8 Comics and Graphic Novels That Should Be Movies
No matter how sick of the Marvel or DC universe the world may be, Hollywood marches on. Comic book movies are an essential part of the film industry these days. Studios are rebooting and reviving many superhero comic book characters that we either know very well or are long forgotten. So we’ll have both a Kraven: The Hunter movie and a Superman redux within the next year. As a lover of superhero comics, it’s easy to be excited by all of these properties, no matter how many. However, as a lover of comics in general, I think there should be more diversity in the choices for film projects. There are many comics and graphic novels that should be movies—ones that don’t involve superheroes.
Ghost World is a teen cinema classic. There have also been a number of great live-action television shows based on young adult comics: Heartstopper, I Am Not Okay With This, The End of the F***ing World, and more. Even with the live-action setting, these shows have managed to integrate the comics ethos of the original source material in the show. Heartstopper especially hews closely to its comic origins, with Alice Oseman’s drawings animated throughout the show. On the other hand, animated adaptations are an excellent translation of comics to screen. A much-awarded comic, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, was also turned into a great animated film. My picks for this list focus on comics that are realistic, fantasy-inspired, and sci-fi stories.
Realistic Fiction and Memoir
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
This is 100% the easiest project for Hollywood to turn into a movie. It’s already an award-winning musical! Alison Bechdel’s genre-defining graphic memoir details her relationship with her father and her coming out as a lesbian. After she came out, she also found out her dad had been hiding that he was gay for her entire life. It’s a legitimately heartbreaking story about what it means to know our parents and the musical adaptation is an excellent starting point for a film.
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki, Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
Frederica’s stuck in a rut: she can’t stop going back to Laura Dean, no matter how many times Laura rejects her. Her friends are sick of the drama, so Freddy consults a local psychic and tries to make changes according to what she reads in an advice column. The story is all about learning to respect yourself and investing in the relationships that truly matter. It would make a perfect slice-of-life teen movie.
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
Maia never thought e would share the depths of their gender identity with others, but we’re all the luckier that e chose to write and share this beautiful graphic memoir with the world. Maia takes us through eir experiences with growing up and the discomfort of finding the right words to describe eir identity. It’s also about the many joys of queer adolescence. It would make an amazing self-discovery movie.
Fantasy Comics
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
Our main character Tiến is having trouble with the fact that he’s keeping secrets. He’s not doing it entirely on purpose: the gap between English and Vietnamese can be vast. Tiến and his mom are able to connect over fairytales: we also see the story of Tiến’s mom through magical fairytales. This rich story would make a great part live-action, part animated movie.
Séance Tea Party by Reimena Yee
Growing up is hard, especially when you feel your friends drifting apart. Lora understands that her friends are all more invested in teenage stuff than she is, and she prefers holding spooky tea parties. During a séance, she manages to summon Alexa, a ghost of a girl who is locked in time. While Lora doesn’t want to grow up, Alexa can’t. This sweet story would be an excellent little fantasy movie for anyone who has ever felt lonely.
The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag
Morgan lives on an idyllic island and longs for a life outside the boundaries of her home. She’s also hiding the fact that she’s queer from her friends. When she’s saved from drowning by a girl named Keltie, she gets more than she bargained for. Keltie is a selkie: a shape-shifting creature from the sea. It’s the perfect coming-of-age movie that could harness the animation excellence of Pixar’s Luca for a gorgeous animated adventure.
Monstress by Marjorie Liu, illustrated by Sana Takeda
Whether conceived as an animated or live-action adaptation, Marjorie Liu’s series would make an excellent cinematic story. The world-building is excellent and it would be so exciting to see the steampunk, early 1900s drawings on a big screen. Maika is a teenager dealing with the horrors of war, and also with a mysterious psychic connection to a giant monster.
Sci-Fi Stories
On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden
There’s nothing more awkward than being the most recent addition to a ship crew in deep space. As Mia integrates into the group, we also get insight into her past and why she chose to join this particular mission. The whole cast of characters is so compelling, and it’s a deeply relatable story. I would absolutely love a Star Trek-esque production design interpretation of this comic.
If you want to add more to your to-watch list, you can check out this list of non-superhero comics made into movies and adaptations of books from 2023 and 2024. If you’re a movie fan, you can also dive into comics like Miyazaki movies.
