Empire magazine was first published in the UK in July 1989, just a month after the release of Licence To Kill, but due to the six year hiatus in Bond film production it wasn’t until the December 1995 issue that James Bond graced the cover. As of January 2021 our favourite secret agent has featured 13 times on the cover of the UK’s best film magazine. Staring with issue 78, which boasted a GoldenEye cover, 007 has been the cover agent of choice on issues 103, 162, 207, 210, 232, 246, 276, 280, 310, 317, 371 and 383.
There have also been two Bond girl covers - issue 126 featured Denise Richards from The World Is Not Enough and issue 233 as part of Empire’s 500 films of all time series, which included Goldfinger, featured golden girl Shirley Eaton.
Issue 103 also came with a ‘The Complete Posters of James Bond’ booklet, issue 161, although not featuring Bond on the cover, came with a ‘Bond The Legend: 1962-2002’ booklet celebrating the 40th anniversary of the film series. Likewise, again although not featuring Bond on the cover, issue 373 came with a 'Bond The Ultimate Celebration' supplement booklet.
More recent issues of Empire magazine now come with two different covers, one for general release and a stripped back or alternative version sent to subscribers. This was the case for the Skyfall issue (276), both Spectre issues (310 and 317) and the No Time To Die issue (371).
In January 2021 issue 383 was available to buy online with a special Sean Connery as James Bond cover to commemorate the recent death of the actor.
To find out more about Empire magazine check out their website here.
Empire magazine with GoldenEye cover and articles (Emap Metro, UK, Issue.78, December 1995)
Empire magazine with Tomorrow Never Dies cover and article and a free The Complete James Bond Poster Collection booklet (Emap Metro, UK, Issue.103, January 1998)
Empire magazine with Denise Richards cover and The World Is Not Enough article (Emap Metro, UK, Issue.126, December 1999)
Empire magazine with free Bond The Legend: 1962-2002 booklet (Emap Élan, UK, Issue.161, November 2002)
Empire magazine with Die Another Day cover and article (Emap Élan, UK, Issue.162, December 2002)
Empire magazine with Casino Royale cover and article (Emap Metro, UK, Issue.207, September 2006)
Empire magazine with Casino Royale cover and article (Emap Metro, UK, Issue.210, December 2006)
Empire magazine with Quantum Of Solace cover and article (Bauer London Lifestyle Ltd., UK, Issue.232, October 2008)
Empire magazine with Goldfinger cover and 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time which features Goldfinger at no.166 and Casino Royale at no.56 (Bauer London Lifestyle Ltd., UK, Issue.233, November 2008)
Empire magazine with James Bond Icons of the Decade cover and article (Bauer Media, UK, Issue.246, December 2009)
Empire magazine with Skyfall cover and 50th anniversary articles - this is the subscribers only cover (Bauer Media, UK, Issue.276, June 2012)
Empire magazine with Skyfall cover and 50th anniversary articles - this is the standard retail cover (Bauer Media, UK, Issue.276, June 2012)
Empire magazine with Skyfall cover and article (Bauer Media, UK, Issue.280, October 2012)
Empire magazine with Spectre cover and article - this is the subscribers only cover (Bauer Media, UK, Issue.310, April 2015)
Empire magazine with Spectre cover and article - this is the standard retail cover (Bauer Media, UK, Issue.310, April 2015)
Empire magazine with Spectre cover and article - this is the subscribers only cover (Bauer Media, Issue.317, UK, November 2015)
Empire magazine with Spectre cover and article - this is the standard retail cover (Bauer Media, Issue.317, UK, November 2015)
Empire magazine with No Time To Die cover and article - this is the subscribers only cover (Bauer Consumer Media Ltd., Issue.371, UK, February 2020)
Empire magazine with No Time To Die cover and article - this is the standard retail cover (Bauer Consumer Media Ltd., Issue.371, UK, February 2020)
Empire magazine with James Bond The Ultimate Celebration supplement magazine (Bauer Consumer Media Ltd., Issue.373, UK, April 2020)
Empire magazine Sean Connery tribute cover - available to buy online only (H Bauer Publishing Ltd., UK, Issue.383, January 2021)
