5 Alan Moore Comics That Should Become TV Shows After V for Vendetta

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Okay, so DC is tackling V for Vendetta again, this time as an HBO series, and honestly, I’m cautiously optimistic. James Gunn and Peter Safran are producing, with Pete Jackson writing – a solid team. The original graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd is a masterpiece, a blistering critique of fascism that feels even more important today. The 2005 film, while visually striking, always felt like it sanded down the book’s really challenging political ideas to make it more mainstream. But a TV series? That gives them room to really unpack the story’s complexity. I’m hoping this new format will finally give Moore and Lloyd’s vision the depth and nuance it deserves, and allow the story to truly breathe. It could be something special.

It’s well known that Alan Moore dislikes adaptations of his comics. He firmly believes his stories work best in the comic book format and feels any attempt to turn them into movies or shows fundamentally misses the point of his work. However, despite his objections, these adaptations have actually helped introduce his innovative ideas to a wider audience, often leading people to discover his original comics. As a truly exceptional comic book writer, Moore has created many brilliant and imaginative worlds. While he’s unlikely to ever approve an adaptation, the idea of seeing more of his work carefully and skillfully brought to life in a high-quality television series is exciting.

5) Tom Strong

After becoming well-known for the dark and complex Watchmen, Alan Moore created Tom Strong as a deliberately cheerful tribute to classic adventure heroes. The series centers on Tom Strong, a man with extraordinary abilities and a long life, who was born in the early 1900s and raised in a special chamber that gave him these powers. Along with his resourceful wife Dhalua, their daughter Tesla, a robot butler, and an intelligent gorilla, Tom defends Millennium City from a variety of threats, including mad scientists, alternate-reality Aztecs, and supervillainesses from Nazi Germany. A television show based on Tom Strong promises a fun, imaginative experience, combining a retro-futuristic style with exciting worldwide adventures and a heartwarming family story.

4) Promethea

Alan Moore’s Promethea is a complex and fascinating exploration of magic, myths, and the power of stories. The comic centers on Sophie Bangs, a college student in a futuristic New York City, who learns she’s the newest form of Promethea, a living story that has taken human shape throughout history. Her story is a journey to understand her abilities, which are tied to imagination and the shared human mind. Turning Promethea into a TV series would be incredibly difficult, needing a creative team that can handle its surreal imagery and complex ideas – drawing from sources like Tarot and Kabbalah. However, if done well, a Promethea series could be a truly unique and thought-provoking show, examining how fiction influences our perception of reality.

3) From Hell

Alan Moore’s From Hell is a remarkable and frightening historical fiction graphic novel that delves into the Jack the Ripper murders. It proposes a complex conspiracy – led by the Queen’s doctor, Sir William Gull – to hide the existence of a secret royal child. However, the story goes much deeper, offering a disturbing look at Victorian England, Freemasonry, and the dawn of a new century. While the 2001 film adaptation created a moody atmosphere, it simplified the plot into a standard murder mystery, losing the book’s insightful social criticism and sense of overwhelming dread. A high-quality television series would be perfect to fully realize Moore’s ambitious vision, allowing a detailed, slowly unfolding investigation that truly captures the grim realities and moral failings of 19th-century London.

2) Top 10

Before superhero stories started getting dark and complicated, Alan Moore and Gene Ha created something truly clever with Top 10. The premise is wonderfully straightforward: it’s a police drama set in Neopolis, a city where everyone – police officers, criminals, even kids and animals – has superpowers. The story follows the detectives of the 10th Precinct as they deal with everyday police work in a bizarre, super-powered world. It’s a fantastic mix of compelling characters, imaginative science fiction, and witty social commentary, filled with funny visual jokes and references to comic book history. Top 10 would work perfectly as a TV show, using the familiar “case-of-the-week” format of police procedurals to explore the unique challenges of a society where people have superpowers – things like prejudice against robots or traffic jams caused by teleporters.

1) League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen brilliantly combines classic Victorian literature into a thrilling superhero team-up. The story brings together famous characters like Mina Murray (from Dracula), Allan Quatermain, Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll, and the Invisible Man, recruited by British Intelligence to protect the Empire from dangers like Professor Moriarty and a Martian invasion. While a 2003 film adaptation missed the mark, failing to capture the source material’s dark humor, sophistication, and complex characters, the series is ripe for a fresh, faithful reboot. A television series would be ideal for exploring Moore’s nuanced characterizations, the books’ distinctive steampunk style, and the rich network of literary connections that make them so compelling.

Besides Watchmen, what other incredible work by Alan Moore do you think deserves its own TV series? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion in the ComicBook Forum!

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2025-11-15 02:15