Roy of the Rovers rebooted, new stories start in 2018

By John Freeman on September 29, 2017

BBC News Oxford has reported Roy of the Rovers is to be rebooted in new adventures thanks to new owners 2000AD publisher Rebellion.

The new stories will chart the start of Roy Race’s career at the fictional Melchester Rovers, in a series of graphic novels and books alongside the 2018/19 football season.

Jason Kingsley, Rebellion CEO, told the BBC he was “delighted” the character was back “for a new generation of readers”, calling him a “fantastic addition” to the company’s roster of characters.

Ben Smith, head of books and publishing at Rebellion, said: “There are only a handful of truly iconic characters in British comics, and Roy Race is surely one of them.

The first issue of Tiger, with free gift, with Roy on the cover – published in 1954. Image: ComPal

“We look forward to bringing Roy to modern audiences in a completely fresh incarnation that honours the extraordinary legacy of the character.

“We will be telling stories that connect with readers both young and old.

“There is a dearth of football-related fiction on the shelves, and we’re looking forward to correcting that, whilst giving a classic British comic character a new lease of life in the process.”

Roy’s new look is yet to be revealed, but Rebellion has been dropping hints of his revival for a while.

Roy of the Rovers, cover date 22nd November 1980. A cover exemplifying much of what Roy stood for

First published in Tiger in 1954, football Star and Top striker Roy Race – one of Britain’s best-loved comics characters whose popularity spawned his own comic – has made sporadic appearances in special strips for national newspapers since his last regular outing, in Match of the Day magazine, appearances that ended in 2001.

Roy teams up with Spandau Ballet in this issue of Roy of the Rovers cover dated 19th October 1985

One of many Roy of the Rovers spin-off books, detailed here by Richard Sheaf

Rebellion bought the rights to the character from Egmont last year, in a deal that included hundreds of other comic characters and classic titles, including the Roy of the Rovers comic, Battle Picture Weekly, Buster, Misty, Whizzer and Chips and more.

Barrie Tomlinson, who was editor of Tiger and who founded the Roy of the Rovers comic in the 1970s, and helped do more than many to shape Roy’s enduring success, has welcomed the revival news.

”Lots of interest in the news that Roy of the Rovers is being ‘re-booted’, the author of Real Roy of the Rovers Stuff and the recently-released Comic Book Hero noted on Twitter. “We did quite well in making the old boy a national institution!”

• You can sign up for updates on the brand new Roy of the Rovers over at royoftheroversofficial.com – the #royoftherovers reboot is coming!

• Check out more Roy of the Rovers memories on Great News For All Readers

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as 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.