Magazine watch

Issue 2 of Filmstar Magazine has just gone on sale - of interest to western fans is a feature/interview with cult film director, Alex Cox who talks about his new book, 1o,000 ways to die which looks at the Italian westerns from a film directors perspective. Add to that all the current movie news and some nice retro cinema features makes this my current favourite among the many movie magazines. It reminds me in content of the short lived Uncut DVD. Let's hope this mag has a long future ahead of it.

The latest issue of Wild West Magazine (vol 22, no 2) is now on sale. Sporting a Bat Masterson cover the magazine is filled with the usual interesting historical features centered on the Wild West. I found the article on Jessie Evans (one time compadre of Billy the Kid) to be of special interest.

The current issue of 2000AD sees the end of Savage Book four with the American invasion of fortress Britain. I don't buy 2000AD regularly these days but always follow the Savage stories. The character was my favourite back in the day and I'm pleased with the way the writers have taken the character in the new updated series.

Filmstar

Blackfish, a small independent publisher from Bath, are set to take on the big boys with their launch of their new film magazine, Filmstar. The company have had a huge success with their SCI-FI magazine, Deathray and they have now decided to take on the likes of Empire and Total Film with their new magazine.

In the first editorial, editor Mark Ramshaw outlines the fact that although Filmstar will cover all new releases it will also have a healthy amount of classic cinema features - The Archive praises this because there is definitely a gap in the market for classic film coverage.

Western fans should pick up the first issue for a great feature on John Wayne and the movies the magazine considers the Duke's core work. The films are The Big Trail,Stagecoach, They Were Expendable, Red River,She wore a yellow ribbon, Sands of Iwo Jima, The Quiet Man, The Searchers, Rio Bravo, The Alamo, The Man who shot Liberty Vallance, McLintock, True Grit. MQ and The Shootist. There are interesting reviews for each movie and the article makes great reading and published just in time for Wild West Monday too.

The magazines contains all the expected cinema news and reviews and certainly looks interesting - more intelligent than Total Film and with a broader reach than Empire.

Out now £3.99