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Jonathan Cape has partnered with software developer Panel Nine to bring its graphic novels to the digital store on the Sequential app.
Sequential was launched in the UK in May to provide a storefront for literary graphic novel publishers. The free app also has a reader function that allows users to navigate through books. It was created by Panel Nine, a software developer led by Russell Willis, and is currently available for iOS, with an Android version in the pipeline.
The app has previously offered titles from publishers including Blank Slate Books and Myriad Editions, but Sequential editorial director Chloe Martin said the deal with Cape expanded its offering. She said: “Cape are very established as a publisher of literary graphic novels, so it’s great to be working with them. We’ll be offering 11 of their titles to begin with, with more to come.”
Alex Bowler, editorial director of Cape Graphic Novels, said: "Cape is the UK home to the biggest names in the comics world—Dan Clowes, Joe Sacco, Chris Ware, Marjane Satrapi, Mr Crumb, et al. It’s only natural that we should be boldly crossing this new frontier. This is an extraordinary form, and there is a real hunger for this material among a digital audience. It’s essential that we make the best graphic novels—like the Costa Award-winning The Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes, or Days of the Bagnold Summer—available to them."
Many of the e-books released come with special features unique to the app, including unseen sketches and author commentary.
Cape is also experimenting with the publication of 3": A Game of Zooms by Marc-Antoine Mathieu, which is released today as a £14.99 hardback graphic novel and interactive website.
The full website can be accessed by a code in the book or by completing three puzzle games on the site, and will accompany the book with complementary elements which reveal more of the book's secrets.
Random House digital publisher Dan Franklin said: "We know that the graphic novel community loves the physical object, but what we’ve done here is create a hybrid publication that deepens the mystery at the heart of the story… We hope it takes 3” to a wide audience who will get a kick out of exploring and piecing together its secrets.”