I wouldn't normally review a magazine but this is something rather special - the SFX Vampires special edition. A magazine devoted solely to vampires immediately caught my attention. As if that wasn't good enough reason for me to buy it, it came with three free gifts, best of which was, for me anyway, the set of four
Buffy the Vampire Slayer coasters. A paperback containing two classic 19th century vampire tales -
Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan LaFanu and
The Vampyre by John William Polidori and a double-sided poster featuring Twilight - New Moon and Being Human made up the other two gifts. I've read the two stories before and I could live without the posters but they make up a nice package of freebies.
So what's inside the mag that's of special interest? Top honour must go to the SFX readers' poll of the top 50 vampires of screen and TV. I wasn't at all surprised to see so many vampires from
Angel and
Buffy making such a good showing. I love those shows and it is obvious that many fans still hold them in great affection. For the record, top spot went to Spike (from
Angel and
Buffy). Christopher Lee's
Dracula was second and
Angel was third. Such a list is purely subjective and no two people will agree on who should go where. My own choices would have been Selene (as played by Kate Beckinsale in the
Underworld trilogy) followed by Spike, then Angel. Selene was number nine in the list, the highest placed female vampire. Selene has the looks, the moves, the style and the attitude that I most admire. Being such a fan of Vampirella I'd have loved to have seen her make top spot but until a "proper" Vampirella film is made I can only dream. No-one mention the low budget pile of crap called
Vampirella that starred Talisa Soto as the eponymous vampire in one of the worst films of all time. I'm still trying to scour it from my memory!
Other features include interviews with
Buffy stars James Marsters (Spike) and Juliet Landau (Drusilla), as well as interviews with author Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake is going to be made into a TV series - oh joy!),
True Blood star Stephen Moyer and the creator of
Being Human, Toby Whithouse. There is a fascinating look at the making of two of Hammer's golden oldies -
Dracula and
The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires. Twilight features prominently in the mag with a look at the second film, due out in November of this year. Current TV shows like
Being Human, Moonlight and
True Blood are covered favourably. New vampire films are previewed. I'm looking forward to watching
Blood - the Last Vampire, which opens next week. I saw the trailer for it recently and was most impressed. As if that lot wasn't enough there are features on vampire fiction and some fun stuff like the comparison between the TV series
Ultraviolet and the film
Ultraviolet - two very different beasts! All in all there is much to enjoy in this special edition and at £7.99 this is a must have for any vampire fan. Buy it now whilst it's still on sale.
I wouldn't normally review a magazine but this is something rather special - the SFX Vampires special edition. A magazine devoted solely to vampires immediately caught my attention. As if that wasn't good enough reason for me to buy it, it came with three free gifts, best of which was, for me anyway, the set of four Buffy the Vampire Slayer coasters. A paperback containing two classic 19th century vampire tales - Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan LaFanu and The Vampyre by John William Polidori and a double-sided poster featuring Twilight - New Moon and Being Human made up the other two gifts. I've read the two stories before and I could live without the posters but they make up a nice package of freebies.
So what's inside the mag that's of special interest? Top honour must go to the SFX readers' poll of the top 50 vampires of screen and TV. I wasn't at all surprised to see so many vampires from Angel and Buffy making such a good showing. I love those shows and it is obvious that many fans still hold them in great affection. For the record, top spot went to Spike (from Angel and Buffy). Christopher Lee's Dracula was second and Angel was third. Such a list is purely subjective and no two people will agree on who should go where. My own choices would have been Selene (as played by Kate Beckinsale in the Underworld trilogy) followed by Spike, then Angel. Selene was number nine in the list, the highest placed female vampire. Selene has the looks, the moves, the style and the attitude that I most admire. Being such a fan of Vampirella I'd have loved to have seen her make top spot but until a "proper" Vampirella film is made I can only dream. No-one mention the low budget pile of crap called Vampirella that starred Talisa Soto as the eponymous vampire in one of the worst films of all time. I'm still trying to scour it from my memory!
Other features include interviews with Buffy stars James Marsters (Spike) and Juliet Landau (Drusilla), as well as interviews with author Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake is going to be made into a TV series - oh joy!), True Blood star Stephen Moyer and the creator of Being Human, Toby Whithouse. There is a fascinating look at the making of two of Hammer's golden oldies - Dracula and The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires. Twilight features prominently in the mag with a look at the second film, due out in November of this year. Current TV shows like Being Human, Moonlight and True Blood are covered favourably. New vampire films are previewed. I'm looking forward to watching Blood - the Last Vampire, which opens next week. I saw the trailer for it recently and was most impressed. As if that lot wasn't enough there are features on vampire fiction and some fun stuff like the comparison between the TV series Ultraviolet and the film Ultraviolet - two very different beasts! All in all there is much to enjoy in this special edition and at £7.99 this is a must have for any vampire fan. Buy it now whilst it's still on sale.
Do they cover "Brahm Stoker's Dracula" at all? I think it's underrated.
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed they do. They have a very interesting 4 page article focussing on Stoker's notes and research for his famous novel. In addition, there is another 4 page article looking at the new comic book adpation of Stoker's "Dracula." What makes this comic version so special, is that the producers, Dynamite Entertainment, are trying to tell the story as Stoker intended. I won't buy the comics but if they are released as a graphic novel, well that's a different matter.
ReplyDeleteThe top spot going to Spike was incredibly gratifying.
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