With the hottie vampires of Twilight hitting the multiplexes this weekend, it's been hard not to think about the various other sexy vampires in the pop culture landscape. And what with various pubs running their annual "Sexiest Men Alive" lists, why not discuss the sexiest undead men?

Vampires are usually depicted as very sexual creatures, what with the constant carnal cravings and intense stares and such. There's quite a number to choose from. Amid the feast, here are ten sexy vampires we can all sink our teeth into.

Frank Langella
in Dracula (1979)

I first saw this take on Dracula in one of my high school writing classes, where we discussed how the movie brought a new vision of the vampire to the cinema. Instead of a cadaverous monstrosity, Langella's Dracula was charming and seductive like a nobleman. By then, the potential sex appeal of the vampire was getting to be well-known, but even then it was clear how Langella helped moved vampires in that direction.

Jonathan Frid and Ben Cross
in Dark Shadows

While Langhella's Dracula brought the sexy vampire to the big screen, it was Barnabas Collins who first got hearts fluttering on the camptastic soap opera Dark Shadows. Barnabas was a lonely soul, separated by the ages from his true love, a quality that resonated with fans. While Ben Cross (who played Barnabas in the 90's revival of the series) is more my type than Jonathan Frid (who created the role) we might not be talking about sexy vampires if Barnabas hadn't gotten us thinking about them as romantic creatures.

Kiefer Sutherland
in The Lost Boys

While I was in ... uhm, the target demographic at the time, I never joined in on the Corey/Corey mania of the 80s. Instead, The Lost Boys was all about the hotness of Kiefer Sutherland's moody bad boy vampire for me. That crush seems apt considering that The Lost Boys was the movie that got me to realize that buying tickets for 'R' rated movies as a kid wasn't as hard as I expected.

Birthday boy James Marsters (with John Barrowman)

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• Happy birthday to gay-fave Torchwood and Buffy vet James Marsters, who turns 46 today. Holy eff, did I just say "46"?! We should all be so lucky as to look this good and get paid to make out with John Barrowman at that age.

• Remember former Westlife member Brian McFadden's comments about how gays aren't real males and only gay men wear pink? Well apparently we were wrong to take any of that as an insult. Thanks for clearing that up for us, Brian!

• Here's a catch-up with Queer As Folk alum Peter Paige.

• Above, from our sibs at 365Gay: Mike Headrick reports from Salt Lake City on the LDS Church's postponement of a meeting with LGBT followers.

• And yesterday gay radio host Michelangelo Signorile invited Catholic League honcho Bill Donohue onto his show to discuss blogs that he thinks should have their creds pulled from the DRC, including Towleroad.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

One of our intrepid Blogsketeers, Dan McCallum, has been out in L.A. at the Paley fest for the last week, and this morning sent me the above pic, which nearly brought me to tears.

Last night while I was doing Dan's liveblogging duties, he was off hobnobbing with the cast of the Greatest Teenage Vampire Killer Show in History, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, at their much-anticipated reunion. Dan had actually texted me right as he was sitting down in the audience (to rub it in, the dear) and I replied, "if tom lenk is there pinch his ass for me". 

And whaddaya know!

Yes, that's Dan with Lenk, who of course played troubled, sexually confused teen Andrew on the series (and for anyone just joining the program, you can read up on the lengthy debates about Andrew's sexuality - including a comment from Joss Whedon himself - over yonder). Lenk wasn't on-stage for the reunion as he wasn't a "regular character", which to me is total BS.

Anyway, here are a few more tiddies from Dan about the panel:

Joss said that only once did the network balk at the Willow/Tara lesbian thing and it was over their first kiss.  He told the network he would pack up his office and walk if they wanted it the scene removed and then they tucked their overpaid tails back between their legs an backed down.

As for Buffy's recent Season 8 comic book lesbian tryst, he said it is not some big life altering event, nor is Buffy turning lesbian.  She simply met the right woman and they bonded and they had a lot of free time on their hands.  Sarah Michelle Gellar had no idea Buffy went Sappho until right before walking on stage.  James Marsters almost fell out of his chair at the news when it was brought up during the panel.  It was pretty funny.

Needless to say, I'm greener than Monday's beer about all this. For more updates on Buffy, Pushing Daisies, and other shows, check out Dan's Paley Fest coverage over here.

And here's a fan clip of some of Andrew's greatest moments. God I miss that show...

This week's Angry Puppy is full of shocking news about "full digital nudity", same-sex couplings in Mass Effect, Fox News' getting the story wrong, and the possible film adaptation of The Last Man on Earth. Oh my! Marc and Lee also review "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," the first episode of Torchwood's second season. And finally, they notice something odd about both the Sci Fi Channel and The History Channel doing a series about hunting UFO's. As they guys say, The History Channel?

Check it out after the break!

• Spiking the Dragon Ball punch:
  I'm no fan of Dragon Ball Z. I love the concept but the actual story has just a few too many of the quirks that annoy me about shounen manga. However, the live-action Dragon Ball movie certainly has my attention now that they've cast James Marsters as Piccolo. Hm, if they put Marsters in green make-up, what do you think the chances are that he'll become the male equivalent of the Orion Green Girl?
  
• VVolverine, W01ver1ne and Logan Bub still stuck with Paragon City:
  Marvel may have gotten a lot of press for their newly-debuted online comics but the silence on the Marvel MMORPG has industry observers wondering if the game is still coming. There's a whole lot of superhero games that were announced but quietly disappeared: Bullfrog's "My Incredible Super Team" and that other game which was going to use the X-Com engine come to mind. I wonder what is it about the genre that's so challenging.
  
• Springfield, yeah! Can you dig it?:
  DVR alert for this week's Simpsons! This weeks episode features the guest voice of Alan Moore. That's right, the one who knows the score. Art Spiegelman and Dan Clowes also appear as themselves, along with some guy named Jack Black. But Alan Moore ... doesn't that feel like the comics equivalent of Beverlee McKinsey recording a performance? Oops, wrong geekdom ... doesn't that feel like the comics equivalent of Greta Garbo recording a performance?
  
• Link of the week:
  This whole Alan Moore on The Simpsons thing has me flashing back to Gail Simone's old column and her parody of romance comics, where she threw Moore into a teen romance story. "Terminator, hit the north..."
  
  Hey when else will I get to make that reference? Besides, if I'm going to have that song stuck in my head for the next week, I'm not going to suffer alone.
  

• The cast of Xanadu, the Gayest Musical Ever, will ring the closing bell today at the NASDAQ. If anything can keep the economy from sliding, it's the sight of Cheyenne Jackson in short-shorts.
  

• James Marsters (looking adorable at top) on his hotly-anticipated Torchwood role: "I'm introduced and kiss the hell out of the male lead and then kick his ass. Or maybe he kicks my ass. We kick each other's ass." Ah, new love...

• Hey, Van fans! Here's an adorable off-the cuff video interview with Hansis on the eve of his off-Broadway debut in Die Mommie Die. (Thanks to QueerTwoCents for the tip!)
  

• Rosie O'Donnell may have inked a deal for a primetime talk show opposite Larry King, on MSNBC. I for one think she will be much easier to take after happy hour.

• This whole Ernie Fletcher anti-gay Hail Mary re-election attempt gets even weirder: running-mate Rudolph referred to Democratic opponent Beshear and his running-mate as "a couple of San Francisco treats" over the weekend. What, they're Rice-a-Roni?!

Whether it’s investigating aliens like Fox Mulder, facing off against demons like the Winchester brothers, or hunting down vampires like Xander Harris, all these guys have one thing in common: they are absolutely drop-dead gorgeous.

And so, to our countdown of the 15 sexiest small screen sci-fi* hunks to ever grace our TV screens. It wasn’t easy to narrow them down, that’s for sure. Oh, and no apologies for the Joss Whedon influence, either!

(*includes science fiction, horror, cult and fantasy TV shows.)

Fox Mulder (played by David Duchovny)

Fox Mulder was a total fox – pardon the pun! Smolderingly smart, moody and mysterious, with a sardonic sense of humor, he’s simply the sexiest FBI agent to ever walk the planet. (Closely followed by Seeley Booth and Dale Cooper!) And who can forget him dripping wet, coming out of the swimming pool in those tiny red Speedos?


Clark Kent (played by Tom Welling)

Tall, dark and handsome, with a body to die for and hair you just want to run your hands through, Smallville's young Clark Kent is a fine figure of the man he’s destined to become. And he’s even sexier when he’s under the influence of Red K. Oh Kal-El, you can save us any day!


Angel (played by David Boreanaz)

Hunky, brooding and yes, dead (or should that be undead?) gorgeous, it wasn’t only a vampire slayer that fell for his devilishly handsome, er, charms. As if Angel wasn’t quite sexy enough for us, Angelus really turned up the heat. Yes, bad boys are far too irresistible for their (and our!) own good.

• Buffy alum James Marsters is joining Torchwood's second season. The former vampire recently told fans at a Fangoria convention that his role is "going to offend some, titillate others -- to the point where they would need to finish themselves off afterwards." That should please those folks who like to slash Angle/Spike! Marsters wouldn't say anything else except to imply that what takes place is "omnisexual".
  
• Who would win in a take no prisoners brawl between Tim Gunn and Anderson Cooper?
• Los Angeles' "Outfest" isn't just about movies. The cast and crew of Ugly Betty and Brothers & Sisters will both appear on panels at the film festival.
• BuddyTV.com asks "Whatever happened to Queer as Folks Scott Lowell (Theodore Schmidt) and Thea Gill (Lindsay Peterson).
• Lance Bass as Corny Collins in Hairspray on Broadway? I've heard of worst casting.