Teaser for The Magic Order. Photo: Netflix

A few months back, streaming giant Netflix made a play to compete with Disney and Warner Bros. by buying Millarworld, a line of comics run by veteran comic-book writer Mark Millar, the scribe behind the comics that were adapted into films like Kick-Ass and the Kingsman franchise. Disney and Warner own the so-called “Big Two” comics publishers, Marvel and DC, respectively, but Netflix now has access to their own well of intellectual property from the comics industry. The most obvious part of the plan was adapting existing Millarworld IP into new shows and movies, but there was another less-discussed component of the deal: They would now be publishing new comics that Millar and his artistic collaborators concoct in the future. Today, Entertainment Weekly revealed that Millar and French artist Olivier Coipel (House of M, Thor) will be helming a new comics series, The Magic Order, which Netflix will release in print and online. The tale mashes up the gangster genre with magical fantasy, depicting a world where five families of magicians have secretly protected the world, but are forced to take on a threat that faces them all. It’s set to launch in the spring and run for six issues. What’ll be interesting to watch is whether Netflix makes a play beyond Millarworld and starts building its own little comics empire with an array of creators and titles. No other non-Marvel, non-DC publisher would have the kind of money and momentum behind it that Netflix does — could there someday be a corporate Big Three?