Netflix buys Scots comic company
● Company’s creator to inject money into his old home town
A Scottish comic company has been bought by entertainment giants Netflix.
Comic book writer Mark Millar, 47, from Coatbridge, whose works Kickass and Wanted have been made into hit films, set up his firm, Millarworld, in the early 2000s.
Mr Millar, 47, said that the deal was “only the third time in history a comicbook company purchase on this scale has ever happened”.
The acquisition is the streaming giant’s first in its 20-year history.
The company created by Scottish comic book author Mark Millar has been snapped up by entertainment giant Netflix in a deal which is set to see the regeneration of parts of the author’s former hometown of Coatbridge.
Characters from the stable of Millar’s Wanted, Kick-ass and Kingsman: The Secret Service, all of which have been adapted into Holywood blockbusters, will now be owned by Netflix – which will stream any of the author’s new creations.
Millar, 47, who now lives in Glasgow, said that the acquisition was “only the third time in history a comic-book company purchase on this scale has ever happened” – citing Warner Bros’ buyout of DC Comics in 1968 and Disney’s acquisition of Marvel in 2009.
The value of the acquisition of the company, which Millar runs with his wife, Lucy, has not been disclosed.
The comic book author added that details of a charitable foundation created by Millar and his wife which will revitalise parts of his hometown will be revealed later in the summer. Millar said: “I started Millarworld as a creator-owned comic-book company nearly 15 years ago, after talking some artist pals into being their own bosses. We’d all had success at DC and Marvel, but this was a chance to control the characters created and reap the rewards from any future movies, TV or merchandise.
“Millarworld has amassed 20 different franchises working with great artists and now Millarworld has been bought by the hottest, most exciting entertainment company on the planet. To say this is the best thing that ever happened in our professional lives would be an understatement.”
Millar, who began writing comic books as an empoverished teenager after his parents died and he was struggling to earn a living in a flat on the outskirts of Coatbridge, added that the regeneration project had been planned “behind the scenes”.
He said: “This is a five-year charity building project I’ve been quietly making plans for with local government behind the scenes and we can’t wait to go public with the idea. I’ve had an enormous amount of luck in my life – none more than today – and I look forward to explaining how I’m planning to use what this deal brings us to help improve an area I grew up in and owe everything to.”
Dubbed “king of the graph- ic novel” on both sides of the Atlantic, he previously worked for DC Comics and Marvel, writing the adventures of superheroes including Superman, Batman, The Flash, Spider-man and Wolverine.
Major Hollywood stars including Angelina Jolie, Samuel L Jackson and Nicolas Cage have starred in adaptations.
Since Millarworld was started, the company and its cocreators have created 18 published character worlds, of which three, Wanted, Kickass and Kingsman, have yielded films that together have grossed nearly $1 billion (£768 million) in global box office.