68 pages. Colour Contents.
Marvel Comics UK Ltd.
Edited by Marcus Hearn.
Peter Cushing photo cover (uncredited).
Contents:
2 Hammer Classics Special Offer advertisement for Lumiere Video.
3 Hammer Horror Collectors' Special title page. / UNTITLED introduction by Marcus Hearn? (uncredited). / Indicia
4 Contents
5 The House of Horror text feature by Marcus Hearn.
6 Peter Cushing text feature by Bill Harry.
8 Christopher Lee text feature by Bill Harry.
10 A Heritage of Horror text feature by Alan Barnes and David Miller.
12 A Heritage of Horror The Quatermass Xperiment credits, synopsis and overview.
13 A Heritage of Horror X - The Unknown credits, synopsis and overview.
14 A Heritage of Horror The Curse of Frankenstein credits, synopsis and overview.
16 A Heritage of Horror Quatermass 2 credits, synopsis and overview.
17 A Heritage of Horror The Abominable Snowman credits, synopsis and overview.
18 A Heritage of Horror Dracula credits, synopsis and overview.
21 A Heritage of Horror The Hound of the Baskervilles credits, synopsis and overview.
22 A Heritage of Horror The Mummy credits, synopsis and overview.
24 A Heritage of Horror The Brides of Dracula credits, synopsis and overview.
25 A Heritage of Horror The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll credits, synopsis and overview.
26 A Heritage of Horror The Curse of the Werewolf credits, synopsis and overview.
28 A Heritage of Horror The Phantom of the Opera credits, synopsis and overview.
29 A Heritage of Horror Captain Klegg credits, synopsis and overview.
30 A Heritage of Horror The Old Dark House (half page) credits, synopsis and overview. / The Damned (half page) credits, synopsis and overview.
31 A Heritage of Horror The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb credits, synopsis and overview.
32 A Heritage of Horror The Evil of Frankenstein credits, synopsis and overview.
33 A Heritage of Horror The Gorgon credits, synopsis and overview.
34 A Heritage of Horror She credits, synopsis and overview.
36 A Heritage of Horror Dracula - Prince of Darkness credits, synopsis and overview.
38 A Heritage of Horror Rasputin the Mad Monk (half page) credits, synopsis and overview. / The Plague of the Zombies (half page) credits, synopsis and overview.
39 A Heritage of Horror The Reptile credits, synopsis and overview.
40 A Heritage of Horror Slave Girls (half page) credits, synopsis and overview. / The Witches (half page) credits, synopsis and overview.
41 A Heritage of Horror One Million Years B.C. credits, synopsis and overview.
42 A Heritage of Horror Frankenstein Created Woman (half page) credits, synopsis and overview. / The Mummy's Shroud (half page) credits, synopsis and overview.
43 A Heritage of Horror Quatermass and the Pit credits, synopsis and overview.
44 A Heritage of Horror The Vengeance of She credits, synopsis and overview.
45 A Heritage of Horror The Devil Rides Out credits, synopsis and overview.
46 A Heritage of Horror The Lost Continent (half page) credits, synopsis and overview. / Dracula has Risen from the Grave (half page) credits, synopsis and overview.
47 A Heritage of Horror Frankenstein Must be Destroyed credits, synopsis and overview.
48 A Heritage of Horror Taste the Blood of Dracula credits, synopsis and overview.
49 A Heritage of Horror The Horror of Frankenstein credits, synopsis and overview.
50 A Heritage of Horror The Vampire Lovers credits, synopsis and overview.
51 A Heritage of Horror When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (half page) credits, synopsis and overview. / Scars of Dracula (half page) credits, synopsis and overview.
52 A Heritage of Horror Lust for a Vampire credits, synopsis and overview.
53 A Heritage of Horror Countess Dracula credits, synopsis and overview.
54 A Heritage of Horror Creatures the World Forgot (half page) credits, synopsis and overview. / Hands of the Ripper (half page) credits, synopsis and overview.
55 A Heritage of Horror Twins of Evil credits, synopsis and overview.
56 A Heritage of Horror Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde credits, synopsis and overview.
57 A Heritage of Horror Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (half page) credits, synopsis and overview. / Vampire Circus (half page) credits, synopsis and overview.
58 A Heritage of Horror Demons of the Mind credits, synopsis and overview.
59 A Heritage of Horror Dracula AD 1972 credits, synopsis and overview.
60 A Heritage of Horror Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter credits, synopsis and overview.
62 A Heritage of Horror The Satanic Rites of Dracula credits, synopsis and overview.
63 A Heritage of Horror Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell credits, synopsis and overview.
64 A Heritage of Horror The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires credits, synopsis and overview.
65 A Heritage of Horror To the Devil a Daughter credits, synopsis and overview.
66 The Future of Hammer text feature by Roy Skeggs, Chairman of Hammer Film Productions.
67 Welcome to the House of Horror in-house advertisement for Hammer Horror.
68 Special Offer advertisement for Hammer Horror video-cassettes (Angloace Ltd.)
For nearly forty years the name Hammer has been synonymous with the very finest in British horror films. The studio's unforgettable legacy has ensured their reputation as the most important producer of gothic horror films in the history of cinema.Marvel has displayed some incredibly brave choices down the years, but Hammer Horror Collectors' Special is not among their finer hours. Relying far too much on Hammer's past glories, there is a suggestion that - with nothing new in the pipeline - this issue is merely content with picking whatever flesh remains on sun-bleached bones of the once-formidable Hammer catalogue. The heart of this special is an extended look at Hammer's films, but this is so piecemeal it makes the end result a choppy, unsatisfying slew of plot points and observations.
As we stand on the verge of a major revitalisation in Hammer's activities, we're visiting a place that haunts the memories of film-goers throughout the world. This is a place where evil scientists conduct sickeningly cruel experiments. This is a place where savage creatures rule the night. This is a place where virgins are defiled, and the undead feast on human blood...
Welcome to the house of horror.
A (very) quick search should immediately bring up thirty or so books dedicated to the subject of Hammer films in general, but there are many more focusing on specific aspects of the studio - special effects, posters, sex appeal of key actresses, the manner in which stories were adapted... This was a well which was running dry even in the nineties, and the relentless drive to uncover every minor detail since then has made entirely new areas to delve into extremely rare.
Though there are areas which have yet to have proper exposure. There must have been countless sketches and diagrams produced in the making of the films, and those haven't been published endlessly, and it has been a long time since I saw images of the original scripts. Internal memos, discussing budgets, costumes, sets, or even casting - if they could be found - would have been a better use of the special. A "now and then" (comparing how locations have changed over the years) could have made use of the colour pages to really hit home the years which have passed.
There are many ways in which this could have done something new, but a recap wasn't what was needed. While a fond glance at the company is always welcome, doing so must be presented in a manner which isn't so formulaic and tired. This might have been a great addition to the Marvel line-up had more been done with the format, but it isn't in the same league as the sporadic Doctor Who Magazine which appeared.
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