Hollywood is in a movie-making rut. It seems that as of late, original screenplays have become the “Where’s Waldo” of tinsel-town. And while many have decided to go the remake route, there are some who have realized that there is still much to be done within the relatively untapped world of comic books.

Ranging from movies like 300 to the now revamped, Spiderman, comic book movies have dominated this past decade. This new trend doesn’t appear to be temporary; at least six more comic book movies have begun production in 2010.

But, why do screenwriters and directors choose to make comic book movies? Comic books may have a huge fan base, but that same fan base is probably one of the most critical. If producers mess one thing up—and most comic book movies do—then you have millions of angry fans around the world.

But this is all trivial because what matters is that in order to be angry, these millions of fans had to actually watch the movie first.

The revenue that these movies bring to the film industry is enough for any director to want to take the challenge on.

Fortunately enough, there are some prime examples of how to make comic book movies the right way. The first Spiderman is widely considered a great comic-turned-movie that also managed to stay true to the source material. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight can be forgiven for their slight deviations from the original storyline because of their sheer awesomeness.

Most recently, the movies Iron Man and Kick-Ass have joined the comic book movies-done-right category. Not only have these movies pleased their core audience, (actual fans of the comics), but they have also managed to please people who didn’t really know anything about the original stories.

With the upcoming release of movies like Iron Man 2, The Green Lantern, and The Avengers, the trend of Hollywood making movies from books is far from over. These movies will continue to be made because they are highly profitable. While some of them are absolute travesties (Spiderman 3 and X-Men Origins: Wolverine come to mind), people will still watch them. And that’s the point of a movie—for people watch it.

Movies adapted form comic books do well because they have an audience from the get-go. If you are making a movie out of an original screenplay, you are essentially starting from scratch. You’re going out on a limb in hopes that people will somehow identify with what you are writing.

With comic book movies, the screenwriter already knows that he or she has an audience and whoever will watch the film will already have a standing connection with it. All the screenwriter has to do is make sure not to mess it up—easier said than done.

So, why do comic book movies get made? In spite of all of the complications that can come from trying to please a core demographic, comic movies get made because they make money. Not only that, but because people love to escape into a world where things are better. And, even if they are not, one can always be sure that the hero will somehow triumph over the villain.