Roy and Rocky Race return for a third stunning season with more iconic Melchester Rovers drama, on and off the pitch – and some new faces to boot!
That’s right Melchester Rovers fans, we are extremely excited to officially announce that the third season of Roy of the Rovers illustrated fiction and graphic novels is set to hit the back of the net, and shop shelves, on September 30th 2021 with SUDDEN DEATH by Tom Palmer, followed shortly after on October 28th with NEW DIGS by Rob Williams and a brand new artist…!
After two scintillating seasons of Melchester Rovers action, season three is shaping up to be the most dramatic yet, and while we can’t wait for you to get your hands on the new books, we’ve made some exciting changes to the series that we think you’ll love, so let’s take a quick look!
LESS IS MORE! (No, really!)
Season Three will consist of four longer books, instead of six shorter books.
Previously, each Roy of the Rovers season has consisted of SIX titles in total (three fiction & three graphic novels), but for season three we’ve decided to shift this down to FOUR titles in total – but fear not, you won’t be getting less iconic Melchester Rovers drama, as each title is now 50% longer!
“Why have you done that then?”
A very good question! We’ve always wanted the series to grow alongside its readers, and as we’re now going into our third year of the Roy of the Rovers reboot, those children who read Scouted and Kick-Off when they released back in November 2018 are now more than three years older than they were! They’ve grown a lot, so we wanted our books to grow too, and we think the length and the content of these new stories reflect that.
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NEW SIGNINGS: ARTIST!
David Sque returns once more to draw Roy of the Rovers!
Since his creation in 1954, Roy Race has been drawn by some wonderful artists – Joe Colquhoun, Tom Tully, Yvonne Hutton. But for many, there’s one name who springs to mind when the subject of Roy of the Rovers artwork is mentioned – David Sque!
With that in mind, we’re over the moon to reveal that David will be returning to draw season three’s graphic novels - starting with NEW DIGS!
After illustrating the ‘OLD SCHOOL’ strip in our 2020 Summer Special, David was brought onboard to bring his iconic style to a brand new generation of Roy of the Rovers readers in the first GN of Season Three: NEW DIGS, out October 28th!
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NEW SIGNING: ILLUSTRATOR!
Elkys Nova joins as illustrator for Tom Palmer ‘s Roy/Rocky of the Rovers novels!
Another new signing to the team – we’re absolutely thrilled to welcome Elkys Nova onboard as the new illustrator for Season Three’s fiction novels!
Any of you who read our 2020 Summer Special will recognise the name, as Elkys illustrated the EURO’ strip, and we loved his style so much that we thought he’d be perfect to add to the art team for the next season.
We’ll give you a sneak peak of his illustrations closer to release, but for now check out his cover art for SUDDEN DEATH! We hope you’re excited as we are…
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ROCKY RETURNS!
Rocky Race returns for the second book of Season Three!
“They’re books for boys and girls. We all need to read more fiction with girls doing sport.” – Tom Palmer, in SheKicks Magazine
When ROCKY released late last year, we had such a fantastic reaction (and great reviews!) to the book from both boys and girls that we more than happily agreed to keep Rocky on for another season. Tom Palmer will once again step into the (very muddy) shoes of Rocky Race for the second book of season three, as we follow her adventures on and off the pitch!
For those of you who have finished season two, you’ll know there’s a lot instore for Melchester Rovers – Rocky included! We think she’s got a very bright future ahead. More information on this at a later date, but watch this space!
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Now that you’re up to date with all of that, let’s take a look at the next two books shall we!
SUDDEN DEATH – By Tom Palmer, illustrations by Elkys Nova
After a dramatic season that saw Roy Race and teammates suffer a heart-breaking loss in the League Cup final, their beloved stadium burning to the ground, and an ownerless Rovers on the brink of being shut down, things were looking bleak despite securing promotion to the Championship…
A fresh season brings fresh hope though in the form of dedicated new owners, intent on rebuilding Mel Park and restoring Melchester Rovers as one of the biggest clubs in Europe, in both the men’s and the women’s game!
But a new start means new challenges for Roy, Rocky, their family, and their teammates, and with Roy's Dad's condition getting worse, things aren't about to get any easier both on and off the field…
SUDDEN DEATH is out September 30th!
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NEW DIGS – By Rob Williams, illustrated by David Sque
It's the start of a terrific new season for Melchester Rovers. They are now a Championship club with a new kit, new owners and a fabulous new stadium.
Rocky and Roy Race couldn't be happier. But a personal tragedy and an appalling incident during a Melchester Rovers match in Europe, will push the footballing siblings to the limit.
NEW DIGS is out October 28th!
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PHEW. That was a lot of information wasn’t it.
We know there’s still a few months to wait to get your hands on the new season of books, but we’ve got lots of interesting activities planned between now and September 30th – for Melchester Rover fans of all ages, so make sure to keep an eye on our website, and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram for all the latest news as it happens!
Read the comics, dive into the
books, and grab some free comic all in the new Roy of the Rovers app! 
