5 Hit Movies That You Probably Didn’t Know Were Based On Comic Books

Rightly or wrongly, when the phrase "comic book movie" gets banded about, it's all too easy to conjure up memories of Superman powering through clear blue skies, Spider-Man springing his way between toppling skyscrapers, or Batman roaring his way through traffic in his devastating bat-mobile. Comic book powerhouses Marvel and DC have come to represent the genre as whole in modern society, and whilst there is much joy to be found in their respective worlds, it's important to remember that the comic book category is far more dense and complex than many people would have you believe. So, on that note, we've decided to look back on 5 excellent films that you probably didn't know were originally created in comic book form. 5) Men In Black That's right - the surreptitious alien crime-fighting organization who wear shades in the winter actually started off in print form way back in 1990. Written by Lowell Cunningham, the espionage comic strip was eventually incorporated by Marvel and transformed into a classic American blockbuster in 1997, proving to be an exuberant success and spawning two subsequent sequels. Cunningham's comic may have inspired the paranormal setting and black suit attire for Barry Sonnenfeld's movie adaptation, but the somber, dark, disturbing tones of the series were substituted for goofy humor during the transition from page to screen in order to cater for a wider Hollywood audience. True, touches of depravity do exist in the MIB movie - and Vincent D'Onofrio's gargling performance as an alien cockroach stuffed inside human skin might just be enough to terrify some viewers. But for the most part, the picture is jauntily carried along by the dynamic humor of the odd couple protagonists - with Will Smith starring as the frantic, fish-out-of-water newbie, and partner Tommy Lee Jones playing deadpan as the hardened, steely veteran. The original comic strip only actually ran for six issues, but was more expansive than the movie it inspired given how the agents in question dealt with wider areas of paranormal activity, including zombies and demons. Taking a look a the comics really is worth it for anyone who found MIB to be a fun experience (and who didn't?), but be warned: those expecting a tongue-in-cheek to-and-fro between Agents K and J will be disappointed. Not only is Agent K essentially sadistic in the comic book series, but he appears to regard J as little more than cannon fodder in his quest to wipe out evil earth activity. Not exactly family-friendly stuff. 4) Blue Is The Warmest Color After scooping the prestigious Palme D'or award from the Cannes Film Festival in 2013, Blue Is The Warmest Color became a subject of severe scrutiny by film scholars and critics, who lauded its female-focused approach, welcomed a new talent in Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche, and provided expansive commentary on the significance of the controversial sex sequences that had certain audiences members up in arms. The fact that Blue Is The Warmest Color was based on a French graphic novel from 2010 largely became lost amid the movie's intense reception, and Julie Maroh's source material was pushed briefly aside in the melee as every critic clambered to throw in their own two cents' worth on the movie's themes. Perhaps another reason that Maroh's graphic novel was glossed over by some was due to the fact that director Keciche uses the same characters to transform the movie into something a little different from the book that inspired it. The movie and book are set in slightly different eras, which creates noteworthy distinctions given the all-encompassing theme of homosexuality. After all, the further you go back, the less accepting society appears to be with regards to same sex relationships. As such, the particulars of the relationship between the two young female leads differs between graphic novel and film, but the main themes of love, longing and discovery remain safely intact. Blue Is The Warmest Color will forever be the first comic book adaptation to win a Palme D'or, and for that reason alone its source material deserves wider attention. You may be startled by the differences in third act across the alternative forms of media, but with both the film and the novel, all the key ingredients are there for fine, deeply affecting work that's worthy of your time. 3) Oldboy A sizeable portion of film fans may be aware that Spike Lee's 2013 movie Oldboy is an American remake of Park Chan-wook's South Korean movie of the same name, but fewer may be familiar with the fact that Chan-wook himself adopted the screenplay from a Japanese manga series released during the mid-nineties. Indeed, the influence of Garon Tsuchiya's comic book appears to have no bounds, having also inspired a Bollywood movie (directed by Sanjay Gupta) entitled Zinda in 2006. Each of the Oldboy adaptations depict a male protagonist who is hurtled into a cell and mysteriously held captive for a number years. Suddenly released, he plots to find the men who imprisoned him and swears revenge. Differences do exist between the manga strip and the film adaptations (with Spike Lee's version subject to an inevitable degree of Americanization), but given how Oldboy unfolds in such a calculated way, it'd be foolish to reveal them. Regardless, whichever version you decide to take in, don't expect a pleasant pain-free ride. Or a chirpy, uplifting ending for that matter. 2) A History Of Violence David Cronmenberg's bizarre and twisted filmography contains some of the most warped and imaginative works of cinema ever beamed up to the big screen, yet his 2005 flick A History Of Violence turned heads for a different reason. Not only did this movie represent a departure from a filmography that largely teetered on the fringes of the avant-garde into more conventional territory, but it also saw the director draw on source material that existed originally in the form of a graphic novel penned by Judge Dredd writer John Wagner. Whilst A History Of Violence can be considered a less hallucinatory-like experience than the director's previous works (aesthetically speaking), the psychologically damaged characters and themes that haunt Cronenbergian cinema remain unmistakably apparent. Viggo Mortenson plays the owner of small town diner named Tom in Indiana, and is lauded as a local hero after swiftly gunning down two men who attempt to rob his restaurant. This act of violence sees Tom's life begin to slowly unravel, as men claiming to be from his past approach his home and demand that he returns to the life that he left behind. Whilst certain scenes do bear a close resemblance to Wagner's comic book from, Cronenberg's film unsurprisingly veers off into more desolate, thornier territory than its source material. In print form, A History Of Violence can be recognized as a noir crime thriller, whereas in live-action film clothing it asks many more questions about the nature of the act of violence itself. Both media forms of A History Of Violence are worth investigating, albeit for very different experiences. 1) Kingsman: The Secret Service If the thought of Colin Firth starring as an eloquent secret agent with a ruthless set of combat skills and swanky gadgets wasn't stunning enough, the fact that the whole premise for Kingsman: The Secret Service has roots in the comic book world may well raise a few eyebrows instead. Writers Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons penned the spy comic series as recently as 2012, and director Matthew Vaughn - a man who is all too familiar with the colorful comic book world, having steered Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class - promptly hopped aboard the film adaptation when it was green-lit at the end of that same year. Huge actors occasionally hit a point when they are prepared to step out of the comfort zone that's performed as a magnet for awards. Without knowledge of the comic book world, it might be easy to mistake Kingsman as a vehicle exclusively written for Firth to re-tune his image and showcase his willingness to try his hand at action-comedy. In reality, this goofball espionage flick does have a strong place in print, and whilst the film adaptation doesn't faithfully recreate everything about Millar and Gibbons' comic book, it pays tribute to its source material by keeping the same sense of kooky humor that made the novel such a page-turner. The stars all shine, the action is slick, and for the most part, the whole thing is a hell of a lot of fun. It's not a carbon copy of its comic book origins by any means, but Vaughn is a safe pair of hands when it comes to comic book-style movies, and pretty much everyone should find something to like about Kingsman.