Bizarre - a strange experience ! (Bizarre)

Member Name: diffyb

Product:	Bizarre
Date:	01/08/06 (377 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very entertaining, loads of interesting facts.

Disadvantages: Can easily offend and shock.

BIZARRE magazine is published once a month (13 issues a year) by Dennis Publishing (also responsible for Viz magazine) and costs £3.30 if bought in the local newsagent.
Should you choose to subscribe instead then you can save 25% by opting to pay by direct debit (about £30 per year).

I used to trek down to the newsagent every month but about 2 years ago chose to subscribe and have had no problems with the service at all.
In fact, the magazine is delivered to your door a week earlier than it appears in the shops.
I had to change my address recently and was able to do so online with ho hitches whatsoever.

Anyway, about the magazine itself.
You'll find it tucked away on the top shelf alongside the adult magazines, FHM, Loaded, etc - and rightly so !
The contents are designed to shock and the editors search the planet to deliver extreme photography, horrific documentaries and bizarre interviews.
I imagine that many people would recoil in horror at opening this magazine unless, like me, you have a slightly warped sense of humour and an interest in the stranger members of the human race.

The best way to explain what to expect is to describe the contents of this month's edition :-

The cover features one of Bizarre's favourite models, Masuimi Max, a fetish model and performer, wearing little more than a string of beads covering her behind.
A selection of titles are displayed to give you a taster of what's inside - "kinky Japan", "pregnant hookers", "junkie erotica" and "people made of cheese" to name but a few.

The first 10 pages or so are devoted to weird pictures taken from around the globe - a man with feet 45cm long, a fat kid undergoing acupuncture to cure his appetite and a shot of an "elephant cinema" plus some others.
This feature is entitled "Photo Assault" and is very appropriately named.

Next comes the letters page which confirms that there are some worryingly unhinged individuals roaming free amongst us such as the man who has noticed that dogs do not have buttocks....

A selection of interesting titbits grace the next few pages before we get to this month's main feature - "kinky Japan", which is a report on the underground fetish clubs and the kind of people who frequent them. Of course, the model Masuimi Max adorns all of the pages to keep the reader's interest !

Next up is a feature called "back from the dead" - detailing what happened to the 322 prisoners released from American prisons in 1972 when the death penalty was temporarily abolished. Of these, 111 ended up back in prison, 14 went on to kill other people but, alarmingly, some prisoners went on to prove their innocence !

Have you ever heard of Ebare ? Similar to Ebay but caters for the, ahem, extreme end of the market - things I won't describe here but if you are really interested, search for Ebare in your browser and pepare to be shocked.

I always enjoy reading the "serial killer" story and this month's edition tells of "the vampire of Rio" - a true story of Marcelo Costa who killed 14 children in the slums of Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
But I had to read through the "pregnant hookers" story first which was an eye-opener to say the least !

Towards the back of the magazine is the section which reviews music, DVD releases, books and computer games. I never read this section completely but occasionally something will jump out from the page and catch my attention.

Finally at the rear of the magazine is the sealed section which is adult-orientated and contains an interview with an adult actress - Kelly Madison this week - and reviews of adult films if you're looking to buy any.
(I'm not - I already have them all .....!!)

One of the things I really like about Bizarre is that there is very little advertising.
If you pick up a copy of FHM then you have to flick through about 12 pages of Calvin Klein jeans, aftershaves and other rubbish before you get to the first real story and even then you have to search for the articles amongst the rest of the advertising.
Bizarre is not like that which is a good thing.

In conclusion, Bizarre is a unique magazine which delivers articles intended to shock and interest you - something it does very well.
I haven't covered all of this month's contents, just a selection of the more interesting items.
So, if you are easily offended then avoid - otherwise pick up a copy and surprise yourself.

Summary: Bizarre magazine - compulsive reading for strange people