Five Shows to Watch in Quarantine
With quarantine being upon us, streaming services are posting record numbers of new members and average members watching daily. It makes sense, if we can’t leave the crib, why not just stay in and catch up on that show that you haven’t seen in awhile? In terms of things to watch, there’s almost an endless list of new endeavors to take on. With that in mind, I’m here to help you narrow it down to a few (non-Marvel) comic book shows you can watch from home.
Before we get started, I want to clarify that I like the MCU movies. I’ve seen most of them, (you couldn’t pay me to watch Captain Marvel), and I’ve been faithfully going to see these movies for two decades now. The Marvel Netflix shows are excellent (sometimes) and if you haven’t you should definitely check those out. With that being said, there are other quality television shows that are based on comics not featuring the Avengers, and here are my picks.
1. Deadly Class
I want to start this one by clarifying that Deadly Class is my second favorite comic book of all time. I’ve read plenty of comics over the last 20 years and I have to admit, Deadly Class soared into my top five very quickly. The story follows Marcus Lopez Arguello, an orphaned teenager whose parents were killed by a mentally ill patient released when Ronald Reagan cut funding to U.S. health facilities. While living on the streets, Marcus has to avoid the police due to him being framed for a horrific crime. During this time, Saya, a mysterious girl takes him to King’s Dominion, a school for assassins. King Dominion is where all organized crime and governments send their children in order to school them in the art of assassination. Imagine a school where the cartel, gangs of LA, KGB, Dixie Mob, Yakuza, and FBI are all forced to interact and take classes together. The best part about the show on SyFy was that it followed the story of the comic word for word while adding a few storylines that didn’t take away from the purpose of the show while fleshing out some characters that deserve it. The comic was written by Rick Remender and illustrated by Wes Craig, and as luck would have it, both were involved in the creation of the show. So much so that some of the original art from the comics makes it into the show, even though the show is live action. Even better still, the show is produced by the Russo Brothers, (yes the ones that gave us the best Marvel movie) and Benedict Wong (our favorite ghost from Infinity War) plays the headmaster of the school. I could honestly write about this one all day and talk about SyFy screwed over some of the best television we’ve seen in awhile, but I’ll stop here for now. Watch Deadly Class and then read it.
Trailer:
Where Can I Watch: SyFy app. (It’s free!)
2. Watchmen
The original Watchmen comic book is considered to be a period piece written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Gibbons and colored by John Higgins. The concept of the original comic is that during the height of the Cold War, someone is targeting American superheroes, which causes more than just unrest in the ranks of the Watchmen, the world’s former premier superhero team. These heroes are complicated in their own way, and the conclusion is one of the most iconic in comic book history. So when HBO announced there was going to be a show that takes place after that ending, I couldn’t help but feel that something great was on it’s way. It turns out that I was more than right, Regina King stars as Angela Abar, a police officer who has been forced into hiding after Rorshach fanatics organized a mass execution of police officers. The very first episode includes the Tulsa Massacre of 1921, which marks the first time this was shown on television in a form of fiction. The night that the first episode dropped, the Internet was ablaze because as it turns out, most people have never heard of Black Wall Street and the ensuing massacre. The story follows Angela trying to unravel a series of events that I can only classify as violent and bizarre. In doing so, Angela begins to unravel the events that shape the world as she knows it. The cast does an excellent job of conveying their own personal stories and it’s very obvious from the first episode that HBO spent the check on this show. I’d highly recommend this show to anyone interested.
Where Can I Watch: HBO (Not free)
Trailer:
3. The Boys
Karl Urban is great in this, he was meant to be the Butcher.
What if the Justice League was corporately owned and evil? If you’re even remotely interested in this type of storyline, The Boys is for you. The story follows Hughie Campbell, an ordinary guy who has a traumatic run in with one of the Seven, the world’s most prestigious super heroes. After almost no one believes his story, Billy Butcher, a drunk with a similar story and a surprising set of skills, approaches him. Together they pull together a group of like-minded people and become a vigilante group to keep the Seven in check. The comic is written by Garth Ennis, who also had a hand in the show thanks to its producer, Seth Rogen. The Boys is a violent, disturbing and pretty hilarious take on what we consider superheroes and warns against hero worship. My type of content.
Where Can I Watch: Amazon Prime (also not free)
Trailer:
4. Black Lightning
I’m a sucker for the 70’s aesthetic.
Jefferson Pierce is a high school principal by day, and the lightning wielding Black Lightning by night. Being a principal of a high school that’s primarily black attended, Jefferson found that trying to balance the two took a toll on not only himself, but his community and his family as well. In light of this, he hung up the mask and spandex years ago, but when violence from outside of the school threatens its students and more specifically, his family, Jefferson has to make a decision for the greater good. Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden originally created Black Lightning in 1977. Black Lightning was the first black superhero in the DC universe, but since his creation he’s flown under the radar. Jefferson has been an on again off again member of the Justice League, but other than that he hadn’t really made much of an impact to fans outside of those in the know. When I first heard the CW was making this show, I was pretty nervous, considering the state of the CW universe (yeah I said it). The show defies all expectations by its solid acting, dynamic fight scenes and stellar soundtrack. Yes, sometimes the effects can look a bit…wonky, but the show itself is pretty good.
Where Can I Watch: Netflix, The CW (I’m not doing that bit anymore)
Trailer:
5. Invincible
Viltrum is a scary place man.
Okay, technically this one isn’t out just yet but it’s still slated for a 2020 release at the moment so I have hope. Invincible is number three on my top five comics of all time. It honestly is that good. Mark Grayson is the son of the most powerful superhero of all time, Omni-Man. Mark has waited his entire life for his own powers to manifest, and when they finally do his life is never the same. Especially when that happens and everything he knows about being a superhero is turned inside out. This comic is created by Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker, and illustrated by Ryan Ottley. Invincible is a coming of age story wrought with heartwarming, terrifying, gory, and truly spectacular moments. The show is going to produced by Seth Rogen (see a trend here?) and will be in an animated format as it should be. We still haven’t gotten the first trailer for it yet, but trust me, it will probably be of even better quality.
Addendum (5/2/2021)
If you’re reading this, Invincible is OUT now. Since the season finale premiered a couple of days ago, there’s been nothing but discussion about Invincible on my timeline. The show has delivered in every way I could’ve hoped and then went even beyond! Steven Yeun is EXCELLENT as Mark, to the point that when I read the comic, I hear his voice. JK Simmons has delivered another of his flagship roles as Omni-Man, and he deserves all of the credit for it. The fight scenes perfectly adapt the comic as the gory, brutal bouts they are. If you’re here because you recently finished Invincible and want to know more, the first few chapters of the comic are FREE on Amazon Prime and Comixology!
Where will I be able to watch: Prime
Trailer:
There’s plenty of others worth mentioning, maybe if I get enough feedback on this one, I’ll do another.
Otherwise, peace.
-E.