| The Apocrypha line of books from Games Workshop first launched with the anniversary of the Space Marine. That book was exellent and full of all the Beardy knowledge some of us grew up with and others had no idea about (like MKV being an actual ful Mark of Space Marine armour and not some cobbled toegther arrangement that Forge Wolrd are peddling these days! Yes, this really annops me). The word Apocrypha means "biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of Scripture" which gives Games WOrkshop a place to put all their old material without it seriously distrubing the canan of thier current meta. It is interesting to see howeer that there is so much old material that they have gone back to, and yet more that has gone by the wayside. Index Chaotica Apocrypha differs from the Space Marine Apocrypha in a few ways - it goes back and looks at the rules a lot more, it features less art than the Space Marine version and it's incredibly wordy. This is a book you read! ++ More After The Jump ++ |  |
So this (above) is wher it all began! The 1988 Realm of Chaos book was mainly about demons and the armies of Chaos in the Warhammer universe, but it did delve into the Warhammer 40K universe - mainly becasue at the time the world of Chaos was somewhat linked betwen the two universes. And really, that's what this book is all about - demons and Chaos powers, Chaos Attributes, Chaos Gifts and Champions,
This above page is infact a pretty good example of the book - it's very wordy. Pages of text with small pictures, pretty much straight out of the White Dwarf magzines of the time. Whole sections of issues like 120 and 121 have been lifted directly and reprinted - no reformatting, just slapped in which at times is a bit odd because there are rules that now don't exist, but I guess it is Apocrypha after all.
This above page is infact a pretty good example of the book - it's very wordy. Pages of text with small pictures, pretty much straight out of the White Dwarf magzines of the time. Whole sections of issues like 120 and 121 have been lifted directly and reprinted - no reformatting, just slapped in which at times is a bit odd because there are rules that now don't exist, but I guess it is Apocrypha after all.
In terms of art, this book varies quite widely - but all of it is suitably dark and twisted. Some of the highlights are Jes Goodwin's concept art which has carried the look at Chaos for 17 long years now. His Thousand Sons drawing is EXACTLY what they brought out last week!
There's a smattering of John Blanche and a myriad of fantastic artists that don't get a mention. Personally I think an index with pages numbers for the artists would have been nice.
There's a smattering of John Blanche and a myriad of fantastic artists that don't get a mention. Personally I think an index with pages numbers for the artists would have been nice.
These kinds of pages are, for me anyway, the thing that really appeals in Apocrypha books.
These colour splash pages from Realm of Darkness show Space Marine banners and shoulder pads, with icons that now no longer exist for Legionjs we know so well.
The very unfamiliar icon for the Iron Warriors (bottom left) the Alpha Legion (below centre) and the Thousand Sons (below right) are all very different to the symbols we associate with them today. This twisted knot look for the Alpha Legion even pre-dates the capital 'A' which has since been replaced by the hydra heads. The Iron Warriors one is very differnet - any guess what the rest of the armour must have looked like.
These colour splash pages from Realm of Darkness show Space Marine banners and shoulder pads, with icons that now no longer exist for Legionjs we know so well.
The very unfamiliar icon for the Iron Warriors (bottom left) the Alpha Legion (below centre) and the Thousand Sons (below right) are all very different to the symbols we associate with them today. This twisted knot look for the Alpha Legion even pre-dates the capital 'A' which has since been replaced by the hydra heads. The Iron Warriors one is very differnet - any guess what the rest of the armour must have looked like.
As well as 40K related material, there is also a lot of Epic/ Space Marine material in here too - again not so much the art, but the pages lifted from the issues of White Dwarf that have the write ups and the models - with rules you can't use any more (but maybe soon). Haveing the Epic stuff in here is acctually really cool, but there was a lot of art generated around that time specifically for Epic and Chaos that hasn't been put in, but this has... it honestly just feels a bit lazy depsite the cool value!
++ VERDICT ++
Games Workshop set the bar very high with the Space Marines Apocrypha - it's an amzing book and well worth your time and money. The Index Chaotica Apocrypha is certainly not in the same league. It is interesting for nostalgia's sake and really does have some good stuff in here, but be aware this is a reading book and if you've ever seen any of the old Index Astartes books which reprint White Dwarf artciles pertinent to Space Amrines, then this has that feel.
If you're really into demons and Chaos, then this will be an interesting read. If you're into Chaos Space Marines, then that is a second or even a third place priority in this book.
If you're really into demons and Chaos, then this will be an interesting read. If you're into Chaos Space Marines, then that is a second or even a third place priority in this book.
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