Graphic novels or Les BD (bandes dessinées)! In Europe, they go mad for them! They call it "the 9th Art." Every year, a thriving international festival takes place at Angoulême (France) to celebrate graphic novels, a popular art form as well respected as any literary genre. In fact, there are all kinds of BD for both adults and children. They are available everywhere from the village bookshop to the supermarket via cultural media stores like La FNAC or Virgin. Conscious that the English reading public at large was not properly aware of BD, and out of admiration for the work of Goscinny (the author of Asterix), we decided to start with another of his characters: Lucky Luke. Lucky Luke is this super cool cowboy who, with his wisecracking horse Jolly Jumper, protects the population West of the Mississippi from the exaction of all kinds of villains, some real (The Daltons, Jesse James) and some invented. The stories, always well researched, combine fact, fiction and humorous send off with a refreshing lack of political correctness. So far, we have published seven titles titles - Calamity Jane, Jesse James, Dalton City, The Tenderfoot, Ma Dalton, Western Circus and The Dashing White Cowboy. In total, there are over 60 Lucky Luke titles. An amazing success story worldwide for the last 50 years, there are 250 million Lucky Luke books in print in over 26 languages worldwide. From our research, the ecstatic response to the BD by British children proved beyond any doubt that these books deserve to be read by English speakers and that English speaking children deserve the opportunity to read them. Glo'worm sets out to give them this opportunity.
