Brett's Worthless Tat #4: Movie Stickers and Tats

A few more bits and pieces of worthless movie stuff unearthed from my collection:

Brett's Horror Movie Books #5: My Alien/Aliens collection

Had a root around in my book collection and dug out these treasures that were published when the films first came out...

Brett's Worthless Tat #3: Batman Promotional Catalogue 1989

Here we have a foldout catalogue depicting some of the crappy merchandise available when Tim Burton's Batman flick was about to hit the cinemas way back in '89. I picked this up (during a visit to the States, where I was lucky enough to catch a preview screening of the film with a couple of hundred other bat-fans) because it was a free keepsake. I wasn't actually going to shell out my hard earned cash for any promotional bat-tat, although the rhinestone jacket does look mighty tempting—a bargain at only $499.95 (which is probably a couple of grand in today's money).

Click the pics to check out the catalogue in detail—and be sure to look out for A Nightmare On Elm Street's Heather Langenkamp sporting some natty batty cycle gear.

Unlikely Stuff I've Found At The Local Car Boot Sale #2: Kill Bill 1 & 2 Japanese Releases

Those who have seen both the International and Japanese versions of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol.1 will no doubt have noticed the glaring differences between the two releases, the most obvious being the Crazy 88s fight scene which, in the cut destined for Western audiences, was presented in black and white. The Japanese DVD, however, was in full colour, making it the obvious choice for discerning fans of extreme cinematic violence, the blood from the numerous severed limbs and fatal wounds splashing across the screen in glorious fountains of crimson.

The fact that the UK got the watered down version stopped me from purchasing the film and its sequel on DVD (well, that and the prohibitive price of the Asian alternative), so imagine my joy when, at the local car-boot sale, I found the Japanese versions of both Kill Bill 1 and 2 for just a pound each. The menus are in Japanese, which makes it tricky to select the English soundtrack, but the effort is worth it, Tarantino's work looking so much better in vivid colour throughout.

Brett's Comic Collectables #2: 2000AD Prog 265 — with free gift!

Prog 265 of Britain's greatest ever comic came with a free pack of Bubblicious bubble gum. While most kids would have happily chewed and blown bubbles while reading the comic, I left my gum untouched. 32 years later and I still have the packet of gum with the comic; can't imagine I'd get very good bubbles from it now though, so there it stays...

Brett's Comic Collectables #1: Warrior Issue No. 1 — Signed by artists and writers.

I've had this copy of Warrior Issue No.1 bagged up and boxed ever since I bought it in the mid-'80s when I also got it signed by a good handful of its creators, including the legendary Alan Moore of Watchmen and V for Vendetta fame. It's in great nick and actually might be worth a bob or two (if anyone has an idea how much, please leave a comment—I'm no good at valuing my comics).

Brett's Movie Magazines #1: Film Weekly, March 10th 1933

I came by this issue of Film Weekly as part of a pile of vintage magazines given to me by my mother-in-law, Christmas 2012. I found all of them extremely fascinating (especially the old adverts), but for a lifelong fan of monster movies such as I, this particular magazine was easily the cream of the crop.

Why? The clue is in the date and the headline on the cover—'New "Shudder" from Hollywood'. What was the biggest and scariest thing to come out of Tinseltown that year? King Kong, of course!