Substitute DE for a New Decade

[sdelmonte]

Everyone knows about Sherlock Holmes and Avatar and Doctor Who and Supernatural and Harry Potter. But what about the things that you love and that everyone else hasn't read or seen (or even heard of), but should?

I'll start off with Marvel Comics' Nova, the story of a space-faring super-hero who is the last member of the storied Nova Corps (Marvel's surprisingly interesting version of the Green Lantern Corps). It's a little continuity-heavy at times - it grew out of one crossover event and gets sucked into several others - but the stories seem to work on their own, the writing by Abnett and Lanning is crisp and witty, the art is very good, and the hero himself is likeable and about as heroic as anyone I've encountered in a super-hero comic in ages.

ETA: I should probably also mention that DC Comics has reprinted the first 30 issues of The Question in five trade paperbacks, with the last coming this year. It's not just prime canon for my pup, but it's also one of the most influential and highly regarded comics of the 80s, written by Denny O'Neil at his peak.

Your turn.

Comments

[agonistes]

AND ALSO SLASH THE PROTAGONIST WITH TONY STARK

[the_croupier]

The Sandbaggers: This BBC series will put you to sleep if you can't handle talking heads because it had zero budget back in the late 70s/early 80s when they did it. But if you can deal with that, it's one of the best old-school espionage tv shows ever. Lots of opportunities for people to be unbelievable bastards to one another and characters get greased at the drop of a hat. The body count isn't huge, but you never know when an agent might not come back from a mission (one person's end in East Germany is very grim indeed). Roy Marsden is great as Neil Burnside, the 'hero' if this show had one.

'The Silver John series' by Manly Wade Wellman: An acquired taste, but if you like this sort of thing, you'll really love it. John is a wandering minstrel in the hills of Appalachia, running into all kinds of very American (or sometimes European transplanted) strangeness. Some of the stories misfire, and the novels Wellman wrote later aren't as good, but there are collections of the original short stories in used bookstores, and they're definitely worth a look.

[xamotomax]

I love Susan Krinard's werewolf romance series, but not for the romance aspect.

I loved her werewolves, and how they all have differing [sometimes vastly and opposing] views towards being a werewolf [some like it, some hate it, some have trouble trying to decide what they think of it], and the author was not put off by touching on mental illness [something I personally appreciate], humanity, and the world about them [and where they fit into it].

I enjoyed it so much that I really wish she'd written it as pure fantasy, not as a series of romances. It's the romance aspect of the books that kill what could otherwise have been a perfect universe to me [not because I don't think love redeems all (it doesn't always), but because the characters were perfect before they fall in love with their "one true love", which more often than not ruins them as characters].

In an AU setting, where the romance angle is disposed of, they'd be a wonderful addition to any cast list.

[sdelmonte]

Word is that Greg Rucka pretty much ripped off The Sandbaggers in creating Queen and Country. Which is to say, it's the same universe with the serial numbers filed off and recent politics and wars replacing the Cold War.

[baby-duck484.livejournal.com]

Awesome! Didn't know we had some of the GG in bar.

[the_croupier]

Oh, not a rip-off. It was a straight-up homage. Rucka mentioned the series several times, at least in interviews. And since Q&C was around when the dvds of Sandbaggers finally came out, he probably helped their sales at least a little.

And Q&C definitely captured the spirit of the show perfectly.

[whisper2ascream.livejournal.com]

Being Human as mentioned above.

Also GLEE. holy crap, it's like somebody took TV tropes and HSM and hit frappe. And then the result exploded because it's stereotypical and yet they got beyond the cliches as well. It's funny, musical, dramatic, and just amazing.

[whisper2ascream.livejournal.com]

*huggles her werewolf pup* So can't wait for S2! I think it's starting in England next week?

And I need to see Brave and the Bold. Got one of the trade novels.

[spooky-lemur.livejournal.com]

I *love* his Scathach. She and Palamedes still fight for what head space I have.

[student_of_impossibility]

*Lee, with Tavi's journal*

While we're talking the Dresden Files: Butcher's other series. Standard High Fantasy, often quite tropic, and mostly just made of hilarious Romanic fun: Codex Alera.

Ignore my use of the pup journal for its main character. Really.

[student_of_impossibility]

*Prepares for ridiculous post of recs*

In video/computer games:
- Tales of Symphonia for Gamecube, and its sequel/predecessor Tales of Phantasia, which was freakin' SNES. Awesome old thing, though. Oh, Phantasia. In general, the Tales series is awesome.
- Beyond Good and Evil is kinda awesome.
- As is Braid.
- From what I hear, so is Dragon Age: Origins, and the online Flash game associated with it was BADASS.
- Skies of Arcadia, also for Gamecube.
- ...Totally ridiculous: Plants vs. Zombies. No, really.

On the TV show front:
- Babylon 5. Less known than it should be, in recent years, but one of if not the greatest Sci-Fi TV shows ever. Really.
- Jeeves and Wooster--also great books by Wodehouse, but daaaaamn Fry and Laurie are fantastic and made of win.
- The new show Men of a Certain Age. DOOD, who knew Ray Romano could do serious television art? And Scott Bakula is as awesome as he was on Chuck (which is also good). (Also, the only reason he isn't even more awesome is that I'm sorry, Stephen Bartowski is a good mad computer genius and thus too awesome for words.)
- Keen Eddie, police drama about a New York cop in London, even shorter lived than Firefly.

In webcomics:
- Narbonic. Mad scientists. Gerbils. 'Nuff said.
- Kimono's Townhouse: just too adorable for words.

Movies:
- A Midwinter's Tale: totally obscure, also called 'In the Bleak Midwinter', a 1995 film by Kenneth Branagh (though he isn't in it). Glorious.
- Jodhaa Akbar: Recent-ish Bollywood film about a Muslim Mongol king in Hindustan and his sword-wielding Hindi bride, at least mostly historically accurate (apparently).
- Mongol: Movie about Temudgin (Genghis Khan). Badass.
- The Lion in Winter. Anthony Hopkins. Katherine Hepburn. Peter O'Toole.
- There are two sci-fi/fantasy movies I'm forgetting. Dammit.

Finally, books!
- A Song of Ice and Fire, which though I am only half way through book one and have trouble getting into, is still made of incredibly good writing.
- Enchanted Forest Chronicles, and also the Mairleon series.
- Dragonflight by McCaffrey, although not necessarily there rest of Pern by ANY stretch of the imagination.
- To Say Nothing of the Dog
- The Atrocity Archives and sequel The Jennifer Morgue.
- I could recomment any number of sci-fi/fantasy series which I have yet to read because I am a librarian in a sci-fi/fantasy-only library, but I won't burden you people with that, so I will rest with this:
- As previously stated, The Dresden Files. And, as further previously stated and patently obvious:
- Codex Alera.

[innerbrat]

It's not a direct adaptation of the B&B comics - it's just along the same 'team-up' lines of concept.

[spooky-lemur.livejournal.com]

I want to THANK YOU for recommending this series. I'm listening to the audio book of Dead Witch Walking and I love it! It's like everything I hoped the Dresden Files would be.

The Dresden Files may be much better when you read them yourself, the voice talent for the audio book doesn't work that well for me.

[kristi-cagle.livejournal.com]

...they do switch the voice talent later in the series. And from what I've been told, the new person sorta sucks.

But I'm so, so glad you're enjoying it. It's a great series. ^_^

And btw. We've only got (as far as I'm aware) Ivy and Rache in bar.

[spooky-lemur.livejournal.com]

We've only got (as far as I'm aware) Ivy and Rache in bar.

That's kind of dangerous to know as Jenks is a tempting App.

[kristi-cagle.livejournal.com]

Jenks is a very tempting app. He's fantastic. ^_^

[spooky-lemur.livejournal.com]

Where are you guys in canon?

[kristi-cagle.livejournal.com]

....book one? We're kinda in limbo right after Rachel has met Kist.

[spooky-lemur.livejournal.com]

Funny enough that is exactly where I am in the book.

[kristi-cagle.livejournal.com]

Yay!!!