Twentieth Century Fox Film (TCFF) announced a strategic investment in comic book and graphic novel publisher BOOM! Studios, which gives the company a minority stake in the publisher’s vast independently-controlled comic and graphic novel library.

“Fox’s investment will fuel BOOM!’s generation of more original content like Lumberjanes, Mouse Guard, and Grass Kings,” said BOOM! Studios CEO and Founder Ross Richie.  “Fox has been an incredibly supportive partner and our creative alliance has been tremendously successful – high-level directors, big screenwriters, and marquee talent have found BOOM! an attractive platform. Now BOOM! can greenlight more new series from comic book creators, deepen its distribution relationships, and widen its marketing reach. Great news for our creators, retail partners, and fans.”

BOOM! has had a first-look movie deal with TCFF since Fall 2013 (see “20th Century Fox Does First Look Deal with BOOM!”), and entered into a first-look television rights deal with Fox television studio in 2014. Projects currently in development at the studio include Irredeemable  (see “Mark Waid's 'Irredeemable' Optioned by Fox”), Malignant Man (see “'Malignant Man' Has a Director”), Mouse Guard  (see “Fox Options 'Mouse Guard' For a Live-Action Movie”), Lumberjanes  (see “Emily Carmichael to Direct 'Lumberjanes'”), and Imagine Agents  (see “Michael Keaton to Do 'Imagine Agents'”). TCFF is currently in post-production on The Empty Man (see “'Sherlock Holmes 3,' 'The Empty Man,' Han Solo,' 'Captain Planet,' More”). Both the television and movie first-look deals have been extended as part of TCFF’s investment.

Over the past four years, BOOM! has been growing quickly in the direct market, and has won the industry’s “Best Publisher” Gem Award seven of the past eight years. The BOOM! Studios company includes its self-titled line, as well as the imprints KaBOOM!, BOOM! Box, BOOM! Town, and Archaia (see “BOOM!, Archaia Merge”).