12 Days of Cinematicalmas: 7 Comic Book Movies For People Who Hate Super Heroes

Is there a comic book junkie in your life who has burned out on those caped, spandex-clad protectors of justice? Or perhaps more importantly, is there someone in your life who would enjoy a comic book film for Christmas, but you just can't bear the thought of sitting through another atrocity like Daredevil or Elektra with him or her? Don't panic --comics aren't just about super heroes, and the same can be said about comic book movies. For your Christmas shopping convenience, here are seven non-super hero comic book films that I highly recommend:

Tales From the Crypt (1972)
If you're only familiar with the HBO series or its movie spin-offs, this British flick from Hammer Films veteran Freddie Francis represents a very different take on the classic E.C. horror comics from the 1950s. Even though some of the stories adapted for this film were later recycled by HBO, Francis's film largely eschews the tongue-in-cheek approach of the series and the original comics. During a tour of some catacombs, five people wander off and encounter the Crypt Keeper played by Ralph Richardson, who looks nothing like his animatronic counterpart from the series. The Keeper encourages each of the lost travelers to recount a dark, horrific tale about him or herself. Amicus Films, who produced Tales From the Crypt, made many anthology style horror films around this time, but Crypt was the best of the bunch. A sequel called The Vault of Horror followed in 1973.

American Splendor (2003)
This film is based on the autobiographical comics written by the often curmudgeonly Harvey Pekar, a file clerk from Cleveland. The stories in the comics are often not even stories by the strictest definition, but interesting slices of Pekar's life, or his observations on mundane but very real topics. As the film's tagline puts it, "ordinary life is pretty complex stuff." The film succeeds magnificently in doing what I thought to be impossible: translating the comics into a cohesive narrative. Paul Giamatti is amazing as Pekar, with the real Pekar also playing himself in the film outside the film (which will make sense if you see it). The movie was nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published.

Danger: Diabolik (1968)
This adaptation of the popular Italian comic book was produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by the great Mario Bava. Despite the mask, cool car, and one of the niftiest secret headquarters in film history, Diabolik is not a super hero, but a master criminal. Based on his extravagant lifestyle, Diabolik has little need for the money and jewels he steals (other than to roll around in -- see picture above), making him basically a thrill junkie. The arch-criminal is treated as something of a Robin Hood figure, thumbing his nose at authority, and making fools of the police that pursue him. Bava's stylish camera work and the often trippy score by Ennio Morricone combine with a Batman/James Bond flavor for one of my favorite comic book flicks of all time.

Baba Yaga (1973)
I've never had a chance to read the original French comics by Guido Crepax upon which this film is based, so I can't say how faithful it is to the source material, but the psychedelic goings on and European setting make it ideal for a double bill with Danger: Diabolik. A young photographer named Valentina gets a ride home one night from a mysterious woman named Baba Yaga, and strange things begin to happen. Valentina's camera starts killing the people it photographs, and the photographer discovers a bottomless pit and a doll decked out in S&M gear in Baba Yaga's home. Strange, fascinating stuff with an erotic edge. The film is available on DVD under the alternate title of Kiss Me, Kill Me, but the version available under the original Baba Yaga title comes with lots of extras. Crepax work has appeared in Heavy Metal magazine, and he also produced a graphic novel version of Pauline Reage's The Story of O.

Ghost World (2001)
Directed by Terry Zwigoff, who had previously explored the life of underground comics legend Robert Crumb in the brilliant documentary Crumb, Ghost World is a about alienation and friendship. Enid (Thora Birch) is a young woman who doesn't fit in, but more importantly, doesn't care that she doesn't fit in. In fact, she embraces it. Over the course of the film she starts to think about where she's going in the world, and sleeps with Steve Buscemi along the way. Adapted from the graphic novel by Daniel Clowes, the film also features a pre-superstar Scarlett Johansson.

Road to Perdition (2002)
This one is a gritty tale of organized crime during the depression and how it effects one family. Mike Sullivan (Tom Hanks) is a hit man whose son witnesses a killing and becomes a liability to Sullivan's boss (Paul Newman). Father and son hit the road together to save the boy's life. Max Allan Collins, who wrote the graphic novel that was the basis for this film, has penned tons of mystery novels, but more importantly for our purposes, he was the long-time writer of the Dick Tracy newspaper strip, and also created the lesser known but still great Ms. Tree comic book.

Blade (1998)
OK, this one has a little super hero flavor to it, but not in the traditional sense. Wesley Snipes plays Blade, a human vampire hybrid with all the vampire's strengths but none of the weaknesses. To avenge his mother who was fanged to death while he was still in the womb, Blade has devoted his life to ridding the world of the vampire pestilence. Both the sequels and the TV series left me cold, but I can watch the original again and again. Snipes kicks butt in this film, and until he and his lawyers clear things up with the IRS, we may not get to see him do that again for awhile.