Legendary TV inks overall deal with Milkfed Criminal Masterminds

Two of the most prolific comic book creators of our current generation, Kelly Sue Deconnick and Matt Fraction, have signed a two-year overall deal with Legendary Television via their Milkfed Criminal Masterminds label. As per the deal, Legendary will adapt several of the husband and wife duo's award-winning original works, in addition to producing exclusive, original ideas developed by Milkfed Criminal Masterminds for both traditional and non-traditional television outlets.

As a force of nature tearing up the comic book industry and beyond, Kelly Sue Deconnick is the co-creator of Bitch Planet, an exploitation film-style comic book series with jaw-dropping art by Valentine DeLandro that takes place in a dystopian off-planet prison where women have been incarcerated after being deemed "none-compliant" by a male-dominated society. Another of Deconnick's projects that could fall under the Legendary TV umbrella is Pretty Deadly, a dreamy Western-style fairy tale written by Deconnick with awe-inspiring art by Marvel alumna Emma Rios. The first volume in the indie fantasy series takes a savage look at Death's daughter, as she wanders desolate sands and haunted homesteads, in search of retribution. In 2012, Deconnick rebooted Marvel's Carol Danvers a.k.a. Captain Marvel, an event that some would say triggered a sea change for Marvel's increasingly popular raft of powerful female heroes.

Known for bringing levity and depth to some of Marvel's most iconic characters, Matt Fraction is an Eisner Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author who alongside artist-writer Chip Zdarsky created the adult comedy series Sex Criminals. Other inspired works co-created by Fraction include ODY-C, Casanova, and Satellite Sam for Image Comics. Before leaving Marvel Comics to persue other interests, Fraction helped to create arguably some of the greatest runs of all time for Iron Man, Hawkeye, The Immortal Iron Fist, Uncanny X-Men, and my personal favorite, Marvel's Fantastic Four.

“From their brilliantly realized reinventions of established comic book canon to the most unique of original creations, Kelly Sue and Matt are the top of their field. It is an honor to partner with the Milkfed Criminal Masterminds to bring their work to a wider global audience,” said Nick Pepper, President of Legendary Television Studios.

To which Deconnick and Fraction replied, “We are thrilled to have a new home for Milkfed with our friends at Legendary who have assured us we can crash on their couches for as long as we want, which is really cool.”

As a long-time fan (and friend) of the creative forces behind Milkfed Criminal Masterminds, I can tell you that this deal is undoubtedly something to get very excited about. The indie comic book industry is about to blow up in a major way come 2019, with shows like THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY and DEADLY CLASS about to make their debut. Moreover, projects the likes of THE OCTOBER FACTION, LAZARUS, QUANTUM AND WOODY, LOCKE & KEY, and RAT QUEENS, among others, are in development as well. It won't be long now before casual Marvel and DC moviegoers are awakened to the weird world of indie comic book properties, and now, Legendary and Milkfed Criminal Masterminds are armed with a very loud and large alarm clock. Ding, ding, bitches!