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 Biggest Rip-Off Characters in Comic Book History, Part 1

As they always say, “It’s all been done before.” But when it comes to the sheer unoriginality of some comics characters, I can’t take it anymore. I just can’t. Obviously this has been a topic in some nerd forums since the inception of the interwebs, but I feel the need to make my most overwhelming grievances in this regard known.

It’s high time we separate the prototypes from the posers, determined by date of publication. Let’s do some chronologically critical comparisons, shall we?

5. The Wasp vs. Bumblebee

As I watched a recent episode of “Young Justice,” I couldn’t help but notice a female character, with the aesthetic of a small, stinging insect who can shrink to the size of said insect and blast little yellow energy blasts from her hands.

Um, what? Doesn’t that character exist as a well-known Avenger, regardless of skin color? Well as I check the Almighty Wikipedia, I find that while Wasp first appeared in Tales to Astonish #44 in 1963, Bumblebee didn’t appear until Teen Titans #45 in 1976. Of course the costume is similar, as they are both similarly themed, but DC could maybe go out of their way to carve their own unique bug-woman niche instead of just saying “But ours is black! Not the same!”

Rip-off artist: DC

4. Deadpool vs. Deathstroke

This one is fairly well-known to comics fans, and actually has a happy ending, thanks to Marvel taking steps to not only separate their mutant knock-off (Deadpool) from his muse (Deathstroke), but fashion an entirely original aspect to comics narrative at the same time. While Deathstroke, who is a great villain in his own right, appeared first in The New Teen Titans in 1980, Deadpool didn’t show up for another decade, when world-famous hack/thief Rob Liefeld introduced him as a villain in a New Mutants comic at Marvel. When writer Fabian Nicieza saw the design, he was quoted as saying, “this is Deathstroke from Teen Titans.” No kidding.

Well, thankfully Deadpool was re-imagined later as a fourth-wall-breaking psychotic smart-ass anti-hero with his own successful series of books, and is now one of the most popular characters of all time, in several titles featuring his hilarious banter…with himself. He’s even maybe someday possibly going to eventually get his own solo movie, perhaps? Alas, because Deathstroke came first, DC gets the win for this round, but I’d say Marvel earns some major originality points for redeeming the character of Deadpool.

Rip-off Artist: Marvel

3. Namor vs. Aquaman

I was pretty sure going into this one that Namor came first, knowing that he was the original Marvel superhero, appearing way back in 1939’s Marvel Comics #1. Still, my curiosity got the best of me, and I figure it’s time we call a spade a spade and name the True King of Atlantis. Aquaman first appeared in More Fun Comics #73, just 4 years later than the half-mutant, half-Atlantean Sub-Mariner, and has some very different, and a few comparable, abilities.

I’m not one to bash on Aquaman, as many are wont to do, and one look at his power set will tell you that a battle between these two royal bad-asses would be an epic one indeed. Namor is not one to take lightly either. They both certainly seem to have the whole “sad-bastard king sulking on a giant seashell” thing down to an art. Still, the crown goes to the more arrogant asshole Atlantean in this match-up, King Namor himself.

Rip-off Artist: DC

2. Doom Patrol vs. X-Men

Here’s a highly original concept: A group of misfit teenagers with strange and awesome powers faces super-villains and fights against bigotry and hate, led by a brilliant, compassionate hippie paraplegic. Sounds great! But…it seems there are two of those teams, and we all know in this tournament there can be only one. So who are the First-Born Freaks? It looks like everyone’s favorite Marvel mutants are the losers here, having arrived just three months after The Doom Patrol debuted in June 1963.

This is awkward. I’m curious to know Stan Lee’s reasoning behind the “coincidence.” Or could it be that The X-Men were created, but not published first; who knows? With this close of a finish, we’d have to ask the publishing houses themselves, and I doubt either side would admit to any swiping of details. By the way, the X-Men’s greatest adversaries are The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, whereas The Doom Patrol regularly battle The Brotherhood of Evil. Of course anyone with taste can agree on the better property being the X-Men, which boasts a long history of topping monthly sales charts and a string of successful films. So once again, Marvel gets points for taking their stolen goods and polishing them up real nice, but to DC go the spoils this round.

Rip-off Artist: Marvel

1. Charlton Characters vs. Watchmen

This is more of an exercise in comics history trivia, so some of you are likely aware of this in-house swipe, in which DC allowed writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons to create intentionally similar heroes to the Charlton characters. When DC Comics bought most of Charlton’s heroes as the latter company was in the red, DC at first planned to let Moore use them for his would-be Watchmen, but later changed their minds and apparently didn’t seem to care much about the similarities when he went on to write the best-seller.

Captain Atom/Dr. Manhattan, Blue Beetle/Nite Owl, The Question/Rorshach, Nightshade/Silk Specter, Shield/The Comedian, and Ozymadias/Thunderbolt  are all very clever in both their subtle shared and contradictory qualities, to be sure. “Watchmen” is of course a much-lauded graphic novel, having been named best of all time by many, as well as inspiring a movie and new prequel comics series. Yet, the fact remains, that DC replicated itself here.

Yes, all of this has happened before, and it will happen again soon; because there’s so damn many of these examples that I will need to write at least one more part to this thing. So look for me to rip myself off in Part 2.

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