Shivers #1

Jun 1992; Cover price £1.50.
32 pages. Colour & B&W.
Visual Imagination Limited.

The Global Magazine of Horror

Edited by Alan Jones.

Cover photograph.

Contents:

.2 Musicmail International advertisement.

.3 Editorial by Alan Jones.

.4 Shake & Quake News feature by Alan Jones.

.6 Brain Dead - The Rot Has Set In Peter Jackson feature by Alan Jones.

.8 David Cronenberg Invites You to Lunch interview by Mark Kermode.

11 Zombies on Stage text feature by David McGillivray.

12 Excite Me: The Shock Horror Cinema of Sergio Martino, part one, Satanists, Scorpions and Seething Signoras text feature by Mark Ashworth.

16 Pinhead Unbound Doug Bradley interview by Alan Jones.

19 Tetsuo II - The Body Hammer review by Nigel Floyd.

21 Subscriptions

22 Inquisition Readers' questions answered by David McGillivray.

23 Competition (half page).

24 The Devil and Mr. Stanley text feature by Alan Jones.

28 Videodrome reviews by Bob McCabe.

30 Top Ten David Blyth's Top Ten Horror Movies

31 Hell Screen text feature by David Prothero.

32 Shivers in-house advertisement.

Much of the iconic Hellraiser photograph's power has passed with familiarity, meaning the cover to this issue isn't half as impressive as it was in 1992 - using yellow and white text upon a pale background wasn't a great idea in retrospect, and the chosen font reads rather clumsily, not to mention being slightly too large. A lack of finesse is something all Visual Imagination publications suffered from, yet excitement at seeing a new mainstream horror title on shelves at the time make any concerns largely irrelevant.

Alan Jones' editorial makes use of a Dario Argento quote to open his editorial, setting Shivers up as an international horror publication. This is immediately compromised by the Shake & Quake News feature focusing on British and American films - and it is in this which reminders of 90s film is strongest. Forever Young was still called The Rest of Daniel, and Gibson is suggested to be playing James T. West in The Wild, Wild West remake.

Fortunately, Lamberto Bava and Dario Argento get highlighted, though mockery of Lucio Fulci, at being fed up of interviews, is rather harsh. This was during a period where he was perpetually being hounded for commentary. Implications from the intriguing mention of Isobar, a proposed Sylvester Stallone film, and promise of Beetlejuice 2 (slated for 1993) are probably best left unexplored.

Mark Kermode's interview with David Cronenberg is interesting, and (accompanied by a brief filmography) manages to dig a little deeper than most examinations of the man's work, though the focus is on his film output. As with Crispin Glover, or Clive Barker, this ignores a great deal of fascinating work which doesn't often get attention from genre publications. A little more space would have allowed Kermode to explore some of this.

Zombie Attack! is covered in David McGillivray's Zombies on Stage feature, yet the (extremely) brief article doesn't do much more than shout "this is a thing! It exists!" before running away. Which is annoying, because the stage show sounds like fun. Mark Ashworth admirably tackles Sergio Martino's horror films with gusto, and is (thankfully) given a series in which to do so.

Doug Bradley's association with Pinhead is a natural focus of his interview, and we are informed that the day of the interview (25th of October, 1991) numbered the thirty-seventh time Bradley had worn Pinhead's make-up in five years. It is small details like this which I love. In retrospect, there's a massive gap at the heart of the interview which no amount of background information can cover up, and that makes this interview feel lacking in a way it didn't at the time.

We aren't given nearly enough of Bradley's background, his writing isn't explored, and largely ignores his other roles. While it makes sense to concentrate on, and promote. one of the great success stories of modern horror, this lack of detail - placing things in a clear chronology - makes the franchise seem to have flowered from the first film's release. Clive Barker's use of well-known elements in fashioning Hellraiser isn't noted, nor is the expansive world of characters outside the films.

Both Tetsuo films are masterpieces. There's no question that they had massive influence on filmmakers and audiences alike, though Nigel Floyd's review of the sequel doesn't seem appropriately impressed at how different it was to everything else receiving a cinematic release. It is okay to gush a little when confronted by something which goes its own way so magnificently.

While Inquisition - a feature in which readers' questions are answered - is commendable, the concentration on US films is limiting. It is interesting to see the cause of The Punisher being cut by 70s by the B.B.F.C. however. The mention of Micahel Armstrong's stage musical My Jewish Vampire isn't accompanied by any photographs or dates. Here's a hint for editors: when something this intriguing is dropped into conversation you should make the most of it.

Guyver, retitled Mutronics for video release, gets a poor review courtesy of Bob McCabe (and he isn't wrong); focus of the reviews is on western film, further undermining attempts at coverage of horror from around the world. Top Ten seems to have slipped into the issue by dint of its' brevity, although it could have worked better had (for instance) Clive Barker been asked.

Now, what's lacking... There's no commentary on horror comics, television is given short shrift, novels are largely irrelevant to the first issue, paintings are ignored completely, and there is a distinct lack of pocket cartoons, humerous comic strips, or illustrations to break up the reliance on photographs and text. Samhain was steps ahead of Shivers in its initial outing in this regard, and even Fear had a head-start.

A hesitant outing for a title which would improve gradually over the course of the next few issues, but which is disappointingly reserved in this case.

Scapegoat Vol.1 #1

Jan-Feb 1995. Cover price £2.50.
68 pages. Colour & B&W.
Stray Cat Publishing Ltd.

Edited by David McGillivray.

Cover photo by Nigel Wingrove.

Contents:

.2 Special Offer subscription offer.

.3 Contents

.4 Indicia (one third page). / Editorial by David McGillvray.

.5 So They Said quotes. / UNTITLED [Torture Anneka!] cartoon by Jurgen Wolff.

.6 Scapegoat International Arts Censorship Survey, part one, text feature by David McGillivray.

16 Celebrity at Any Price David Irving interview by Tony Allen, photographs by Philip Wolmuth.

18 Hitler's No 1 Fan (one third page) text feature by David Marx.

19 Alan Jones text feature by Alan Jones.

20 International Short Cuts text feature by Angela Haydon. / UNTITLED [Australian Censorship Board] cartoon by Jurgen Wolff.

21 David Prothero's Edit Suite text feature by David Prothero, illustration by Jurgen Wolff.

22 Desperately Seeking Alton text feature by David Flint.

24 Expose - Censorship Secrets Revealed text feature by Bill Goat.

25 UNTITLED [If you object to TV violence] cartoon by Jurgen Wolff.

26 All a Matter of Taste text feature by Phil Wickham.

27 Sex From the Stars (two and a half pages) Sarah Marshall (Adult Channel PR) interview by David Flint.

29 Free!! (one third page) advertisement for Samhain.

30 Scapegoat International Arts Censorship Survey, part two, tet feature by David McGillivray.

39 The Case for Uncensored Television text feature by Mark Kermode.

43 Poll Watch text feature by Angela Haydon.

44 Whitehouse - the Time-Wasting Years text feature by David Prothero.

47 What's it all About, Chucky? text feature by Julian Petley.

50 Signs of Discontent (~one third page) text feature by Paul Marx. / PC User (five sixths page). / PE Class (five sixths page) / UNTITLED [Insufficiency of Tolerance] cartoon by Jurgen Wolff.

52 Censorship and Me Julian Clary (two thirds page) interview. / Spectre of the Blue Pencil text feature by Peter Morris.

55 Playing with Fire text feature by Marshall Julius.

56 Highway to Damnation text feature by Jules May.

59 Crisis in the Combat Zone text feature by Jack Stevenson.

60 Assault on the Censors text feature by Marc Morris.

62 A Nightmare on Exeter Road text feature on Samhain by Stefan Jaworzyn.

65 Brief Lives contributors.

66 The Circuit (quarter page) addresses. / Coming Shortly (quarter page) next issue preview. / Shredder UNTITLED [Switching off in Disgust] w: Waite & Allen; a: Rowdon. / Forbidden City UNTITLED [Violent Filth] w:/a: Jurgen Wolff.

67 The Late Show in-house advertisement.

68 The Redemption '95 Calendar advertisement.

With an avalanche of censorship concerns occurring since, it might be difficult to remember mid-90s newspapers were so filled with calls to ban films, television series, and (yes) even comics. Scapegoat appeared during a period of almost-constant calls for action - both from press and television - against the usual subjects, but surprising properties were also caught up in the rush to condemn anything even slightly outside mainstream interests. This was an era in which gutter press such as The Sun, Daily Mirror and The Daily Mail had set their sights on banning Child's Play 3, without good cause.

That this title had need to exist ought to terrify every creator.

Looking around at the multi-media landscape all these years later, a discerning eye can still make out lingering aftereffects of this moment in history. While great strides have been made in reforming the repressive and stultifying laws governing releases, there are still matters which have to be addressed before we can consider titles like this to belong in the past.

An effective cover photograph gets the message of Scapegoat across well, sharing the visual style of horror titles (and presaging the cover used on Hammer Horror #07 from later in the year), and has a rather wonderful (albeit uncredited) logo, with an image of a goat to one side. This may be a serious title, with an extremely important purpose, but it isn't without a sense of humour.

"I predict that generations to come will regard Britain in the Nineties with the same derision and contempt with which we now regard the McCarthy era in the United States."

David McGillivray.

An insightful and clever editorial starts in stellar form, followed by a page of quotes which sums up the situation perfectly - I had almost forgotten that Macaulay Culkin-starring The Good Son had briefly been banned. Desmond Morris perfectly sums up the problem with censoring films and television shows, while Kate O'Mara proves that even respected names can fall into the trap of believing what was being peddled by the press at the time. It is surprising that a few notably idiotic comments made (which still rankle) are passed over, but it is a page representative of what was being said.

The most important and longest section of the issue is an immensely informative overview of what is banned, and where - Scapegoat International Arts Censorship Survey covers a large range of subjects with concise and heavily-researched text. Although the intended purpose of the article, to prove that British censorship was the most extreme in the world at the time of publication, was considered a failure in the eyes of the title, it throes up enough insight about the process of "protecting the public" that it is worth a read despite now being so dated.

David Irving gets interviewed, and he's as annoying as ever. The point of including him is made right at the start of the issue (with Voltaire's "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."), and it is easy enough to ignore Irving's comments. Fortunately the other interviews are more informative - and with people who deserve the space to air their opinions - with Sarah Marshall's being the most frustrating. The lack of citations for broadcasting's legal requirements leaves the piece with unanswered questions.

Far too little time is spent explaining the specifics of the law throughout, although the absence of citations is understandable.

John Trevelyan has long been a fascinating character. His comments on cinema (referenced in multiple Film Yearbook's) have long intrigued me, and it is even more surprising to read his opinion on censorship here - having pushed for fully unedited films to be released nationally during the seventies (already legal in private club screenings) is a footnote in most histories, but deserves to be explored further. Had this revolutionary spirit been appreciated during the release of controversial late-seventies released, much of the hysteria could have been placed into correct contexts.

It's rather depressing to contrast and compare what could have been with what we ended up with.

There's a (ubiquitous) piece on Mary Whitehouse, which should be of interest to Oink fans, the witch-hunt against Child's Play 3 is covered in some detail, and the state of video game ratings is approached. The article doesn't quite sum up the absolutely inane (and wildly fictitious) newspaper articles which appeared regarding contents of many games, but gives a decent attempt at an incredibly complex subject. It is unfortunate that there is no retrospective analysis of the mid-80s challenges, although the inclusion of dates makes hunting down further details easier.

Most worrying is the three-page article on the abhorrent behaviour of the alleged "journalists" from Western Morning News and Express and Echo, who hounded Samhain editor John Gullidge for publishing his incredibly helpful, intelligent and entertaining magazine. While I regard it as the most important horror title of the nineties, others saw it less fondly. Much less fondly, for the calls for him to resign from his day job were fueled by the papers. I know what I would prefer to read...

The first issue isn't perfect, however. The persecution of Savoy isn't covered, nor is the banning of horror comics in the UK in years previous (which still, to an extent, is seen as an unacceptable area of publication), and there's nothing about the problems faced with the importing of titles such as Omaha the Cat Dancer, which was nigh impossible to obtain for several years. That there had been improvements in importing titles, it is still an omission which makes the problem seem insignificant in comparison to higher profile issues.

If there was ever a title deserving of being given another run, it is Scapegoat. With the vastly different landscape - including the intrusion of digital downloads into everyday life barely considered during the publication of this issue - there needs to be a new examination of the problems facing creators, publishers, and broadcasters. A massively important landmark in British publishing, this is one of the few titles which remains as relevant as ever in the battle to retain freedoms hard fought for.