8 Underrated Comic Books That Deserve Their Own TV Show

5. American Vampire

American Vampire Scott Snyder Stephen King
Vertigo

The series that effectively launched Scott Snyder to comic book stardom, American Vampire (initially co-authored by renowned horror heavyweight Stephen King), centred around an American Vampire (obvs), as they navigated the trials and tribulations of the Old West, among later periods in American history.

Most comic book aficionados will know of Snyder from his trailblazing runs on Detective Comics and Batman respectively, but they'd be doing themselves a huge favour if they made an effort of seeking out the author's earlier works. Among others, American Vampire stands out as one of the very best series to have emerged from DC's Vertigo imprint not just recently, but since its founding in 1993.

Given how, y'know, pretty much everyone seems to have forfeited an interest in vampires these days, a move to TV could be considered a risky move. However, what the rest of the Vampire genre lacks Snyder's series has in abundance, including a rich and vibrant setting, interesting, nuanced characters, and a character driven plot that places subtlety over spectacle.

The title's non-linear narrative almost seems made for TV, so I'd be doubly disappointed if an adaptation wasn't at least being considered at some point down the line.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.