Say hello to Melchester Rovers latest signing: Roy Race!

Rebellion Publishing is delighted to unveil the star of the highly anticipated Roy of the Rovers reboot, and hot new Melchester Rovers prospect: Roy Race.

The new-look Roy of the Rovers will make its debut in a serialised strip in BBC Match of the Day magazine  - published by Immediate Media - running weekly from 5 June through to 21 August. 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.

Roy’s been on the subs bench since then, but Rebellion is enormously excited to be launching a rebooted version of the world’s most famous football comic in 2018, first with this strip and then with more new material to follow in the Autumn.

The Match of the Day magazine strip 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.

Rebellion is also to publish a series of graphic novels and illustrated children’s fiction in 2018, with the first books hitting shelves in the autumn.

The artist for the Match of the Day magazine strips is talented newcomer Lisa Henke, with Rebellion’s Rob Power and Keith Richardson on writing duties.

Character design of the new Roy Race was by acclaimed comics artist Ben Wilsher (2000 AD, Doctor Who magazine), who will also illustrate the graphic novels later in the year.

The new Melchester Rovers kit, seen here for the first time, is supplied by hummel®, and sponsored by leading football podcast The Totally Football Show.

Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley OBE commented:

“Roy of the Rovers is a legend of British comics, a national icon that has been in the public consciousness since 1954. Re-imagining a character as beloved as Roy Race is an opportunity that doesn’t come around too often, and we’re delighted to begin the next chapter in Roy of the Rovers history. The ‘new’ Roy Race might look different to his predecessors, but rest assured the core of the character – from his talent through to his sportsmanship and, of course, his blonde mop, remain.”

Match of the Day magazine editor Ian Foster commented:

“We’re delighted to be serialising Roy of the Rovers: the new designs are stunning and with a World Cup around the corner it’s the perfect time to bring the adventures of Roy Race to a new generation of young football fans. From buying the comic as a kid myself in the 80s I know our readers will be really excited to follow the storylines every week.”

KEY POINTS

• Roy of the Rovers is being rebooted and relaunched in 2018, with a modernised Roy Race taking centre stage.

• The ‘new’ Roy Race is 16 years old, and beginning his career in football with Melchester Rovers.

• An exclusive Roy of the Rovers comic strip is to appear in Match of the Day magazine, running from 5 June – 25 August 2018 – the first new Roy of the Rovers material to be published since 2001.

• The new Melchester Rovers kit is designed and supplied by hummel®, and sponsored by The Totally Football Show Podcast.

• The artist on the Match of the Day Magazine Roy of the Rovers strips is talented newcomer Lisa Henke, and they are written by Rebellion’s Rob Power and Keith Richardson.

• The character design on the Roy of the Rovers reboot is by Ben Willsher (2000 AD, Doctor Who Magazine).

• Rebellion’s publishing plan also includes three 56 page hardback graphic novels per football season, launching in Autumn 2018, January 2019 and April 2019. The graphic novels are written by Rob Williams (Suicide Squad, Action Comics) and illustrated by Ben Willsher. 

• Middle grade illustrated fiction titles are also to be released alongside the graphic novels, launching in October 2018 and following on in February 2019 and May 2019. These titles are written by best-selling children's author Tom Palmer.