Jul

30

Book ‘Em: The Truth Is In Here.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

July 30, 2007 |

Bat Boy Lives! by David Perel and the Editors of The Weekly World News

 

It may be departing from grocery store magazine racks, but The Weekly World News will live on in a major collection of the very best articles from over the years: Bat Boy Lives! collects the articles that first reported events and discoveries that had a major impact on all our lives. The revelation that the IRS was going to start taxing annual tax refunds, an ape starting a new religion, the Loch Ness monster’s pregnancy, the report of a man who had been to Hell and back (literally), the psychic whose head exploded during a reading…You can’t make this stuff up–but fortunately the writers of the Weekly World News could. That’s what makes it so entertaining.

 

In a world where fake news has become commonplace, thanks to sources like The Onion and The Daily Show, where sarcasm and postmodernism cast a slick veneer over everything, there’s something refreshing about a publication that genuinely seemed to want to put one over on us with stories so outrageous we couldn’t possibly believe them no matter how much we wanted to. It was also the epitome of trashy publishing before trashy publishing became the standard. The newspaper may be gone, but the book will live on as a reminder of a time when we were more innocent.


Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. maureen on July 31, 2007 7:21 pm

    As they say”inquiring minds want to know” …I think Bat Boy has a look that could catch on!
    Thanks
    Maureen

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