Thursday 6 February 2003
By eBroadcast Staff and agencies.

So, you're a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and its spin-off, Angel). You also have money to burn, and a lot of unused space in your house/room/attic/garage/basement (I'm not implying anything). What's a fan to do? Well, consider this a bit of a cursory primer on some of the things you can unload that well-earned cash on. You've already got the many videos and DVD's, so we don't mention them, and we make no claims that this is a definitive listing of Buffy merchandise, but it's certainly enough to whet your appetite...

ACTION FIGURES

Personally, I'm a bit of an action figure aficionado (geek) and quite a few of the Buffy characters have been released in plastic form.

Moore Action Collectibles have released, to date, 4 waves in their Buffy action figure line (two waves in their Angel line) – as well as numerous exclusive figures. Fully articulated and loaded with accessories, they'll be dusting Vamps in no time... Or sitting on a display rack on your wall.
Moore Action Collectibles also produces some higher-end collectibles, including character ornaments – for a decidedly ghoulish Yuletide – and character busts.
If you like your action figures a bit bigger and realistic, Sideshow Toy has put out a 12" version of everyone's favorite slayer, as well as two of the disturbingly eerie Gentlemen from the episode "Hush." What is perhaps the nicest feature in Sideshow's 12" line are the wonderfully intricate accessories, including Buffy's huge Vampyre book and the Gentlemens' heart in a jar.


TOYS

Diecast fans can add to their 1/64th scale collection with Johnny Lightning's release of four of the vehicles from Angel and Buffy – Spike's Desoto, Giles' Citroen, Angel's GTX, and Xander's Chevy. Each car also comes packaged with a collectible card featuring a character quote.


BOOKS

So you want to know more about the show you dig, eh? Look no further than the two Watcher's Guides from Pocket Books. Loaded with quotes, episode synopses, character descriptions, and behind-the-scenes materials, it's everything you could want to know – and more. Watcher's Guide Volume One covers seasons 1 & 2, and Volume Two covers seasons 3 & 4.
Supplementing the Watcher's Guides is The Monster Book which, as its name implies, takes a closer look at all of the vampires, demons, and beasts of the Buffyverse – in front of and behind the camera.

If that still isn't behind-the-scenes enough for you, Pocket Books has also released four script compilations from Buffy – two comprising the entirety of Season One and two comprising half of Season Two. For anyone contemplating a TV writing career, these are must-reads.

If you prefer to explore the world of Buffy in a bit more of a fictional sense, there are also a series of novelizations that take place within the Slayer continuity (again, from Pocket Books).


And the "So Kitschy It's Cool" award goes to Pocket Books' Sunnydale High Yearbook – constructed with photos and inscriptions from Sunnydale High's classmates... Just make sure to get it signed before the Mayor devours you.


COMIC BOOKS

If four-color comic excitement is your cup of tea, Dark Horse Comics will service all of your Buffy and Angel-related needs. In addition to the two ongoing monthly titles (most of whose older stories have been collected in trade paperback form), Dark Horse also puts out numerous character-oriented one-shots and mini-series.
Something else that Dark Horse has released which is, I think, just plain cool goes by the moniker of The Buffy the Vampire Slayer Supernatural Defense Kit. Basically, it's a box filled with Slayer-related essentials – Buffy's trademark gold-colored cross, the "Claddagh" ring, and a glass vial of "holy" water with flakes of silver suspended in the fluid – plus a hardcover, thread-sewn comic adventure on matte stock.