Lesser Known Comic Books That Demand A Movie

No one expected one of the biggest comic book movies of all time to be centered around a group of unknown a-holes, but here we are. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 debuted last weekend with $425M Worldwide, making even more of a household name out of former Troma writer James Gunn and the incredible cast.

And if that motley crew can open two movies, surely some other, lesser known comic characters can win over the hearts and minds of audiences everywhere! Let's take a look at some other comic books that absolutely deserve a film adaptation, despite the lead characters not being household names.

Series: The IncalCreators: Alejandro Jodorowsky (Writer), Moebius (Illustrator)What You Need to Know: Jodorowksy's Dune may have never been made, but the art and concepts from the film ended up here, in this dystopian space opera that's enormously influential yet still somehow underground.The Incal begins with our hero not having a good day, as he's grabbed by a group of masked thugs and thrown off a bridge towards a lake of acid. The area is known as Suicide Alley and you soon learn why, as people start jumping off and following him to their demise. But lucky Difool is saved by the police, and questioned about why he was thrown off in the first place. It's revealed that he has come across a crystal known as the Light Incal, which contains some mysterious powers. He ends up being chased by a number of organizations that want the Incal, at one point being attacked in his apartment simultaneously by aliens, mutants, and the police, who have a giant cop mech.

Things get even crazier from there. Moebius was always known for his impossibly detailed art and this is no exception – there's simply no way to accurately describe just how stunning the art is or the kind of dystopian world he has created without getting your hands on it and seeing it for yourself.

To say this would be a visually astonishing film would be putting it mildly. This is the kind of brilliant story that expects you to keep up. It doesn't take time to explain all the factions of the world or how things work – you need to simply observe it and learn for yourself.  To give you an idea of what the style would be, the editor of the comic went on to sue Luc Besson for The Fifth Element, which they said stole graphic and story elements from The Incal. It probably didn't help that Moebius worked on it as well (for the record, they lost).

Series: ProofCreator: Alex Grecian (Writer), Riley Rossmo (Illustrator)What You Need to Know: "It's like The X-Files, except Mulder is played by Bigfoot" is how a good friend of mine described Proof, and how can you resist a pitch like that?  That sums it up pretty well, except that Proof doesn't need to believe in cryptids, because he is one. In his first case, he teams up with his new partner Ginger Brown (who is transferred into his division after meeting a golem defending a store in NYC's Diamond District) and hunts down a chupacabra.

It's light and funny but gets into some deep horror moments, especially when they discover that their first foe wears human skin. This is firmly Supernatural territory and grabbing a hairier actor to play the role could kick off a successful film that spawns a franchise.

Series: Sex CriminalsCreators: Matt Fraction (Writer), Chip Zdarsky (Illustrator)What You Need to Know: Suzanne and Jon are a couple who find out that they they have the same exact superpower when they first hook up. That superpower? The power to stop time itself after they orgasm.

A true (ahem) coming of age tale, we find out what each of them did when they realized their unique power – Jon's ended up spending a lot of time in the forbidden porno shop in town – and then both of them figure out what to do now that they have found someone to spend their alone-time with (it ends up being a lovely metaphor for sexual compatibility). In the first story arc, they use their powers to start robbing banks in order to save the library where Suzanne works, only to find out that others share their powers as well. Now, they're, well, criminals. Sex criminals.

This brilliant comic was picked up by Universal for a TV show a couple of years ago, but there's been no word on it since. It definitely needs an adaptation, though, as it's the perfect combination of funny, sexy, and cool.

Series: Locke & KeyCreators: Joe Hill (Writer), Gabriel Rodríguez (Illustrator)What You Need to Know: Locke & Key centers around a family that moves back to their estate (conveniently located in the fictional town of Lovecraft, Massachusetts) after their father dies. This begins a multi-genre tale that deftly combines gothic horror, fantasy, high school drama, and more.

The most unique thing about the Locke family house is that there are strange keys littering the place, all of which has unique powers. One can literally open up your mind and allow you add or remove information and memories. Another can turn you into a ghost. As the kids continue to explore the creaky old house and discover more details about their father's life, a vision from his past comes to haunt them, all the while they contend with their new thoughts on mortality and a fracturing family.

It's an utterly perfect series that touches on some really heavy topics, the kind that many teens are going through, just amplified into a horror tale. Done well, this could be the next great YA franchise. A TV adaptation is currently in the works, but it would also be well-suited for the big screen.

Series: ChewCreators: John Layman (Writer), Rob Guillory (Illustrator)What You Need to Know: Tony Chu is a Cibopath, which means that every time he eats something he will get a psychic impression of everything that happened to that object. That means that he generally stays away from meat, as he gets an immediate impression of the animal's entire life (and death), but the same happens to vegetables. Oddly, the only thing that doesn't work for his power is beets, so he eats a lot of those. Chu works for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who is trying to crack down on poultry (which has become illegal after a bird flu epidemic) when he realizes that if he takes a bite of a corpse, he can solve murders.

This leads to an absolutely insane tale that involves more people with foodie superpowers, alien vegetation, Serbian vampires, and a weaponized demon chicken. This requires a cast and crew that understands how to ground the comedy and make it relatable, but it's a great madcap comedy waiting to happen. Writer John Layman has said in the past that he's love to see Chew as an animated series, but the right talent (Edgar Wright, maybe?) could make it work on the big screen.

Series: Ex MachinaCreators: Brian K. Vaughan (Writer), Tony Harris (Illustrator)What You Need to Know: A vision of an alternate America, this series shows the life of Mitchell Hundred, aka The Great Machine. He's the world's first superhero and he becomes Mayor of New York City after his first great act on September 11, 2001. On that day, in this universe, only one tower fell.

Now that he has used his fame to catapult into political office, he's tasked with both running the city and starting to understand the source of his powers. Imagine a film that combines political drama with a superhero tale and you can see how well this film would translate for older audiences tired of tights-wearing comic adaptations. It's just a little more highbrow than most – even his superhero name comes from Thomas Jefferson's quote about the great machine of society.

Series: FataleCreators: Ed Brubaker (Writer), Sean Phillips (Illustrator)What You Need to Know: The title of the comic comes from "femme fatale," and which Josephine ("Jo") is certainly one. One part hardboiled noir and one part suupernatural horror, it tells the story of Jo's ageless existence from the 1930s to present day, mostly from the point of view of men who become hypnotized thanks to her supernatural abilities.

She doesn't quite understand her powers and all attempts to learn more are often halted because she's fleeing a cult that's trying to kill her and also awaken some Cthulhu-esque gods. That's the perfect recipe for an amazing movie – a badass female character, intense action sequences, and Lovecraftian horrors.

Series: Rocket GirlCreators: Amy Reeder (Illustrator), Brandon Montclare (Writer)What You Need to Know: A teenage cop named DaYoung Johansson comes from the future to 1986 New York City to investigate a corporation's crimes against time.

Despite her age, she's a consummate professional and, true to the name of the comic, she has her very own jetpack. This Rocketeer of the future wants to stay in the past though, because if she actually manages to end up stopping the corporation from its meddling, she'll destroy her very own future. Finding out why that's a good idea (and why people over 30 can't be trusted) is part of the ride, which is the perfect blend of campy and serious.

Think a story that combines 1980s nostalgia with future tech and you can see the potential for this to be huge – the soundtrack alone would be amazing.

Series: Hack/SlashCreators: Tim SeeleyWhat You Need to Know: Cassie and Vlad are an unlikely duo: a young lady that dresses like a Suicide Girl and a giant deformed man in a mask and trench coat, but they make a great team. A killer team, one might say. They are hunters and their prey is "Slashers," generally undead killers that litter the horror movies we all grew up on. Cassie's mom herself was a Slasher of the Killer Cook variety, and she was caught and dispatched by Cassie herself, which has, understandably, left her a little damaged. She sets off to ensure no one else has to cope with this ever again, meeting Vlad one day and mistaking him for a Slasher. Once the two realize they have an affinity for bladed weaponry, they team up and set off across the world to take on anything evil.

Being that the two have already teamed up with Ash from Evil Dead, Herbert West from Re-Animator, and Chucky, this could be the Expendables of horror movies. Licensing issues aside, it seems like an easy crowd pleaser and it's downright confusing why it hasn't hit the screen yet. They could drag in any number of horror villains for Cassie and Vlad to hunt down!. Why should Freddy only Fight Jason? Why should Leprechaun languish with only seven movies to his name? The possibilities are endless...

Series: The Nightly NewsCreator: Jonathan HickmanWhat You Need to Know: A group upset with the media and politicians decides enough is enough and declares war. The Hand is the man closest to The Voice, an enigmatic cult leader that few have seen and even fewer believe really exists. He goes around rounding up people sympathetic to his cause, all the while exposing the lies of our leaders and the flippant and unconcerned state of television journalism. They start their wave of terror by shooting random protesters and then sniping the TV reporters who come to witness the scene.

It is a brutal condemnation of both political pundits and easily-led media consumers. Obviously, this topic would need to be handled differently considering the current state of world of events, but think a more psychopathic Network and you've got an idea of what they're going for, and what kind of discussion the film could open up.

Series: Batman Year 100Creators: Written and illustrated by Paul Pope (Writer, Illustrator) José Villarrubia (Colors)What You Need to Know: Yes, this is Batman in a list of fringe characters. Stick with me a minute! Yes, yes, I know there have been a dozen Batman movies made in the past, but none like this. Forget the dour and joyless Batman that's the status quo. Forget the past few movies which have made him the most boring part of the story. Imagine a film where he's once more a legend, something to be feared. Imagine criminals not knowing if he's human or something else, genuinely fearful of meeting him on a dark night. This is the Batman we all deserve.Batman Year 100 would be a brilliant comic to adapt because it allows a deep dive into the mythology of Batman, something that was actually humorously covered in The Lego Batman Movie. Here, it's the year 2039. Technology has seen Gotham City become a police state, but a familiar figure has returned for the first time in decades to fight corruption.

This Batman manages to be both futuristic and back to basics. He exists in a world where there are no more supervillains, thanks to some shocking government actions, yet people are being lied to and controlled by their very own protectors. He is framed for a murder he did not commit and thanks to some ridiculously-oversized fangs he pops in his mouth, his almost-superhuman speed, and some clever upgrades, the world isn't sure just what he is. Is this Bruce Wayne or something else?