Dive into the forgotten world of pseudo-scientific documentaries!

Unlock the secrets of the strangest cinematic phenomenon of the 1970s with Weirdumentary—the ultimate guide to the bizarre, the unexplained, and the wildly entertaining films and television programs that blurred the line between fact and fantasy.

Weirdumentary examines dozens of movies and tv series, sold to the unsuspecting public as documentaries, beginning with Chariots of the Gods (1970) and ending with The Man Who Saw Tomorrow (1981). Leonard Nimoy’s In Search Of makes an appearance, so does Orson Wells in his late-career role of sinister yet skeptical narrator. Featuring spurious experts, questionable evidence, and low-budget dramatizations, these pseudo-scientific documentaries examined subjects ranging from the Bermuda Triangle to Bigfoot, from the paranormal to speculative histories.

Weirdumentary is a fun and accessible collection of essays by film scholar Gary D. Rhodes. Acclaimed comic book artist, writer, and historian Stephen R. Bissette, best known for his groundbreaking work on DC Comics’ Swamp Thing alongside Alan Moore, provides the foreword.

Features hundreds of archival film posters, set photos, and other images in this beautifully designed homage to the high weirdness that shaped a nation of pop culture mavens.

Weirdumentary is a must for fans of cinema and pop culture of the 1970s!

Gary D. Rhodes is a renowned film historian and author with a passion for uncovering the forgotten stories of horror cinema. He’s a world expert on Bela Lugosi and how Dracula is portrayed in films. When he’s not diving into dusty film archives, Gary can be found teaching, lecturing, or working on his next independent film.

Eerie Publications’ horror magazines brought blood and bad taste to America’s newsstands from 1965 through 1975. Ultra-gory covers and bottom-of-the-barrel production values lent an air of danger to every issue, daring you to look at (and purchase) them.

The Weird World of Eerie Publications introduces the reader to Myron Fass, the gun-toting megalomaniac publisher who, with tyranny and glee, made a career of fishing pocketbook change from young readers with the most insidious sort of exploitation. You’ll also meet Carl Burgos, who, as editor of Eerie Publications, ground his axe against the entire comics industry. Slumming comic art greats and unknown hacks were both employed by Eerie to plagiarize the more inspired work of pre-Code comic art of the 1950s.

Somehow these lowbrow abominations influenced a generation of artists who proudly blame career choices (and mental problems) on Eerie Publications. One of them, Stephen R. Bissette (Swamp Thing, Taboo, Tyrant), provides the introduction for this volume.

Here’s the sordid background behind this mysterious comics publisher, featuring astonishingly red reproductions of many covers and the most spectacularly creepy art. Watch the trailer below: