SEQUENTIAL, the iPad app for digital graphic novels, has announced a Valentine treat for everyone with the news that it is to release an exclusive enhanced edition of the first ever British graphic novel True Love by Posy Simmonds, the acclaimed author of Gemma Bovery, and Tamara Drewe, which was made into a feature film in 2010.
Published in 1981, True Love is a sharp satire on the idealised romantic love promised in British romance comics. It tells the story of plain and single office worker Janice Brady who dreams of being swept off her feet by her lecherous boss Stanhope Wright.
True Love was followed in the early 1980s by other graphic novels that would become classics of the genre, including When the Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs and the collected version of Bryan Talbot’s The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, as the nascent British graphic novel scene started to take off.
Over 30 years later, True Love is now getting a new lease of life on SEQUENTIAL’s acclaimed digital graphic novel platform, where the original pages will be presented in glorious high-definition and supplemented with a host of extras including audio from Posy Simmonds, sketches and artwork, and more materials from the original conception and creation process.
The exclusive edition is to be released during the London Book Fair in April, where SEQUENTIAL are hosting the Book Fair’s first ever Graphic Novel Pavilion.
Posy Simmonds
Posy Simmonds is one of the UK’s most treasured authors, with long-running strips in The Guardian that would become Gemma Bovery, Tamara Drewe, Mrs. Weber’s Diary, and more. She has also contributed strips to The Spectator and Harper’s Magazine, and has written a number of best-selling children’s books including Fred, Bouncing Buffalo and Lulu and the Flying Babies. She was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2002 for services to the newspaper industry.
“I’m so glad that True Love is going to have new digital life on SEQUENTIAL,” commented Posy, who is currently collecting together materials for the enhanced extras, including the original cover artwork, sketches, and the notebook in which True Love was written.
Russell Willis, the founder of SEQUENTIAL, said, “I’m personally delighted to announce the release of True Love by Posy Simmonds, one of the world’s most important cartoonists. In the 80s it was Posy’s True Love graphic novel that helped spark my interest in comics as a medium for adults. I’ve been a huge fan of her work ever since. Posy has become a national treasure and it’s a real honour to publish this expanded digital version of her work.”
SEQUENTIAL features hundreds of graphic novels and comics from leading creators and publishers, made available digitally via their acclaimed storefront app and reader for the iPad. SEQUENTIAL’s mission is to expand the market for graphic novels for adults with a beautifully presented, carefully curated selection of material that focuses on the richness of the medium outside of the typical superhero offering.
Often considered as a “coffee table” graphic novel app due to its high quality, SEQUENTIAL was launched in August 2013 and showcases the world’s best publishers of graphic novels including Fantagraphics, Top Shelf, Knockabout, SelfMadeHero, Dark Horse, NBM, Secret Acres, Myriad Editions and Blank Slate Books, as well as a number of small press publishers and creator-owned works.
The app also includes exclusive work by top names such as Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman, often with expanded features such as audio commentaries. Previous “expanded editions” include collections from Bacchus and From Hell artist Eddie Campbell and V For Vendetta artist David Lloyd.
• SEQUENTIAL is free to download from the App Store here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sequential-graphic-novels/id629759394
• Further information can be found on the SEQUENTIAL website here: http://www.sequential.cc
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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.
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