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5 great comic books that should be made into movies

April 30, 2018 at 7:19PM

OK, so “Avengers: Infinity War” was a big hit. But can we look to less-obvious sources for the next movie? (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Sure, most of the universe (Marvel and otherwise) is all hyped up over "Avengers: Infinity War." We get that.

But, honestly, doesn't the "Avengers" seem so, well, 2018? We're already looking past that movie and looking forward to what might be the next comic books-turned-movies. So, we turned to comic book gurus Joe Field, founder of Free Comic Book Day and owner of Concord's Flying Colors Comics store in Concord, Calif. Here are his top five picks for comic books that would make great movies:

'Mister Miracle'

(Debuted 1971, DC Comics)

He's one of the key characters in Jack Kirby's Fourth World saga, an amazing series of interconnected comic titles that the legendary artist did for DC in the early '70s.

"[Mister Miracle is] the story of Scott Free, who is a super escape artist," Field says. "Great concept. Great character. Definitely ripe for a movie."

Plus, you can't go wrong with Kirby, right? He's the artist who helped create such legendary characters as X-Men, Hulk and Fantastic Four, all of which have been made into movie franchises.

"If you think about it, the mega success of the comic book movies is built on Kirby's back," Field says.

'Black Hammer'

(Debuted 2016, Dark Horse Comics)

This ongoing comic was created by Jeff Lemire, one of the top writers in the comic book business.

"What Jeff does with this is he goes through all the tropes of Silver Age and Golden Age superheroes," Field says. "So, you are going to kind of vaguely recognize some characters. But they are his own characters. Definitely worth checking out."

'Velvet'

(Debuted 2014, Image Comics)

This could be the next great spy-movie franchise.

"This is, succinctly, James Bond — but if Moneypenny was the lead, instead of James Bond," Field says. "Hard-bitten, female super spy. Great stuff."

'Sub-Mariner'

(Debuted 1939 Funnies/Timely/Marvel)

Hulk? X-Men? Even Captain America? All newcomers compared with Namor the Sub-Mariner.

"Marvel's first character was actually the Sub-Mariner, who appeared before Marvel Comics No. 1 in 1939," Field explains. "The Sub-Mariner is the king of an undersea kingdom — Atlantis — that is sometimes at war with the surface world for environmental reasons. It would make for a great movie these days."

'Inferior Five'

(Debuted 1966, DC)

You know the Avengers, right? Think of the Inferior Five as the exact opposite.

"This is, basically, the worst group of superheroes ever," Field says. "What happens when none of the other superheroes are available? You call in the Inferior Five. They are hapless. They are not very good at what they do. But they come at it with a lot of heart."