Ten amazing graphic novels that deserve TV adaptations

Plenty of graphic novels are getting adapted for TV nowadays, but not nearly as many as deserve it. Let’s see which comics need that treatment.

Graphic novels have been the source material for many of our favorite TV shows over the years. From Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead to Lucifer and more recently Joe Hill’s Locke and Key on Netflix. Whether we know it or not, we all love a good comic book adaptation!

And there’s plenty more where that came from. Many amazing graphic novels have already been picked up by various networks for TV adaptations. Some of the most anticipated upcoming dramas include FX’s Y: The Last Man and Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s beloved masterpiece The Sandman.

And let’s not even get started on the Marvel and DC superhero adaptations. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is expanding to TV, with shows like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision and Loki all coming to Disney+. The DC Universe has found success on TV, too, with a Stargirl show coming soon.

And yet, even with all of this on the way, there remain a lot of fantastic comics out there that haven’t gotten a chance at adaptation, or if they did, the project fell through for whatever reason. So let’s take a look at which amazing graphic novels have slipped through the cracks and deserve to be brought to the small screen!

Monstress

With networks stumbling over each other lately to develop new fantasy dramas, I’d think Monstress would be a shoo-in for adaptation. Apparently not.

First published by Image Comics in 2015, Monstress is an epic fantasy graphic novel series written by Marjorie Liu and drawn by Sana Takeda. Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900’ Asia, the four-time Hugo-winning series has been hailed by many as one of the great wrks in the genre. It follows teenager Maika Halfwolf, who shares a powerful psychic link with an immense (and wholly enigmatic) monster. Maika embarks on a quest to learn about and avenge her deceased mother.

Like any great epic fantasy, the depth of this world makes it difficult to fully explain until it’s actually been read. But the worldbuilding alone is something that would translate beautifully to TV. Unfortunately, there’s been little to no movement where that’s concerned, but maybe a network will see the potential in this gem one day.