The animated adaptation of Noelle Stevenson's webcomic "Nimona" has taken several big steps forward, as disclosed Thursday by The Hollywood Reporter. Announced last month as having been optioned by Vertigo Entertainment, the "Nimona" adaptation has landed at Fox Animation, in what THR dubbed a "competitive situation."

Patrick Osborne, who directed the Oscar-winning animated short "Feast" that played before Disney's "Big Hero 6" last fall, is on board to direct. Screenwriter and former DreamWorks executive Marc Haimes is set to write the "Nimona" script.

The fantasy/sci-fi hybrid "Nimona" debuted in June 2012 while Stevenson was a student at Maryland Institute College of Art. It was published as a print graphic novel by HarperCollins last May. It was Stevenson's first work to receive widespread attention, and subsequent project, BOOM! Studios' "Lumberjanes" -- which she co-created with Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, and Brooke Allen -- is currently in development as a live-action film at 20th Century Fox.