Top 5 Greatest Movies Adapted From Graphic Novels

When adapting a popular graphic novel for the big screen, the director and his team face any number of challenges. Perhaps the most difficult of all is keeping the legion of source material fanboys happy, a feat which often boarders on the impossible.

While an entirely faithful adaptation is simply not always possible due to the wildly different media in which movies and graphic novels operate, the best graphic novel adaptations are always careful to embrace their source material and give heed to what made it popular in the first place.

Not all adaptations need to retain every single element of their original creation right down to their very look (though some of the best ones undeniably do). What really makes a great adaptation is whether they capture the themes, mood and tones the source material sort to convey in the first place.

The five movies selected here differ wildly in terms of their content and especially in their visual style, yet all five are incredibly striking and memorable movies in their own right.

5. Watchmen

No concessions were made to tone down the film’s content to achieve a more family-friendly certificate; this is a subversive superhero movie for adults which combined Cold War paranoia with an intensely bleak narrative.

The highlight for me is the wonderful montage crafted over the film’s opening credits which does a perfect job of depicting the historical development of the Watchmen and also the alternative Watchmen universe over the twentieth century, all set to Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a Changing.”

4. V For Vendetta

There are undeniably some minor faults with the movie version of the novel’s dystopian near-future, most glaringly perhaps Natalie Portman’s accent, but the finished article still works as a stinging critique of a complacent public who let government abuses go by unchallenged.

The Thatcherite setting of the novel may have been given a radical makeover in the film version but the powerful message that “people shouldn’t be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people” is still drilled home memorably.

3. Sin City

The movie adaptation of Frank Miller’s neo-noir novels benefitted greatly from the author’s considerable involvement in the finished article. The end result was an incredibly striking and memorable movie which thanks to the directors’ decision to shoot the film entirely on a digital backlot with the actors operating in front of a green screen. The end result sees the film play out almost entirely in luscious monochrome with the footage framed and shot like it it’s an animated version of the comic book panels themselves.

Dealing with extremely dark and horrific storylines involving prostitutes, crooked cops, serial killers and pedophiles, it’s hard-hitting and the filmmakers are unrelenting in their commitment to portraying the graphic violence found in the source material.

2. Road To Perdition

A sombre story of one man’s quest for revenge, it sees Tom Hanks shedding his nice guy persona for the role of former mob enforcer Sullivan. After his family is brutally murdered by his own employers, Sullivan makes plans for payback whilst bonding with his remaining son. It’s an incredibly atmospheric movie and one which quite rightly won an Oscar for its cinematography.

Mendes creates a rich and captivating world that, while not as obviously comic book as other movies on this list, is still rich in period detail. The dialogue is kept deliberately minimal with the stunning visuals designed to speak volumes in their own right.

1. 300

In terms of a film which embraces its graphic novel roots, “300” is a truly impressive adaptation. The movie is essentially a two-hour testosterone-fuelled fight scene with questionable modern day geopolitical subtexts, but if you can look past these points temporarily and accept it as an all-action visual spectacle, it is a unique creation. The prominent role which author Frank Miller played in its creation has ensured that the stunning visuals which are found in his novel are replicated perfectly onscreen. He and director Zack Snyder delivered a movie which, much like “Sin City,” looks like a live-action graphic novel which blurs the line between realism and fantasy.

“300” is still an incredibly well made and effective adaptation of the source material. The blood-soaked and fight-laden panels from the novel are right there to see on the screen with Snyder delivering some incredibly striking and visceral battle scenes. It’s excessive and entirely style over substance, but perhaps it just needs to be viewed as what it is, a deliriously over the top and brainless action fantasy take on an ancient legend, and not something be read into too deeply.

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Top 5 Horror Comics of All Time

Almost everybody loves a good scare. Is it any wonder that horror has become one of the most successful and beloved genres in media? While most everybody is familiar with horror literature, television, and cinema, there is a rich world of horror comics waiting to be discovered, for those who are willing to look. However, many people are turned off from trying comics because of the market’s superhero saturation. So I have compiled a list of five great horror comics that have nothing to do with superheroes. Sadly, this disqualifies many great horror titles put out by Marvel and DC Comics, like Swamp Thing, Man-Thing, House of Mystery, Adventure Into Fear, and Tomb Of Dracula.

My general rule of thumb in making this list was that if, at any point, superheroes were involved in a main storyline of a particular horror comic, then it was disqualified. So, without any further ado, here are the Top 5 (Non Superhero) Horror Comics, presented in chronological order from their first publication dates.

5. Tales From The Crypt

First Published: October 1950

Kicking off this list is one of the most infamous, reviled, and beloved horror comics in history.  “Tales From The Crypt” was a bi-monthly horror anthology that was published in the early 50’s by EC Comics. The comic was hosted by the now-iconic Cryptkeeper, who acted as a guide for readers in-between stories. The stories were shockingly violent, bloody, and graphic. In fact, the explicit content almost destroyed the comic book industry. In 1954, Fredric Wertham’s “Seduction of The Innocent,” the book claimed that violent comics promoted juvenile delinquency and the corruption of minors. “Tales From The Crypt” was one of the primary targets. The backlash resulted in the title’s cancellation. Although it was shut down, “Tales From The Crypt” remains, to this day, one of the most influential horror publications in the medium of comics.

4. Creepy

First Published: 1964

If EC Comics accidentally almost killed the horror comic genre, then Warren Publishing helped save it. After the foundation of the Comics Code Authority, which essentially censored all depictions of graphic violence and illicit acts in comics, Warren Publishing released “Creepy” in 1964. Much like EC Comics’ horror titles, Creepy was a horror anthology, with a host character named Uncle Creepy. But unlike, say, “Tales From The Crypt,” “Creepy” was released as a newsstand publication in a magazine format. This allowed Warren Publishing a loophole to avoid the Comics Code Authority. “Creepy” would also be instrumental in helping promote new talent like Neal Adams (who helped revitalize DC Comics in the late 60’s and 70’s) and Steve Ditko (co-creator of Spider-Man).

3. Dylan Dog

First Published: October 1986

A magnum opus of European horror comics, Tiziana Sclavi’s “Dylan Dog” is an ongoing series that has been published since 1986. Following a “nightmare investigator” named Dylan Dog operating out of London, the comic follows his case files against the nasty things that go bump in the night. Accompanied by his sidekick, a delusional Groucho Marx impersonator, the two investigate the supernatural, and occasionally fight against the evil Dr. Xabaras. Long unavailable in the States, “Dylan Dog” has recently been released by Dark Horse comics, and become the subject of an American film adaptation entitled “Dylan Dog: Dead of Night,” which, unfortunately, sucked big time.

2. From Hell

First Published: 1991

Though not technically a horror comic, Alan Moore’s stellar piece of historical fiction, “From Hell,” is one of the most chilling and unnerving comics ever written.  The comic is about the infamous Jack the Ripper murders that took place in the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. Moore based the comic on Stephen Knight’s theory that the Ripper murders were carried out by Queen Victoria’s royal physician Sir William Gull, in order to cover up the birth of the illegitimate child of Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence. This theory has been disproven several times, and even Moore has come out in opposition to it. But Moore’s thoroughly exhaustive research into the Ripper murders helped create one of the most compelling examinations of not just the crime, but of Victorian England. “From Hell” is not for the faint of heart. It contains extremely graphic depictions of sex, and grisly re-enactments of the murders. But for those with the stomach for such things, “From Hell” is one of the most rewarding entries on this list.

1. American Vampire

First Published: March 2010

The most recent series on this list, “American Vampire” is the brainchild of Scott Snyder. He is one of the fastest rising stars in the comic industry, in large part due to this series, and his run on DC’s “Batman” and “Swamp Thing.” The series operates off the premise that there are different species of vampire in the world. In the 1800s, a new species of vampire, an “American” vampire, is created. The first “American” vampire was Skinner Sweet, an outlaw from the Old West who lives through many different eras of American history. Along with Brazilian artist Rafael Albuquerque, Snyder has created one of the freshest, and most endearing takes on modern vampire lore.

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