The ‘ITS’ Lists Comicon Special: Top Non-Superhero Comic Book Movies

This past weekend was Toronto Comicon, a time where fans of comic books gathered to celebrate everything about the medium. Like usual, walking up and down the aisles attendees could find everything from action figures, to original artwork, manga and of course comic books. Fans dressed up as their favourite characters could be seen everywhere. And artists and writers gathered to meet their fans. One of this year’s highlights was the appearance of the stars of the original 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which drew large lines. Of course when Comicon, or comic books are mentioned, the first thing people think of are superheroes. But that shouldn’t be the case. Comic books cover many different genres. In fact, several movies have even been made based on comic books that don’t have a single superhero in them. Here are some of the top ones.

Road to Perdition – Tom Hanks, Jude Law, Paul Newman, Daniel Craig and a young Tyler Hoechlin star in this movie about a mob enforcer and his son who go on the run during the Great Depression. Max Allan Collins wrote the graphic novels the movie is based on, and Oscar winning director Sam Mendes helmed it. The film is dark, gritty, and one of the best films of 2002. Many people however have no idea it was based on a comic book.

A History of Violence – Director David Cronenberg is well known for his dark and twisted genre films, but in 2005 he decided to try something a little different. Viggo Mortensen stars as a quiet family man whose dark past resurfaces after an act of heroism. Ed Harris, William Hurt and Maria Bello co-star in this adaptation of a graphic novel published by a DC Comics imprint. Yes, the same DC comics responsible for Superman and Batman. The film even received two Oscar nominations.

Ghost World – Scarlett Johansson and Thora Birch star in this coming-of-age story about two cynical teens. After graduating high school the pair roam aimlessly through life, and decide to respond to a man’s single’s ad in the local newspaper ad as a gag. It doesn’t go the way they expected though, and ends up complicating their lives even further. Much like the graphic novel, the movie turned into a cult classic, that still holds up today.

From Hell – Comic book writer Alan Moore has written some of the most influential superhero comic books in history, but he’s also written several comics about other things as well. From Hell for instance is a historical fiction piece that takes a close look at the Jack the Ripper murders. Johnny Depp stars in the film as a deeply flawed detective trying to solve the murders as they happen. The film is a close adaptation of Moore’s work, so close in fact that directors Albert & Allen Hughes painstakingly recreated several scenes from the comic book. The film comes off as being so realistic that it’s very hard to tell fact from fiction.

A picture of Johnny Depp and Heather Graham

Blue Is the Warmest Color – When this film about a deeply emotional romance won the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, many people didn’t know that it got its story from a French graphic novel bearing the same name. The film does change up the ending of the graphic novel, but it stays fairly close for the rest of the story. Both however are emotional roller-coasters that help define love in the modern world.