9/5 Ian Mackay
16/5 Graham Millar
23/5 Ian Mackay
30/5 Ron Smith (last by Ron Smith - total by Ron Smith 133)
6/6-24/10 Ian Mackay
31/10, 7/11 Jeff Bevan
14/11-12/12 Ian Mackay
19/12 Jeff Bevan
26/12 Ian Mackay

More anon.

[colcool007]

You can post lists like this any day of the week. I think I just had a moment reading those.

[Kashgar]

Rover & Wizard cover artists (continued)

1965

2/1-6/3 Ian Mackay
13/3 Jeff Bevan
20/3, 27/3 Ian Mackay
3/4 Jeff Bevan
10/4-8/5 Ian Mackay
15/5 Jeff Bevan
22/5-31/7 Ian Mackay
7/8 Jeff Bevan
18/8-30/10 Ian Mackay
6/11, 13/11 Jeff Bevan
20/11-11/12 Ian Mackay
18/12 Jeff Bevan
25/12 Ian Mackay

1966

1/1-22/1 Ian Mackay
29/1 Ted Rawlings
5/2 Ian Mackay
12/2 Ted Rawlings
19/2-26/3 Ian Mackay
2/4 Larry Horak
9/4 Ted Rawlings
16/4-30/4 Ian Mackay
7/5 Ted Rawlings
14/5 Ian Mackay
21/5 Jeff Bevan
28/5 Ted Rawlings
4/6 Jeff Bevan
11/6, 18/6 Ian Mackay
25/6 Ted Rawlings
2/7, 9/7 Jeff Bevan
16/7 Ian Mackay
23/7 Jeff Bevan
30/7 Ian Mackay
6/8 Jeff Bevan
13/8-10/9 Ian Mackay
17/9 Jeff Bevan
24/9 Ian Mackay
1/10, 8/10 Jeff Bevan
15/10 Ian Mackay
22/10, 29/10 Jeff Bevan
5/11 Ian Mackay
12/11 Jeff Bevan
19/11-31/12 Ian Mackay

[Kashgar]

Rover & Wizard cover artists (continued)

1967

7/1-4/2 Ian Mackay
11/2-25/2 Jeff Bevan
4/3, 11/3 Ian Mackay
18/3 Jeff Bevan
25/3-10/6 Ian Mackay
17/6, 24/6 Jeff Bevan
1/7-16/9 Ian Mackay
23/9, 30/9 Jeff Bevan
7/10-30/12 Ian Mackay

1968

6/1-10/2 Ian Mackay
17/2-8/6 Jeff Bevan
15/6 Ian Mackay
22/6-3/8 Jeff Bevan
For nearly two years, from this point on, the covers featured a series of 'Famous Goals', of the footballing variety, published on alternate weeks with a series of footballers photographs. The artwork for the 'Famous Goals' feature continued as follows.
Famous Goals 10/8, 24/8, 7/9, 21/9, 5/10, 19/10, 2/11, 16/11, 30/11, 14/12 Ian Mackay
28/12 Special, non footballing, Xmas cover Ian Mackay

[Kashgar]

Rover & Wizard cover artists (continued)

1969 (FG - Famous Goals)

11/1 FG Ian Mackay
25/1, 8/2, 22/2, 8/3, 22/3, 5/4, 19/4, 3/5, 17/5, 31/5, 14/6, 28/6, 12/7, 26/7, 9/8 FG Jeff Bevan

The issue dated Aug 9th was the last 'Rover & Wizard'. From this point on the title was simply 'Rover'.

23/8, 6/9, 20/9, 4/10, 18/10, 1/11, 15/11, 29/11, 13/12 FG Jeff Bevan

27/12 Xmas cover Ian Mackay

1970

3/1 FG Graham Millar
17/1, 31/1, 14/2, 28/2, 14/3, 28/3, 11/4, 25/4 FG Jeff Bevan
This saw the end of the Famous Goals feature to be replaced for a few weeks by a World Cup 70 feature alternating with the photographs of footballers.
World Cup 70 9/5, 23/5 Ian Mackay
6/6 Jeff Bevan
20/6 It Happened at the World Cup -Jeff Bevan
4/7, 18/7 Jeff Bevan
While the footballers photos covers continued the alternate week was now taken up with the comic strip 'Spadger and his Pals' drawn by Bill Ritchie
1/8, 15/8, 29/8, 12/9, 26/9, 10/10, 24/10, 7/11 Bill Ritchie
The final footballers photos cover appeared in the issue date 31st Oct and it was then cover art all the way to the final issue.
14/11-28/11 Jeff Bevan
5/12, 12/12 Jim Watson
19/12 Jeff Bevan
26/12 Ian Mackay

More anon

[philcom55]

I never expected to see Larry Horak's name there. Did he draw much else for DC Thomson?

[Kashgar]

Hi Phil, Not much. 'Johnny Hop' in Victor springs immediately to mind. Ralph Duncan the Rover editor in the 1960's told me that these two covers were done and bought in and adapted to fit.

[Kashgar]

Rover cover story (continued)

1971

2/1-31/7 Jeff Bevan
7/8 George Ramsbottom
14/8 Jeff Bevan
21/8 George Ramsbottom
28/8-25/9 Jeff Bevan
2/10 George Ramsbottom
9/10 Free gift cover Graham Millar
23/10 George Ramsbottom
30/10 Jeff Bevan
6/11 George Ramsbottom
13/11 Jeff Bevan
20/11-4/12 George Ramsbottom
11/12 Jeff Bevan
18/12, 25/12 George Ramsbottom

1972

1/1-26/2 George Ramsbottom
4/3-18/3 Jeff Bevan
25/3, 1/4 George Ramsbottom
8/4, 15/4 Jeff Bevan
22/4 George Ramsbottom
29/4-13/5 Jeff Bevan
20/5 George Ramsbottom
27/5-30/12 Jeff Bevan

1973

6/1, 13/1 (final issue) Jeff Bevan

[Kashgar]

Just to finish off with a few numbers.
The various incarnations of Rover published between Jan 1961 and Jan 1973 amounted, in the end, to 626, unnumbered issues. Of these, 60 sported no
cover art at all leaving 566 issues in which the cover art was an integral part of their appeal and the breakdown of how this cover art was apportioned out was as follows.

Doug Phillips 1
Fred Sturrock 1
Ron Smith 133
Ian Kennedy 20
Larry Horak 2
Jerry Butchart 3
Graham Millar 5
Bill Ritchie 8
George Ramsbottom 23
Ted Rawlings 6
Jim Watson 2
Jeff Bevan 176
Ian Mackay 186

[colcool007]

Thanks for this Ray. I don't if anyone else is loving this, but I certainly am. Now what intrigues me is that Jeff did the final cover for two comics. Rover and Warlord.

We have also identified that Jeff did a fair bit of work in Hotspur and I am genuinely surprised at the amount he did in Warlord. We've also spotted all his covers for Commando. And your work in spotting his cover work for Rover is just brilliant.

Now please correct me if I am wrong, but the only work of Jeff's that I can recall being in the Victor was when the odd feature was reprinted. Or have I missed anything?

Jeff did not have anything in Crunch, but I am going to have to check Hornet, Buddy, Bullet, Spike and Champ to see if there was anything in them.

[Phoenix]

I am going to have to check Hornet, Buddy, Bullet, Spike and Champ to see if there was anything in them.

Well that should keep you out of mischief, Col, because fortunately the National University of Scotland is not all that far from where you live, and as a Copyright Library they should have most, if not all, of those later story papers. Get a membership card and then you will be able to peruse them to your heart's content.

[colcool007]

Thankfully, I am able to use some online resources as well. Plus it does help that one of the chief librarians is a friend a few streets over!

Now, does anyone know if Jeff did any work for D C Thomson prior to his first Rover cover in 1964?

[Kashgar]

Hi Col, Yes, Jeff began working for the Thomson papers in the late 1950's. Mostly spot illustrations and feature pages as you can imagine.

[bigpete]

Morning gentlemen, Jeff Bevan is a really underestimated artist in my books. He did numerous spot illo's as Ray mentioned, mostly war related but he did a few illo's in the girls comic's as well. Think he joined Thomson in late 57 Ray. Did a couple of free gift booklet's and if my memory's right Ray at least one the covers for the hardback war books DCT did if not the interior work on one of them as well? Definitely Ian Kennedy on that cover as we all agree but I just wanted to say that although I was never particularly fond of the boys story papers, I always bought their Xmas issues simply for the covers The Rover one's in particular were amongst my favourites I just loved the Xmas covers!