Mark Millar, whose influence on Hollywood movies is likely vaster and more profitable than his print presence, is taking his prolific portfolio of content exclusively to Netflix, Inc. NFLX.
The company said it was buying the Scotsman’s movie-spawning Millarworld comic book company for films, series and children’s shows. It said the move is a logical next step for the company to build relations directly with creators and “to acquire intellectual property ownership” of “interwoven fictional words.”
Here’s four things you probably didn’t know about Millarworld, which is essentially Millar and his wife, Lucy, and teams of high-profile artists who share a cut of the profits.
His Version Of ‘The Avengers’ Provided The Basis For The Movies
He helped create a streamlined, more hardcore version of “The Avengers” called “The Ultimates,” which heavily influenced the look and feel of the the multibillion-dollar franchises owned by Walt Disney Co DIS. His work at Marvel provided the basic plotlines for the first “Avengers” movie and “Captain America: Civil War,” both of which each grossed more than $1 billion.
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His Version Of Wolverine Provided The Basis For “Logan”
Likewise, he wrote a comic called “Old Man Logan,” in which an aging Wolverine, a mutant, travels a dystopian future. That series provided the basis for this year’s “Logan,” starring Hugh Jackman. The film was made by Twenty-First Century Fox Inc FOXA, which owns the rights to all of Marvel’s mutant characters. The comics company sold off some of its most valuable properties during the 1990s, when it went through bankruptcy,
He’s Very Controversial
One of his “Ultimates” plots involved the villain Red Skull, who threatens to kill a woman’s baby unless she stabs her bound husband to death with a pair of rusty scissors. The villain then casually tosses the child out a several story-high window. In August 2013, he told the New Republic about his use of rape as a plot device. “It's the same as, like, a decapitation. It's just a horrible act to show that somebody's a bad guy.”
The comment drew enormous criticism. That didn’t stop "Queen Elizabeth" in June 2013 of granting a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for services to film and literature.
His Movies Are Very Controversial
After working at Marvel and DC, Millar, 47, launched creator-owned Millarworld, which spawned a number of movies, including “Wanted” with Angelina Jolie as an assassin. Another hit was “Kick-Ass,” about a group of kids who try to be superheroes. Jim Carrey, the star of "Kick-Ass 2," disavowed the movie just before its release because of its gun violence.
His books also launched the “Kingsman” franchise, a James Bond spoof. The first one ended with the hero getting the girl via an act of cheerful anal sex.
Wags in the comic business have long joked that Millar’s comics are essentially film treatments with storyboards. His “Director’s Cut” of Marvel’s debut "Civil War" issue showed how meticulously he micro-manages what the artist should draw in each panel.
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Image Credit: By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America (Mark Millar Uploaded by Dudek1337) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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