Sunday Mirror sports editor Steve McKenlay has resigned to become managing director of Striker 3D, owner of the Striker cartoon series.
McKenlay, 46, will oversee a £1m expansion of Striker, starting later this year with a weekly comic, followed by a planned TV series. Other projects include a website, merchandising and a computer game.
Striker has appeared in The Sun since 1985 but last September its creator and company chief executive Pete Nash gave a year’s notice to terminate the contract.
“There’s still a chance that Striker could go forward in conjunction with The Sun but the paper and I have rarely seen eye to eye in recent years,” said Nash. “It’s time to move on – with or without The Sun.”
The strip started life as a black and white line drawing, but its transition into the world’s first 3D-generated cartoon strip four years ago proved to be a turning point.
McKenlay, who joined the Sunday Mirror from The Sun five years ago, said: “It’s not easy to walk away from journalism after 30 fantastic years in the business but the chance to join Striker 3D and help develop the company is an exciting and irresistible challenge.”
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