Millarworld

Last updated

Millarworld
Millarworld.png
Parent company Netflix
StatusActive
Founded2003;21 years ago (2003) [1] [2]
Founder Mark Millar
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters location West Hollywood, California
Key peopleMark Millar
(president, CCO) [3] [4]
Fiction genres Superhero fiction
Official website https://www.mrmarkmillar.com

Millarworld Limited is an imprint of comic books published by Scottish comic book writer Mark Millar as a creator-owned line, featuring characters created by him in a shared fictional universe, the Millarworld. [5] These characters include Wesley Gibson, Kick-Ass, Hit-Girl, Eggsy Unwin, Nemesis, Duke McQueen, Edison Crane, and others, while the events of The Unfunnies , Jupiter's Legacy , and Supercrooks exist as popular fiction within the world of the Millarworld. The imprint was launched in 2003 with the publication of the miniseries Wanted , followed by Kick-Ass – The Dave Lizewski Years , Kingsman , War Heroes , and The Magic Order , and later the crossover series Big Game . While the majority of series in the line are written by Millar himself, the series Kingsman , Kick-Ass – The New Girl and Hit-Girl feature new writers from their second volumes onward, after Millar wrote the series' first volumes.

Contents

Licensing and adaptation

Wanted, published by Top Cow Productions, was loosely adapted into a feature film of the same name by Universal Pictures, released on 27 June 2008. [2] Chosen, published by Dark Horse Comics, was described by Millar as a sequel to the Bible, and has been optioned by Sony Pictures. The Unfunnies was an anthropomorphic animal horror story published by Avatar Press. Kick-Ass, which was illustrated by John Romita Jr. and published by Marvel, was adapted into a film of the same name by Matthew Vaughn, and released in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2010 and the United States on 16 April.

In September 2008 it was announced that the yet unfinished War Heroes had been optioned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, with Michael De Luca as producer and Millar taking an executive producer role. [6]

Millar has stated that whenever he sells the film adaptation rights to one of his creator-owned comics properties, he gives half of the money to the artist who illustrated the comics, despite his agent's reaction to this, saying, "Everything, all the money from the advance, the toys, the games, 50–50, so it's fair. I see it as a collaboration. If I drew, I could keep everything for myself, but I actually like the idea of having a talent that I'm not selling. One of my friends said, 'You could make even more money by drawing, too,' and I said, 'Yeah, and I suppose I could make even more money by lap dancing. It's nice to have something that's just for me." [7]

History

In October 2014, following months of delays for Jupiter's Legacy #5, Millar stated that beginning in April 2015, all Millarworld series would be completely drawn before the publication of their debut issues, in order to maintain a monthly schedule. [8]

On 7 August 2017, Millarworld was acquired by the American streaming media company Netflix. [9] [10]

The first comic book series that Millarworld published post acquisition was The Magic Order. [11] The first issue was published on 13 June 2018. [12]

On 17 July 2018 it was announced that Netflix had started work on the first set of films to be adapted from comics. These are: Empress, Huck and Sharkey the Bounty Hunter. The comic book series Jupiter's Legacy and American Jesus will be adapted as television series. [13]

On 6 December 2018, Millar provided an update to the progress of the Millarworld properties adapted for Netflix. Jupiter's Legacy is going to be first television series released, with Steven S. DeKnight as the showrunner (before Sang Kyu Kim took over following DeKnight's exit from the series), with The Chosen One (based on American Jesus) as the second live-action television series released, with Everardo Gout and Leopoldo Gout as the showrunners and Gout serving as director. Empress, Sharkey the Bounty Hunter and Huck are scheduled to be feature films in development. Under Netflix, Millar will exclusively adapt new Millarworld properties to the streaming service, with select properties having comic book tie-ins, starting with Prodigy. [14]

On 11 March 2019, Netflix announced that it will produce an anime series based on Supercrooks . It will be produced by Bones, and is described as a "superpowered heist comic". [15]

In late 2022, several updates on Millarworld production were given, including that Huck would be redeveloped as a TV series as opposed to a movie and that a live-action Supercrooks series would follow Jupiter's Legacy after the show was canceled after its first season. [16] That same year it was announced that Millar would be launching four brand new comic series (Night Club, Nemesis Reloaded, The Magic Order 4 and The Ambassadors) and that they would lead into a crossover event entitled Big Game, which would be illustrated by Pepe Larraz and serve as a crossover between every Millarworld property. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]

In May 2023, it was revealed that Big Game is actually a sequel to Wanted, Millar's first creator-owned work, and follows Wesley Gibson and the Fraternity teaming up with Matthew Anderson / Nemesis to take down the latest wave of superheroes that have popped back up in the world following the actions of Dave Lizewski / Kick-Ass. [22]

In December 2023, it was revealed that Millar had signed a deal with Dark Horse Comics to become the new publisher of the Millarworld titles. This includes reprints of previous Millarworld titles and new series, with five brand-new series launching in 2024, one of them being Nemesis: Rogues' Gallery with artist Valerio Giangiordano. [23]

Bibliography

List of Millarworld publications
YearTitleIssuesArtistPublisherAdaptation
2004 Chosen/American Jesus 3 Peter Gross Dark Horse Comics The Chosen One
The Unfunnies 4 Anthony Williams Avatar Press
Wanted 6 J. G. Jones Top Cow Productions Wanted
2008–2010 Kick-Ass 8 John Romita Jr. Icon Comics Kick-Ass
2008–2009 War Heroes 6 (3 unpublished) Tony Harris Image Comics
2010 Nemesis 4 Steve McNiven Icon ComicsUpcoming film
Superior 7 Leinil Francis Yu
2010–2012 Kick-Ass 2 7John Romita Jr. Kick-Ass 2
2012 Supercrooks 4Leinil Francis Yu Super Crooks (anime series)

Upcoming Netflix live-action series

Kingsman: Secret Service 6 Dave Gibbons Kingsman: The Secret Service

Kingsman franchise

2012–2013 Hit-Girl 5John Romita Jr.
2013–2014 Kick-Ass 3 8John Romita Jr.
2013–2017 Jupiter's Legacy 10 (2 volumes) Frank Quitely Image Comics Jupiter's Legacy
2014 Starlight 6 Goran Parlov
2014–2015 MPH 5 Duncan Fegredo
2015 Chrononauts 4 Sean Gordon Murphy
2015–2016 Jupiter's Circle 12 (2 volumes)Wilfredo Torres
Huck 6 Rafael Albuquerque Upcoming Netflix series
2016Millarworld Annual1VariousImage ComicsAnthology
2016 Empress 7 Stuart Immonen Icon ComicsUpcoming Netflix film
2016–2017 Reborn 6 Greg Capullo Image ComicsUpcoming Netflix film
2017–2018 Kingsman: The Red Diamond 6 Simon Fraser
2018 The Magic Order 6 Olivier Coipel Upcoming Netflix series
Prodigy 6Rafael AlbuquerqueUpcoming Netflix film
2018–2019 Kick-Ass – The New Girl 18 (3 volumes)John Romita Jr. and Marcelo Frusin
Hit-Girl Season One 12 (3 volumes)Ricardo López Ortiz, Amy Reeder, Eduardo Risso, and Rafael Albuquerque ( Colombia , Canada , and Rome )
2019 Sharkey the Bounty Hunter 6 Simone Bianchi Upcoming Netflix film
Space Bandits 5Matteo ScaleraUpcoming Netflix film
Chrononauts: Futureshock 4Eric Canete
2019–2020 American Jesus: The New Messiah 3Peter Gross
Hit-Girl Season Two 12 (3 volumes)Pernille Ørum, Goran Parlov, Alison Sampson, and Declan Shalvey ( Hollywood , Hong Kong , and India )
2020–2021 Kick-Ass vs Hit-Girl 5Marcelo Frusin
2021 Jupiter's Legacy: Requiem 6Tommy Lee Edwards, Matthew Dow Smith
2021–2022 King of Spies 4Matteo Scalera
2021–2022 The Magic Order 2 6Stuart Immonen
2022 Prodigy: The Icarus Society 5Matteo Buffagni
2022 The Magic Order 3 6Gigi Cavenago
2022–2023 Night Club 6Juanan RamirezUpcoming Netflix series
2022–2023 American Jesus: Revelation 3Peter Gross
2023 Nemesis Reloaded 5Jorge Jimenez
2023 The Magic Order 4 6Dike Ruan
2023The Ambassadors6 Frank Quitely, Karl Kerschl, Travis Charest, Olivier Coipel, Matteo Buffagni, Matteo Scalera
2023 Big Game 5Pepe Larraz
2024 Nemesis: Rogues' Gallery 5Valerio GiangiordanoDark Horse Comics
2024–2025Night Club 26Juanan Rameirez
Prodigy: Slaves of Mars5Stefano Landini
Jupiter's Legacy: Finale5Tommy Lee Edwards
The Magic Order 5 6Matteo Buffagni

Related Research Articles

<i>Wanted</i> (comics) Comic book limited series written by Mark Millar

Wanted is a comic book limited series created by writer Mark Millar and artist J. G. Jones. It was published by Top Cow in 2003 and 2004 as part of Millarworld. It features an amoral protagonist who discovers he is the heir to a career as a supervillain assassin in a world where such villains have secretly taken control of the planet. The Sunday Times dubbed the title "the Watchmen for super-villains."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Millar</span> Scottish comic book writer

Mark Millar is a Scottish comic book writer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series The Authority, published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written extensively for Marvel Comics, including runs on The Ultimates, which has been called "the comic book of the decade" by Time magazine and described as a major inspiration for the 2012 film The Avengers by its screenwriter Zak Penn, X-Men, Fantastic Four and Avengers for Marvel's Ultimate imprint, as well as Marvel Knights Spider-Man and Wolverine. In 2006, Millar wrote the Civil War mini-series that served as the centrepiece for the eponymous company-wide crossover storyline and later inspired the Marvel Studios film Captain America: Civil War. The "Old Man Logan" storyline, published as part of Millar's run on Wolverine, served as the inspiration for the 2017 film Logan.

<i>Prodigy</i> (comics)

Prodigy is a British comic book series created by Mark Millar and Rafael Albuquerque, who respectively write and illustrate the first volume, and published by Image Comics. The title was announced near the end of 2018 as the second comic book collaboration between Mark Millar and Netflix, after the company acquired the Millarworld imprint of creator-owned titles in the summer of 2017, and to be adapted as a film exclusive to the streaming service, along with other of the imprint's comic book series. The first volume ran for six issues from December 2018 to June 2019, and a trade paperback collecting the series, subtitled The Evil Earth, was released the following month.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Icon Comics</span> Imprint of Marvel Comics

Icon Comics was an imprint of Marvel Comics for creator-owned titles, designed to keep select "A-list" creators producing for Marvel rather than seeing them take creator-owned work to other publishers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hit-Girl</span> Comic book superhero

Hit-Girl is an antihero appearing in the Millarworld shared fictional universe, published by Marvel Comics under the company's imprint Icon Comics and later Image Comics, one of the titular characters of the Hit-Girl & Kick-Ass franchise. The character was created by artist John Romita Jr. and writer Mark Millar. She is a young and effective vigilante, trained by her father Damon McCready from an early age to be a costumed superhero and assassin, introduced in Kick-Ass – The Dave Lizewski Years as a supporting character and ultimate co-protagonist, along with Dave Lizewski. She featured in her own self-titled comic book series, Hit-Girl, published from 2018 to 2020 by Image Comics. She returned in the 2023 miniseries Big Game, becoming a Kingsman agent and killing Wesley Gibson.

<i>Nemesis</i> (Icon Comics) Comic book series, 2010

Millar & McNiven's Nemesis is a creator-owned comic book limited series written by Mark Millar, drawn by Steve McNiven and published by the Icon Comics imprint of Marvel Comics.

<i>Superior</i> (comics) Superhero comic book series

Superior is a creator-owned comic book series written by Mark Millar and illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu, following a young boy with multiple sclerosis who sells his soul to become a superhero. Set in the Millarworld, it is published by Marvel Comics under the company's Icon imprint, from October 2010 to March 2012. The series' protagonist, Simon Pooni, would return in Kick-Ass: The Dave Lizewski Years – Book Four in 2014, Superior: Symptoms in 2017, and Big Game in 2023.

<i>Hit-Girl</i> (comic book)

Hit-Girl is a creator-owned comic book sequel series to Kick-Ass: The Dave Lizewski Years, created by Mark Millar and illustrated by John Romita Jr., part of the Kick-Ass franchise and set in the Millarworld. The series was published by Image Comics from 2018 to 2020. The title, featuring a successive change of writers and artists for each four-issue story arc, follows Mindy McCready / Hit-Girl leaving the United States to carry on her fight for justice on a worldwide scale, depicting events mentioned in the epilogue of Book Four of The Dave Lizewski Years.

<i>Jupiters Legacy</i> (comic) Superhero comic book

Jupiter's Legacy is an American superhero comic book series, first published in 2013, written by Mark Millar, drawn by Frank Quitely, colored and lettered by Peter Doherty and published by Image Comics. Published as a series of eponymous limited series and interstitial prequel miniseries, it is to date the longest series that Millar had published as part of his Millarworld line of creator-owned comics, spanning an issue run three times as long as his then-most recent series, Supercrooks and Nemesis. It was also the first collaboration between Millar and Quitely since their work on The Authority in 2001, and Quitely's first long-form work with a writer other than Grant Morrison.

<i>Kingsman</i> (comic series) Comic book series

Kingsman is an American comic book series that debuted in 2012 with the first graphic novel, subtitled The Secret Service. Three sequels, subtitled Mum's the Word, The Big Exit, and The Red Diamond, followed in 2016, 2017, and 2018 respectively. The series, following the recruitment of Gary London, into a secret spy organization by his uncle, Jack London, and his subsequent world-saving adventures, was initially published simply as The Secret Service before being rebranded following the release of the first film adaptation of the series. The series was created by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons from a concept by Millar and an uncredited Matthew Vaughn, and set in Millar's shared universe, the Millarworld, with the celebrity kidnappings taking place in the first volume being referenced in Kick Ass: The Dave Lizewski Years Book Four, leading into the 2023 crossover event Big Game.

Jupiter's Legacy is an American superhero television series that premiered on Netflix on May 7, 2021. Based on the 2013–22 comic book series of the same name by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely, the show was developed for television by Steven S. DeKnight, who initially served as showrunner, but was replaced by Sang Kyu Kim midway through production. It stars Josh Duhamel, Ben Daniels, Leslie Bibb, Andrew Horton, Elena Kampouris, Mike Wade, and Matt Lanter. The series received mixed reviews from critics, and was canceled after one season, with a spin-off continuation, a live-action adaptation of the 2012 comic book Supercrooks, ordered to series. Super Crooks, an anime adaptation of Supercrooks set in the same fictional universe as Jupiter's Legacy, preceding the additional live-action series, was released to Netflix in November 2021.

<i>Kick-Ass – The Dave Lizewski Years</i> Comic book series by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.

Kick-Ass – The Dave Lizewski Years is a creator-owned comic book series written by Mark Millar and illustrated by John Romita Jr. The first instalment of the Kick-Ass franchise, it was initially published by Marvel Comics under the company's Icon imprint and republished under Image Comics. Set in the Millarworld, the series primarily tells the story of Dave Lizewski, a teenager who sets out to become a real life superhero. His actions are publicized on the Internet and inspire other people. He gets caught up with ruthless vigilantes Big Daddy and Mindy "Hit-Girl" McCready, who are on a mission to take down the Genovesecrime family. Two stand-alone sequel series, Hit-Girl and Kick-Ass – The New Girl, respectively following Mindy and new villain protagonist Patience Lee, began publication in February 2018, before jointly concluding with the crossover miniseries Kick-Ass vs. Hit-Girl in March 2021. A further crossover, Big Game, was published from July to November 2023, following a now mid-20s Mindy as she teams up with Kingsman agent Eggsy Unwin against Wesley Gibson, while Dave is granted superpowers by the Magic Order.

<i>Kick-Ass</i> (franchise) Media franchise

Kick-Ass is a media franchise based on the adventures of superheroes of the same name, created by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. Set in the Millarworld, it began in 2008 with Marvel's Kick-Ass – The Dave Lizewski Years, followed by the anthology Millarworld Annual from 2016 to 2017, two stand-alone sequel series, Kick-Ass – The New Girl and Hit-Girl, from 2018 to 2020, and two crossover series, Kick-Ass vs. Hit-Girl and Big Game, in 2020 and 2023. In the series, Hit-Girl is a young vigilante going around the world stopping crime in violent ways, while Kick-Ass has had three people take the mantle, a hero, a sidekick, and a villain.

<i>Supercrooks</i> 2012 comic book limited series

Supercrooks is a four-issue comic book limited series by writer Mark Millar and artist Leinil Francis Yu. The series was published by the Icon Comics imprint of Marvel Comics from March–August 2012.

<i>Super Crooks</i> 2021 Japanese American superhero original net anime series

Super Crooks is a Japanese-American original net anime series based on the 2012 comic book series of the same name by Mark Millar and Leinil Francis Yu. The series was written by Dai Satō and Tsukasa Kondo, and premiered on Netflix on November 25, 2021. Following small-time crook Johnny Bolt as he recruits a team of eight super-villains to perform a super-powered heist, the first nine episodes serve as a prequel to the comic book series, with the last three episodes adapting the comic outright. The series serves as a spin-off to Jupiter's Legacy (2021). In June 2021, a live-action Super Crooks series and second spin-off from the simultaneously-cancelled Jupiter's Legacy was announced to be in active development.

<i>MPH</i> (comics) Comic book limited series

MPH is a British heist-action-thriller comic book limited series written by Mark Millar and illustrated by Duncan Fegredo. Published by Image Comics, the series is set in the Millarworld, with its events being first referenced in 2014's Kick-Ass: The Dave Lizewski Years – Book Four. Described as "The Fast and the Furious without cars", the series follows a group of early-20s criminals who on discovering a drug that gives them super-speed, use it to go on a series of grand heists, while pursued by a government agency with a mysterious speedster of their own. The series, originally published between May 21, 2014, and February 18, 2015, was collected as a graphic novel on April 22, 2015. Characters from the series would later return in the miniseries Big Game in 2023. Receiving a generally positive critical reception, both a comic book sequel and feature film adaptation of the series has been in development hell since its initial publication.

<i>Big Game</i> (comics) Comic book limited series

Big Game is an American superhero comic book limited series written by Mark Millar and drawn by Pepe Larraz. Published by Image Comics, the series is a crossover event between the various properties of the Millarworld multimedia franchise created by Millar, a direct sequel to Wanted by Millar and J. G. Jones, and a prequel to Empress by Millar and Stuart Immonen. The series chronicles Wesley Gibson and his protégé Matthew Anderson / Nemesis' campaign to assassinate the world's new superheroes, as Agent Galahad of Kingsman and Mindy McCready / Hit-Girl take on the forces of Gibson's Fraternity of Super-Criminals. The series, originally published between July and November 2023, was subsequently collected in trade paperback former by Image Comics in December 2023, and as an omnibus with Wanted by Dark Horse Comics in 2024. It was followed by a sequel, Nemesis: Rogues' Gallery, later that year.

Chrononauts is a British comic book series created by Mark Millar and Sean Murphy, published by Image Comics, and set in the Millarworld. Described as "Apollo 13 meets The Time Machine", the title was announced near the end of 2014, with the first volume running for four issues from March to June 2015. Two sequels followed: the four-issue Chrononauts: Futureshock and the five-issue Big Game, with a further series to be published by Dark Horse Comics. A one-shot, Chrononauts: Prom Night, written by Shaun Brill and illustrated by Conor Hughes, was also published in 2017.

<i>Kick-Ass – The New Girl</i> Comic book limited series

Kick-Ass – The New Girl, titled Kick-Ass vs. Hit-Girl for its fourth and final volume, is an American superhero crime comic book limited series written by Mark Millar and Steve Niles, and illustrated by John Romita Jr. and Marcelo Frusin. Published by Image Comics, the series is a stand-alone sequel/spin-off to the Icon Comics series Kick-Ass – The Dave Lizewski Years by Millar and Romita Jr., and the second series in the franchise, set in the Millarworld. The first three volumes follow villain protagonist and former soldier Patience Lee as she takes up the Kick-Ass mantle to become "boss of all bosses" of Albuquerque, New Mexico, while the fourth volume follows Mindy McCready / Hit-Girl as she travels to Albuquerque to kill Patience. The series, published from February 14, 2018 to March 17, 2021, was followed by Big Game, written by Millar and illustrated by Pepe Larraz.

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