'AvP' is in issue No.99, 2004. All the 'ALIEN' movies are covered or at least represented one way or another.
I remember picking up the first issue way back in 1980. I was in the local specialist SF shop, Space Age Books, and there was a small pile of these odd shaped magazines by the counter. I say 'odd' because Cinefex is laid out in an unconventional landscape format rather than portrait. Certainly, it was an odd presentation back in 1980. There was a picture of the Enterprise from the recent 'Star Trek - The Motion Picture' on the cover and I didn't think much of it. I didn't think much of it at all largely because 'Star Trek' just did not interest me and I actually ignored the magazine.
Something, though made me pick it up. Maybe it was the combination of the odd shape of the magazine, the title that I wasn't exactly sure how to pronounce and maybe the complete absence of any blurbs promoting the contents on the cover. Just the clean image of the Enterprise and the title Cinefex emblazoned across one corner. It's an anomalous presentation for a magazine, generally speaking, it didn't even attempt to loudly extol the virtues of its contents like everything else on the shelf surrounding it.
Anyway, I did pick it up and I turned it over. On the back of the issue is this fantastic image of the Alien! OMG! I felt I'd discovered something fantastic. I'd already seen the movie at this stage and was an avid fan. I was already purchasing everything I could get my hands on and here I'd discovered a wealth of content by sheer accident! Upon flipping through the magazine, I saw that half the magazine was dedicated to the 'Star Trek' movie and the second half was dedicated to 'ALIEN' - and there was no advertising to be seen anywhere. My mind was totally blown! Fantastic, dense text about the movie and a slew of both B&W and colour images throughout!
The word 'instabuy' didn't exist then, nonetheless, I remember purchasing the item on the spot. I noted that it was issue No.1. Several months I picked up issues 2 and 3, which both covered different aspects of the special effects used in 'The Empire Strikes Back'.
So, I got hooked on Cinefex magazine and bought every issue since. It's one of the few and rare unbroken runs in my life since before I left home and to date I have every issue. It's format has changed very little. It went from stapled binding to perfect bound in issue 50, the 'ALIEN 3' edition, actually; and introduced advertising around that time, too. At first I was a little disappointed that these ads had became a feature of the magazine but later learned to appreciate them for their special effects industry based nature.
Things have changed a lot in the world I live in since then. Space Age Books closed down years ago. I've moved on in my life but I still love this magazine and still look forward to each issue arriving in the mail.
It just goes to show, it's worth picking things up and turning them over when a whim or intuition spontaneously dictates it.
EDiT:
Front cover of issue No.1:
The back cover:
-Windebieste.
