From Roger's first appearance, drawn by Ken Reid, 1953
Roger the Dodger is a regular character in the Beano. Roger always tries to avoid doing chores with the help of his dodge books, but his dodges usually go wrong, almost always resulting in his punishment (mostly by his long-suffering dad). Roger wears a red and black chequered jumper with a white tie. He also has a pet cat, simply called Dodge Cat and a crow called Joe. Roger's arch-enemy is a bully called Cruncher Kerr, who always loses to Roger in the end.
His strip consists solely of Roger's basic remit to avoid doing chores and homework which usually involves him concocting complex and ultimately disastrous plans, the undoing of which results in him being punished (usually by his long-suffering father). To perform these tasks he enlists the help of his many 'dodge books'.
He first appeared in issue 561, dated 18 April 1953, drawn by Ken Reid until 1959, then Gordon Bell (1959-60), Bob McGrath (1961-62), Reid again (1962-64), Robert T. Nixon (1964-73), Tom Lavery (1973-1976), Frank McDiarmid (1976-86), Nixon again (1986-2002) and Barrie Appleby (2003-present, with some strips drawn by Trevor Metcalfe in 2003-04). Scripts have been written by Ian Gray and Mike Knowles among others.
