Dexter made his debut in the very first issue of the weekly Roy of the Rovers comic, dated 25 September 1976, starring in the strip The Hard Man. Johnny was the titular character, so named because of his rugged style of play and fiery temper, which often got him into trouble with referees. He initially played for Danefield United, but was transferred to Spanish team Real Granpala, where he first encountered Hungarian manager Viktor Boskovic, who followed him back to Danefield when he returned there.
The strip was written by Barrie Tomlinson and usually drawn by Doug Maxted. The tone of the strip was generally light-hearted, with large doses of humour provided by the camp antics of the fat, bald-headed Boskovic, who was fond of kissing his players when they performed well, and often fainted during moments of high drama. Johnny also regularly found himself involved in off-pitch slapstick, including one memorable storyline in which he travelled to Italy to discuss signing for a top Serie A team. After rebuffing the team's owner, he ended up in prison and then was forced to try and flee the country dressed in drag.
The Hard Man ran for nine years, but came to an end (as part of a larger overhaul of the comic) when a rising star named Bobby Williams took Dexter's first team place during a pre-season tour of the continent. When Johnny returned for pre-season training he put in a transfer request, which Viktor accepted. Somewhat bizarrely considering his status as a former England international, the only club to make a bid for Johnny was the worst club in the Football League, Burnside Athletic, who had finished bottom of the Fourth Division in three of the previous four seasons. Johnny was granted a free transfer and appeared in the "Hard Man" strip for the last time on 10 August 1985.
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