Medical research. I bet if you think of those two words together you think of those “botched” trials from a few years ago when that blokes head swelled to the size of a beach ball. And then his hands fell off, in true Garth Marenghi fashion.
s you may or may not know I (Neil) am very fond of graphic novels,usually ones that have a factual narrative and are ideally based around a war of some sort. So just thought I’d give you a heads up on my latest find, actually it was more of a present than a find (thanks love). Having read all ten volumes of the brilliant Hiroshima survivor ‘Barefoot Gen’, I’d since experienced something of a lull in decent comics for grown-ups.
We’ve fielded quite a few requests for Issue 9 recently but it has sold out, we don’t even have a spare copy for ourselves. We’re planning a ‘Best Of’ featuring the good stuff from issues 1-9 in 2011 but in the meantime we thought we’d whet your appetite with a little snippet of our interview with the chap behind Superdenim in Issue 9, released in late summer 2010.
It might have been a bit more topical mentioning Psychoville a couple of months back when the Halloween special was on. But this is all about festive funnies…
Since Mark has got you nicely warmed up with some comedy gold, I’m going to attempt to batter you into submission with some of my favourite moments of mirth….
Ok, so it’s not Christmas yet and it’s cool to pretend you’re really annoyed how everyone is going on about baubles and presents and fucking….other shit. But if you’re being a misery guts ahead of Baby Jesus’ birthday we’ve come up with a few youtube clips we thought might break your cynical resolve.
We’ve been doing this magazine thing for almost 5 years now. It seems like yesterday that we were hastily stapling copies together in the spare room at Proper Towers, but having made an extra effort to improve things this last 12 months, the new and improved version of our “little fanzine” has come of age.
Avid readers of Proper will remember our interview with Russ Gater from Heritage Research in Issue 8 of the magazine. We’ve kept a keen and appreciative eye on everything they’ve done since, and while we always write about stuff we’re into, Heritage Research gear is stuff we’re really, really into.
Antony Crook, Glenn Kitson and James Bowthorpe went to Norway and filmed this beautiful video in the middle of the night. It’s Norway, see…Norway where the sun always has it’s hat on in summer. It pretty much hibernates in winter and there’s barely any daylight. That’s not important right now. What is important is you check this video out.
It’s hard to find a decent chrimbo card these days innit? Much as we love getting any type of card, we were more than impressed on receipt of the iconic set of seasonal cards Oi Polloi have commissioned talented artist Ben Lamb to do.
Following in the footsteps of Garbstore and Harvest our latest ‘Shop Ten’ comes from Bensons Outfitters. If you’re unfamiliar with the format, it’s where the world’s coolest shops compile us a top ten of whatever the hell they like.
It’s not everyday we have a lady writing an article for us but since it’s that time of year and this bird really knows what she’s talking about, we thought we’d ask her to do us men a favour and find out what women really want to get in their stockings on Jesus’ birthday. CLUE – it’s not a new iron.
You don’t need to be an avid Proper follower to be aware of our appreciation of 6876. With that and the recent inclement weather in mind, we’re cheered to see the arrival of the 6876 Brecon, a modernist parka style jacket in a couple of ace fabrics.
David Keyte, founder and designer of one our favourite labels ‘Universal Works’ has decided his own wardrobe needs some additional key pieces, this time in the form of socks.
Our mates at The Original Store stock some of our favourite labels including Stussy, Dickies, Reigning Champ, Champion, Red Wing, Buzz Rickson and Patagonia. Speaking of which they’re giving away a brilliant Patagonia Torrent Shell Jacket to one lucky person.
To help celebrate two great things that are happening in mid-November, i.e. the arrival of Proper Mag Issue Ten and the launching of MA.STRUM’s online shop. Our good friends over at Mastrum have given us this amazing sniper jacket to give away to one of you very lucky readers.
It’s safe to say that if Proper were a band it would be very similar to the early Mondays (maybe with a bit of Shalamar and John Shuttleworth thrown in). They’re a band we have proper loved since we first got bummed by them back in the eighties (ooh err).
On our recent jaunt to London, a couple of us had the pleasure of spending time with 6876’s Kenneth MacKenzie and Garbstore’s Ian Paley. Both were exceptional hosts, and better still, both make things we really, really like.
With that in mind, it was pretty ace to hear them both tell us about the collaboration they had planned.
The collaboration between London store The Hideout and Americana/workwear brand Dickies seeks to take the classic ethos of Dickies and mould it into something with a more contemporary angle, all the while keeping the essence of Dickies. It’s a great selection of basics and is brilliantly priced. Little or no branding too, for those of you who like to go about your business without showing off who makes your clothes.
The third issue of the excellent Rig Out Magazine features some of the greatest garments money can buy, and a genuine record breaker. In these times of cyber show offs and every man and his goldfish blogging about clothing, it’s refreshing to see people doing things the old fashioned way for all the right reasons. It’s far from a gimmick or a point of difference thing though. The Rig Out 3 is put together by clued up people who appreciate real things of integrity and substance and that shines through.
It’s that time of the year isn’t it. You’re opening the cupboards and hoping the moths haven’t savaged your woolly jumpers (vacuum pack them, you div), you’re wondering whether it’s quite cold enough for big jackets. But why have that daft dilemma when you can get one of these. They’re good quality, thick and do the job of a jumper and a jacket.