The year 2006 will see more comic book movies released, just like 2005 and presumably 2007 will. Comic book movies are always popular, since they feature the same action, thrills and intriguing plots as the source material; additionally, they have a built-in targeted audience of faithful readers. Everybody wins when a comic book movie is made that is, if the movie is made well by a talented director. A director plays both roles of comic writer and comic book artist. While he may hire a scribe, the final decision is his when it comes to cutting a film. He must also see to it that the story is at once faithful to comic book readers even while remaining fresh for new audiences. Directing a movie based on a comic book is hard and occasionally thankless. But here are 10 auteurs that make it look easy and make it look good.

10.Bryan Singer

While X-Men made a lot of money and brought to life a popular comic book with few complaints, (and thankfully re-imagined those loud yellow and red costumes) The Usual Suspects proved his prolific storytelling ability. Hopefully, he won't embarrass himself and Krypton's favorite son with Superman Returns.

9.Sam Raimi

While Bryan Singer continued in the code-approved tradition of showing us how cool a superhero could be with X-Men, Sam Raimi boldly presented to us a more realistic portrayal of a young superhero's daily living. Peter Parker was dorky, socially awkward, heartbroken, and less than perfect even in his crime-fighting methods. But what made the hero, and thus the movie, was the heart.

8.Christopher Nolan

While Batman Begins was somewhat impressive at presenting a more intellectual handling of Bruce Wayne's alter ego, the real achievement in Nolan's body of work is 2000's Memento, a prolific independent crime thriller with puzzle-like mystery and cleverly placed pathos. Like any great comic book, the film Memento requires more than one viewing to truly appreciate. Nolan captures the true essence of comic book writing. It's not just about art and fancy costumes; it's about the story.

7. M. Night Shyamalan

M. Night Shyamalan is by no means a great director. It makes a critic laugh himself into a trance whenever he or she hears the studio comparing him to a young Alfred Hitchcock. Shyamalan is simply what this list implies: he is a damned good comic book movie director. While Unbreakable, Signs, The Village and The Sixth Sense are not technically based on comic books, they have the spirit, confidence, and somber tone that every comic book movie deserves. The plotting is intricate, the characters mysterious, the events fantastic, and the ending is always satisfying down to the last page turn.

6.Robert Rodriguez

Not just any director could adapt the atmospheric and bleak Sin City comic/graphic novel by acclaimed writer Frank Miller. Robert Rodriguez has what so few film directors possess nowadays: a powerful vision, and the will to uphold that vision. To witness Sin City, with its deliberate clash of colors and audacious writing, whether in comic form or on cinematic display, is an art lover's dream.

5.Terry Zwigoff

Terry Zwigoff was born to make comic book movies. That is, intelligent down-to-earth artsy comic book movies. Ghostworld was among the very few independent comic books to ever get made into a feature film. This movie reminded Hollywood that comic books were not all Batman, Superman and radioactive whatever. His film Crumb is even darker and more fascinating; no small feat considering that Crumb is a documentary focusing on the life and work of underground cartoonist Robert Crumb.

4.Shari Springer Berman & Robert Puccini

While Joel Schumacher managed to bungle Batman & Robin up on his own, it took two directors to make American Splendor, the autobiographical film of comic writer and artist Harvey Pekar. Watching American Splendor you will believe "a man can draw"?and end up being more super than all of show business. Pekar's funny and poignant rebellion against life and commercial mentality is a thrill.

3. David Cronenberg

Cronenberg's only made one "comic book movie", A History Of Violence, which is based on a graphic novel. But his one comic book movie, much like all of his other films, is disturbing, mind-warping and a travesty?just like your parent's parents always warned about comic books. Yet Cronenberg's talent as a storyteller bleeds through and the end result is a comic book movie that's somehow more relevant and satisfying than a Crash melodrama or a gay cowboy romance.

2.Tim Burton

Aside from #1 and #3, Tim Burton is the only movie director on this list with enough color to paint his movies into comic classics. Tim Burton's first two Batman movies not only redefined Batman for a new generation; they defined the very concept of everything a comic book remake should be for the cynical 90's. The atmosphere was grim, the characters macabre and the villain even got the top billing. The bleak rebirth of 1989's hero set the standard for more mature comic book characters that didn't pander to the audience in a bright spandex suit. The filmmaker's artistic influence can still be felt in comic book movies around the world.

1.Quentin Tarantino

Anyone who has ever seen a Tarantino film knows this guy is all about comic books. A young virtuoso that seems to be a cross between Martin Scorsese and Jughead from Archie Comics, Tarantino's style is classic comic book?pulp from the 60's and 70's. In Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, the filmmaker displays a distinctive fanboy mentality even while mixing in die-hard (die really hard) moments of extreme violence straight out of a Todd McFarlane issue. His protagonists are not so much characters, as they are fragments of archetypical comic book bad guys; sadists, goons, outlaws, kiss ass bitches, mad scientists, and nice guys who just happen to kill. His unmistakable pop-sensibility and edgy style has aged well; if he were ever to direct a big budget superhero movie, the world heart's would stop for the premier.