BOOM! Studios and Netflix recently signed a deal that allows the streaming service a first look for any potential live-action or animated projects based on the publisher's IP library. The two companies previously collaborated on a comics series that tied into Netflix's The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Additionally, Netflix will distribute the film adaptation of The Unsound.
Beyond these projects, the floodgates are open for potential BOOM! Studios IP to be adapted at Netflix. Here are nine series that should take precedence.
1. Mouse Guard
The first and most appealing of the potential properties to adapt is the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning series Mouse Guard, created by cartoonist David Petersen. This fantasy mouse saga was in development at Fox for years before Disney scrapped it in 2019, so Netflix should be able to get it back on track. Ideally, a Netflix adaptation would see a return of director Wes Ball, along with his CGI team and actors.
2. Lumberjanes
Another project cancelled by Disney following the Fox Merger, Lumberjanes is a fantasy adventure focused on a group of girls who spend their summer at scout camp, where they get up to plenty of hijinks and encounter lots of monsters. Created by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Brooklyn A. Allen and Noelle Stevenson, this Eisner Award-winning comic has received tons of accolades for its all ages-friendly subject matter and its LGBTQ content. Netflix has also had success with Stevenson as the showrunner of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, which surely makes this series a shoe-in for early adaptation.
3. Giant Days
The Eisner Award-winning Giant Days started as a spin-off of John Allison's webcomic Scary Go Round before being picked up by BOOM! Studios back in 2016. The comic follows three college students as they embark on a journey of self-discovery in an engaging, hilarious and sometimes over-the-top narrative.
It's uncertain if Giant Days would be best suited for animation or live-action, since its distinctly cartoonish style -- steered by series artists Lissa Treiman, Max Sarin and Julia Madrigal -- has given it a unique tone all its own. However, few comics are as sincere about both the college experience and the continued experience of growing up after high school as Giant Days, which would make it a great live-action series as well.
4. Ghosted in L.A.
GLAAD-winning writer Sina Grace's urban fantasy comic, Ghosted in L.A., follows Daphne to Los Angeles for college -- and an unexpected breakup with her boyfriend, whom she followed to the west coast. Then she moves into a mansion full of ghosts, where things get even weirder. This work is an incredibly imaginative drama surrounding the circumstances of life and undeath, with particular attention on sexuality and human behavior. This could easily be a spirited, slice-of-life drama on Netflix with a supernatural twist.
5. Ronin Island
A cataclysm has struck 19th century Japan, Korea and China. The survivors from all three civilizations assemble together to form a new society. Unfortunately, orphaned Korean peasant Hana and Kenichi, the son of a samurai, need to work together to survive -- but they loathe each other. Greg Pak and Giannis Milonogiannis align align for Ronin Island, a coming-of-age alternate history about overcoming differences which could make for a compelling, live-action drama series.
6. Feathers
Poe is a strange boy born with feathers sprouting from his entire body. While he spends most of his days protecting local orphans, everything changes when he meets Bianca, a wealthy girl kept safe from the world's dangers. Jorge Corona works on both the writing and art for this imaginative narrative, which runs on the logic of fantasy and pure imagination. Of the BOOM! Studios comics most suited for an animated family film or dark adventure, Feathers is perhaps the best choice. Its tone is super similar to Labyrinth or The Dark Crystal.
7. Ladycastle
The men in a fantastic castle all get conveniently eaten by a dragon, so it's up to the surviving women to rule. Delilah S. Dawson might be more well-known for her literary works, but she excels at bringing this fantasy narrative to life, thanks to art by Becca Farrow and Ashley A. Woods. In regards to quirky, light-hearted fantasy centered on incredible women, Ladycastle might be an imaginative narrative for Netflix to approach for a film -- be it animated or live-action.
Heavy Vinyl
Heavy Vinyl takes place in New Jersey in 1998. The narrative is simple: Chris is the new girl at her favorite record store, but when the singer from her favorite band disappears, she learns the store is actually a front for an underground, all-women fight club. Writer Carly Usdin is more familiar with television and film than comics, which means she may be perfect to adapt her own book for Netflix. While a live-action Heavy Vinyl adaptation is certainly possible, it would be amazing to see Nina Vakueva's art re-created for an animated series.
Once & Future
Ex-monster hunter Bridgette McGuire is forced out of retirement when Nationalists revive an Arthurian adversary to gain incredible power. She drags her grandson, a mostly harmless museum curator, to help put the monsters unleashed back into the ground in Once & Future.
Writer Kieron Gillen has garnered a well-deserved reputation for creating incredible and imaginative fantasy. This comic is no exception, featuring some incredibly modern and enjoyable urban fantasy with elements of horror and Arthurian Legend. This could easily be a film in the same vain as Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy or a Buffy the Vampire Slayer-esque series.