Netflix to Make Animated Series of Jeff Smith’s BONE Graphic Novels

Netflix has reached an agreement with cartoonist Jeff Smith and his wife and business partner Vijaya Iger to secure rights to develop an animated series out of BONE, Smith’s bestselling graphic novel series.

First self-published in 1991 by Smith and his publishing house Cartoon Books and beginning in 2005 by Scholastic/Graphix, BONE is the story of three endearing (and often hilarious) cousins Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone, and a host of delightful characters, as they make their way through a vast desert and valley filled with adventure and danger. The young reader graphic novel series has more than 9 million copies in print in North America, and has been published in more than 30 countries. Smith has won 11 Harvey Awards and 10 Eisner Awards.

Smith and Iger, who is president of Cartoon Books, are also cofounders of Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, an international festival showcasing comics, editorial cartoons, newspaper comicstrips and animation, held annually in Columbus, Ohio.

Smith said, “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.”