That's right ! For May, the PorPor Books Blog will be taking a brief vacation from covering the sf and fantasy genres. Instead, we'll be focusing on books - fiction and nonfiction- and comics devoted to that era in the 70s and 80s in UK history when hooligans were a pop culture phenomenon.
Rioting Tottenham Hotspur fans tear down a section of iron railings in a bid to reach the Chelsea supporters before a Division One game at London’s Stamford Bridge ground, November 18, 1978
From the early 70s, with skinheads and droogs, moving on to the Bovver Boys, and then the arrival of the 80s and the 'Terrace Casuals' and the rise of the Firms, the mayhem and depravity will be in full force.
So.....get your boiled peas, your Chelsea jersey, your batteries, your cycle chain, and join the lads for the punch-up !
A great way to get in the mood for a bit of 'aggro' is to read the notorious 'Kids Rule OK' story in the September 18th, 1976 issue of the British comic book Action.
Action was an attempt by publisher IPC to produce a weekly comic book that was free of Comics Code-type restrictions on content. By featuring healthy doses of gore and violence, Action became an instant hit upon the release of the first issue in February 1976, but ultimately expired in October, after an intense lobbying campaign by the media, and a watchdog organization called the 'National Viewers' and Listeners' Association' who saw Action as contributing to a nationwide epidemic of juvenile delinquency and violence.
The 'Kids Rule OK' episodes were set in a near-future UK in which all adults have been eliminated by a plague, leaving the youngsters to their own devices. These resourceful youth weren't overly reliant on firearms to deal out the ultra-violence; as this panel shows, they were quite willing and able to not only use American implements, but American figures of speech as well !
The entire run of 'Kids Rule OK' comics is available here. Enjoy !
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment