7 Comics That Would Make Incredible TV Shows (& They Aren’t All Superheroes)

When it comes to source material for Hollywood adapt for the screen, the world of comics is a rich one to dive into. After all, for almost 20 years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been bringing characters and stories off the page and to the screen, as has DC, it’s something that doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. However, while most comics adaptations do end up as blockbusters, they often work well on television, too. In fact, some comics would make for great television shows, their stories unfolding episode to episode the way they do issue by issue. We’ve seen it happen before with great shows like Netflix’s Daredevil (as well as Disney+’s follow up), The Walking Dead, and even The Boys. But there are other comics that would make for incredible television, too.

Here are seven comics that would make for truly great television adaptations — and they aren’t all superhero stories. These are comics that cover a wide range of genres, but all tell fascinating, expansive stories perfectly suited to roll out episode by episode, stories that will get you hooked and make you want to know what happens next.

7) Darkhawk

We said not all the comics on this list would be superheroes, not that there wouldn’t be superheroes — and Darkhawk definitely belongs on this list. An underrated Marvel comic that ran from 1991 to 1995, Darkhawk would make for a great animated series thanks to the distinctive, very ‘90s look of its titular hero but we already know that animation can really work when it comes to comics adaptations — just look at X-Men ’97.

In comics, Darkhawk is a man named Christopher Powell who, while witnessing his father — who happened to be a New York cop — accept a bribe from a crime boss, finds a mysterious amulet that allows him switch places with a powerful android that he can control with his mind. He vows to use the amulet to take on crime, becoming the hero Darkhawk. It’s a neat, sci-fi premise that would make for a very cool series. And, of course, it doesn’t have to be animation — with the right production values, this could make for a really interesting straight live-action sci-fi show as well.

6) Monstress

Marjorie Liu and Sama Takeda’s long-running fantasy comic series Monstress is so good it is wild that it hasn’t been adapted for television yet, but here we are — and make no mistake, it would make for an amazing television series, especially as a prestige offering. Published by Image Comics, the series is known for its incredible world-building, rich lore, and complex characters, not to mention its stunning art and those are all elements that would really make it shine on television.

Set in a matriarchal world, Monstress follows Maika Halfwolf, a teen girl with a strange and mysterious psychic link to a powerful monster. Set on a backdrop of a war between magical creatures who can (sometimes) pass as human, the Arcanics, and the human Federation led by an order of sorceresses who consume Arcanics to fuel their power — the Cumaea, Maika is actually an Arcanic who appears human and is on a mission to learn about and avenge her dead mother. It has all the makings of a Game of Thrones-ish epic.

5) Wonder Woman: Dead Earth

Wonder Woman: Dead Earth is a unique comic. Written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson and published on DC Black Label in 2019-2020, the story follows Diana/Wonder Woman as she wakes up from a centuries-long sleep to discover that Earth is now a nuclear wasteland and she is in this dark, dangerous future where she must protect the last remaining human city from monsters all while trying to discover the secrets of the world she’s found herself in, including discovering how she might be responsible for it.

Part sci-fi, part horror, Wonder Woman: Dead Earth isn’t exactly a superhero story and it is genuinely unlike anything you’d expect from a Wonder Woman story. It’s a surprisingly grounded story and while it is something that is best suited to be a limited series rather than something that would run for numerous seasons, it’s something that would make for truly gripping prestige television.

4) American Vampire

Vampire stories area pretty much always solid television and Scott Snyder’s Vertigo series American Vampire would make for a great one. What makes American Vampire such an interesting story is its approach to the legendary creatures. The series sort of reimagines them as a population of different species with different evolution — including vampires who can resist sunlight, something that sets these “American” vampires apart. The story spans different eras, has a war between the vampires, and even a secret society of hunters.

The unique take on vampires — specifically that there are different kinds of them — makes for an interesting twist on what can sometimes feel like familiar territory. The decades-spanning story also makes for a tale that would be particularly interesting told in episodic format.

3) Saga

While Saga won’t become a television show — creator Brian K. Vaughan has been clear about it being made to be a comic — that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t make for an incredible one. The sprawling space opera is full of themes that are perfect for a sci-fi fantasy adaptation: love, familiar bonds, war, finding one’s place, and more. It’s also action-packed with high stakes and surprising twists.

If done right, Saga could be incredible prestige television. There are lots of fascinating characters, a grand scale, and enough story that it could run for several seasons without ever losing steam. The trick is that it would have to be done with a lot of respect for its epic scale. Still, it’s a series that a lot of fans would love to see on the screen.

2) Gotham Central

We can file this one under comics that we almost got as a television adaptation, sort of. Back in 2020, a police procedural series set in the same continuity as Matt Reeves’ The Batman was in the works with Gotham Central considered as a title. However, that show was put on hold in 2022. It’s unclear if that series would have been a true adaptation of the Gotham Central comic book series, but the idea of getting a series based on the police in Gotham City would have been great.

As for Gotham Central the comic specifically, the Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka written series may be set in Batman’s hometown, but don’t confuse it for a superhero story. The series follows the Gotham City Police Department and the challenges the officers face living and working in the city that also happens to have to deal with Batman. It’s an aspect of the superhero world that we don’t often think about, something that brings things to a more human, more grounded level. While there would no doubt be comic book-y elements, it just sounds like something that would make for gripping television.

1) Marvels

Another comic series that is set in the world of superheroes but isn’t about superheroes is Marvels. Kurt Busiek’s four-issue series views the Marvel Universe through the eyes of news photographer Phil Sheldon and gives a street-level, ordinary view of what living in a world of superhumans is actually like for the people who live there.

Like Wonder Woman: Dead Earth, this would need to be a limited series as it’s not something that would necessarily work for multiple seasons and it is also something that might work best anthology-style, but it would make for an interesting counterpoint to the more “standard” superhero fare.

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