The Best Non-Marvel and Non-DC Comics That Deserve a Movie

It's been more than a decade since a baffled Seth Cohen took on comic book movies, but the trend is going stronger than ever. Even in 2014, with movie ticket sales in the toilet, every inked adaptation, from the latest X-Men outing to the second, second Spider-Man movie, continue to do huge numbers. However, though comic book tent-poles are massively successful, it's hard not to feel some fatigue. Sure, Guardians of the Galaxy was a massive hit—and deservedly so—but how many Marvel more books really deserve a 150-million treatments (Inhumans notwithstanding)? Is DC's impending Justice League movie really what we need right now?

I enjoy a good superhero movie as much as the next guy who still owns a complete set of '92 Marvel Masterpieces, but there's more out there than just The Big Two. And with creator and independent comics experiencing a renaissance, it's a shame to keep recycling, rebooting, and re-reboooting the same old capes and cowls. I'm not saying Marvel hasn't done an amazing job (or that I'm not interested in what DC has up its sleeve), but from modern classics like Battle Chasers to indies like Shortcomings, there are hundreds more titles that deserve a chance. Here are just a handful of them, complete with suggested casts and directors that will no-doubt make for some interesting talk in the comments.

Nathan Reese is a News Editor at Complex. If you want to talk hypothetical casts for Saga, he's on Twitter.

Publisher: Vertigo

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan

Artists: Pia Guerra, Goran Sudžuka, Paul Chadwick

Dream director: Rian Johnson

Casting suggestion(s): Jamie Bell (Yorick Brown), Zoe Saldana (355), Andy Serkis (Ampersand)

Before you scroll down the list to complain about the lack of Saga in the comments, let me say this: Yes—I do think that book should be filmed right now. Frankly, I'd be surprised if it doesn't make it to the screen in the new few years. But remember this: Saga is an ongoing story and we have another Brian K. Vaughan masterpiece all wrapped up and ready to go. For those who missed it on its initial run, Y: The Last Man is the story of a young escape artist who wakes up as the last man left alive on earth. As he navigates the dystopian ruins of society with his pet monkey Ampersand (pretty sweet, right?), Yorick uncovers the unlikely events that lead to the catastrophe. There's been talk of both a TV show and movie in the past, but let's actually make it happen.

Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly

Writer/Artist: Adrian Tomine

Dream director:: Alexander Payne

Casting suggestion(s): Masi Oka (Ben Tanaka)

Comic book movies don't have to be space operas or sci-fi epics—just look at Ghost World. Adrian Tomine's Shortcomings is a modern classic that tells the story of Ben Tanaka, a Bay Area Japanese-American guy with serious relationship hang-ups. It's a subtle, often terrifically sad story that finds humor in the aimless depression of adult life. That may not sound as exciting as a dude in orange tights, but it's an emotional gut-punch that even Superman isn't strong enough to deliver.

Publisher: Image Comics

Writer: Rick Remender

Artist: Wesley Craig

Dream director: David Gordon Greene

Casting suggestion(s): Ezra Miller (Marcus Lopez)

Rick Remender and Wesley Craig's Deadly Class is somehow both a John Hughes homage and one of the most blood-soaked action series on shelves today. Here's the gist: Marcus Lopez is a homeless teen with a troubled past. In Reagan-era San Francisco, he's taken off the streets and asked to join a high school that trains kids to be assassins. All the cliques, crushes, and drama you remember from sophomore year is still there—with the added tension of baseball bats and katanas. Oh, and if you're wondering why David Gordon Greene is my suggestion for director, just check out his Amazon Prime pilot. You'll get it.

Publisher: Image Comics

Writer: Matt Fraction

Artist: Chip Zdarsky

Dream director: Alfonso Cuarón

Casting suggestion(s): Abbi Jacobson (Suzie), Max Greenfield (Jon)

I've sung the praises of Sex Criminals before, and I'm happy to reiterate my opinion here: Sex Criminals is, quite simply, the most fun comic book being published today. Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky have created a world that's so freaking fun, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. The story follows Suzie and Jon, who learn they can stop time when they orgasm. Following their initial, often hilarious love affair, bank robbing enters the picture. (What good is a sex power without some extra cash?) So does a villain named Kegel Face. It's the perfect formula for a smart, R-rated action comedy. If this were '97 I'd say it was perfect for Kevin Smith; instead, I'm going with Cuarón because he's already done both sex and special effects better than just about anyone.

Publisher: WildStorm/Image

Writer/Artist: Joe Madureira

Dream director: Steven Spielberg

Casting suggestion(s): Alexander Skarsgard (Garrison), Vin Diesel (Calibretto), Donald Sutherland (Knolan), Christina Hendricks (Red Monica)

Battle Chasers is one of the great unfinished comic series. Joe Madureira created a rag-tag team of truly remarkable superheroes without any prior mythology backing him up. Sadly, however, he left the industry to become a video game designer before completing the series. But since Madureira won't return to finish what he started, I propose we just switch the medium. Hell, maybe he'd even agree to provide an outline. What better way to get comic fans in theaters than by giving something they already love a proper ending?

Publisher: Image Comics

Writer: Ed Brubaker

Artist: Sean Phillips

Dream director: Guillermo Del Toro

Casting suggestion(s): Scarlett Johansson (Jo)

Ask any comic geek about the last five years of comic books, and no conversation is complete without Fatale. The most successful effort from longtime collaborators Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips to date (and that's saying something), the noir-horror hybrid follows the life of the immortal femme fatale Jo as she seeks to understand her occult origins. Full of sex, violence, and Lovecraftian monsters, its a genre-blending thriller that could make for a killer franchise. But if you think anyone but ScarJo should play Josephine, I don't want to hear about it.

Publisher: Kitchen Sink Press/Fantagraphics

Writer/Artist: Charles Burns

Dream director: David Fincher

Casting suggestion(s): Nat Wolfe (Rob), Elle Fanning (Chris)

This one is sort of cheating, because in all likelihood we're going to see a David Fincher-helmed Black Hole film in the near future. Still, it's such a perfect marriage of directorial style and on-page aesthetic that it had to be included here. Some background: Charles Burns' series follows teenagers in a small town in the Pacific Northwest who turn into mutants after contracting an STD-like infection. But instead of powers, they suffer from skin diseases, and grow tails and genitalia in unfortunate places. It's disturbing, bizarre, and highly sexual—a.k.a. everything you remember about being a teenager.

Publisher: Caliber Press/Image Comics/Icon Comics

Writer/Artist: David Mack

Dream director: Wong Kar-wai

Casting suggestion(s): Rila Fukushima (Kabuki)

On the surface, David Mack's Kabuki is the story of a bionically-enhanced female assassin living in a dystopian future Japan controlled by giant corporations. Really, though, it's a lyrical, often drop-dead gorgeous work filled with repetitious phrasing and some of the best artwork ever seen in comics (eat your heart out, Frank Miller). But with a look this specific, a film adaptation that maintained the tone would be early impossible. Enter: Wong Kar-wai, whose jazz-like editing has a similar visual poetry to Mack. Just think of this hypothetical Kabuki film as 2046 with more ninjas and dismemberment. Yeah, I'd see that.

Publisher: Vertigo

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artist: Sean Murphy

Dream director: Kathryn Bigelow

Casting suggestion(s): Jennifer Chastain (Dr. Lee Archer)

I love the twist in The Wake so much that I won't spoil it for you here. Suffice to say that Scott Snyder's Sphere-like undersea horror comic does not go where you think it will. But with two distinctly different parts, it's the sort of split that actually makes sense to be chopped into multiple films. How's that for guaranteed box office success? Honestly, I'm not sure about the logistics of pulling something this bold and tonally unusual, but in the right hands it could be great. Now who's ready for some ultra-violent mermaids?

Publisher: Tokyopop/Image Comics

Writer/Artist: Brandon Graham

Dream director: Bong Joon-ho

Casting suggestions: Robert Pattinson (Joe), Miley Cyrus (Anna Greengables), Jonah Hill (Pete Taifighter)

There's something about Brandon Graham's King City that's just infinitely charming. Maybe it's the self-consciously goofy puns, the Moebius-like inventiveness of the art, or the fact that the it's about a guy who uses a super-powered pet cat to fight aliens. Come to think about it, it's probably the latter. Taking Brandon Graham's world from the page to the screen would require deft vision and limitless creativity, but Bong Joon-ho is a special director. Fingers crossed.

Publisher: Image Comics

Writer: Kurtis J. Wiebe

Artist: Roc Upchurch

Dream director: Quentin Tarantino

Casting suggestion(s): Rosario Dawson (Hannah), Violet (Emma Stone), Tavi Gevinson (Betty), Naomie Harris (Dee)

Rat Queens is about four women living in a Dungeons and Dragons-esque fantasy world who happen to love drugs, violence, and sex as much as any modern 20-something. Aside from ingeniously upending genre conventions and gender stereotypes, the book is just a bloody, often hilariously good time. With the lack of female superheroes becoming an embarrassing black mark in Hollywood, here are four ready-to-go heroines with an adventure infinite possibilities. Of all the comics on the list, Rat Queens is the biggest no-brainer for a hit film.