Comic2Film

(I reordered the author's  list and included my own picks. For the actual list, click the link. This could also be considered a must-read list of comics, too.-JP)

Comics That Should Be Adapted for the Screen
Nick Leshi (w/additions by jef)

Comics are a powerful medium, with legions of fans, and many earning critical accolades. Hollywood has adapted many of them for the big screen, including The Watchmen, Ghost World, Persepolis, From Hell, V for Vendetta, 300, Sin City, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Road to Perdition, 30 Days of Night, A History of Violence, Wanted, Surrogates, and many more. But there is still a treasure trove of great graphic novels that remain to be brought to life as feature films.

Some are already under development, such as Y: The Last Man, Fables, Preacher, Scott Pilgrim, The Boys, Walking Dead (for TV)and ElfQuest. Here is a list of some comics that should be given the live-action adaptation treatment. (Note, I'm not including comics that I think are impossible to do without animation, like Maus or Bone.)

Transmetropolitan - Warren Ellis has written some incredible comics, including The Authority and Planetary, but Transmetropolitan, with art by Darick Robertson, is my favorite. Spider Jerusalem is a journalist who tells the truth in a futuristic world which resembles our own present. Returning to "The City" to face all the dangers and injustices and politics he had left behind. (would work better as a TV series on Showtime, HBO, or Siffy-jp)

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Frank Miller's harsh, brooding, but imaginatively dystopian portrayal of the Caped Crusader is a high point in the history of comic books. Like Watchmen, many wonder if it could ever be properly adapted, but I say give it a shot. An old Batman coming out of retirement, a twisted Joker battling his nemesis one last time, a female Robin, a Superman who is a puppet of the goverment, a one-armed Green Arrow, and much more, all add up to an epic, mythic superhero adventure.



Kingdom Come - This is one of my favorites -- writer Mark Waid explores the future of the DC Universe through an engaging tale that includes older versions of all the classic heroes. The highlight is a battle between Superman and Captain Marvel, and the climax is a nuclear detonation in the heart of Kansas. The artwork by Alex Ross is stunning.





The Sandman - Neil Gaiman has given us some amazing fantasy stories, some of which have already been made into great movies. The Sandman saga is probably his best work and I would love to see a good director tackle the challenge of adapting it. Multiple artists.(casting this would be a bitch and no matter who they cast, it will still piss off most of its hardcore fans; we all love "Death" as a cute little goth girl-jp)

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My list (includes the above, but below are my choices -jp)

Hellblazer: All His Engines - The one attempt to bring Hellblazer to screen (Constantine) was botched from the getgo when they cast Ted Theodore Logan (Keanu Reeves) as the title character, John Constantine, a blond hard drinking, chain smoking powerful mage from Liverpool, and Shia Lebouf as 'Chaz' ('Chas' is a London cabbie, same age as John--not a teenage kid too young to drive!), and it was downhill from there with a bad script and bad direction--but with the exceptions of great performances by the supporting cast of Tilda Swinton, Peter Stormaire and Rachel Weisz. The franchise should reboot with one of the best graphic novels ever published, much less the best Hellblazer story. AHE features John coming to the US with his best mate, Chas, and dealing with Aztec demons. Created by Alan Moore as a character in SwampThing. Hellblazer has had multiple writers and artists. It is DC Vertigo's longest running title.

100 Bullets - A mysterious Agent Graves approaches someone who has been the victim of a terrible wrong, gives them the chance to set things right by providing them a handgun, the eponymous 100 bullets, and a dossier of the person primarily and personally responsible for the recipient's woes, and informs the candidate that the bullets are completely untraceable, and a law enforcement investigation which uncovers one of these bullets will immediately stop. That is the premise of 100 Bullets, a noir crime drama that includes the 13 Families of The Trust, who are essentially the Illuminati--old world money that rules everything, and "The Minutemen," a group of seven men (plus one "Agent") who serve as the enforcers and police of the Trust, who both protect the members of the Trust, and from each other. By Brian Azarello and Eduardo Risso.

The Invisibles - Grant Morrison's ode to conspiracy theories, the plot follows a single cell of The Invisible College--a secret organization battling against physical and psychic oppression, and alien invaders from other dimensions--using time travel, magic, meditation, and physical violence. Featuring King Mob, Jack Frost (the new Buddha), Lord Fanny (Brazilian transsexual shaman), Boy-a female former NYPD cop, and Ragged Robin, a time traveling telepath. multiple artists.



WE3 - also by Morrison, there are rumors of the rights being acquired, but nothing else. It is about lost pets that are turned into high tech weapons used for covert military operations. It is one of the greatest comics ever. Art by Frank Quitely.

DMZ - set in New York City, sometime in the near future and in the midst of a civil war that has turned the island of Manhattan into a demilitarized zone. The conflict concerns two primary forces: the federal government of the United States of America and the "Free States" armies. Seen through the eyes of Matty Roth, who begins in DMZ as a photography intern for the fictional Liberty News Network crew entering the DMZ for the first time to report on the conditions of the war-torn United States and is left stranded when their helicopter is shot down inside the DMZ. Brian Wood writes, Riccardo Burchielli draws.

The Nightly News - Jonathan Hickman's freshman effort was a genius look at American corporate media and how it's used to manipulate important events abd ruin people's lives. The storytelling was enhanced with a ton of infographics based on real statistics and fact based charts and historical references of the major network news divisions. An act of violence spirals out of control to encompass the entirety of the news media, a cult emerges from the errors and retractions that have ruined careers, marriages and even lives. Under direction from a 'cult master,' The Hand leads an army of followers committed to revolution, willing to die for their cause. Animated infographics like the static ones in the book would be awesome in the narrative if they ever made it a movie.

Scalped - Jason Aaron's noir tale of a Lakota Sioux FBI agent returning to the 'Rez' where he grew up (and couldn't wait to escape) in order to bring down the chief of the Oglala tribe, who is also the manager of the newly built casino, crime lord of several states--oh, and chief of the tribal police. The poverty and hopelessness of rez life against the backdrop of a brand new casino is portrayed through many well written characters. Aaron's storytelling is nothing short of genius, rivaling even Elmore Leonard in the gritty noir crime genre. The depth of characters, settings, history, tradition all woven together so beautifully, it might be one of the greatest noir stories ever by the time it finishes. Art by R. M. Guéra.

The Authority - From the ashes of STORMWATCH emerged The Authority, created by Warren Ellis with characters he created from his run at the end of Stormwatch, The Authority examined the responsibilities of super powerful beings who desired to make "A Finer World." Charged with protecting the Earth from alien invaders, multiverse invaders from alternate dimensions, and other antagonists on a world sized scale, they also battled corrupt governments, armageddon, covert forces, and other super powered groups. Featuring the characters: Jenny Sparks (born Jan 1, 1900, she is the spirit of the 20th Century, she controls electricity and can travel through any sort of power conduit in seconds, and she loves to drink, fight and fuck); Jack Hawksmoor (kidnapped as a child and fitted with alien tech then returned to earth with powers such as being able to communicate with the "spirits" of big cities, control the cities and get power from them); Jack's sometime love interest Angie, The Engineer (enhanced with liquid nanomachinery, Angie can become any weapon or device she chooses to be), The Doctor (Shaman of the Earth, he has the power of god, and he's also a junkie and sex addict), Chen (a Buddhist monk with bird wings and talons, she is very strong, very fast, and very decadent), The Midnighter (wears a cowl and his mind was enhanced with tech which allows him to know the result of any sort of combat situation by calculating all the possible moves of his opponent(s) in under a second, plus he has been programmed with every fighting method and style known in the world--he's quite a badass); Midnighter's lover, Apollo (closest member to a "superman," he gets his power from the sun--he can fly, has colossal strength, can respire in the vacuum of space, but without the sun, he becomes frail and weak and thin); and the Midnighter and Apollo's adopted daughter, Jenny Quantum (who will grow up to become the spirit of the 21st century and the group's new leader, she has control over quantum physics, giving her godlike powers equal to the Doctor). The Authority work hard and play hard, and often are the targets of fundamentalist christians and other extreme religious sects. In one installment of The Authority, they actually take over the US govt when its cowboy, guns blazin' president goes too far in declaring preemptive wars for peace. Their "base" is a bleed ship (the bleed is the space between dimensions in the multiverse) the size of a city and powered by a sentient baby universe which can only communicate with the Engineer.