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  • Mick Mercer Re-releases expanded Hex Files

    Hex Files Resurrection by Mick Mercer

    Mick Mercer, one of the most prolific writers and documentarians of the Gothic scene and related dark punk subcultures, has just announced the exciting and much expanded re-release of his popular Hex Files book. Hex Files, originally subtitled the Gothic Bible when it was released in 1996, was one of the most complete encyclopedic directories of all things Gothic at the time and remains one of the best sources of information on the scene available anywhere. So, I'm very excited to hear that Mick Mercer is not only re-releasing it with tons more photos, but also adding huge new sections covering the Fetish and Vampire scenes as they cross over with Goth and Deathrock. Ok, maybe I'm not totally excited about the Vampires, but I do think it all melds together and I'm very interested to see such a complete view.

    I believe I have every book Mercer has ever had published and distributed, but until now, I've never been into the e-book thing. I don't have a kindle, I don't have a Lulu account yet, and I'm not always good about not breaking my laptops. When Mick moved his publications into a more e-book, print on demand, PDF style of publishing I got a little lost. But, according to the Lulu site, this is available as a 664 page perfect bound paperback I can put on the shelf with all the other great directories of Gothic and punk culture from Mick Mercer

    Check out HEX FILES: Resurrection from Mick Mercer on Lulu.com. I'll let you know more about it once I get a chance to read through it myself.

    HEX FILES: Resurrection is the new version of my Hex Files book originally published in 1996, covering the mix 90's International Goth scene, with Gothic, Vampire and Fetish content also included. This book has been out of print for over a decade. My self-published Author's Edition now sees it become the biggest book on Goth ever published as what was once originally 192 pages, containing 231 photos is now 664 pages, with 793 photos and 207 illustrations. The only thing I have stuck to is the original 1997 price of £17.99, making this something of a bargain!

    I have kept to the original content and not updated anyone already covered in my subsequent books, but the original text has been certainly expanded (up from 81,000 to 98,000) as I have found extra information on bands, people and businesses who were only written about in this book. (I have also assumed many people buying this haven't got my later books and provided urls where relevant.)

    I have included as much of the material as it possible to do so that people originally sent for inclusion, which the publishers couldn't cope with. I kept what I had back from the publishers in a box so it could one day be used properly, and that day has come. To give you an example here are the details of the largest geographical section: Australia – 34 pages (58 photos), France 35 pages (45 photos), Germany 47 pages (64 photos), Italy 46 pages (54 photos), UK 206 pages (242 photos), USA (197 pages (228 photos). As you can see the UK and USA sections are both larger than the original book.

    This is huge.

    You will need to register with Lulu.com before buying. They have printers in the US and UK and I recommend you choose the flat-rate inland delivery option there. If you live outside the US and UK choose the economy airmail, otherwise you'll be paying courier rates.