News

« Headlines

Titan signs up classic Roy

29.02.08 Marli Roode

Titan has acquired worldwide book publishing rights in a range of Egmont's classic comic strip collections, in a bid to cash in on revived interest in nostalgia books.

The Best of Roy of the Rovers: The 1980s will be published in paperback in June and is likely to retail at £9.99. Hardback archives of the strip will follow later in the summer. Each volume will contain a year's worth of strips, starting with the 1954/55 "football season", and will retail at between £12.99 and £14.99.
Titan has also acquired rights in boys' favourites Buster and Action, as well as the adventures of air cadet Johnny Red, the ­Bentley-driving Major Eazy and Rat Pack strips from war-story comic Battle. Popular girls' titles Tammy and Misty complete the acquisition.

Marketing and publicity surrounding the titles is still in the planning stages, but Titan is considering a football ground launch for the Roy collection, hoping to offer the footballing hero as a "consolation prize" for fans disappointed by England's Euro 2008 failure. Roy will also head Titan's Father's Day campaign.

According to Egmont legal affairs manager Melanie Leggett, there is a lot of interest in its classic titles. "But our profile at the moment is very much children's, and the market for this is very much adults and nostalgia," she said. "Titan has been interested in these characters for a long time, so until we're in a position to do it ourselves, this seems like a good option."

For Nick Jones, senior editor at Titan, the acquisition made sense as it built on an ongoing relationship with Egmont over classic comic strip "Charley's War". "It would be daft to ignore Egmont’s other titles. Roy of the Rovers is a fantastic brand and is remembered and loved by millions. It will be a pleasure to publish him."

Childrens Books Marli Roode Titan Books

See Also