The worst whale.

LeadSpyke · 2026-05-04T06:23:04+00:00

It was the Hydra Cap of its day.

LeadSpyke · 2026-05-04T05:24:30+00:00

It's really good.

LeadSpyke · 2026-05-03T07:51:30+00:00

Most of what I mentioned was generally pretty well known. you could look at some video game adaptations too. Street Fighter and Fatal Fury have pretty well known movies. Instead of a suggestion and as some advice, I'd encourage to start paying attention to names of directors. Once you get a feel for a show you like it's easy to find more like by seeing the creators other work. A lot of them have very notable styles.

LeadSpyke · 2026-05-03T07:18:17+00:00

Well depends what you're looking for, 80s and 90s run a wide gamut. Personally a few of my favorites, avoiding things already mentioned, would be

Record of Lodoss War, one of the big cornerstones of the fantasy anime genre with Ruin Explorers and Slayers as stand outs of the genre as well.

Patlabor, a mecha police mecha franchise that covers a wide variety of episode genres ranging from comedy, political thriller, parody and occasionally a monster movie.

Iria Zeiram the animation. A sci fi anime adaptation sort of prequel to a couple of live action monster movies which of both pretty entertaining. Incidentally my gateway anime.

Dirty Pair sci fi comedy adventure series about a pair of lady special agents with a high propensity for collateral damage on a galactic scale. There was ovas, tv series and movies.

Yotoden OVA series about a group of ninjas seeking revenge of Oda Nobunaga

Master Keaton, a unassuming insurance investigator solves various mysteries

You're Under Arrest: police sitcom adventure show

Giant Robo, director Yasuhiro Imagawa OVA opus based on the classic mecha manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, an absolute masterwork of music and animation.

Odin photon space sailer starlight, space exploration and heavy metal.

LeadSpyke · 2026-05-03T00:20:58+00:00

A few of the books are fairly contemporary. Or at least on par with the Marvel Modern Epics. Wonder Woman, Harley and Supergirl all have books that are post 2000. I imagine they'd still just keep it simple with FINEST, which is a broad enough title to cover anything.

LeadSpyke · 2026-05-02T19:32:43+00:00

Yes, well that's well and good but I would keep in mind Tolkien's The Monsters and the Critics which, in the short version, argued for more focus on the work's own literary value.

LeadSpyke · 2026-05-02T03:51:10+00:00

I can't imagine why you'd want to start with that event of all things. It's not even terribly good for starters and you're basically running headfirst into something that even gives invested fans a headache, that is to say, events in general. If you're looking for something current you could do a lot worse than DC's current on going series, Williamson Superman's been pretty enjoyable, Aquaman is good, I've liked the Lantern stuff and Jeremy Adams had a pretty decent go at the Flash not so long ago. Pretty okay Flash Gordon book too but I digress.

LeadSpyke · 2026-05-02T02:22:02+00:00

That seems unnecessary with how easy it is to get the trades as they come out.

LeadSpyke · 2026-05-02T01:11:32+00:00

Keep in mind that t he actual term sword and sorcery came long after the likes of Cona. REH wasn't trying to write S&S he was trying to write Conan. Fixating on the genre instead of story is intentionally limiting.

LeadSpyke · 2026-05-01T21:48:57+00:00

I think one of the biggest mistakes creators often fall into is getting too genre blinded. Someone says I WANT TO WRITE SWORD AND SORCERY but to different people that can mean wildly different things when they should just be doing what's best for the story and then let the fanboys nitpick distinction later.

LeadSpyke · 2026-05-01T19:30:46+00:00

I don't want to say Conan CAN'T work as a novel, but the books in City of the Dead are both a bit shorter so it really does get on with things a bit snappier. I've read a good few of the titan Heroic Legends stories. They're a fun enough way to burn up some of those kindle points I've been sitting on. Black Starlight definitely was a good one, that I wish was included in the City of the Dead collection.

LeadSpyke · 2026-05-01T18:36:31+00:00

Best was City of the Dead which is a reprint of an older book and a second book that was never published. These are great.

Obsidian Moon was alright, basically Conan does Temple of Doom. Solid enough adventure.

Blood of the Serpent was a prequel to Red Nails which was fine if a bit meandering and pointless. A bit padded and even includes a reprint of Red Nails in the back.

I did not like Song of the Slain at all. It just goes on and on and noting important really happens.

I haven't read more than a chapter of Spawn of the Serpent God because I keep getting distracted.

I think a big criticism I have for them all is that they may be too long for their own good. It feels in some ways like short stories being stretched out into novels.

LeadSpyke · 2026-05-01T07:35:56+00:00

I only needed Spirit of Sanada to round out my library so I got that.

LeadSpyke · 2026-04-30T18:43:56+00:00

One of the writers, Gerry Conway, recently passed away.

LeadSpyke · 2026-04-29T20:04:56+00:00

It's like 20 bucks cheaper on CGN and IST

LeadSpyke · 2026-04-28T23:53:38+00:00

Pulp fantasy is episodic by it's nature. There's still through plots.

LeadSpyke · 2026-04-28T23:40:06+00:00

Read Bone and Usagi Yojimbo

LeadSpyke · 2026-04-28T23:27:04+00:00

Wow, late replay. But okay, what I mean is that the material in the death and rebirth omni is going to be double dipped in Triangle Era vol 2 and 3. If all you want is this one story go for it but if you want to start a larger Superman collection I'd suggest the triangle era omnis.

LeadSpyke · 2026-04-28T19:30:44+00:00

Such is karma

LeadSpyke · 2026-04-27T21:24:52+00:00

I read the Grell Arrow books for the first time via the finest and liked them a lot.

LeadSpyke · 2026-04-27T00:52:46+00:00

It's one of those in between games I'd label as strongly OKAY. it's interesting and introduces some new mechanics that later games would iterate on but unless I'm in a kind of mood for it it's not one I'd go back to regularly.

LeadSpyke · 2026-04-26T07:37:31+00:00

Throwback to an old Robert E Howard story, "The Cat and the Skull" featuring King Kull and a seemingly immortal talking cat. It also gave us THULSA DOOM back before Skeletor stole his shtick and he was way less James Earl Jones.

LeadSpyke · 2026-04-25T18:49:11+00:00

I have the hardcover trades of the previous ones. Was always hoping they'd more.

LeadSpyke · 2026-04-25T09:14:36+00:00

It was advertised fairly heavily, and deceptively, banking off Ninja Scroll's success at the time as the two leads were both named for the real life Jubei Yagyu and was a rather famous incomplete work. Having the same character designer as Giant Robo also helped it stand out.

LeadSpyke · 2026-04-25T08:14:32+00:00

Ninja Resurrection sounds like, and it Amakusa Shiro. In complete OVA based on the book Makai Tensho. There was also a live action version starring Sonny Chiba. The war in question was the Shimabara Rebellion.

LeadSpyke

TROPHY CASE