According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney Publishing Worldwide has acquired more than two dozen titles from Tampa, Fla.-based comic book publisher CrossGen. Disney already had rights to the company’s popular, W.I.T.C.H. franchise and is set to launch an animated series during the Jetix block on Toon Disney and ABC Family early next year.
Disney, which owns roughly half of the non-manga comic book business worldwide, has plans to expand the U.S. comic-book market through such initiatives as partnering with schools to promote reading with age-appropriate graphic novels. The company also aims to mine CrossGen content for other media, including TV, film and Internet.
Other well-known CrossGen properties include Abadazad, Mystic and Route 666. The more adult titles will be funneled into Miramax Books and other subsidiaries. Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
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