The news follows both the announcement that Boom! will be publishing comic books based on Whedon's Firefly, as well as this week's release of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 12 No. 4, the final chapter in Dark Horse Comics' continuation of the canon of the original television show, which was overseen and occasionally written by Whedon himself. Dark Horse has confirmed that the issue is its final Buffy release.

Dark Horse had held the comic book license for Buffy since 1998 and had published a number of titles based on the show before — in 2007, the publisher started a line of canonical continuations of the show following its 2003 television finale. 2007's Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight was followed by 2011's Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine, 2014's Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10, 2016's Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 11 and this year's four-issue Season 12.

Additionally, the company published comic book series or specials centering around the show's supporting cast, including multiple Angel and Faith series, as well as Willow, Spike and Giles.

The shift in comic book publisher for both Firefly and Buffy from Dark Horse Comics to Boom! Studios is likely due to many things, but an obvious one is that Fox, which owns both properties, also owns "a significant minority stake" in Boom! Studios.