tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60705558106969053482011-11-28T00:58:36.122ZBecause Low Culture is the only culture worth bothering withDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.comBlogger251100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-2505713053093677752010-10-16T01:55:00.006+01:002010-10-16T02:05:49.345+01:00

Well, it took rather longer than planned... but the website is now online. Check out STRANGE THINGS ARE HAPPENING for much more of the sort of thing found here - galleries of movie posters and stills, glamour girls and scream queens, vintage comic books, weird novelties, toys, books, records and oodles more! Plus reviews of the latest cult movies, books, records, events and TV, plus interviews,

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-58262683795409913672009-12-15T00:05:00.015Z2009-12-15T02:33:35.016Z

My first contact with David Aaron Clark came in late 1990, when he wrote to ask for a copy of my fanzine Sheer Filth; a few months later (April 91 to be exact), he reviewed it in Screw, calling it "one of the rockingest pubs we got from the whole bunch of outlaw editors who responded to our tarnished feelers" - which made me feel pretty good.A couple of years later, I was publishing Divinity - a

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-31027946094079045102009-11-26T12:39:00.002Z2009-11-26T12:44:32.993Z

We've been silent these last few months, but with good reason - Great News Chums is about to be reborn as a fully-fledged website!With extensive galleries, reviews and news, hopefully this will be just what any GNC fan loves.The site will be online from the end of November, launching officially at the beginning of 2010. Stay tuned for more details.Meanwhile, this blog will undergo some changes to

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-42863102237172312572009-07-22T12:40:00.005+01:002009-07-22T12:50:30.525+01:00

Tornado was a 1979 IPC weekly, aimed at the 2000AD readership. It failed because its mix of strips was too broad (and mostly not good enough) - after 22 issues it merged with 2000AD ('great news chums!') and any vaguely popular, vaguely sci-fi-ish stories (including Blackhawk, which clumsily transmuted from a story of Roman slavery to an intergalactic adventure) were transferred over.Superhero

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-15112184427603348562009-07-12T15:40:00.008+01:002009-07-12T15:51:26.295+01:00

I know, I know, it's been awhile... work, weddings (not mine) and other things have conspired to keep me away from the all-important job of collating rubbish from the past. Expect such shortages from time to time.But as a reward, here are the first five volumes of groundbreaking erotic video series Electric Blue, from 1979 - 1981 (approx).Electric Blue used a magazine format, and in these early

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-67760685128915765702009-06-09T13:41:00.005+01:002009-06-09T13:59:49.022+01:00

Although there were Dr Who novels and annuals from the late Sixties on, the merchandise only really began to kick in with the Tom Baker era.Marvel's Dr Who Weekly proved an instant success with its mix of new material, reprints and photo features. Rubbish free gift though.This dreadful poster magazine from the mid-Seventies was bought at the Dr Who exhibition in Blackpool.The series inspired this

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-40564885238673633802009-06-09T12:47:00.001+01:002009-06-09T12:49:27.775+01:00

For those of you with the access to Spotify - a selection of the good, the bad and the ugly:http://open.spotify.com/user/divineprod/playlist/504vRrW49o8QDNWV6xvn9Y

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-72550847445342746792009-06-04T19:28:00.005+01:002009-06-05T00:38:29.890+01:00

Cult movie star David Carradine died today, aged 72. The star of TV series Kung Fu, Death Race 2000, The Silent Flute (aka Circle of Iron), Kill Bill and dozens of B-movies was found hanging in his hotel room closet in Thailand. Thai police suspect suicide, though certain ambiguities - the BBC report he was found "with a cord around his neck and other parts of his body" (my emphasis) - may lead

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-4213840649946867152009-06-03T23:08:00.006+01:002009-06-03T23:22:32.950+01:00

British soft porn mogul had made a star of Fiona Richmond in the Seventies, and she appeared in a handful of typically dismal movies (Hardcore, Let's Get Laid, Expose etc). In 1980, Raymond produced this vanity project, mixing bland sexual romping from Euro porn star Brigitte Lahaie with footage shot at his legendary Revuebar in Soho. Heavily pushed at the time - probably the last time any

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-6117850371954292622009-06-03T23:01:00.005+01:002009-06-03T23:07:22.678+01:00

Technical issues have kept me from updating for a couple of weeks, but hopefully that is behind me now.Here are a couple of UK Tarzan comics from the 1970's - one a weekly, one monthly, and both unconnected with the US Marvel comic from around the same time. Neither lasted very long.The 'survival kit' turned out to be a plastic bag with a bit of paper inside it. Very poor. And sadly, I've

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-65837316547133086862009-05-21T19:35:00.005+01:002009-05-21T19:46:02.687+01:00

The young people today might think they're 'all that' with their Lynx body sprays, but back in 1978, there was only one scent to use if you wanted to impress the ladies - and no, it wasn't Brut, Hi Karate, Denim or even Old Spice. No, if you wanted to make damn sure you never went home alone - ever - then you'd splash on Monsieur Le Stud.Brought out to coincide with the year's most sophisticated

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-72860207675415800682009-05-20T19:23:00.002+01:002009-05-20T19:31:49.714+01:00

Time has again run away from me, like a freeloading MP fleeing the angry mob, so no exciting updates today kids. It's just like the time when the staff at your favourite weekly went on strike, resulting in no comic that week. Oh, how we wept.However - I'll soon be mixing the visual thrills that you have come to know and love with insightful, probing reviews of similar tat as it arrives at Chums

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-35982183917771919222009-05-19T12:50:00.005+01:002009-05-19T13:05:53.598+01:00

The Raven series was written by Richard Kirk - in reality authors Robert Holdstock and Angus Wells, who co-authored the first volume and then took it in turns to write the next four.Chris Achilleos' sexy cover art for Swordsmistress of Chaos caught the eye of Kate Bush, who modified the costume (ie covered BOTH boobs) for her Babooshka video.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-38649221834094126082009-05-18T13:22:00.009+01:002009-05-18T13:57:24.697+01:00

Proving that naziploitation didn't start with Love Camp 7, Ilsa She Wolf of the SS and The Night Porter!'Ernst was just a high-spirited German kid... until he joined the Hitler Youth. From that moment his development into a bestial Nazi thug --- inhuman, brutal and without conscience --- was only a matter of time.' Suitably restrained stuff from 1959.'No indignity, no torture or suffering was

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-43904114205330658932009-05-18T13:12:00.005+01:002009-05-18T13:22:09.331+01:00

The first annual from the famed Eagle comic, circa 1951. It came my way in the mid-70's, and as a Marvel-obsessed nipper, I was less than impressed with the frightfully polite, rather dull middle class contents. Today - it's still awful.The Eagle was revived in 1982, complete with Dan Dare and The Mekon (both of whom had already had a more dynamic reinvention in 2000AD back in 1977), alongside

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-62018822257460270272009-05-18T13:10:00.003+01:002009-05-18T13:12:22.094+01:00

The heavy metal bible loses its sense of direction in the mid-Eighties

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-18053083833113009862009-05-14T13:31:00.009+01:002009-05-14T14:33:11.656+01:00

Blonde On Blonde were Page 3 Girls Nina Carter (aka Penny Mallett) and Jilly Johnson, and they failed to have a hit with this surprisingly solid disco version of Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love, though the picture disc became the stuff of legend. Carter was married to Rick Wakeman, who probably doesn't play on this.This French(?) 1978 LP featured truly awful disco versions of Pink Floyd tracks.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-76632748143558454662009-05-13T13:10:00.011+01:002009-05-13T13:26:52.604+01:00

The Crunch appeared in 1979 and was DC Thompson's attempt to capture the Action / 2000AD market. Strips included the futuristic Arena, 'Injun' bounty hunter Mantracker, a vaguely sci-fi themed soccer story (!), The Walking Bombs, Hitler Lives (always a good standby) and the conspiracy thriller Who Killed Cassidy? Oh, and a feature on Eddie Kidd.Issue 1's free Black Band was ill-fitting and

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-85405899731148672452009-05-13T12:49:00.015+01:002009-05-19T16:19:33.002+01:00

Alex Block was the first to cash in on the death of Bruce Lee with this biography, in which he implies that Lee was killed by the 'hand of death'This biography by Lee's wife has more legitimacy, though of course is somewhat rose-tinted in its viewsThe JKD Band were disco opportunists who sampled a bit of Bruce's battle cries and dialogue to spice up a couple of pretty forgettable

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-47564994208912610742009-05-12T12:29:00.012+01:002009-05-12T12:46:04.463+01:00

James Moffat was the real name of Skinhead author Richard Allen. Complete with several pages of photos, this book was the only evidence that Queen Kong actually existed for several years after the film was legally blocked from release. You can buy it now and you won't believe your eyes!Amazingly, this novelisation of the wonderfully tasteless 50's throwback went through two printings - the other

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-67868458708494258722009-05-12T12:02:00.010+01:002009-05-12T12:50:42.610+01:00

This 1974 softcover spin-off from kids comic Buster mixed humour (Rent-a-Ghost, Davy Jones' Locker, The Creepy Crawleys), adventure and 'true life' ghost storiesFrankie Stein was one of the most popular characters in weekly comic Whoopee! and here gets his own 1976 special (though he had to share it with Mervyn's Monsters, Weird Wolf, Ghost Ship, Headless Harry and the dull Crabbe's Crusaders)

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-70726762616211422332009-05-11T12:17:00.009+01:002009-05-11T12:28:36.052+01:00

Poster magazine in which we learn that Martin Shaw has a sheepdog called Harry and Lewis Collins has a girlfriend who "turns me on more than any other girl I have known. She is very sensual and can look good whatever she is wearing." Lewis, you old smoothy!Although adapted from episodes of the TV show, the novels were pretty dull efforts.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-14736032410855883472009-05-11T12:09:00.006+01:002009-05-11T12:29:32.606+01:00

Two badges that came cover mounted with 2000AD in the early 80s.The lower one was a bit too big and cumbersome, while the replica shield looked impressive, but oddly came without any means of attaching it to you.After the Space Spinner in issue 1 and the 'biotronic' arm stickers in issue 2, the Mighty Tharg gave away this bit of cardboard tat in issue 3, encouraging readers to mutilate their

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-68995897475839022572009-05-10T16:57:00.010+01:002009-05-19T16:21:18.097+01:00

"Was there more to the legend of the wolf-people than just an old wives' tale?" Magazine reporter Quintin Barkley investigates. 1979."Only a crazed beast could be responsible for the ghastly killings of innocent young women" in this Toronto-based shocker with a Universal-copyright defying cover illustration. 1979The second of Guy N. Smith's werewolf novels, and as sleazy as you would hope.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6070555810696905348.post-43455333455577264132009-05-10T16:23:00.017+01:002009-05-10T17:54:23.322+01:00

Throwing as many ideas as they could out there in the hope that one would stick.Valour proved just as unpopular as The Savage Sword of Conan weekly had five years before, while Marvel Team-Up was another superhero free-for-all.Star Heroes was revamped as a pocket book later; Future Tense had some success as a 2000AD copycat.Forces in Combat tried to appeal to the war comic crowd (although the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06829416312235928775noreply@blogger.com1