Comics
‘Godzilla’ Ongoing Comic Series Will Launch a New Shared Universe Next Month from IDW
Godzilla is getting its first ongoing comic series in a decade from IDW Publishing, offering a fresh take on the King of the Monsters that launches a new shared universe, dubbed the Kai-Sei era.
Written by Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash, Grayson) and illustrated by Nikola Čižmešija (Batman and Robin), Godzilla #1 will be published on July 23, coinciding with San Diego Comic-Con.
“In 1954, experimentation with a mysterious energy source known as Kai-Sei awakened Godzilla and a host of immortal kaiju. In the years that followed, humanity has been pummeled by near-constant monster attacks. While Japan has begun to treat the kaiju like natural disasters, understanding that their attempts to fight Godzilla only make the threat worse, the American G-Force is going to fight, fight, fight.
“The Americans have just discovered the ultimate tool in the fight against kaiju: a young boy named Jacen with the power of Godzilla. Able to harness the mysterious Kai-Sei in the same vein as the King of the Monsters, this boy will either save the world… or bring about its doom.”
Godzilla: Escape the Deadzone, a new series written by Ethan Parker & Griffin Sheridan (Kill Your Darlings) and illustrated by Pablo Tunica (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), will follow on August 6 with the introduction of Toho’s first human-kaiju hybrid.
“What is the Deadzone? Inhabitants of this new world know the Deadzone to be a walled-off portion of the Pacific Northwest, sequestered after the most disastrous Godzilla attack the country has ever faced. The government would have its citizens believe that nothing is still alive inside the Deadzone…but do you believe that?
“There are stories of a man. Or rather… a half kaiju, half man… who travels freely throughout the Deadzone. Some say he can even kill a kaiju. Some say… he’s not the only of his kind.”
Starship Godzilla, a cosmic adventure written by Chris Gooch (In Utero) and illustrated by Oliver Ono (Godzilla: Monster Island Summer Camp), will launch on October 1. for a trip through the stars that bridges the gap between the alien races.
“A crew of misfits embark on high-risk high-reward kaiju-based missions with a secret that could impact the whole universe. ”
Godzilla line editor Jake Williams commented, “The Kai-Sei Era is the only ongoing Godzilla story of its kind – crafted for comics readers who have never bought a Godzilla book, and Godzilla fans who have never read a comic. We aim to bring you the absolute best stories possible – whether those stories contain super powered G-Force members trying to kill Godzilla, mutants in a wasteland trying to survive in its wake, or mercenaries flying around space in Mechagodzilla.
“Every month readers will be able to take a peek inside a brand new universe composed of unimaginable horrors, kaiju old and new, and heroes to keep it all at bay. We’re telling the best Godzilla stories in the world, inside the best comics on the shelves.”
Find your local comic shop to get your hands on these titles. Pre-orders for Godzilla #1 close this Monday, June 9, so act fast!
IDW has worked with Toho International for over a decade and recently extended their partnership through 2029. They’ll continue to publish Godzilla limited series outside connected universe as well.
GODZILLA #1 Cover A by Nikola Cizmesija
GODZILLA #1 Cover B by Kade Byrand
GODZILLA #1 Cover C by Arthur Adams
GODZILLA #1 Cover D by Martin Simmonds
IDW Dark and Paramount recently joined forces to launch limited comic book tales set in the worlds of Smile and A Quiet Place, and we’ve learned today that they’ll continue hanging around in those franchise universes with two brand new limited series tales.
Entertainment Weekly has exclusively revealed this afternoon that IDW Dark’s Any Given Smile debuts in September, while A Quiet Place: Rising Tides arrives in November.
First up, from writer Stephanie Williams and artist Pablo Collar, Any Given Smile puts a football-themed twist on Parker Finn’s successful Smile movie franchise.
The five-part limited series is “set in January 1995, during the American Arena League football championship game in St. Augustine, Florida. The rising superstar of the Sharks, backup quarterback Dupree, is feeling the pressure from his teammates, the fans, and also the city’s gambling underworld, to whom he owes a considerable debt. Meanwhile, a sports journalist investigates a string of suicides that may be connected to the big game. At the very least, they are connected to a sinister entity that preys on the minds of its victims.”
From writer Declan Shalvey and artist Luke Sparrow, A Quiet Place: Rising Tides will also be a five-issue limited story. The comic book tale “brings the creatures to the Florida Keys, where a father-daughter duo attempt to survive on water in a houseboat.”
EW further details, “This tense family reunion coincides with the arrival of the vicious creatures that hunt through sound. Grace and her dad find safety on the open ocean, but she’ll have to make landfall sooner or later; the father’s oxygen tank and their supplies are running low, while a hurricane swiftly approaches.”
Learn more about both comic books over on Entertainment Weekly.
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