Recently renewed for their thirteenth season, the Winchester brothers, Sam and Dean, have ‘written’ a bestiary that covers all the different kinds of monsters, beasts, spectres and creatures that they have come across in their many adventures.

The book is in the format that each monster of the week has a small piece written about them using the voice of one, or sometimes both, of the brothers. It is split into six sections that cover monsters, ghosts and vengeful spirits, gods, demons, angels and divine beings and primordial entities.

The records of the Men of Letters have been updated by Sam and Dean to provide any wannabe demon hunters a bit more information on what to do when you encounter any of the baddies within, including tips on how to beat them – either killing or capturing them.

The voices of the Winchester boys give a brief reminiscent description and they are all accompanied by some very nice artwork by Kyle Hotz (Ghost Rider 2099), which is both beautiful and macabre in equal measure. The pages are very nicely made of thick card.

Now, for a completist Supernatural fan, this is great, but it all feels a little lightweight in comparison to the Essential Supernatural guide and the Watcher Guides that did a similar thing with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As well as background on the beasts that the brothers and the Scooby Gang had to defeat each week in their respective shows, there were photos of the action in addition to in-depth backgrounds on characters and pretty much anything you could think of wanting to know about the show. 

As a result, this feels somewhat like a cash-in on the name of the show. Yes, the artwork is great, but you can’t help think that fans would be better off purchasing a graphic novel that Hotz has worked on. This is very similar in set up to the Ghostbusters tie-in Tobin’s Spirit Guide in both size and format, which Hotz also illustrated. 

For those die-hard Supernatural fans who were waiting for this book, our opinion isn’t going to stop you buying this, just be warned that you are not going to learn anything new about your favourite show, although it may open your eyes to a very good artist and maybe that’s not a bad thing. 

SUPERNATURAL: THE MEN OF LETTERS BESTIARY: WINCHESTER FAMILY EDITION / AUTHOR: TIM WAGGONER / PUBLISHER: TITAN BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW