The Monster Book

As soon as you see the cover art by Dave McKean you know "The Monster Book" is going to be good. As with "The Watcher's Guide," this "Official Guide" to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series is first rate in terms of both design and execution. The three authors of "The Monster Book" have pretty good credentials. Christopher Golden, one of the co-authors of "The Watcher's Guide" has written more Buffy novels and comics than anyone. Stephen R. Bissette, best known as the artist on Alan Moore's run of the "Swamp Thing" comic, is also a Bram Stoker award winning writer and pop-culture journalist. Thomas E. Sniegoski is the new kid on the block, but he is co-writing the Angel comic with Golden for Dark Horse Comics.There are two important elements to this awesome reference work. First, you have your chapters on: Demons from Moloch the Corruptor to Polgara Demons; Vampires from Angel to Harmony Kendall; Magic Users from Willow Rosenberg to Tara; Primals from Oz the Werewolf to Veruca the Werewolf with the She-Mantis, Hyena and Fish People in between; Ghosts from Sid to Hus; Walking Dead from Daryl Epps to Adam; Bogeymen from the Ugly Man to the Gentlemen; Invisible People from Marcie Ross to Xander Harris; and last, but not least, Faith and the Human Monster, which effectively covers everyone and everything that has come into contact with the Slayer. Each chapter provides choice dialogue regarding each monster (sometimes lines omitted from the show, details their first appearances and other episodes in which they appeared, key relationships to other characters in the Buffy universe, unique attributes, "Most Monstrous Moment" and current status (not all of them are dead, you know). The second element is an examination of each particular monster in terms of its cultural, literary and cinematic history. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is famed for its pop-culture references from Zeppo Marx to Russ Meyers, so it should not surprise us it is willing to talk about monsters with references to writers from H. P. Lovecraft to Stephen King, literary works from "Dr. Faustus" to "Tales from the Crypt," and films from "Nosferatu" to "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday." This is the most monumental example of name-dropping and cross-referencing you have every seen. You will find all of your favorites mentioned in appropriate contexts and you most certainly will discover some new writers, books and films you will want to put on your Christmas/Birthday wish list (I want to check out Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series). I look forward to each and every addition to this series of Official companion volumes to one of the best shows on television. Joss Whedon has obviously exercised as much control over these books as he does over his show. Now that the first season is coming out on DVD, these reference books are going to receive a lot more wear and tear. Golden and his co-horts have set the bar a lot higher in terms of this sub-g

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Monster Book" is sort a kind of compendium of all the demons, vampires, and other creatures on the show, but is even more interesting than I expected. It includes a lot of information about the influences Joss Whedon and the other writers used to create the mythology of the show, and then goes into traditional myths about werewolves, vampires, ghosts, witches, demons, etc. All this is in addition to a page or two (at least) about each of the creatures which has played a role on the show. It includes everything from Ted the RoboStepfather to The Three. In addition, it explores the concepts of our main characters as, in a sense, monsters -- including the Slayers, Willow as a witch, Willow as a Vampire, Oz as a Werewolf, and so on. It has a whole section about Faith and the concept of a "human monster." It's really well written and well thought out and full of pictures. I only wish that somewhere, perhaps in the back of the book, there was an index of monsters and who played them (actors and/or stunt folks). I know the book is about the characters and not the actors, but it'd still be nice to give some credit to the people who portrayed these monsters.

Christopher Golden once again displays encyclopedic knowledge of the Buffy Universe! This is a great book. It's divided into sections by type of monster and provides stats (including appearances on the show) for each monster.While the above is a lot of fun, I think the book's real strength is the in-depth analysis of the monsters and their mythology. By interviewing the cast and crew to get their thoughts, the authors allow us to see even more of what makes the Buffyverse tick.This is a must read for any serious Buffy-phile.

The Monster Book is a delightful reference guide filled with pictures and information. There are chapters on demons, vampires, magic users, primals, ghosts, the walking dead, bogy men, invisible people, Faith, and, perhaps the most frightening of all, the human monster. Segments from the scripts are used to illustrate the monster's powers and effect on the slayer and her friends.In addition to detailing every creature that has crawled across the television screen in the first four seasons of Buffy. It contains research into the orgins and folklore of monsters. This is a must for all Buffy fans and monster lovers everywhere.

Buffy fans will line up for this one- a helpful guide filled with four seasons worth of supernatural foes and friends. The Monster Guide is similar in format to the Watcher's Guide, and for each monster there is a list of episodes that monster has appeared in, a description of the monster, and some comments from the writers of the show and creator Joss Whedon. The guide is split into section of different kinds of monsters- demons, magic users, ghosts, vampires (of course!), and even a section devoted to "human monsters," such as Faith, the slayer who went bad. A must for fans of the show.