Since nobody has mentioned a graphic novel, I’ll suggest one.
V for Vendetta, by Alan Moore (writer) and David Lloyd (artist). Set in England a decade or so after a limited nuclear exchange in Africa between the US and Soviet Union. Global weather patterns are fucked up so badly that the world food supply and economy collapse and most of the world descends into savagery. Meanwhile, England survives by becoming a savage, fascist state that blames everything on powerless groups. The story follows one of the victims of the persecution, V, as he avenges his mistreatment by those in charge, and his protege, a teenage girl he saves from being raped and killed by police one night.
For a movie, I’d have to go with Grave of the Fireflies, an anime that follows a couple of Japanese orphans slowly starving to death following the bombing of Hiroshima.
worst book in the history of the world, absolutely terrifyed me when I was young.
starts after a nuclear war that kills everyone in the world but a single 8(?) year old girl who lives in a valley. she grows up liveing alone untill a scientist with “anti radiation membranes” come. some scientifc study to make a suit and some water filters against radiation.
for a bit they live together happily, but he won’t get anything she wants (she wants books from the library, he won’t go).
then he decideds to rape her, so she goes and lives in the woods while he trys to blast her with a shotgun.
absolutely teriffying… amazeingly so, since I think shes like…13 or so by that point.
however, the reason its the worst book in the world is because (if I recall correctly) the author died before it was finished and his wife finished it, which compresses all the conclution into a very poorly written final chapter…
Favorite Post-Apocalyptic Book: The Stand by Stephen King. I’m not what you’d call a Stephen King fan; in fact, this was one of the few books of his I was able to read all of the way through. However, I really enjoyed this book; I especially liked how he wrote the government and the military’s reaction to the Captain Trips plague. And Randall Flagg is one of the best villians in any genre.
Favorite Post-Apocalyptic Movie: Road Warrior.
Favorite Post-Apocalyptic Game: Shadowrunner, for the Super Nintendo. It’s been awhile since I played this, but I remember setting being a post-apocalyptic America where there are orcs and cat/women hybrids and the like.
Here’s a comprehensive list http://www.pamedia.com/movies/
My own personal specrum of post appocalyptic movies
The Matrix
The Terminator/T2
The Road Warrior
The Day After
Mad Max
Planet of the Apes
Escape From New York
The Stand
On The Beach
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
The Omega Man
Escape From LA
The Postman
Waterworld
Cyborg
Tank Girl
Cherry 2000
Damnation Alley
It’s tough to classify movies as “post appocalyptic”. IMHO- There are ‘Pre-appocalyptic’ movies that deal with the event itself or the series of events leading up to armageddon (Terminator, Mad Max), ‘Appocalyptic’ movies where the world is going to end and there’s nothing that can be done (On The Beach, When Worlds Collide), “Immediate Post-appocalyptic” that deals with the aftermath of such an event (The Day After, The Omega Man), “Long-term Post Appocalytic” which shows the society long after the events have transpired where the events themselves have faded into folklore (The Road Warrior, Waterworld), “Distopia” movies where there may or may not have been some catastraphy but society has declined/evolved into something frightening and disturbing (Blade Runner, Escape from NY, The Matrix) and of course combinations.
So far I’ve read the first two books, and I have the third one on order. The post-apocalyptic scenario is very original and creative, and extremely detailed. The first book is set in Australia, and the second in North America. The most original aspect of the books (compared to other books I’ve read in the post-apocalyptic sub-genre), is a ban on electronics. Humans are trying to rebuild civilization, but only within strict limits on the type of machinery they can build (nothing with electricity, and no moving vehicles larger than about twenty feet long or that move faster than about 100km/h). It’s all portrayed very believably.
There are a lot of characters introduced, and sometimes the plot feels a little weak or drags somewhat, and at first it took me a while to really “get into” the book, but overall I’d say that they’re excellent books with interesting characters. If anything, the plotting and characterization is stronger in the second book than in the first. I’m looking forward to the third.
Favorite Post-Apocalyptic Book: Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm. Won the 1977 Hugo Award for best novel. Plot: When humanity begins dying out due to a combination of ecological disaster and epidemics, a rich family tries to preserve the human race by building a secret enclave. As the birth rate plunges, they resort to cloning, but this has unforseen consequences. It’s a very poignant story and very well written.