NETFLIX SECURES RIGHTS TO AWARD-WINNING CARTOONIST JEFF SMITH'S INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED COMIC BOOK SERIES "BONE"

Netflix announced today that it has secured the rights to Jeff Smith's award-winning and New York Times best-selling international comic book series, BONE, with plans to develop an animated kids series that follows the iconic Bone cousins on an adventure through a vast, uncharted desert and into a mysterious valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures.

BONE has been published in over 30 countries since 1991, with over 8 million copies sold in North America alone. It is among TIME Magazine's "Ten Best Graphic Novels of All Time" and winner of more than 40 national and international publishing awards, including the Eisner Awards, Harvey Awards, and The French Alph Art. Bone was a pioneer in comics publishing for kids as the launch title for Scholastic's graphic novel imprint, Graphix Books, when it debuted in 2005.

Jeff Smith: "I've waited a long time for this," says Smith, creator of the BONE graphic novels. "Netflix is the perfect home for BONE. Fans of the books know that the story develops chapter by chapter and book by book. An animated series is exactly the way to do this! The team at Netflix understands BONE and is committed to doing something special - this is good news for kids and cartoon lovers all over the world."

Jeff Smith Bio: Jeff Smith is an American cartoonist whose other award winning and acclaimed comics include SHAZAM! The Monster Society of Evil, RASL, Little Mouse Gets Ready!, and BONE: Tall Tales. Smith splits his time between Columbus and Key West with his wife and business partner Vijaya Iyer where he is working on his current project TUKI: 2 Million BCE.