Top ten sci-fi comic book movies

Fans of science fiction are spoilt buggers. The literary genre has historically taken a number of forms, from novels to pulp magazines to short stories, each one rich with creative minds such as pioneering legends H.G. Wells War of the Worlds) and Jules Verne (Journey to the Center of the Earth) through to 20th Century favourites like Arthur C. Clarke (2001: A Space Odyssey), Isaac Asimov (I, Robot) and Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner). And these writers, accompanied by many of their peers and successors, have long provided fodder for film adaptations. However there is another branch of the literature, one that fully captures the visual spectacle of sci-fi that is perhaps less familiar – comic books.

More commonly associated with fellas in capes and tights, comic books and graphic novels provide a brilliant platform for the imagination and creativity so intrinsic to sci-fi, and this is most definitely the case with new action flick Surrogates. Set in 2017, this near future sees humans hidden away in isolation leaving all interaction and experiences to their remote control robots, the titular surrogates. This high-tech system is threatened by a spate of murdered surrogates, leaving Bruce Willis’s FBI Agent Greer to investigate.

Written by Robert Venditti and illustrated by Brett Weldele, Surrogates first appeared as a limited edition comic book series in 2005 and now four years later is to make its silver screen debut. But, as a sci-fi comic/ graphic novel it’s far from alone in making the leap from page to theatres, and so to celebrate the release of Surrogates we’re running down ten of the best sci-fi comic book movies.