The Top Ten Comic Book Movies of All Time

Share on Facebook posted 08-13-09 by Angelo D'Argenio

10. Lone Wolf and Cub

Japanese Manga are comics too. This is one of the most classic samurai movies of our time, a six part epic that embodies the ideals of the swordsman. Based on a manga by Kazuo Koike, Lone Wolf and Cub tells a story of a man whose wife is killed due to his actions in the past. Together with his son, who will one day have to become a wandering warrior like himself, he pushes onward. His story was told with some of the best fight scene choreography of the time, and although many do not realize that the movie was based on a comic, this stands out as one of the best comic book adaptations out there.

9. A History of Violence

Once again, most people aren’t aware that this movie was based on a graphic novel, but it was, and it was actually quite faithful to canon. Another movie that stresses the theme “you can never escape your past” this tale of a man who defends his café through brutal violence ends up bringing painful memories back to light. Praised for its cinematography, this movie was good even without considering its ties to the graphic novel it was based on.

8. 300

300 was a gigantic hit in theaters, and it’s release brought new focus on the 300 graphic novel. The scenes from the movie mimic the panels in the comic almost perfectly, making this movie a shining example of canon loyalty. The casting choices were superb, and the camera work made it look like you were watching a comic book in motion, even through all the blood, gore, and Persian killing.

7. Road to Perdition

Few people realize that Road to Perdition was not only a graphic novel at one point, but that it was actually based on Lone Wolf and Cub. Michael Sullivan, the lone wolf of this movie, has to face his past once it is brought to light right in front of his son’s eyes. This movie managed to tug at our hearts, even though the violence, and although the scenes felt more movie-like than comic-like the movie was truly a masterpiece in and of itself.

6. Constantine

Keanu Reeves cast as supernatural detective John Constantine shone bright in this movie about angels and demons, based off the DC/Vertigo comic of the same name. Starting with a suicide and ending with a powerful plot, entangling the forces of both heaven and hell, Constantine managed to bring controversial topics to the silver screen in this comic book adaptation.

5. Dick Tracy

More than just an excuse for children to say “Dick…. Tracy” a lot, this movie was one of the comic book classics of our time. The comic itself was a satire on most detective stories, and its cartoony nature was preserved in the movie. Bright yellow suit and tommy gun at the ready, Dick Tracy was a staple of early 90’s cinema.

4. Superman: The Movie

Though its sequels were lacking, the original Superman movie had fans excited like never before. Superman, the original comic book hero, was able to show his stuff through green screen technology and, at the time, state of the are special effects. Not only that, but this movie stayed very true to canon, telling Superman’s origins without changing or “spicing up” a thing.

3. Sin City

Walk down the right alley in Sin City and you can find anything, including a faithful movie adaptation of the comic. Sin City was less an adaptation and more a direct translation of the comic, even going down to reproducing the original colors used in scenes. 3 stories, all about this dirty town and its inhabitants bring the comic book to life in ways we haven’t seen for some time.

2. Spider-Man 2

Spiderman 1 was solid, but Spiderman 2 was great! It delved deeper into the Peter Parker/Mary Jane love interest, it had a mad scientist villain that was both empathized with and hated at the same time, and it rounded this all off with phenomenal special effects that easily beat out its predecessor. It’s a shame that Spiderman 3 was so bad in comparison. Proof that when you are talking about comics on the big screen, you can definitely bite off more than you can chew.

1. The Dark Knight

This movie, was not a comic book adaptation. This was a horror movie, a psychological horror movie with a comic book pretense. The Dark Knight had villains that were psychotically deranged and yet still somehow empathized with. Causing fans to see elements of themselves in The Joker and Two Face created a creep out factor that far surpasses the tone of most comic book movies to date. In fact, this movie wasn’t even about Batman, it was about the villains and the morality of Gotham City. Christian Bale and his grinding concrete Batman voice were actually totally optional.