Myriad acquires GP's comic The Lady Doctor

Brighton-based independent publisher Myriad has acquired a "highly anticipated" new graphic novel by g.p. and comics artist Ian Williams: The Lady Doctor.

The Lady Doctor is the follow-up companion volume to Williams' critically acclaimed debut, The Bad Doctor (Myriad, 2011), about the life and times of rural g.p. Iwan James. It will be published in 2018.

Myriad’s creative director and graphics editor, Corinne Pearlman, bought world rights from Kirsty McLachlan at David Godwin Associates.

Williams writes a weekly strip for the Guardian called "Sick Notes" chronicling the trials and tribulations of the NHS, and is founder of Graphic Medicine, a network of comics artists creating stories around health. He is also the series editor of Penn State University Press’s Graphic Medicine imprint, which publishes the US edition of The Bad Doctor.

Pearlman said: "From the moment we see Lois nipping out of the back of the surgery for a fag, we know we will get a good story! Ian has a lightness of touch and a wonderfully sly sense of humour that cuts across any worthiness of his achievement in the world of graphic medicine. He knows his comics and he loves to communicate using all the tools of his craft. We’re in for a treat."

The Bad Doctor was commended at the 2015 British Medical Association Book Awards in the Primary Health Care Category, shortlisted for the Medicine Unboxed Creative Prize, and longlisted for the British Comic Awards (Best Book), where Williams was longlisted in the Emerging Talent category.