Roy of the Rovers the Rovers go on tour to a fictional country in an exotic part of the world, normally South America, where they would invariably be kidnapped and held to ransom. "Melchester played more pre-season games at gunpoint deep in the jungle than they ever did in more mundane settings." The summer would often also see Roy fending off lucrative offers to leave Melchester, as in 1978, when the Sheik of Basran, an oil-rich Middle-Eastern state, offered him £1 million to coach the national team. Especially during the 1980s, real-life personalities often made appearances. Former Division One stars Bob Wilson and Emlyn
Roy of the Rovers (comic) of the Rovers and Hot Shot", but reverted to its original title shortly afterwards. The comic was relaunched as a monthly in September 1993, but finally closed in March 1995, after a further 19 issues. On 19 March 2012 The Royal Mail launched a special stamp collection to celebrate Britain's rich comic book history. As well as "Roy of the Rovers", the collection also featured "The Beano", "The Dandy", "Eagle", "The Topper", "Bunty", "Buster", "Valiant", "Twinkle" and "2000 AD". The magazine's circulation for the six months ending June 1981 was 122,118. A readership survey carried out in 1982 revealed that