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Korea’s LINE Webtoon Digital-Comics Publisher Signs With CAA for TV and Film Projects

LINE Webtoon is looking to produce TV and movie adaptations of its most popular digital comics: The division of South Korean internet and search giant Naver has signed with CAA, which will exclusively represent LINE Webtoon’s portfolio of comic titles for film and television opportunities in the U.S.

After debuting in 2004 in Korea, Naver launched LINE Webtoon worldwide in July 2014. Today the brand has more than 10 million unique readers daily and 35 million unique visitors monthly on the web and via its iOS and Android apps.

Some of LINE Webtoon’s recent top titles include YA series “Dents” (pictured above) from “2 Broke Girls” star Beth Behrs and Broadway actor Matt Doyle; fashionista-superheroes comic “Heroine Chic” from David Tischman and Audrey Mok; fantasy romance “Siren’s Lament” from Kaitlyn Narvaza; and the “New Brooklyn” superhero universe created by a group of writers and artists including Dean Haspiel. The service’s Asian comic series such as “Noblesse,” “Tower of God” and “Orange Marmalade” will also be represented by CAA for English-language adaptations.

“Our portfolio of comic series across every imaginable genre has garnered huge success in both the U.S. and internationally and we know that fans are going to be incredibly excited to see their favorite titles brought to life on screen with the help of CAA,” JunKoo Kim, founder and head of LINE Webtoon, said in a prepared statement.

According to Naver, LINE Webtoon users have read more than 30 billion chapters of comics to date, with many series read upwards of six million times per episode. While none of LINE Webtoon’s series have been adapted for film or TV in the U.S. yet, some of its popular Korean titles have been adapted for Asian markets.

The CAA deal comes after LINE Webtoon last month announced a deal with Patreon, giving creators on its platform the option to link their Patreon accounts to their comics on Webtoon and let readers pledge directly for ongoing support (with LINE Webtoon kicking in up to $1,000 per month for qualifying creators for one year).

Naver, in addition to its search engine, internet portal and content businesses, offers mobile-messaging app LINE through its LINE Corp. subsidiary.

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