'Constantine': What's the verdict?

Comic book-based movies are all over Hollywood in recent years ("Guardians of the Galaxy," anyone?). But this season, TV is following suit in a big way. The 2005 Keanu Reeves movie "Constantine" didn't exactly launch a franchise, so NBC is giving it a go with a new version of the comic book antihero, played by Matt Ryan (second from left with Harold Perrineau, Angelica Celaya and Charlie Halford).

AMC's "The Walking Dead" got the comics-on-TV trend going in 2010, and it's now one of the top five most-watched shows on TV. It recently kicked off its fifth season.

The CW has a popular new series this season with "The Flash." Critics are praising Grant Gustin's performance as the "fastest man alive."

One of the hottest new series is Fox's "Gotham," which examines Batman's city many years before Batman began.

The fan base for "Arrow" has grown over the past two seasons. This new take on Green Arrow is a guaranteed action extravaganza each week.

Fans enjoyed last season's finale of "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," which took a nod from the events of "Captain America: Winter Soldier." The Marvel TV and movie universes are sure to collide again this season on the ABC series.

"Marvel's Agent Carter" will debut in early 2015 while "S.H.I.E.L.D." takes a break. This series chronicles the beginnings of S.H.I.E.L.D. as co-founded by Captain America's World War II-era girlfriend, Peggy Carter.

Rabid fans of Guillermo del Toro's vampire comic book series "The Strain" have praised the FX adaptation.

Rob Thomas of "Veronica Mars" fame is loosely adapting the cult comic book favorite "iZombie" for the CW in 2015. Rose McIver ("Masters of Sex," "Once Upon a Time") stars as a zombified woman who tries to live a normal afterlife ... when not snacking on brains.

Following right on the heels of the big comic book TV season is "Riverdale," based on Archie Comics, which aims to premiere next fall on Fox.

Marvel is giving "Daredevil" a shot on Netflix in 2015, and we can already tell this won't be like the 2003 Ben Affleck movie. Charlie Cox will play the "Man Without Fear."

Warner Bros. recently announced a live-action online series based on the DC Comics hero Static Shock, previously adapted for Saturday morning TV.

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• 'Constantine,' the latest comic book based series, premiered Friday


• Matt Ryan plays rebellious exorcist John Constantine


• Critical response mixed

(CNN) -- NBC's "Constantine" joined the growing party of comic book-based TV series with its Friday night premiere on NBC. But critics couldn't quite agree on whether it was worth staying home (or even DVRing) to catch it.

Matt Ryan stars as John Constantine, a rebellious and not very likable exorcist with an affinity for trench coats and cigarettes -- at least, that's how he appears in "Hellblazer," the DC comic book upon which the show is based. To adhere to network standards, Constantine ditches his bad habit for TV, a source of contention for Hitfix.com critic Alan Sepinwall and others.

"The absence of John's most physically self-destructive habit is symbolic of a larger issue," he said. "And as John will tell anyone who listens... symbols have meaning, and when you take them away, you can take away the power they represent."

'Constantine' adds to TV's comic-book trend

That's not all that worries critics about Constantine, who introduces the real world of demons and ghouls in the premiere. Fans and critics believe Ryan's performance will make this show sink or swim, similar to Hugh Laurie on "House" or Benedict Cumberbatch on "Sherlock." For some of them, it's not looking good.

"Ryan is a particular problem, I'm sorry to say," Vulture's Matt Zoller Seitz said. "I don't know if he was miscast or poorly directed, but something about his grooming, makeup, and line delivery make him sound like (and sometimes resemble) Jim Carrey in comic high-dudgeon mode."

Others, however, took a more positive view of his performance.

"More cynical than Supernatural's Winchester brothers, almost as quippy as the beloved Buffy, Ryan's Constantine is terrific company for any monstrous apocalypse," Matt Roush of TV Guide said.

USA Today's Robert Bianco was also in the favorable camp.

"Falling somewhere in the middle of the dark/light scale between Gotham and Flash, tonight's promising premiere boasts a few good jolts, a welcome bit of visual flair, and an appealing star turn from Welsh actor Matt Ryan, who conveys just the right mix of tortured soul, biting wit and hunky hero."

David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle is holding out hope that the show will improve.

"There's good stuff in the pilot — the special effects, for one — and not-so-good stuff, leaving the question up in the air about whether writers David Goyer and Daniel Cerone, who developed the series, can make the fixes necessary to do justice to Hellblazer. "

Viewers were similarly mixed on Twitter.

"It wasn't mind-blowing," comics fan Da Nerdette said. "The pacing was off at times. But, I enjoyed Matt Ryan as #Constantine. It's worth another chance."

"The best thing about the show is Matt Ryan's rowdy and committed performance as John Constantine," another viewer, David Prush, said on Twitter. "For a pilot it was very impressive."

What did you think? Will you watch again? Tell us in the comments.