The Ringer-Verse - Ringer-Verse Recommends: August 2024

Episode Date: August 31, 2024

The dog days are over, but Ringer-Verse Recommends goes on! Listen in as the Ringer-Verse and ‘House of R’ crews search the recomm-ends of the earth for hidden nerd-culture gems. They then return with the latest installment of their monthly mini-pod about their fandom favorites from TV, anime, movies, video games, books, comics, and beyond that were released recently but not yet covered in-depth on a full-length episode. Host: Ben Lindbergh Guests: Van, Lathan, Charles Holmes, Joanna Robinson, Jomi Adeniran, Miles Surrey, Steve Ahlman, Zach Kram, and Matt James Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal Social: Jomi Adeniran Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For adults with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms, every choice matters. Tramphia offers self-injection or intravenous infusion from the start. Tramphia is administered as injections under the skin or infusions through a vein every four weeks, followed by injections under the skin every four or eight weeks. If your doctor decides that you can self-inject trumphia, proper training is required. Tramphia is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. Serious allergic reactions, increased risk of infections or lower ability to fight them, and liver

problems may occur. Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, or need a vaccine. Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Tramphia today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit Trimfairadio.com. This episode is brought to you by Spectrum Business. Fast, reliable internet means everything for your business. And even this podcast, that's why I trust Spectrum Business to keep companies of all sizes connected with internet, advanced Wi-Fi, phone, TV, mobile services, plus 24-7 U.S.-based support. Millions of business owners already trust Spectrum Business. So visit Spectrum.com slash business to learn more. Restrictions apply. Services not available in all areas. Hello and welcome into the ringerverse, your nexus feed for all things fandom.

I am Ben Lindberg, senior editor for the ringer, buttonmash maven, and guy who has the happy task of putting together ringerverse recommends. At the end of each month, I make the call. Ringiverse Avengers, assemble! And after several subsequent texts, slacks, and emails, most of them do. We started the series in April, which makes this August edition our fifth entry. And hey, fifth time's the charm. This month's mini episode is also available on YouTube, where you can see the Obi-Wan beard I'm rocking right now.

Not for much longer, because it's starting to itch, and I just don't have it in me to become a beard guy with the beard oils and the beard trimmers and the ostentatious stroking of the chin. It's a whole lifestyle. But you're not here to hear about my hair. You're here to hear about the recent releases in nerd culture that the ringerverse and Howsevar overlooked, and thus that you may have missed in August. This is where we collect testimonials from Ringerverse hosts and regular guests about the brand new books and comics and movies and video games and TV and other media that they've enjoyed, but that we haven't yet given the full podcast treatment. This month has been kind of quiet compared to the two that preceded it.

And you know what? We needed that time to recharge. But maybe you've had to look a little harder for entertainment. And maybe you have some extra hours to fill. And now you're wearing your white dress and hair buns bending over your droid. or your iPhone, and sending a desperate message that says, Help me, Ringaverse recommends, you're my only hope. And here I am, Beard and all, to answer the call.

We're short two hosts this time. Arjuna is under the weather. Mal is MIA, but vows to return next month. But we're not short on recommendations because we've got great subs. Subs not dubs. That's how the Ringervverse rolls. We'll cut the shoutouts together with brief teasers between them for your ears and or eyes. And after our nine nominations, look to my comments.

coming at first light on the fifth day, or at the end of the episode, whichever comes first, when I'll return to share a recommendation from a Ringaverse listener sent to Ringaverse Recommends at gmail.com. Plus, I will recap the picks and tell you what we've got cooking in September. For now, let's lead off with the most seasoned member of our merry band. He made the cowboy hat more famous than a cowboy can. He's Van, the man, Lathan. In the year 103 AC, King Gerrhus Targaryen died in his bed. as Lady Alison Haightower was reading to him from September Barth's unnatural history. Jaharis was 69 years of age and had reigned over the seven kingdoms since coming to the Iron

throne at the age of 14 in accordance with his own wishes. What's up it's van? Ring of Verse recommends August. I'm doing what I'm into more than anything else. lore videos. Lour videos I'm talking about from whoever. There are lots of different people that are out there. World of Westeros Alt-Shift X. They're There's so many different creators, YouTube creators, big and small, that are diving deep, deep, deep into your favorite lore. And I love it. There's one that I listen to called The Vile Eye. They essentially only do villains.

So watch a whole lore video on Tyler Lannister, a whole one on the emperor, Emperor Palpatine, Vader. Does all of this stuff, listen, you guys, let's say you have a Saturday. you don't watch college football, I don't know what's wrong with you. But you should be watching it. But let's say you don't watch college football. And you just want to drift into one of these worlds that you feel so connected to. But you've read everything. You've watched everything.

You've delved into everything. You've heard all the songs. The soundtrack is not even working for you anymore. This is what you do. Turn on YouTube and listen to someone. Go deep into the economy of the empire. deep into Robert's Rebellion, deep into Prince Rhaegar, deep into all of these things that you don't have time to think about, you can just let them give their thoughts and you can drift off into the world of lore. Matrix explained, another great one.

Getting to it, waste your life away, and do it because I recommended it. Oh, hello, there, man. Thank goodness, that good news. Thank goodness, yeah. I've been sucking this bright all morning. Then I realize He's Gorsing yet

Yeah Our best he's Sing as a thing With no meat Now you gotta wait For that useless locks Larry Lauren

Solid, Roll you're messing about with that thing You can start by Getting on that more Hey there Ring ofverse Steve Allman here

Back with another video game recommendation This time with some Dialogue in it So Ben Lindberg is definitely gonna be happy

With this one It's called Thank Goodness You're Here This is a indie developed game that I've been playing on my Steam deck and it's available for Switch and many other consoles as well. This is a cute, hilarious, cell-shaded cartoon adventure where you play as a tiny little man, a tiny little salesman in a silly little North England town and you're

tasked with helping these residents of a very silly, odd English town with weird little tasks. You might be helping a bird feeder. You might be. helping somebody get their hand out of a gutter. You can be helping a fish merchant sell his old fish. The game is very weird, and it's very, very funny, and influence, like, an unbelievable amount of charm is coming out of this game. I don't think I've laughed harder. I don't think I've been more engaged with an indie game in such a long time,

and I think some of the best humor that you're going to get out of gaming this year is going to come from, thank goodness, you're here. It has a lot of the same sentiment that like a Monty Python might have or keeping up appearances for some of the real ones. I really, really enjoyed this one. It's out now. It's only like $15. You can finish it in an afternoon. It's great. I love it. And you guys will too.

Thank goodness. You're here. Jamie. What's with all the police trucks outside? The cameras everywhere, Jamie? I'm not supposed to tell. Hi, this is Ringer, Staff, Rider, Miles Surrey. And while still playing in theaters,

I would like to recommend M. Knight-Sharmelon's trap. Now, with M. Knight-Shawmlon, you know, he's a real hitter-miss filmmaker. You know, for every six-sensor-unbreakable, you might get a last-air bender or lady into water, which is not ideal. He's a rare breed of filmmaker, honestly, and that he can still get an original mid-budget thriller off the ground.

And with Trap, you know, I think it's one of those things where people might see the trailer and think it gives away the whole movie, you know, you see that Josh Hartnett's playing a dad who's taking his like 12 or so-year-old daughter to a Taylor Swift-type concert. And he notices there's a, you know, a big police presence there and that the police are there to trap a serial killer that they believe is attending the concert. Now, it's heavily implied that Josh Hartnett is said serial killer and that he's going to have to find a way to escape. What I can say is that, you know, the trailer basically gives away like the first third of the movie right there, but there's a lot of twists and turns along the way that I think will keep people on the edge of their seat. The movie also has a, you know, a good sense of humor about it.

There's a lot of dad jokes made at Josh Hartnett's expense. It's not in like the top tier of Shamelon movies, sorry, but it's also not among the worst things. he's ever done either. I think it's a really fun time without saying too much about the ending. I think it's an ambitious swing. And yeah, I mean, I think if you are a fan of original thrillers, then yeah, traps worth a shot. What's up bad babies, midnight writers, and the rest. I'm Jonah Robinson and I'm here this month to recommend, Ringaverse Recommend, a book called A Sorcerous Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher. This is, T. King Fisher wrote Nettle and Bone, this incredible New York Times-Bissaling book

that I also really recommend. This is a brand new one from them. And it is a messed up retelling of an already messed up fairy tale called The Goose Girl. And so this has, you know, creepy, spooky magic and an intrepid hero and everything and just like really lyrical languages that pulls you in and disturbs you. That's sort of what T. King Fisher does best. So a sorceress comes to call is my ring of risk recommendation for this month. Okay, bye. So why Japan? Food, culture. It sounded perfect. My family was in a plane crash. Things have been weird. Hey friends, it's Ben back for more. And you know what I always want more of? Sci-Fi series on Apple TV Plus. Look, I'm not an Apple person. I'm the lone Samsung

Galaxy guy screwing up the text threads with the rest of the iPhone-owning Ringiverse hosts. Though I would argue it's actually Apple that messes up that messaging, not Google, but I digress. The point is, even as an anti-Apple person, I still deeply appreciate Apple TV Plus programming, especially, though not exclusively when it comes to its sci-fi. Severance, Silo, for all mankind, foundation, dark matter, monarch, and many more mediocre ones that I'll conveniently leave off the list. But I won't leave out the latest addition to the Apple TV Plus pantheon of sci-fi, Sunny. Sunny is a 10-episode sci-fi mystery black comedy created by Katie Robbins, based on The Dark Manual, a 2018 novel by Colin O'Sullivan, and produced by A-24.

It stars Rashida Jones, Hidotoshi Nisha Jima, Annie the Clumsy, and a strong supporting cast, and it revolves around Jones's Susie, an American woman Kyoto, who learns that her Japanese husband, Masa San, and their son just died in a plane crash. Or did they? It's kind of a classic Nothing is, as it seems, set up. Susie soon discovers that not only does she not know where her husband is, she also may not know who he is. But she sets out to uncover Masa San secrets with the assistance of Sunny, an AI-powered homebot whom she hates it first but quickly comes to rely on. Their investigation leads to entanglements with the yakuza and also sparks some philosophizing about the nature of AI and the laws of robotics and the loneliness of Hikikamori-style social isolation. I'll be honest, it's a slow burn, and both the robot and the series spin their wheels enough that I'm not sure this season needed 10 episodes, even though they're only a half hour apiece. I'm also not as into the yakuza thriller aspects as the Susie and sunny stuff, but the setting and productive. and sound design are distinctive. It looks like 90s anime crossed with severance, and it sounds sort of retro and Tarantino-esque

with lots of fun needle drops. It's just a really stylish series, and it avoids at least some of the cliches you might expect to see in a dystopian story about self-aware robots. The finale airs next week. Like a lot of Apple TV Plus shows, Sonny got good reviews,

but doesn't draw a big audience, so the prospects of a second season seem pretty remote, now that Apple actually cancels series sometimes. If it ends after a single season, Sunny won't make my Apple TV Plus sci-fi Mount Rushmore, but it's still worth watching, whether you binge it before the finale or catch up in our own AI-filled future.

Hey, guys, Charles back this month. I want to actually recommend a manga instead of an anime. It's called Akani Banashi. It's one of my favorite ongoing series. It's super family-friendly, and what's cool is you can read the first three chapters for free on the Shonen Jump app, which is not that expensive at all. I think it's like $1 or $2 a month.

Or you can get it from your local library or any bookstore. Essentially, Akhani Banashi is a story of this young girl who's entering the world of Rakuo. And if you want to know what that is, it's like traditional Japanese comedic storytelling. It's kind of like being comedian, but you are, are telling these historical stories. And the art is incredible. The story is incredible. It uses a lot of very famous kind of like sports and manga tropes and interesting ways.

And I think if you have a kid and you're interested in if they're interested in manga or comic books, but you want them to kind of open their eyes to, you know, a different world view. Reading Akani Banashi, you're going to learn so much about not only to, you know, Japan, but about what this traditional comedic storytelling is. But what really binds it is this amazing art, characters that are so nuanced, that are so real. It's a runaway hit in Japan. You might be like, oh, that sounds too weird, but if you give it a try, I really think that you're going to fall in love with it. So yeah, get it off the show and jump at, really cheap. Get it from your local library or get it from a bookstore. I think the first volume should probably be like

99, but Akani Benash. This episode is brought to you by WeatherTech. Everyone knows winter is the MVP and making a mess. You don't need weather tech floor liners in the summer, unless you hit the beach or go camping. Then you'd want a cargo liner. Or a road trip goes sideways, ketchup goes rogue, ice cream drips. Yeah, you'd be pretty happy about those weather tech seat protectors. So just to be clear as the mud, you're inevitably going to step into the summer.

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Legacy is a beautiful thing, but only if it survives. Dutton Ranch starring Colehouser, Kelly Riley, Annette Benning and Ed Harris, Now streaming on Paramount Plus. For adults with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms, every choice matters. Tramphia offers self-injection or intravenous infusion from the start. Tramphia is administered as injections under the skin or infusions through a vein every four weeks, followed by injections under the skin every four or eight weeks. If your doctor decides that you can self-inject Trimfaya, proper training is required.

Tramphia is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. Serious allergic reactions, increased risk of infections or lower ability to fight them, and liver problems may occur. Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, or need a vaccine. Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Tramphia today.

Call 1-800-526-77-3. to learn more or visit trimfair radio.com. Hello, Ringiverse. This is Zach Cramm with another summer reading recommendation, and this one is for all science fiction fans. It's the Mercy of Gods, a new book from James S.A. Corey, which is the pen name for the author duo that previously wrote the Expant series and helped create the TV adaptation. The Mercy of Gods is the first book in a new trilogy, and it follows a group of human scientists as they're captured by a conquering alien empire and forced to not only survive but rebel against their seemingly omnipotent captors. The Mercy of Gods is blessed with some of the same attractive traits that made the expanse

so wonderful, such as relatable characters and smooth page-churning prose. But it's also fairly different from the prior series, which means it's a great option for expanse fans and holdouts alike. For one, the mercy of gods takes place much farther into the future, and it's not on earth. For another, unlike in the expanse, we actually see the aliens this time, as creatures of all shapes, sizes, and lifestyles populate the page and add thematic elements like communication barriers between species. And for a bonus feature, I also have a story up on the ringer.com, a great website, for which I interviewed James S.A. Corey about the creation of this new book. Go read that piece to find more of a plot overview, learn some behind-the-scenes details about the writing process, and discover how the mercy of gods is like Andor. Yes, andor. I know that if you're listening to this podcast, you must be a fan of that show. And there are indeed a number of similarities to this new spacehopper novel.

And Andor's not back until 2025. So the mercy of gods is a fitting read while we wait. Hey, Ringerverse, it's Matt James, the deputy art lead at the ringer, and also frequent button mash guest. I'm here to talk you about a video game today. It's called Black Myth Wu Kong. Actually, you might already be playing Black Myth Woo Kong because it's one of the fastest selling video games of all time. It's already sold over 10 million copies. It had over 2 million people playing concurrently on Steam on its launch day, which is insane. This is the first major release from Chinese developer and publisher game science. It's based on the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West, which is a very well-known story internationally.

If you're unaware, you might want to watch a YouTube video, read a wiki before you jump into the game. That would help a lot. But basically, you're a monkey man, and you carry a... a big stick and you're fighting your way through the world trying to find six relics. Gameplay-wise, the combat is a lot like the recent God of War games. There's also some game mechanics mixed in that feel more like Souls games, like Eldon Ring or Dark Souls. But the real reason that I wanted to recommend this game is something that's a little bit harder to convey. The game world here, it's beautiful. It feels like a really,

lovingly curated, cohesive vision. You really feel inside this world. It's a really unique experience that you should check out. Unless you're turned off by how hard this game is. It's a hard game. I mentioned Eldon Ring a little bit before. This is not quite as hard as Eldon Ring. But it is hard, so I guess it's not for everyone.

But if you're the kind of person who was thinking of trying out Eldon Ring, Or maybe you tried it out and you just felt like it's mean. This could be your gateway game. Where Eldon Ring seems to revel in your suffering, Black Myth Wukong kind of just wants to see you succeed. You don't drop all your experience like in Eldon Ring when you die. It's just a lot more forgiving. And combat-wise, you only have to dodge attacks in Black Myth Wukong.

In Eldon Ring, you're blocking, you're dodging, you're figuring out which to do. it can be very overwhelming. So even when you're stuck on a hard boss fight in Black Myth Wu Kang, you at least know what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to dodge the attacks. Just have to learn the timing. So even these hard fights feel winnable. But if you're scared off by this game, that sucks.

But I get it. Just go play Cat Quest 3. That game just came out. It's on everything. It's got cats. They're super cute. Nice combat with some magic. You can play it whether you're a game veteran

or you don't really play games. It's adorable. It's so much fun. And you just play at co-op sitting next to someone. It's great. So those are my recommendations, monkeys and cats. Oh my God. Mindy, do you know what I saw on my run?

Hot men everywhere. I guess I've just been so focused on Gabrielle and Alfie that I forgot what it feels like to be single. And now that I'm not with either of them, I'm... You're not with Alfa? Hey, what's up, guys? It's Jomi for your Ring of Verse Recommends of August 2024. and I'm here to recommend the show, Emily and Paris. Now, you're probably wondering, Jomi, Emily and Paris, what does I do with fandom?

It's fandom to me, okay? Let's get into it. Why should you watch it, right? Is it the best show on television? No, but it's fun. You know why it's fun? Because the main character, Emily Jane Cooper, is the worst person I have ever seen on television. entire life, and I've watched a lot of television.

She is by far, without a doubt, the number one op in television history. Okay? Let me break it off for you real quick. She goes to France, okay? Doesn't even think to learn language for the first season. Don't even cross her mind. But, yo, let me learn French. She's bad at her job.

Somehow it was out. It's a terrible, terrible love interest to the point. where you're watching shows, like, yo, why does anybody want to fall over her? She's not a nice person. She's mean. Everybody's like, yo, why is she like this? And by the end of it, you're going like, yo, why am I rooting for this girl? Who's the worst person I've ever seen on TV?

It's crazy. But yet, I can't get enough, right? They split season four and two, which, of course, Netflix would do, because they try to get my money. That's not the point. But guess what? In three weeks, I guess two weeks when this comes out, or one week when this comes out, I'm going to be there. I'll be watching it because I can't wait to see Emily Jane Cooper's downfall.

And if you watch it, you will too. So my recommends for August 2024 is Emily and Paris. Watch and let the hates flow through you. All right. It's Ben. I'm back and I say this as someone who has consumed multiple seasons of Emily and Paris. Jomi, we love you, but you have some explaining to do. EIP is not nerd culture.

Here's something that does clearly qualify, though, our listener recommendation. We got a lot of listener picks this month via Ringiverse Recommends at gmail.com, so we have a few honorable mentions. G.B. Bonifacio on Netflix's Terminator Zero. Colleen Macmillan on Crunchyrolls Twilight Out of Focus and Senpai is Notokonoko. Chris Arnold on the Book of Bill, which is set in the same universe as Disney's animated series Gravity Falls, and Amber Kutzos, who seconded Joe on a sorceress comes to call. But the official listener selection is by Brandon Parker, who writes,

I wanted to write in for this August recommends with a slice of nerd culture we don't hear about as much. Comic books. Yes, an actual comic book. I'm recommending Zatanna Bring Down the House. Currently on issue number three of five, which came out August 28th, Zatana Bring Down the House is a DC Black Label miniseries tale that seems to feature an elseworldsatna, who either hasn't unlocked her magical potential yet or is suppressing it, and who's living as a Vegas review magician.

Slinging basic magician's tricks and using sight of hand, she's making something of a living, but she's certainly not the supreme magician we know. Soon, supernatural events ensue, a mysterious past life event comes to the four, and shadowy new figures appear. These threads have combined for a fun and intriguing ride so far. Written by Mariko Tamaki and drawn by Javier Rodriguez,

one of the best in the game right now, this is a fun tale for anyone who's looking for a comic that explores the origins of a character when the thing we most associate with her, magic, is the thing she's trying to avoid. How do we grapple with our heritage and lineage when it causes us pain? Additionally, it's Satana's 60th anniversary this month.

Hence, I thought it might be nice to showcase her a bit. So as a final plea, Tietam Ibnaab, Uo, Tsam, keep Aditas, Rafe, Ezrav, Regnir, Sithnam. In case you couldn't tell, that's, it must be done. You must pick Zatana for Ringervist

recommends this month backward. That's a little logomancy for you. All right. Recap time. The official Ringiverse Recommend selections from August 2024. From Van Lathen, YouTube Ler videos. From Steve Allman. Thank goodness you're here, a video game for all non-X-box platforms.

From Miles Surrey, the movie Trap. From Joanna Robinson, the fantasy novel A Sorcerous Comes to Call. From me, the Apple TV Plus series Sunny. from Charles Holmes, the Akane Banashi manga, from Zach Cram, the sci-fi novel The Mercy of Gods, from Matt James, the PS5 and PC game Black Myth Wukong, from Jomi Adoneron, season four of the Netflix series,

Emily and Paris, and from listener Brandon Parker, the comic Zatana Bring Down the House. More recommendations to come next month. For now, please stay tuned for butt-mash episodes on Star Wars Outlaws, Astrobot, and The Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom, the Wind Night Boys on Agatha,

along, The Penguin, a mailbag and more. House of R on Rings of Power and Agatha, and Mint Edition on Terminator Zero and Transformers One. Our Outlaws pod is up next, coming to you Tuesday. If Arjuna feels up to joining Jomi and me then, we've already beaten the game. Speaking of Arjuna, thanks to him for his senior podcast management, and thanks to Steve Allman for producing this episode. We'll talk to you in September, and in the meantime, we hope you'll recommend the Ringiverse.