Comics That Need a Movie/TV Adaptation

A long, long time ago, in 2002, the original Spider-Man movie became the first film to gross over $100 million in a weekend and movie studios quickly realized that an established comic book  + awesome special effects = a swimming pool full of money

Since then studios have churned out comic book films at an astonishing rate.  Almost a decade after Spider-Man there are very few major heroes without a film adaptation but comics still have plenty to offer.  Here are three of the most promising:

Axe Cop

Yep, that's a space t-rex with gatling guns and aviators.  Need I say more?

If for some reason you still aren't convinced that Axe Cop needs a movie adaptation, consider these relevant points:

• Axe Cop is a collaboration between a 29 year-old and his 5 year-old brother.  The 5 year-old comes up with the story and ideas while his brother makes it into a comic.
• Axe Cop was born with a mustache
• Axe Cop's brother, Flute Cop, transforms into Dinosaur Soldier and later into Avocado Soldier 
• Together Axe Cop and Avocado Soldier run a fruit stand because they "need more money to get new guns and swords."
• Axe Cop defeats a rampaging robot by throwing a baby with a unicorn horn through its eye
• Sockarang is a member of Axe Cop's team who throws socks at his enemies but he eventually acquires the power of Christmas

It's completely absurd but if done correctly an Axe Cop movies could be ridiculously entertaining and over-the-top enough to make Michael Bay blush.


Chances a movie will happen: 50%  Axe Cop's complete ridiculousness is simultaneously its greatest strength and its greatest weakness.  In other words, I could see studios avoiding it because of the insanity or gravitating towards it for the same reason.  I can't decide which force will be stronger. Currently there's nothing about an upcoming Axe Cop movie, so that means nothing within the next two years. 

Fables

One of the better advertisements for public transportation I've ever seen

In the Fables universe all the characters from the world's most famous myths, legends, and tall tales exist (as long as they aren't copyrighted) in hundreds of interconnected worlds.  Unfortunately, a few hundred years ago an enigmatic being known as the Adversary begins to conquer and subdue the worlds' of the Fables.  As the Adversary's Empire grows, more and more characters become refugees and flee to Earth.  The refugees found a new settlement in New Amsterdam, New Amsterdam eventually becomes known as New York City, and the Adversary doesn't really care because his Empire is huge and powerful and Earth is mundane (without magic). Fables picks up in modern times and focuses on the internal issues of Fabletown as well as the increasing tension with the Empire.  The comic has a huge ensemble cast but some of the more important characters are Bigby Wolf, formerly the Big Bad Wolf and now the reformed sheriff of Fabletown (he can take human form), Prince Charming (he's a douche), and Snow White.


With this premise Bill Willingham creates one of the most consistently entertaining comic series I have ever read.  Just when you think Fables is going to lose steam a new, previously unimportant character steps forward in a great story arc.  110 issues later Fables is as strong as ever.


Chances a TV show will happen: 70% The massive size of Fables means only a TV show could do the series justice.  Both NBC and ABC at one point owned the rights but thus far nothing has materialized, I assume this is largely due to the cost associated with creating Fables but the success of Game of Thrones, another huge fantasy epic, means it can be done profitably. I think the source material is too good to be passed up forever.  On a side note ABC's new series, Once Upon a Time seems like it "borrowed" from Fables.

Superman: Red Son

In one of the all-time great "what if?" stories, Superman: Red Son explores an alternate reality where Krypton's Last Son crash lands on a farm in the Soviet bloc instead of Kansas.  From that idea Mark Millar expertly crafts a retelling of the Cold War that spans from 1953 to 2001.  With Superman as their leader, the Soviet Union gradually gains control of most of the world.  America's only hope to resist Communism lies with Lex Luthor, an unstable genius hellbent on defeating the Man of Steel.  Some of DC's greatest heroes are re-imagined including Wonder Woman, The Green Lantern, and Batman who is the same but now has a fur hat because he's Soviet.  

What's so impressive is that Millar doesn't rely on the strength of one good idea, he creates a story that would have been compelling with a Soviet or American Superman.  Simply put, Red Son is one of the best graphic novels I have ever read and arguably the best Superman story ever told.

Chances a movie will happen: 5% while Red Son is a great comic I doubt  anyone would be willing to put hundreds of millions of dollars into telling such an unconventional story.  if Man of Steel is successful that would increase the probability but not hugely so.  

As I write this I keep thinking of more comics that would make AWESOME movies (Kingdom Come, Y: The Last Man).  I will have to write another post at some point.