What do you think?
Rate this book
Scarred For Life Volume Three: Pop Culture in the Shadow of the Bomb
The third and final book in the Scarred For Life trilogy looks at the dark, shocking, and downright strange pop culture of the 1980s. Video nasties, gaming and the Satanic Panic, lurid horror novels, bonkers British comics and grim 'n' gritty American comics, alien abductions, crying boy paintings and spontaneous human combustion, political pop and weird music videos, and looming over it all: a book-within-a-book about the nuclear war-related pop culture of the 1980s. Get to your inner refuge and prepare to relive those childhood nightmares...
740 pages, Paperback
Published July 26, 2024
5 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 13, 2024
Another triumph! Big enough to stun a gazelle but a fun read.
December 29, 2025
Bit of a difficult one for me to review really, because I was really looking forward to the book, love the 'Scarred for Life' series and podcast and also really enjoyed the book. Indeed, I found it incredibly interesting and read the lot cover to cover. I guess the one thing that is stopping this from being a 5/5 book for me, is that I didn't really get a sense that much of the content fit what scarred 'me' for life as a child of the period. Despite this, this third volume in the Scarred for Life series is a wonderful window into the world of 80's pop culture and if you're of a certain age, then there is plenty to lap up in here. I guess another minor criticism, is that the book veers more closely to 'nerd' culture, rather than culture and media at large for children, which reflects the interests of the authors but it does read like a book for 'geeky boys of the 80s'. I should also add that I'm probably the target audience for this, seeing as many of the interests of the authors mirrored those of my own (and still do).
For those who aren't aware, the Scarred for Life series of books takes a look at the media and culture of the 1970's and 1980's and looks back and says, 'it's no wonder how fucked up we were are as kids', with the quite correct observation that a lot of media aimed at children treated them as adults or at least assumed children and teenagers could deal with adult themes. It was an era where children were respected by their media creators to a degree, and also a time which I think we were generally better off in terms of accessible, shared culture in the UK. Now, we culturally treat children as if they need wrapping up in cotton wool who can't be exposed to anything that would frighten them. These books are a combination of 'shit that was violent' / 'what were they thinking?' / 'you can't say or do that now' / 'they marketed this at kids?' and the funny thing is, most of the stuff featured was loved by kids and fondly remembered today. Book 1 was about the 1970's (and is the best in my view), Book 2 is about TV in the 80s and (because they had so much stuff to cover) Book 3 is about 'everything else' 80s. They wink at the idea of doing a 60's book at some time (but seeing as the authors weren't born then, that's going to be hard) and they've said they won't do a 90's book (because they were adults, and also they think the culture changed to be safer). That said, I think it would be good if they could find suitable collaborators to help shape any potential 60's / 90's books because there will be an audience for them.
So what's in Book 3? First of all, there is a long section on film, and in particular video nasties. I'm unsure about their inclusion here, because although kids were getting video nasties if they knew where to look, really they were early 80s and aimed at adults so they feel slightly off. For me, the kind of thing that 'scarred us in the late 80's / 90's but came from the early 80's' maybe? What I did like about the section is that the authors definitely capture that early video vibe well. I distinctly remember going in a video shop as a child (definitely under 10) and seeing the cover to 'Driller Killer' and being haunted by it. I can still see it now, and I kind of think it's cover got it on the nasties list more than the film. You can feel the sticky carpet of the shops, the bored teenagers watching horror films all day and the 'under the counter' nasty tray available if you look. Even though this films section is over 100 pages long, it perhaps suffers in that there have been plenty of books written about video nasties, VHS horror etc. and it feels like there is little new.
There is then a whopping 200 pages about comics. Now here is where I have mixed thoughts. I like the idea of comics more than the action of actually reading them. I did have several years of 2000AD I inherited from my uncles and I devoured and cherished them but was I particularly 'scarred' by them? Nah, not really. That said, I think because I was unfamiliar with much of the content in the comics section I also found it the most interesting and I ended up writing myself a big list of 'collected editions' to pick up that I'll never end up reading! What's really evident here is that there is a bit of a love affair for comics here as a medium and that in the author's view they are far more important than just 'super hero' stuff. It's funny when I think of the Disneyfication of Marvel and how comics feel safe, that they were in this period a vehicle to express through art a whole range of perspectives, and issues. A special shout out goes not to the sci-fi and hero comics of the day, but 'Roy of the Rovers' that seemed utterly mental! I also feel that I learnt a lot about the history and politics of comics in the era from these sections.
The section on roleplaying, board games and computer games is quite interesting, and the Satanic Panic is picked up. If anything, I think they could have gone further in this section. Similar to the film and comic section though some of the themes feel more relevant to American readers. Books 1 and 2 spoke heavily to British culture but things like the Satanic Panic didn't really touch these shores. I quite liked how it touched on just how computer games could be quite transgressive (and troubling, reflecting the perspectives of teenage coders). I did see the most disgusting Atari game ever in this section which did make me think - 'this hits the spot' and how did this get released. (Think a Donkey Kong style platform but with a masturbating man on top).
There's also a section on pop music, particularly 'banned' pop videos that you could only see if you got lucky or heard a rumour about. Most of them are a bit smutty, and even when you're warned in the book about them I still think, 'WHATTT!!!' when I've watched them recently. (The 'Sex Dwarf' Soft Cell video was NOTORIOUS for years, and yep, we should definitely file the smutty version of Duran Duran's 'Girls on Film' as problematic as fuck).
Time for a short break in discussing the content. One of the things I really love about these books is that they do not shy away from addressing the problematic aspects of pop culture for children and teens in the 70s and 80s. They do not try and justify it as 'well them were the days' and acknowledge that racism, homophobia, misogyny etc. was bad then as well as now. It's not an overtly political book, but the authors acknowledge their real world perspectives, and they come across as decent people who you'd like to be around. What they do try to do is acknowledge the context material was produced in without justifying it, and certainly not celebrating it as 'the good old days where you could say what you wanted'. It's a really mature treatment and acknowledges our experience consuming said culture and holding a mirror up to creators and consumers and saying, 'I know we liked this, but it wasn't okay'.
Back to the content. If you've read the first two books you'll know there were a few things that kept many a schoolchild awake at night terrified. Quicksand, Rabies, AIDs, Heroin and the worst thing of all - Nuclear War!!! The last third of this book is all about the cold war and drama, comedy, documentaries, music, books, comics, computer games, roleplaying games, films and everything else that made us shit ourselves at the prospect of nuclear annihilation. Largely split into 'real life stuff' like the government's pathetic attempts to reassure us we could survive a nuclear war and media that addressed the 'day after' it's stark how much of our culture was dominated by the threat of total destruction. Of course, the granddaddy of them all, 'Threads' get's a good treatment, but there is so much covered in here. I was especially interested in the documentaries section - I guess our parents were just as shit scared as us! I distinctly remember being worried stupid by posters in doctors advising of stocking up on canned goods to survive the apocalypse and thinking it wouldn't be enough! I remember feeling sad that I'd never have kids, or they'd die in a nuclear war. It all seemed so pervasive and threatening. This 'book within a book' is very good indeed, and will bring about those scarred memories we once had.
The book ends with a short piece on 1992's Ghostwatch (and boy did that mess up a lot of folk) and a couple of pages which amount to 'there's still some good stuff out there' - some of which may be freaking out my kids!
Essential purchase if you've read book 1 or 2, and also if the cold war or comics is your thing. I'll look forward to what comes next from these two.
For those who aren't aware, the Scarred for Life series of books takes a look at the media and culture of the 1970's and 1980's and looks back and says, 'it's no wonder how fucked up we were are as kids', with the quite correct observation that a lot of media aimed at children treated them as adults or at least assumed children and teenagers could deal with adult themes. It was an era where children were respected by their media creators to a degree, and also a time which I think we were generally better off in terms of accessible, shared culture in the UK. Now, we culturally treat children as if they need wrapping up in cotton wool who can't be exposed to anything that would frighten them. These books are a combination of 'shit that was violent' / 'what were they thinking?' / 'you can't say or do that now' / 'they marketed this at kids?' and the funny thing is, most of the stuff featured was loved by kids and fondly remembered today. Book 1 was about the 1970's (and is the best in my view), Book 2 is about TV in the 80s and (because they had so much stuff to cover) Book 3 is about 'everything else' 80s. They wink at the idea of doing a 60's book at some time (but seeing as the authors weren't born then, that's going to be hard) and they've said they won't do a 90's book (because they were adults, and also they think the culture changed to be safer). That said, I think it would be good if they could find suitable collaborators to help shape any potential 60's / 90's books because there will be an audience for them.
So what's in Book 3? First of all, there is a long section on film, and in particular video nasties. I'm unsure about their inclusion here, because although kids were getting video nasties if they knew where to look, really they were early 80s and aimed at adults so they feel slightly off. For me, the kind of thing that 'scarred us in the late 80's / 90's but came from the early 80's' maybe? What I did like about the section is that the authors definitely capture that early video vibe well. I distinctly remember going in a video shop as a child (definitely under 10) and seeing the cover to 'Driller Killer' and being haunted by it. I can still see it now, and I kind of think it's cover got it on the nasties list more than the film. You can feel the sticky carpet of the shops, the bored teenagers watching horror films all day and the 'under the counter' nasty tray available if you look. Even though this films section is over 100 pages long, it perhaps suffers in that there have been plenty of books written about video nasties, VHS horror etc. and it feels like there is little new.
There is then a whopping 200 pages about comics. Now here is where I have mixed thoughts. I like the idea of comics more than the action of actually reading them. I did have several years of 2000AD I inherited from my uncles and I devoured and cherished them but was I particularly 'scarred' by them? Nah, not really. That said, I think because I was unfamiliar with much of the content in the comics section I also found it the most interesting and I ended up writing myself a big list of 'collected editions' to pick up that I'll never end up reading! What's really evident here is that there is a bit of a love affair for comics here as a medium and that in the author's view they are far more important than just 'super hero' stuff. It's funny when I think of the Disneyfication of Marvel and how comics feel safe, that they were in this period a vehicle to express through art a whole range of perspectives, and issues. A special shout out goes not to the sci-fi and hero comics of the day, but 'Roy of the Rovers' that seemed utterly mental! I also feel that I learnt a lot about the history and politics of comics in the era from these sections.
The section on roleplaying, board games and computer games is quite interesting, and the Satanic Panic is picked up. If anything, I think they could have gone further in this section. Similar to the film and comic section though some of the themes feel more relevant to American readers. Books 1 and 2 spoke heavily to British culture but things like the Satanic Panic didn't really touch these shores. I quite liked how it touched on just how computer games could be quite transgressive (and troubling, reflecting the perspectives of teenage coders). I did see the most disgusting Atari game ever in this section which did make me think - 'this hits the spot' and how did this get released. (Think a Donkey Kong style platform but with a masturbating man on top).
There's also a section on pop music, particularly 'banned' pop videos that you could only see if you got lucky or heard a rumour about. Most of them are a bit smutty, and even when you're warned in the book about them I still think, 'WHATTT!!!' when I've watched them recently. (The 'Sex Dwarf' Soft Cell video was NOTORIOUS for years, and yep, we should definitely file the smutty version of Duran Duran's 'Girls on Film' as problematic as fuck).
Time for a short break in discussing the content. One of the things I really love about these books is that they do not shy away from addressing the problematic aspects of pop culture for children and teens in the 70s and 80s. They do not try and justify it as 'well them were the days' and acknowledge that racism, homophobia, misogyny etc. was bad then as well as now. It's not an overtly political book, but the authors acknowledge their real world perspectives, and they come across as decent people who you'd like to be around. What they do try to do is acknowledge the context material was produced in without justifying it, and certainly not celebrating it as 'the good old days where you could say what you wanted'. It's a really mature treatment and acknowledges our experience consuming said culture and holding a mirror up to creators and consumers and saying, 'I know we liked this, but it wasn't okay'.
Back to the content. If you've read the first two books you'll know there were a few things that kept many a schoolchild awake at night terrified. Quicksand, Rabies, AIDs, Heroin and the worst thing of all - Nuclear War!!! The last third of this book is all about the cold war and drama, comedy, documentaries, music, books, comics, computer games, roleplaying games, films and everything else that made us shit ourselves at the prospect of nuclear annihilation. Largely split into 'real life stuff' like the government's pathetic attempts to reassure us we could survive a nuclear war and media that addressed the 'day after' it's stark how much of our culture was dominated by the threat of total destruction. Of course, the granddaddy of them all, 'Threads' get's a good treatment, but there is so much covered in here. I was especially interested in the documentaries section - I guess our parents were just as shit scared as us! I distinctly remember being worried stupid by posters in doctors advising of stocking up on canned goods to survive the apocalypse and thinking it wouldn't be enough! I remember feeling sad that I'd never have kids, or they'd die in a nuclear war. It all seemed so pervasive and threatening. This 'book within a book' is very good indeed, and will bring about those scarred memories we once had.
The book ends with a short piece on 1992's Ghostwatch (and boy did that mess up a lot of folk) and a couple of pages which amount to 'there's still some good stuff out there' - some of which may be freaking out my kids!
Essential purchase if you've read book 1 or 2, and also if the cold war or comics is your thing. I'll look forward to what comes next from these two.
August 14, 2024
Well, I finished this behemoth in just over a week although admittedly I skipped over the Marvel & DC stuff which is not really my cup of tea. Some terrific articles as per the back cover. But does it end here? No! There will be a book of Scarred For Life Horror stories in the future which is cause for celebration. Loved The Eagle & Scream stuff in particular. The section on video nasties is another particular highlight. A huge compendium that you’ll find something to bask in if you grew up in the 80s. Bravo Stephen & Dave!
August 11, 2025
I love the Scarred for Life series!
However, I had a few slight issues with the third one.
It goes over a few subjects that the guys have covered before to varying degrees, the Nuclear section TV and music for example. They do greatly expand on these sections though so it doesn't ruin the book at all.
Sadly, I found that this third volume started to fall apart as I got to the last few hundred pages!
It's a monster of a book and I think possibly beyond the skills of Lulu to successfully bind such a huge tome.
It could probably have been split into two volumes.
But, overall another cracking book from Stephen and Dave!
Hopefully there are more to come....
However, I had a few slight issues with the third one.
It goes over a few subjects that the guys have covered before to varying degrees, the Nuclear section TV and music for example. They do greatly expand on these sections though so it doesn't ruin the book at all.
Sadly, I found that this third volume started to fall apart as I got to the last few hundred pages!
It's a monster of a book and I think possibly beyond the skills of Lulu to successfully bind such a huge tome.
It could probably have been split into two volumes.
But, overall another cracking book from Stephen and Dave!
Hopefully there are more to come....
August 29, 2024
I can't praise this book enough. Felt like it was written just for me as so many of the topics mentioned were so close to my thoughts and experiences. Huge sections dedicated to 2000ad and Ghostwatch in particular. A lot of work has gone into this and I can't wait to read the other volumes
August 12, 2024
My favorite of the three volumes, it brought back a number of childhood memories. Sheer brilliance
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews