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.