He first appeared in his eponymous comic strip in 1953,[4] and is one of the longest-running characters, characterised by his tactics for avoiding responsibility and his parents' rules, or simply making chores easier, usually with the help of instructional "dodge" books.

Ken Reid was recommended to DC Thomson by his brother-in-law Bill Holroyd, who illustrated for The Beano.

Reid travelled to Dundee and was first tasked to design comic strip panels for a new character: a boy who did anything to evade responsibilities and favours.

The caption revealed this was a teaser to a new comic strip called Roger the Dodger, boasting, "You really think his dad has really caught him dodging his homework, don't you?

"[6] Unlike most Beano characters, Roger does not intentionally cause chaos and mayhem, despite his attempts at dodging responsibilities and punishments often creating it.

Ken Reid's early stories frequently had Roger get caught by his family members, that do not hesitate with the cruelty of their vengeance.

Reid's final panels would show Roger being forced to do his chore (or clean up after his antics create more damage than intended) as a family member (usually his father) supervises with a smirk.

[4] His appearance is vaguely similar to that of Dennis the Menace from the same magazine: he wears a black-and-red chequered jumper and black trousers, but takes better care of his hair than his equally mischievous counterpart.

Ten years later, after Euan Kerr took over as Beano editor, Nixon returned, drawing in a noticeably different style from the one before.

Between 1986 and 1992, a spin-off strip appeared at the end called Roger the Dodger's Dodge Clinic.

Since Appleby stopped drawing Roger, the comic has run reprints of Robert Nixon strips from the 1980s.

He also made a non-speaking appearance in an advert for The Beano along with Dennis and Gnasher, Minnie the Minx, Billy Whizz, Teacher from The Bash Street Kids and Biffo the Bear.