Godzilla is undoubtedly the king of the monsters, and now he's conquering a familiar frontier: comics. Godzilla has never been a stranger to comics, having made his first official comic book appearance in 1977, but he is finally getting his own comics line at IDW Publishing. The Godzilla Kai-Sei era is kicking off in July, starting with Godzilla #1 from Tim Seeley and Nikola ฤiลพmeลกija. With such a massive undertaking, Godzilla line editor Jake Williams spoke to FANGORIA about the stress of creating this line and what it felt like gathering this many talented creators under one roof.
“Launching three new shared continuity comics can be a stressful endeavor. As the editor of the line, I spent the first ten months of this project in a constant state of anxiety. That ended one day, when I was in the car with my roommate and got an email that Nikola Cizmesija was game to join us for the main title. After that moment, when I finally had all of the artists locked, stress left my body. I knew that the combined might of Oliver Ono, Pablo Tunica, and Nikola Cizmesija meant that, regardless of anything else, these were going to be the best looking comics on the shelf.”
Williams continued, “It delights me to no end how stylized and distinct each of these comics are from each other. Nikola's work on Godzilla feels like you're watching a big budget blockbuster action film. Pablo Tunica's work on Godzilla Escape the Deadzone sucks you into the strange and goopy world that the team has created in a way no other artist could. Oliver Ono's art on Starship Godzilla makes you feel like you found a VHS tape of a cult favorite '80s space anime you've never heard of. Each of them was my first choice for their respective books, and each of them have completely knocked it out of the park. This trio of artists are well on their way to becoming superstars of the comic book industry. Having them all together on a line right now feels like watching a season of SNL in the early 2000s, and being blown away that so many comedy legends shared the stage with each other.”
With how important the art is to the Godzilla line at IDW Publishing, we wanted to not only give you a sneak peek into the future of kaiju comics but also show you how comic art goes from a sketch to the final product. Take an exclusive look at these incredible pages, from their initial layout to their final colors, while learning more about the new series kicking off in July from IDW!
Godzilla #1
Writer: Tim Seeley
Artist: Nikola ฤiลพmeลกija
FIRST ISSUE ON SALE: July 23
Godzilla is the main book of the line that follows G-Force as they try to handle the world's looming monster threats. However, the team has an ultimate tool to push back the tide: a young boy named Jacen, who possesses the powers of Godzilla himself. It's an atomically explosive debut to the universe, as you can see from the page breakdown below.
Artist Nikola ฤiลพmeลกija shared some insight with FANGORIA into what it was like to take on illustrating Godzilla. “Godzilla is my very first kaiju type comic and I'm both nervous and excited! Godzilla is such a big and iconic character so I'm trying my best to meet the fans' expectations on how Godzilla should look and feel. The best part about drawing kaijus has to be the action and scale of things! I think fans will enjoy it just as much as I had fun drawing it.” ฤiลพmeลกija said before continuing to discuss the design itself.
“As for Godzilla's look, the original design is so iconic, so it was a struggle to change things without deviating too much from the original. Initially, I went with blue for the dorsal fin, but our editor Jake Williams made the right call and suggested we go with green, which became the main feature along with its glowing veins around the body. “
Godzilla: Escape The Deadzone
Writers: Ethan Parker, Griffin Sheridan
Artist: Pablo Tunica
Pre-Order Deadline: June 30
On Sale: August 6
This is the title I am most excited about because it introduces something Toho has never done before: a human/kaiju hybrid. Inside this new universe, there is a walled-off section called “The Deadzone” where this mysterious monster lives. Some believe it can kill a kaiju, but others don't believe it exists at all. It's going to be interesting to see how something like this is fleshed out in the comics. The series artist Pablo Tunica describes the plot as “a mix of Cormac McCarthy and raving mutants, where Godzilla is an unspoken presence.” He went on to explain what excited him so much about the project was “the idea of the monster with the violence exhibited by children. Children, despite what is believed, are much crueler than adults until the game is over. I would love for readers to be able to find themselves in that idea. For children, everything is a game, but at the same time, everything is very real.”
Starship Godzilla
Writer: Chris Gooch
Artist: Oliver Ono
Pre-Order Deadline: August 25
On-Sale: October 1
In this series, a crew of misfits embark on high-risk, high-reward kaiju-based missions with a secret that could impact the whole universe. This series is the most under lock and key so far because it's going to do some big things with the aliens of the Toho roster. It will be the first time we get to see the connections of the more expansive Toho universe, and it's all starting here in the Kai-Sei era.
Artist Oliver Ono told FANGORIA, “Filling out the wider Kai-Sei universe is a dream project! It comes with a ton of opportunities and challenges, from how much existing Toho lore to play off of to how much of my own sauce to add. I'm really trying to make the worlds we visit feel tangible and fantastical at the same time, and am excited to see readers noticing all the little details I'm shoving into the background of this gargantuan story.”
Ono added, “Likewise, Chris has managed to write the Starship Godzilla crew in a way that makes them relatable, and I wanted to convey that through the way they present and carry themselves. Everyone has a story and they are showing it (or concealing it) with their style. The same goes when designing all the other characters, maybe even a new Kaiju or two!”
Be sure to pick up all of these books at your local comic book store using the Comic Book Store Locator here!
