Although the list is numbered, it is by no means in order of preference and I have tried to avoid series that are already in production. Hence no Preacher or Sandman.
Some very, mild spoilers below...
1. The Invisibles
Written by Grant Morrison at a time when he was experimenting with fetish clubs and magic mushrooms, The Invisibles is a character driven ensemble comic that ran for six years over 70 plus issues.
It follows a group of freedom fighters led by charming but cold-blooded assassin, King Mob as they battle the Archons of Outer Church, a group of alien gods who travel across dimensions in order to enslave the human race.
Who should make it?
Any series where its creator suggests that readers simultaneously masturbate at the same time in order to increase sales isn’t going to find a home at a run of the mill studio that doesn't’t like to take risks.
The Invisibles is full of time travel, alien abduction and group rape spread over a classic Grant Morrison canvas. Those three ingredients don’t exactly speak guaranteed box office success and I can only see HBO having the audience and the nerve to be able to pull off a successful and faithful adaptation.
David Lynch seems the obvious choice to bring this to life. After all, it’s surreal, non-linear and features the odd trip to a different dimension. But as he’s busy reviving his own television masterpiece, Twin Peaks, I would have to pick Neil Jordan.
The Oscar winner has been a quiet but constant filmmaker of late but he certainly has enough in his filmography to suggest that he would be at home tackling this peculiar work.
TV experience? The Borgias. Transvestites? Breakfast on Pluto. And we can’t argue that Neil Jordan isn’t a perfect match for Morrison’s work without mentioning the infamous Crying Game can we?
2. DMZ
A post 9/11 tale that follows inexperienced photo journalist Matty Roth as he is left behind in a near future Manhattan, which has now become a de-militarized zone after a civil war has broken out between the United States.
The series ran for seven years and was created by Brian Wood and drawn by Riccardo Burchielli, it follows Matty as he learns about the DMZ and its 400,000 inhabitants and that there are two sides to every war.
Who should make it?
With a distinct Escape from New York feel and a District 9 vibe, my first choice to direct would be Neil Blomkamp but as he’s creating the Alien movie that we all deserve, I wouldn't’t want to distract him!
Sir Ridley Scott would be my next choice. He nearly created a post-apocalyptic Manhattan with his failed Arnie version of I am Legend, he has no problems telling both sides of a war (American Gangster) and any man who has Gladiator, Blade Runner and Alien on his CV has to be given a shot. Don’t hold recent dud The Counselor and stinker A Good Year against him.
Any long running series would suggest a TV format working best but I think that DMZ has enough fat to be trimmed to make this an epic one shot movie.
Given his stellar work at depicting War Zones in Black Hawk Down, I’d be happy with Sir Rid being able to capture the intensity as helicopters are shot down over a New York skyline.
3. Y: The Last Man
Brian K Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s epic, dystopian masterpiece which follows Yorick Brown as he discovers that he and his pet monkey are the only males left alive after a plague wipes out everyone with a Y chromosome.
Published in sixty issues starting in 2002, it follows Yorick as he travels across America, amongst a society in chaos to discover why he is truly the last man.
Who should make it?
This one has had numerous attempts made to make it to the big screen but all proving unsuccessful.
Y: The Last Man isn’t fast paced and often has many unanswered questions, probably being the reason why filmmakers find it so hard to fit it in a nice, three act script.
It needs to be on television and given the coverage and patience that Lost received. For this reason I’d go with JJ Abrams to create and anchor this beautiful tale.
Let’s be honest, no one on the Lost team knew how successful it was going to be and it ultimately outstayed its welcome and dug itself into a hole (or should that be hatch). With Y: The Last Man, the whole story is mapped out for the Lost team already. No need to add Polar Bears or time travel. Besides, it’s not like Abrams is doing anything else at the moment…
4. The Boys
This ultra-violent, sexualized tale is based on the premise that Superheroes exist and that they are assholes that care nothing for the destruction that their “heroics” cause. They’ll more interested in being seen as celebrities than saving the world.
Written by the great Garth Ennis, this is a seventy two issue tale that is more kick-ass than kick-ass and is Preacher and Ennis’s Punisher run combined causing DC to cancel it abruptly after six issues before it was picked up again by Dynamite Entertainment.
The Boys of the title is a CIA owned squad that is in charge of watching the reckless superheroes.
Who should make it?
As it’s ripe with British humor, even going so far as to call two of the arcs “The bloody doors off” and “The Self-Preservation society”, I’d suggest none other than Mathew Vaughn to handle this.
In the wrong hands, it could come off as a lad’s torture porn flick but showing how entertaining he can make a movie out of an average comic (Kingsman), Vaughan has enough bravado and wit to make this work for a movie going audience.
He’s a man that doesn't’t let studios boss him around and his partnership with Jane Goldman has produced greats such as Kick-Ass, First Class and the aforementioned Kingsman.
With a reputation for walking away from sequels, Kingsman 2 is by no means a sure thing with Vaughn and his taste for controversy means that he’d surely love Ennis’s work.
What comics would you like to see adapted? Comment in the usual place