Netflix announced this morning that it has secured rights to the independent fantasy comic book series, Bone, with plans to develop an animated kids series.

“I’ve waited a long time for this,” said Bone creator Jeff Smith. “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.”

Bone, originally serialized in 55 issues from 1991 to 2004, tells the story of the three Bone cousins who end up in a fantastic valley that they must set free from the Lord of the Locusts. Smith, an animator himself who co-founded the Ohio studio Character Builders, was influenced in the creation of Bone by his appreciation of classic cartoonists and comic book artists like Carl Barks, Walt Kelly, and George Herriman.