1. “Watchmen”
Director: Zack Snyder (“300”)
Release Date: March 6, 2009
Comics Creators: Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons

This graphic novel literally changed the world. The fatalism and gritty realism that characterize the story of Rorschach and his fellow neurotic “masks” had rarely been seen before in the world of comics, and the complexity of Alan Moore’s storytelling techniques raised this comic to a literary level. “Watchmen” single-handedly raised the bar for comic creators and prompted the acceptance of comics into mainstream culture as more than just “funny books.” This is the one graphic novel you don’t want to miss.

2. “Scott Pilgrim Versus the World”
Director: Edgar Wright (“Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz”)
Release Date: TBA, 2009
Comics Creators: Bryan Lee O’Malley

If you find yourself incorporating phrases like “experience points” and “bonus life” into your daily vocabulary, then this comic is for you! Scott Pilgrim is unemployed, plays in a rock band (called Sex Bomb-Omb) and spends his spare time fighting his new girlfriend Ramona’s “Evil Ex-Boyfriends.” Bryan Lee O’Malley reimagines the super hero for the 21st century slacker generation in “Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Precious Little Life.”

3. “Y: The Last Man”
Director: D.J. Caruso (“Disturbia,” “Eagle Eye”)
Release Date: TBA, 2009
Comics Creators: Brian K. Vaughn & Pia Guerra

It’s probably every guy’s fantasy to be the last man alive on Earth, surrounded by girls…except for Yorick Brown. When all the male mammals on Earth suddenly and inexplicably die, Yorick finds himself the target of a crazy feminist biker gang, the lab rat of the world’s preeminent female geneticist and hunted by the Israel Defense Forces. Brian K. Vaughn constructs a society run solely by women in “Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned.”

4. “Kick-Ass”
Director: Matthew Vaughn (“Stardust”)
Release Date: TBA, 2009
Date: TBA, 2009 Comics Creators: Mark Millar & John Romita, Jr.

Incredibly, only three issues of this brand spankin’ new comic have been published, but already a film is in production! Pick up “Kick-Ass #1: Director’s Cut” and find out how average geek Dave Lizewski decides to become a super hero named Kick-Ass…without any powers or real motives (other than boredom). Mark Millar imagines what it would take to become a super hero in real life, where YouTube and MySpace empower Kick-Ass more than any radioactive spider bite ever could.

5. “Runaways”
Director: TBA
Release Date: TBA
Comics Creators: Brian K. Vaughn & Adrian Alphona

We all think our parents are evil at some point in our lives…but when these six kids spy on their parents one night and find out they run a super villain organization known as the Pride, they become a super-powered team of runaways. Brian K. Vaughn creates a comics series that is full of metaphors for every teenager’s travails on the path to adulthood. Join the gang on their adventures through L.A. in “Runaways, Vol. 1: Pride and Joy.” (P.S.: Joss Whedon, of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fame, penned the most recent issues, so you’d better catch up quick!)