Roy of the Rovers in Match of the Day magazine, today!

By John Freeman on June 5, 2018

The new issue of Match of the Day magazine (cover dated 5th – 11th June 2017) is out today and features the first part of the new Roy of the Rovers comic strip we trailed last month.

The Match of the Day magazine strip, written by Rebellion’s Rob Power and Keith Richardson and drawn by Lisa Henke, is a self-contained story following Melchester Rovers as they partake in the Caridad Cup, a charity tournament taking place in Spain that pits them against local rivals Tynecaster, and Spanish teams Varagosa and Real Santana.

As we previously reported here on downthetubes, 2000AD publisher Rebellion is also to publish a series of Roy of the Rovers graphic novels and illustrated children’s fiction in 2018, with the first books hitting shelves in the autumn.

The strip will run weekly from 5th June through to 21st August.

Roy’s character design is the work of comics artist Ben Wilsher (2000AD, Doctor Who magazine), who will also illustrate the graphic novels later in the year.

It’s a glorious return to the pages of Match of the Day magazine, which was home to Roy of the Rovers from 1997 to 2001.

If you can’t find the new issue then the previous issue is worth looking for as well, as it features a two-page feature on Roy.

• Roy of the Rovers debuts in Match of the Day magazine is on sale now – check out the web site here. The magazine is available in all good UK newsagents

• There’s now a new official Roy of the Rovers at royoftheroversofficial.com where you can sign up for a newsletter and news has started to be published. Find the official Roy of the Rovers on Facebook, follow on Twitter @royoftherovers or Instgram @royoftheroversofficial

• Find artist Lia Henke on tumblr | Follow Lia Henke on Twitter @LisaHepho

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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.