Den of Geek Celebrates B Movies

By John Freeman on 22 March 2010

The Den of Geek website is taking a week long look at the phenomenon that is the American B movie. Today, Karla Helion presents an overview of B movies, examining the circumstances under which they emerged, and over the next few days the site will be looking at how the films developed through the decades. Tomorrow, it’s the 1940s and 50s. There’s also a countdown of the top 11 ‘So Bad They’re Good’ movies and, naturally, Ed Wood and Roger Corman are both in there!

Usually made using pre-existing sets, low paid actors and stock footage, B movies tended to be less than 80 minutes long and were shown at cinemas following a more expensive and glossy ‘A’ feature. Whilst they were naturally often in the shadow of the films they accompanied, many B movies have gone on to have a huge following of their own.

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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.