Comic books make great fodder for film and television adaptations. Audiences generally regard many of these as strictly superhero movies. Batman, Spider-Man, Superman—that sort of thing. On the other hand, some films wear their comic book heritage on their sleeve, like Jonah Hex, 300, Ghost World, and Sin City (heck, 300 and Sin City were almost literally lifted from Frank Miller’s art right into the movie theater). Here are a few ones that defy either category.
1 Men in Black (1997, 2002, 2012). The fact that this film was based on a comic book is such a secret that when I was looking at a list of the highest-grossing comic book movies, this was not even on it! The Men in Black debuted at Aircel Comics, which was then purchased by Malibu Comics, which was then purchased by Marvel Comics. By the time the film (which, like the comic, is about the mysterious men in black who investigate alien activity on Earth) was released, the last Men in Black series was five years old from a defunct publisher. It is understandable how it could have flown under the radar.
2 From Hell (2001). It is almost a bit curious why the Hughes brothers (best known for their film Menace II Society) even chose to adapt Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s extensive and intricate examination into the Jack the Ripper murders. I say this because they took nearly the entirely opposite approach of Moore and Campbell’s, so you wonder why they just didn’t do their own Jack the Ripper story. Unlike his later works, Moore actually allowed his name to be used in association with this film (it was his first comic to be adapted into a film), but the slick, action-oriented drama bears little resemblance to Moore’s comic.
3 Road to Perdition (2002). Paradox Press was formed in 1993 as a place at DC Comics where creators could produce original graphic novels that were neither superhero based (like most of DC’s comic line) nor fantasy based (like most of DC’s Vertigo comic line). The end result was a line of graphic novels that many missed the first time around. However, some very compelling work came out of this line (which shut down in 2001), including this wonderful drama by Max Allan Collins and artist Richard Piers Rayner, about a hit man who loses all of his family except his young son. The man and son then travel across the country to get revenge on the mob leader who ordered the hit. Paul Newman costarred in the film as the gang leader whose son ordered the hit against his wishes and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
4 A History of Violence (2005). Another veteran of Paradox Press, writer John Wagner (cocreator of Judge Dredd) and artist Vince Locke released A History of Violence in 1997. This taut graphic novel is about a man who is living peacefully with his family when he stops an attempted robbery with some shocking fighting skills. His instant celebrity draws in outsiders who believe that he is a fugitive from the mob. David Cronenberg adapted the book into a film starring Viggo Mortensen as the protagonist. William Hurt received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for playing his brother.
5 30 Days of Night (2007). 30 Days of Night was originally a film pitch by writer Steve Niles, and it certainly sounds like it—vampires attacking a small Alaskan town during the time of the year when the town is without daylight for a month. That’s certainly a great high concept. However, after it was not picked up, Niles adapted it into a 2002 comic book miniseries for IDW Publishing, along with artist Ben Templesmith. The comic was a hit and, naturally enough, it was eventually turned into a film.