From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures Book Review

Tonjia Atomic is a filmmaker, musician, and freelance writer. Her writing has been featured online and in print in Tablet Magazine, Dark River Press, and The Eldritch Gazette. Currently she is a Guest Honey at The Horror Honeys. Tonjia's writing is primarily horror. Her films range in topic with dark-leaning themes. You can find her on IMDB here. She is thrilled to be a part of the Ravenous Monster crew.

From the Stars…A Vampiress is an unauthorized yet comprehensive reference guide to the comic book horror heroine Vampirella. It’s obvious that the author, Steven A. Roman, is a fan as the book is lovingly written. The book is segmented into several parts including a history, episode guide, behind-the-scenes of the nixed Hammer Films project, exploration of the 1996 Jim Wynorski made-for-cable movie, novel series, and more. Anyone who is into the character of Vampirella and horror comics history would surely be interested in this one.

The book goes in deep. There are plenty of behind-the-scenes moments compiled from other written sources and interviews. If you have ever felt the need to geek out on Vampirella you have everything you need right here. After reading the book I do feel that I have an understanding of the history of Vampi and the people and companies behind her. As a fan of comics, comic book art, and the why-things-happened aspect of fandom I found it interesting and enjoyable.

The one thing that the book sadly lacks due to its unauthorized status is nice full-color artwork featuring Vampirella and other characters associated with her. What would have gone great with this book is pages from the original comics and covers from some of the talented artists referenced within the book. I found myself searching for images and pages online as the author actually suggests at one point. He does try to fill the book with photos, letters, and sketches. These images are great companion pieces and no doubt valuable to the serious fan.

From the Stars…A Vampiress is definitely the kind of reference book that one could hold on to and reach for when searching for information on just about anything Vampirella related. For the casual reader, this book is probably too dense with specifics to be a thoroughly enjoyable read. However, I would definitely recommend this to any Vampirella fan, comic book history fan, or horror comic fan.

http://www.starwarpconcepts.com/from-the-stars-a-vampiress/