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Hodder & Stoughton to Publish Graphic Novel from YouTube Star Joe Sugg

By John Freeman on February 4, 2015 • ( 2 )

A scene from “Most Painful Video” from Thatcher Joe

Hodder & Stoughton has acquired the rights to a graphic novel from Joe Sugg, best known for his channel ‘ThatcherJoe‘ on YouTube, which has over three million followers.

Joe started making YouTube videos in 2011 and currently has 3.5million YouTube subscribers to his videos which include pranks, amazing impressions and challenges, as well as collaborations with other prominent YouTubers. He also has 1.3m subscribers on his ‘vlogging’ channel and over 500K on his gaming channel.

Joe is the younger brother of fellow vlogger Zoe Sugg, aka Zoella, whose YA fiction book Girl Online became the best-selling debut since records began, with sales now standing at 270,603 through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market.

Senior editor Briony Gowlett, who bought world rights from Lucy Lendrem at Gleam Futures, said: “Joe is an amazing young talent; his YouTube videos are some of the most inventive around and this imagination will shine out of every page of his book. Joe keeps his audience at the heart of everything he does and this project will be no different.’

Joe himself, is “very excited” by the project and is encouraging his three million plus followers on YouTube to choose the lead character’s name…

Joe will be collaborating with an illustrator and the story will follow a socially isolated girl who fights to save a virtual world – created as a safe place for her by her dying father – from descending into mayhem.

Shot through with references from Joe’s life and online antics the book will be an immersive adventure but will also touch upon many of the issues that his fans face every day.

Helping Joe to shape and marshal his ideas is author Matt Whyman, who has written widely for all ages across a range of subjects – in fiction, advice and memoir.

The book will be published in hardback and eBook in September 2015 priced at £14.99.

• Check out ThatcherJoe on YouTube here

• Vote for the lead character name in Joe’s graphic novel here

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “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.