EXCLUSIVE: IP is a precious commodity in Hollywood, and now comic book company BOOM! Studios is adding more original properties to its catalog. The award-winning comics and graphic novel publisher behind Universal‘s 2 Guns has acquired Eisner and Harvey Award-winning indie label Archaia Entertainment, which will live on as a BOOM! imprint. Archaia, established in 2002, is known for graphic novels Mouse Guard, Jim Henson’s A Tale of Sand, Rust, Spera, Cowboy, and Gunnerkrigg Court. Now those titles join the fold at BOOM!, which aims to start nipping at the heels of WB‘s DC Entertainment and Disney‘s Marvel Entertainment as the largest independently-controlled comics and graphic novel library in town. BOOM!’s creator-friendly business model also shares IP ownership between the company and creatives — a nice incentive for artists looking to feed their comics properties into the Hollywood mill.

BOOM!’s foray into feature films launches this summer with Universal’s August 2 release 2 Guns starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, based on industry veteran Steven Grant’s original comic. BOOM!’s also prepping to shop two more Grant properties in the works: Damned, Grant’s 1997 miniseries with Mike Zeck which BOOM! is re-releasing in July, and new comic The Deceivers which boasts a set-up akin to 2 Guns with spies. Meanwhile BOOM! is currently prepping its next feature Jeremiah Harm, based on the comic book by Keith Giffen, Alan Grant, and John Mueller, which Timo Vuourensola (Iron Sky) will direct. Archaia also has a number of titles previously optioned or in development including Rust (Fox), Lucid (Warner Bros.), Bolivar (Warner Bros.), and Feeding Ground (Pressman Films). BOOM! is managed by Pete Golden of Golden Entertainment West and repped by attorney Matt Saver.