Were you a child of the 1970s and 80s? Then you will know that both decades vie for the honour of producing the scariest pop culture of all time – and it’s a close call which wins. Luckily, the Scarred for Life books by Stephen Brotherstone and David Lawrence, currently available at discount price, provide plenty of cautionary material, so you know just what to avoid..
Perhaps, for example, your particular nightmares were TV shows of the 1970s such as The Owl Service or Doomwatch? Or do you have particularly memories of Public Information Films, films such as When Animals Attack, or comics such as Action, Misty or The Crunch?
Scarred For Life, Volume One is an affectionate look at the darker side of pop culture in the 1970s. Public information films, scary kids’ TV shows, bleak adult dramas, dystopian sci-fi, savage horror films, violent comics, horror-themed toys and sweets, and the huge boom in paranormal paraphernalia; all this and much more is covered in-depth. Prepare to relive your childhood nightmares. The things that made us… scarred for life!
But wait – the 1980s, was it worse? After all, those Public Information Films didn’t get less scary, with warnings about AIDS, rabies – or crossing the road. Surely Noseybonk, Day of the Triffids and Tales of the Unexpected, and Doctor Who, too, might send you screaming behind the sofa…
Scarred For Life, Volume Two takes an affectionate look at the darker side of television in the 1980s. Shocking public information films, eerie children’s shows, bizarre sci-fi, terrifying horror, surreal, bleak dramas, and much more are all featured at length. And find out how our beloved four channels tackled life on the dole, rabies, heroin, and AIDS. Prepare to relive your childhood nightmares. Prepare to be scarred for life all over again…
Highly recommended by those of us who lived through these dangerous decades, Scarred for Life is a smashing book project well worth your attention… unless you’re of a nervous disposition, of course!
• You can currently get a nice little 10% off Scarred for Life Volumes One and Two by using the case sensitive code MAKER10 at checkout on Lulu | Buy Volume One | Buy Volume Two
• Follow the Scarred for Life project on Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
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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.
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