8 Underrated Comic Books That Deserve Their Own TV Show
1. Hellboy And The B.P.R.D.
Okay, I guess this could kind of be classed as cheating, seeing how Hellboy is, y'know, one of the most critically lauded and recognisable comic book characters in the business. To an extent, yes, this is true. But there are certainly underrated aspects of the character, and, perhaps most noticeably, his supporting cast too.
Anyone who knows Hellboy is aware of his original job, being in the employ of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (or B.P.R.D., for short), fighting Nazis, demons, and all the rest. But few are aware of the organisation's own comic book series, itself written by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola.
Indeed, the B.P.R.D. spin-off, debuting first in 2002, centred around ol' red's best friends, including Abe Sapien, Johan Kraus and Liz Sherman, as they worked to combat the same supernatural threats that Hellboy largely dealt with in his own solo series up until he quit the Bureau. It possessed all the same trappings that made the original Mignola comic such a hit in the first place, but instead focused its efforts on world building and exploring fan-favourite characters like Abe and Roger.
It's a recipe for success if there ever was one, and as fans (and executives) begin to ponder the fate of the franchise after Guillmero Del Toro announced that the long-awaited sequel to Hellboy 2 would not, in fact, be moving forward, one can only speculate as to where it may head next. Netflix seems like an obvious choice to me, especially if they took a different approach to the series and placed it in a historical setting, much like the comics themselves did.
Regardless, only time will tell what will become of the franchise now that Del Toro and Ron Perlman have departed it, and, as we once again put all our collective hopes and dreams in a big Netflix-shaped basket, I'm going to drown my sorrows in a Plague of Frogs.
The comic, that is. Not a literal plague of frogs. God.
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Are there any comics out there that you think are particularly deserving of a TV adaptation? Or would you prefer they went to the big screen? Be sure to sound off in the comments below!