Movies We Want as Comics!

Comic book movies are all the rage right now. In the last decade we saw shining examples of amazing movies adapted from comics such as, The Dark Knight, and Scott Pilgrim VS The World, and we’ve also have seen some of the worst movies adapted as well, such as Catwoman and Jonah Hex. This year we have three high profile movies coming out, The Amazing Spider-Man, the marvel team up movie The Avengers, and of course, The Dark Knight Rises. Comic book properties are the hot commodity right now in Hollywood, with even more adaptations in the works, such as The Man of Steel, for 2013, a reported Crow reboot, and Fantastic Four reboot. Thanks in part to the success of the movies from their namesake, and some bold decisions by publishers, such as rebooting a whole universe or pitting the government’s superheroes against the worlds mutants, comics have seen a rise in popularity and sales.

With that comes the opportunity to adapt some amazing properties into comics. We’ve already warned about what properties would make terrible comics, and again here, and here. Now we will take a look at the movies we want to see become comic books, and how they can continue on with the story.

First up is none other than The Road Warrior himself, Mad Max. Back when Mel Gibson was fresh faced and nowhere near as crazy, he made some killer action films. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior is at the top of that list. George Miller took the dystopian world he created and expanded on it greatly. It upped the ante on insane action and outlandish characters. You had of course “Mad” Max Rockatansky, who is now just a burnt out loner,  Humungus, the violent leader of the biker gang, and the Gyro Captain, a deranged pilot who scavenges for fuel. Each one of these characters lends itself to comics so well it’s uncanny. And who wouldn’t want to see the continued journey of Mad Max? They could take the story into new and outrageous territory. How is the rest of the world handling the Armageddon that has befallen mankind? Once the resources are depleted in Australia, where will Max go? So many possibilities… just forget that The Thunderdome ever happened.

Probability of working? 90%. This movie is a living comic book before comic book movies were cool. It has a rare 100% at Rotten Tomatoes, a movie that has the main villain wearing a leather speedo. Not even Forrest Gump has a 100%. Mel Gibson at his most bad ass, and a car chase that would make James Cameron grin. Dystopian settings have been very prominent in comics, from Y the Last Man, The Walking Dead, heck even Batman had a dystopian setting in No Man’s Land. Mad Max 2 was dystopian before it became trendy, and despite it being set primarily in the desert, it still managed to create a new and thriving world.

Could it fail? Only if they continue after the Thunderdome.

Darkman, a movie that is based on a comic book that doesn’t exist! This film pulled heavy influence from
both the horror films of yesteryear and comic books. Sam Raimi wanted to make a comic book movie for so long he finally gave up trying to secure the rights to one and made his own. A scientist working on synthetic skin for burn victims but suffers a freak accident at the hands of a mobster and is now left disfigured and deranged. He begins to use his creation as a mask and sets out to fight crime. Starring Liam Neeson, the movie was a modest hit and went on to have two sequels. There were a few one-shot comics but wouldn’t it be great to read about Dr. Westlake’s quest against crime monthly?

Probability of working? 85%. It already has the makings of a comic book, it just needs to be written down. Get the green light from Raimi, maybe even collaborate with him and BAM, instant gold. There is still a lot of growth for the character and new stories to tell. They can expand on the mob, find out who takes over after Durant is out of the picture, heck even introduce new crime syndicates.

Could it fail? Of course, don’t get any input from Raimi and throw it to whatever hired gun is willing to sit down for five minutes to earn a paycheck. Worse yet, changing the mythology of the character.

The Fifth Element, directed by Luc Besson, glorified what was great about the 80s while having the budget and effects of the 90s. With Bruce Willis doing his best Bruce Willis, Chris Tucker doing I have no idea what, and Milla Jovovich before she started talking way to much and kicking mutant dogs. You also have Gary Oldman hamming it up to great effect. Underneath this action extravaganza was a detailed and elaborate Sci-Fi world, and one of the last films to actually create a vibrant and living universe. Most Sci-Fi nowadays tread the dystopian world as a desert landscape. This film took bold and risky chances and it paid off big time.

Probability of working? 80%. The world this film is set in is primed for some great space adventures and  stunning visuals. The characters of Corbin Dallas and Leeloo are very interesting, and having Willis in comic book form would be astounding.

Could it fail? The strength of the movie relied heavily on Willis, Milla and Oldman. Without their charismatic nature, the comic could fall flat. And worse yet, there could be a special issue focusing just on Ruby Rhod .

L.A. Confidential: Directed by Curtis Hanson based on the book by James Ellroy. It stars Russell Crowe, Guy Pierce, and Kevin Spacey as police detectives in 1950’s Los Angeles. Both the book and the film are gritty stories involving drugs, hookers, gangsters, Hollywood, and corrupt officials in every level of the city’s bureaucracy. The style of the film, the subject matter, and the deeply flawed characters make it a perfect fit for an old fashioned noire comic book. Plus, we would get to see Bud White, Ed Exley, and Jack Vincennes again and that can’t be a bad thing.

Probability of working? 75%%. Guns, drugs, gangsters, detectives, hookers, and the glitz and glimmer of 1950’s Hollywood on display in comic book art. I’m already picturing it in my head! And with the recent  success of L.A. Noire, it would seem the public could take to the noir genre.

Could it fail? Quick… name the top five noir comics? What, all you can think of is Sin City? Yeah, same with most readers.

Big Trouble In Little China, we’ll let IMDB sum up this wonderful film, “An All-American trucker gets dragged into a centuries-old mystical battle in Chinatown. ” Now if you don’t immediately stop reading this and go watch that movie, it’s probably because you just got done watching it. Directed by horror master, John Carpenter, this film had equal parts awesome action, humorous comedy, and raucous adventure. Starring Kurt Russell, James Hong, Dennis Dun and a young Kim Cattrall before she ravaged every man in New York. This film was a wild ride and become a huge cult hit. Continuing Jack Burton’s legacy in comic form would be a fitting tribute.

Probability of working: 70%. It is an older movie, so the youngsters may not understand it, but come on, Kurt Russell in comic book form. Who wouldn’t want that? Actually, scratch that. Just make a comic book about Kurt Russell, hell it could focus on his day to day life of eating breakfast and answering the phone for all I care.

Could it fail? Are you kidding? Did you not read “Kurt Russell comic book”? Eisner Award here we come!

I’d like to thank Troy Dreiling for contributing to this article with his coverage of L.A. Confidential, granted it is one fifth, but good job buddy! You can read about the hottest on screen comic book couples here. And thank you to Nick Furious for warning us about the dangers of the wrong adaptations. Your favorite movie not on the list? Sound off in the comments and let us know which movies you’d like to read about monthly!

Tags: Big Trouble In Little China, Bruce Willis, Chris Tucker, comic booked, Darkman, Dennis Dun, Gary Oldman, Guy Pierce, James Halstead, James Hong, James Victor Von Halstead, Kevin Spacey, Kim Cattrall, Kurt Russell, L.A. Confidential, Liam Neeson, Mad Max 2: Road Warrior, Mel Gibson, Milla Jovivich, Nick Furious, Russell Crowe, Sam Raimi, The FIfth Element

About the Author

Written by James Victor Von Halstead

When not battling the forces of the undead you can find James at the local cinema watching whatever comic book inspired film that was just released, for the third time.

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