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Sun’s “Striker” comic finally heads to animation?

By John Freeman on August 28, 2015

Striker © Pete Nash

Striker, the long-running newspaper strip published by The Sun, may finally be heading for a new life as an animated tale – a long cherished ambition of its creator, Pete Nash.

In a post to the StrikerWorld forum, Pete has announced some “exciting developments” have taken place over the last few months which he is hoping will lead to an announcement before the end of the year about the future direction of Striker.

Debuting in The Sun on 11th November 1985, newspaper strip Striker will celebrate its 30th birthday, despite a chequered history that has seen its cancellation and revival on more than one occasion. A key part of both the print and digital editions of The Sun – it even has its own app – the football-focused tale now looks set for further development at last.

“I’ve said before that I think Striker has gone as far as it can as a comic strip,” he told fans, “and while I’m unable to go into details at this stage, I can say that the plans involve animation and gaming.

“This doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the printed strip, just that it would be the start of an evolution into animation,” he expands. “You will probably be thinking of a film or TV series and while I hope that will happen, this is actually something different and far more exciting. If it comes off, it will be the biggest development by far since Striker began back in 1985 and would be the start of an amazing new era.

Pete Nash has long hoped Striker will be a TV series and spoke about the possibility back in 2013.

“The usual caveat in that nothing has been signed yet and the rug could always be pulled,” he cautions of this latest news for the character, “but the many discussions with numerous parties that have been taking place are now approaching the final rounds of talks.”

Meanwhile, a comic years app is still set for a November release to mark Striker‘s 30th anniversary and the books collection is still high on the list of priorities.

“It’s safe to say the books will definitely happen if the app is a success and the animation project comes to fruition as planned,” says Pete.

• You can read Striker online as a member of Sun+

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.