Godzilla (comics)
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Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...
has appeared in a range of comic books that have been published in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.


Japanese ''Godzilla'' comics

In his native Japan, Godzilla has been featured in various comic books since his inception in 1954. These comics, for the most part, were black-and-white publications known as
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
. The vast majority of these comics were adaptations of the films. Every film from ''
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...
'' to '' Godzilla 2000: Millennium'' received a comic book adaptation with the exception of ''
King Kong vs. Godzilla is a 1962 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the third film in both the ''Godzilla'' and ''King Kong'' franchises, as well as the first T ...
''. In addition, all of the films from ''
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus is a 2000 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Masaaki Tezuka, written by Hiroshi Kashiwabara and Wataru Mimura, produced by Shogo Tomiyama, and starring Misato Tanaka, Shōsuke Tanihara, Yuriko Hoshi, Masatoh Eve, and Toshiyuki Nagashima. Prod ...
'' to '' Godzilla: Final Wars'' did not receive a comic book adaptation. For the most part, there were anywhere from two to four different adaptations of each film; for example, the first comic adaptation of ''
Godzilla vs. Biollante is a 1989 Japanese ''kaiju'' film written and directed by Kazuki Ōmori, with special effects by Koichi Kawakita. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is the 17th film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, the sec ...
'' was called ''Godzilla 1990'', while the second adaptation of ''
Godzilla vs. Mothra is a 1992 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Takao Okawara, written by Kazuki Ōmori, and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it is the 19th film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and is the fourth film in the ...
'' was called ''Godzilla vs. Mothra: Great Study''. Most of these comics (in particular, the comics from the 1950s to the 1970s) were published in children's magazines such as ''Bokura'', ''Bouken Oh'' and ''Shonen'', while others were published in ''
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''-sized weekly or monthly publications, while still others were published as one-shots and sold in movie theaters. Many of the latter comics (the 1980s to the 1990s) were published by ''Shogakukan Comics'', ''Tentomushi Comics'' and ''Kodansha Comics''. In the early 1990s, many of the original adaptations from the original series of ''Godzilla'' films were compiled into two pocketbook-sized volumes and reprinted by ''Bamboo Books''. In 1992, ''Bamboo'' would reprint Godzilla's battles with King Ghidorah from earlier manga into a collection called ''Battle History of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah''. Most of the time these adaptations would deviate from the original films and flesh out characters or add scenarios to the stories that were not present in the original films. Outside these adaptations, many of the original ''Godzilla'' films also received Asahi Sonorama book-and-record sets. These illustrated comic-style book-and-record sets featured painted artwork within. Outside these adaptations, Godzilla was also featured in original stories as well. A sequel story to the original film was published in 1955 called ''The Last Godzilla'', while a sequel story to ''
Godzilla Raids Again is a 1955 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Motoyoshi Oda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the second film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise. The film stars Hiroshi Koizumi, Setsuko Waka ...
'' was published in 1958 called ''Godzilla Continued: Anguirus Strikes Back''. In 1979, the Japanese edition of ''
Starlog ''Starlog'' was a monthly science fiction magazine that was created in 1976 and focused primarily on '' Star Trek'' at its inception. Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs were its creators and it was published by Starlog Group, Inc. in August 1976. ...
'' featured a two-part illustrated story written by Katsuhiro Otomo called ''A Space Godzilla''. Part 1 was featured in issue No. 4 ("Farewell Earth"), while Part 2 was featured in issue No. 6 ("Return to the Stars"). In 1990 an anthology-style comic, featuring different stories by different writers and artists, was published and called ''The Godzilla Comic''. This was followed in 1991 by a second anthology-style comic, also featuring different stories by different writers and artists, called ''The Godzilla Comic Raids Again: Gigantis the Fire Comic''. These two comics featured varying styles of stories, which ranged from typical Godzilla stories to comedic stories, violent stories and even "adult"-themed stories that contained nudity. In 2014, to coincide with the 60th anniversary of Godzilla and the 40th anniversary of the company's own ''Big Comic Original Magazine'',
Shogakukan Inc. is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics ( manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hi ...
released the comic ''Big Comic Original Godzilla Special Issue''. This one-shot comic featured 21 Godzilla-themed comic stories from the industry's top manga artists and writers. In 2018, Toho produced a manga serial published in ''
Weekly Shonen Jump Weekly, The Weekly, or variations, may refer to: News media * ''Weekly'' (news magazine), an English-language national news magazine published in Mauritius *Weekly newspaper, any newspaper published on a weekly schedule *Alternative newspaper, als ...
'' based on the film '' Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters''.


US ''Godzilla'' comics

Through the years since 1976, there have been various U.S. ''Godzilla'' comics published by different comic book publishing companies. These range from promotional comics to comics published by large mainstream comic companies such as
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
.


''Godzilla vs. Megalon'' comic

The first ''Godzilla'' comic published in the United States was actually a small promotional comic. In the summer of 1976 (as part of the publicity promoting the upcoming U.S. release of the film ''
Godzilla vs. Megalon is a 1973 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, written by Fukuda and Shinichi Sekizawa, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their effects subsidiary Toho ...
''), a small four-page comic book adaptation was published by Cinema Shares International Distribution Corp. and given away for free at movie theaters. The comic featured no credits (so the artist and writer are unknown) and featured no cover. It was magazine-sized and published on newsprint. The comic is infamous for getting names of two of the major characters wrong, as
Jet Jaguar is a 1973 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, written by Fukuda and Shinichi Sekizawa, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their effects subsidiary Toho–E ...
is referred to as "Robotman" and
Gigan is a kaiju from Toho's ''Godzilla'' franchise who first appeared in ''Godzilla vs. Gigan''. Gigan is a space monster resembling a species of reptile who was turned into a cyborg by the Nebulans. Gigan sports a huge buzzsaw in its frontal abdomi ...
is referred to as "Borodan".


Marvel Comics


Dark Horse Comics

In 1987,
Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...
acquired the rights to Godzilla and for the next 12 years published various comic books and trade paperbacks based on the character. These ran the gamut from back-up stories in anthology titles, to one-shots, to
miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
, to an ongoing series, as well as various reprints in the trade paperback format. In 1987, they published a black and white one-shot comic called ''Godzilla, King of the Monsters Special'' #1. Between 1988 and 1989, Dark Horse published a six-issue miniseries simply called ''Godzilla''. It was a translated version of the Japanese
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
of the film ''
The Return of Godzilla is a 1984 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Koji Hashimoto, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. The film features the fictional monster character Godzilla. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is th ...
'', which was based on the Japanese version of the film rather than the Americanized version, ''
Godzilla 1985 ''Godzilla 1985'' is a 1985 ''kaiju'' film directed by R. J. Kizer and Koji Hashimoto. The film is a heavily re-edited American localization of the Japanese film ''The Return of Godzilla'', which was produced and distributed by Toho Pictures in 1 ...
''. This series was reprinted in the trade paperback ''Godzilla'', which was issued in 1990 and then reissued in 1995. It was then reprinted in color as the miniseries ''Dark Horse Classics: Terror of Godzilla'' #1–6 from 1998 to 1999. In 1992, an illustration of Godzilla (provided by Arthur Adams) was published in ''San Diego Comic Con Comics'' #1. Also that same year the one-shot issue ''Godzilla Color Special'' #1 was published. It would be reprinted as simply ''Dark Horse Classics: Godzilla'' #1 in 1998. In 1993, Godzilla was featured in the anthology series ''Dark Horse Comics'' in issues #10-11(parts of ''Dark Horse Comics'' #10's story and artwork would be slightly altered twice in both ''Godzilla, King of the Monsters'' #0 and the trade paperback ''Godzilla: Age of Monsters''). That same year, Godzilla was also featured in a pair of one-shot comics, ''Urban Legends'' #1, which dispels the dual ending myth from the film ''
King Kong vs. Godzilla is a 1962 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the third film in both the ''Godzilla'' and ''King Kong'' franchises, as well as the first T ...
'', and ''Godzilla vs. Barkley'', which was based on the TV commercial ''
Godzilla vs. Charles Barkley ''Godzilla vs. Charles Barkley'' is a 1992 Nike television commercial directed by Michael Owens. Produced by Industrial Light & Magic, the commercial featured a giant-sized version of NBA star Charles Barkley challenging Godzilla to a game of ba ...
''. The latter comic was also published in Japan. In 1995, Godzilla appeared in the one-shot comic ''Godzilla versus Hero Zero''. That same year Godzilla starred in a second ongoing series called ''Godzilla, King of the Monsters'' that ran from issues #0–16. This series was published from 1995 to 1996. The series features several new monsters for Godzilla to battle and a story arc in which Godzilla was flung through time by a would-be archvillain, who uses him to cause both the
1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...
and the sinking of the ''
RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...
'', as well as battle the
Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...
. Godzilla would then be flung into the far-flung future as well and would rampage across it before returning to the modern day. The last issue of the Dark Horse series sees Godzilla flung back into time to just a few hours before the
asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
which supposedly destroyed the dinosaurs impacted on Earth, and fighting an alien creature. This issue first seems to have an "it was all a dream" ending, as Godzilla wakes from his slumber in the modern day. But then a twist is thrown into the ending: Godzilla is shown staring at a piece of his opponent's tail that is still in his hand from where he had ripped it off in the final moments of their battle before the impact. In 1996, Godzilla appeared in the anthology series ''Dark Horse Presents'' in issue #106, as well as in issue #4 of the four-issue miniseries ''A Decade of Dark Horse''. Also that same year, some of the earlier published material was reprinted in the trade paperback ''Art Adams' Creature Features''. Finally, in 1998, Godzilla appeared in trade paperbacks and miniseries that were simply reprinting earlier material. This included the miniseries ''Dark Horse Classics: Godzilla-King of the Monsters'' #1–6 and the trade paperbacks ''Godzilla: Age of Monsters'' and ''Godzilla: Past Present Future''.


Trendmasters ''Godzilla'' comics

In 1994,
Trendmasters Trendmasters was an American toy company based out of St. Louis, Missouri and was most notable for its figures based on the ''Godzilla'' series, as well as the 1998 film of the same name. It closed its doors in 2002, and its IP assets were ac ...
toys published a mini-comic called ''Godzilla, King of the Monsters'' that came packaged with some of the figures from their Godzilla toy line.


''Fox Kids Magazine'' ''Godzilla'' comics

In 1998, ''Fox Kids Magazine'' featured two '' Godzilla: The Series'' comics to promote the animated series, one based upon the three-part episode "Monster War" and the other being an original story.


IDW Publishing


Ongoing main series

In 2010,
IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...
obtained the rights for the license to Godzilla. Unlike the two previous companies who licensed Godzilla, IDW was able to acquire the rights to many other Toho movie monsters. These include
Anguirus is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', which first appeared in ''Godzilla Raids Again'' (1955), the second film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise. Anguirus is the first monster to be shown engaging in combat with Godzilla in a film. Since then, the ...
,
Rodan is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's 1956 film ''Rodan'', produced and distributed by Toho. Following its debut standalone appearance, Rodan went on to be featured in numerous ent ...
,
Mothra is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that first appeared in the 1961 film '' Mothra'', produced and distributed by Toho Studios. Mothra has appeared in several Toho ''tokusatsu'' films, most often as a recurring character in the ''Godzilla'' ...
,
King Ghidorah is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1964 film ''Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster''. Although the name of the character is officially trademarked by Toho as "King Ghidorah", the character was originall ...
,
Kumonga is a mutated, enormous spider-like kaiju that first appears in Toho's 1967 film ''Son of Godzilla'' and went on to appear in the films ''Destroy All Monsters'', ''All Monsters Attack'' (through stock footage) and ''Godzilla: Final Wars''. In the ...
,
Hedorah , also known as the Smog Monster, is a kaiju monster who first appeared in Toho's 1971 film '' Godzilla vs. Hedorah''. The huge monster was named for , the Japanese word for sludge, slime, vomit or chemical ooze. Overview Whereas Godzilla was a s ...
, Gigan (Showa), Mechagodzilla (Showa),
Titanosaurus ''Titanosaurus'' (; ) is a dubious genus of sauropod dinosaurs, first described by Richard Lydekker in 1877.R. Lydekker. (1877). Notices of new and other Vertebrata from Indian Tertiary and Secondary rocks. ''Records of the Geological Survey of I ...
,
Battra is a 1992 Japanese Kaiju, ''kaiju'' film directed by Takao Okawara, written by Kazuki Ōmori, and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. Produced and distributed by Toho, Toho Studios, it is the 19th film in the Godzilla (franchise), ''Godzilla'' franchis ...
,
SpaceGodzilla is a Godzilla clone kaiju that first appeared in Toho's 1994 film ''Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla'',as the main antagonist. Overview Appearance SpaceGodzilla largely resembles his earthly counterpart, but with several key differences. In addition t ...
,
Destoroyah is a crustacean kaiju who first appeared in Toho's 1995 film ''Godzilla vs. Destoroyah'', as its titular main antagonist. Overview Destoroyah originated as a colony of microscopic Precambrian crustaceans that had been awakened and mutated in ...
,
Moguera is a 1957 Japanese tokusatsu science fiction film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film begins with a giant fissure destroying an entire village. This leads to an investigation whereby the source is disco ...
,
Varan is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared in the 1958 film ''Varan the Unbelievable'', directed by Ishirō Honda and produced and distributed by Toho. Varan is depicted as a giant prehistoric reptile capable of gliding flight, ...
,
Manda Manda may refer to: Places * Kafr Manda, Arab town in the Lower Galilee * Manda Upazila, an upazila in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh * Manda, Kale, a village in Burma * Manda, Guinea, a town in the Labé Region * Manda, Jammu, India, a vil ...
,
Baragon is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1965 film '' Frankenstein Conquers the World'', produced and distributed by Toho. Depicted as a four-legged, horned dinosaur-like creature with large ears, Baragon a ...
, Gaira, Sanda,
Ebirah is a kaiju film monster taking the form of an enormous monstrous lobster. The name ''Ebirah'' is a portmanteau of the Japanese word for "shrimp" or "lobster" (蝦, ''ebi'') and the -ra ending often appended to the names of kaiju monsters, such a ...
,
Kamacuras is a kaiju film monster which first appeared in Toho's 1967 film ''Son of Godzilla''. The name alludes to "kamakiri", the Japanese word for mantis. In its first appearance, the creature was called Gimantis in the U.S. version. Overview Showa In ...
,
Gorosaurus is a fictional dinosaur, or '' kaiju'', who first appeared in Toho's 1967 film ''King Kong Escapes''. It was an opponent of King Kong in the film, and it later had a prominent role in 1968's ''Destroy All Monsters''. Gorosaurus is a typical gian ...
, Gezora, Kamoebas,
Jet Jaguar is a 1973 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, written by Fukuda and Shinichi Sekizawa, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their effects subsidiary Toho–E ...
,
Megalon is a kaiju who first appeared in Toho's 1973 film ''Godzilla vs. Megalon'', his only film appearance to date. Overview Megalon is a bipedal, humanoid, burrowing insect resembling a beetle, standing 55 meters (180 feet) tall and weighing 40,000 ...
,
King Caesar is a god kaiju who first appeared in Toho's 1974 Godzilla film ''Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla''. In his first film appearance, King Caesar is portrayed as a guardian deity and the protector of an ancient Ryukyuan family. Awakened from a dormant s ...
,
Biollante is a rose, human and dinosaur hybrid kaiju who first appeared in Toho's 1989 film ''Godzilla vs. Biollante'', and has since appeared in numerous licensed video games and comic books. The creature is portrayed as a genetically engineered clone of ...
,
Mecha-King Ghidorah is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1964 film ''Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster''. Although the name of the character is officially trademarked by Toho as "King Ghidorah", the character was originally ...
, Orga,
Megaguirus is a kaiju who first appeared in Toho's 2000 film ''Godzilla vs. Megaguirus''. A mutated version of the fictional , Megaguirus is regarded as the queen of the species; according to Toho, she is 50 meters (164 feet) long, has a wingspan of 80 mete ...
,
Zilla Zilla may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Vittore Zanetti Zilla (1864–1946), Italian painter * Zilla Mays (1931–1995), American R&B, gospel singer and pioneering DJ * Zilla (Godzilla), a fictional film monster * Zilla (band), a trance ban ...
, Mechagodzilla (Heisei), Gigan (Millenium) and Kiryu. As well as these licensed monsters, IDW introduced a new group of monsters called the Trilopods (トリロポッド). Created by artist Matt Frank, these monsters are based on the prehistoric
arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...
s called
trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three lobes") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest-known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the At ...
s. From March 2011 to February 2012, IDW published their first ''Godzilla'' series, a 12-issue series called ''Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters''. Originally going to be titled ''Godzilla: Monster World'', the new series launched with a painted cover by
Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which he collaborated wi ...
, as well as a record 100 variant covers of issue #1 that were mostly retailer incentives. This promotion allowed 100 U.S. comic book store owners to have personalized variants featuring their store being demolished by Godzilla's foot if they each ordered over 500 copies of issue #1. As a result, ''Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters'' #1 was thus able to sell out its 1st printing. In August 2011, IDW released a one-shot issue called ''Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters 100-Cover Charity Spectacular''. The issue featured all 100 of the unique covers of the comic book store-smashing variants of issue #1 via a cover gallery. Proceeds from the sale of the issue went to benefit the
International Medical Corps International Medical Corps is a global, nonprofit, humanitarian aid organization that provides emergency medical services, healthcare training and capacity building to those affected by disaster, disease or conflict." It seeks to strengthen medi ...
for tsunami relief in Japan. In September 2011, they began collecting the series as a three-volume trade paperback series. In July 2019, the entire series was collected as a deluxe trade paperback. From May 2012 to May 2013, IDW published a second ongoing series, simply called ''Godzilla''. The series ran 13 issues. In November 2012, they began collecting the series as a three-volume trade paperback series. In April 2014, the entire series was collected as a deluxe trade paperback called ''Godzilla: History's Greatest Monster''. From June 2013 to June 2015, IDW published a third ongoing series called ''Godzilla: Rulers of Earth'', which ran 25 issues. They began collecting the series as a six-volume trade paperback series in December 2013. In June 2016, they started to recollect the series as a two-volume deluxe trade paperback series, with the first volume called ''Godzilla: Complete Rulers of Earth''. In August 2019 the second volume, called ''Godzilla: Complete Rulers of Earth 2'', was released.


Miniseries

Outside of the ongoing main series, IDW has also published seven five-issue miniseries. They first published a five-issue miniseries called ''Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths'' from June – October 2011. The miniseries was then collected as a trade paperback in November 2011. A second five-issue miniseries called ''Godzilla: Legends'' was published from November 2011 – March 2012. The miniseries was then collected as a trade paperback in June 2012. A third five-issue miniseries called ''Godzilla: The Half-Century War'' was published from August – December 2012. The miniseries was then collected as a trade paperback in May 2013. The miniseries was then collected again as a hardcover book, with additional artwork, in July 2015. In October 2016, issue #1 was reprinted as ''Godzilla: The Half-Century War – Greatest Hits'' #1. A fourth five-issue miniseries called ''Godzilla: Cataclysm'' was published from August – December 2014. The miniseries was then collected as a trade paperback in March 2015. A fifth five-issue miniseries called ''Godzilla in Hell'' was published from July – November 2015. Issues #1 and 2 of the miniseries both went into a second and third printing, while issue #3 went into a second printing. The miniseries was then collected as a trade paperback in February 2016. A sixth five-issue miniseries called ''Godzilla: Oblivion'' (which was originally going to be titled ''Godzilla: World's End'') was published from March – July 2016. The miniseries was then collected as a trade paperback in October 2016. A seventh five-issue miniseries called ''Godzilla: Rage Across Time'' was published from August – November 2016. Issue #1 went into a second printing. The miniseries was then collected as a trade paperback in December 2016. An eighth five-issue miniseries called ''Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors'' was published from April – July 2021.


One-shots

In June 2014, IDW published a one-shot issue called ''Godzilla: The IDW Era''. This one-shot issue gave a brief overview of all the various IDW ''Godzilla'' series and miniseries that had been published over the past three years. In June 2016, a one-shot collection called ''Godzilla Treasury Edition'' was released. This one-shot collection features reprints of some of
James Stokoe __NOTOC__ James Stokoe (born September 4, 1985) is a Canadian comic book artist who is known for his work on such titles as ''Wonton Soup'', '' Orc Stain'' and '' Godzilla: The Half-Century War''. Along with Corey Lewis, Brandon Graham and Mar ...
's artwork and covers from the various IDW series and miniseries. ''Godzilla Rivals'' is a quarterly series of one-shot comics, each focusing on Godzilla battling a different monster. The first installment of the series was released on June 30, 2021.


Legendary Comics

In May 2014,
Legendary Comics Legendary Comics is an American comic book publisher founded in 2010. The company is owned by Legendary Entertainment, a media company located in Burbank, California. The company publishes both original works and licensed ones based on films prod ...
released ''Godzilla: Awakening'', a graphic novel prequel to ''
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...
'' (2014). It was written by Max and Greg Borenstein and featured art by Eric Battle, Yvel Gluchet and Alan Quah. In September (to coincide with the film's home video release), the novel was reissued as a trade paperback. In October 2018, Legendary announced plans for a graphic novel prequel to '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' titled ''Godzilla: Aftershock''. It was written by Arvid Nelson, illustrated by Drew Edward Johnson and released on May 21, 2019. In March 2021, Legendary published a graphic novel prequel to '' Godzilla vs. Kong'' titled ''Godzilla: Dominion''.


Collected U.S. editions


Marvel Comics

* ''Essential Godzilla, King of the Monsters'' (2006, collects ''Godzilla, King of the Monsters'' #1–24, )


Dark Horse Comics

* ''Godzilla'' (1995, collects ''Godzilla'' (vol. 2) #1–6, ) * ''Godzilla: Age of Monsters'' (1998, collects ''Godzilla, King of the Monsters Special'' #1, ''Godzilla Color Special'' #1, ''Godzilla, King of the Monsters'' (vol. 3) #0–4 and 16, ''Godzilla versus Hero Zero'' #1, and a short story from ''
Dark Horse Presents ''Dark Horse Presents'' was a comic book published by American company Dark Horse Comics from 1986. Their first published series, it was their flagship title until its September 2000 cancellation. The second incarnation was published on MySpace, r ...
'' #106, ) * ''Godzilla: Past Present Future'' (1998, collects ''Godzilla, King of the Monsters'' (vol. 3) #5–15 and a short story from ''A Decade of Dark Horse'' #4 of 4, )


IDW Publishing

* ''Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters'' ** ''Volume One'' (2011, collects ''Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters'' #1–4, ) ** ''Volume Two'' (2012, collects ''Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters'' #5–8, ) ** ''Volume Three'' (2012, collects ''Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters'' #9–12, ) ** ''Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters'' (2019, collects ''Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters'' #1–12, ) * ''Godzilla: Gangsters and Goliaths'' (2011, collects ''Godzilla: Gangsters and Goliaths'' #1–5, ) * ''Godzilla: Legends'' (2012, collects ''Godzilla: Legends'' #1–5, ) * ''Godzilla'' ** ''Volume One'' (2012, collects ''Godzilla'' (vol. 4) #1–4, ) ** ''Volume Two'' (2013, collects ''Godzilla'' (vol. 4) #5–8, ) ** ''Volume Three'' (2013, collects ''Godzilla'' (vol. 4) #9–13, ) ** ''Godzilla: History's Greatest Monster'' (2014, collects ''Godzilla'' (vol. 4) #1–13, ) * ''Godzilla: The Half-Century War'' (2013, collects ''Godzilla: The Half-Century War'' #1–5, paperback , hardcover ) * ''Godzilla: Rulers of Earth'' ** ''Volume One'' (2013, collects ''Godzilla: Rulers of Earth'' #1–4, ) ** ''Volume Two'' (2014, collects ''Godzilla: Rulers of Earth'' #5–8, ) ** ''Volume Three'' (2014, collects ''Godzilla: Rulers of Earth'' #9–12, ) ** ''Volume Four'' (2014, collects ''Godzilla: Rulers of Earth'' #13–16, ) ** ''Volume Five'' (2015, collects ''Godzilla: Rulers of Earth'' #17–20, ) ** ''Volume Six'' (2015, collects ''Godzilla: Rulers of Earth'' #21–25, ) ** ''Godzilla: Complete Rulers of Earth'' (2016, collects ''Godzilla: Rulers of Earth'' #1–12, ) ** ''Godzilla: Complete Rulers of Earth 2'' (2019, collects ''Godzilla: Rulers of Earth'' #13–25, ) * ''Godzilla: Cataclysm'' (2015, collects ''Godzilla: Cataclysm'' #1–5, ) * ''Godzilla in Hell'' (2016, collects ''Godzilla in Hell'' #1–5, ) * ''Godzilla: Oblivion'' (2016, collects ''Godzilla: Oblivion'' #1–5, ) * ''Godzilla: Rage Across Time'' (2016, collects ''Godzilla: Rage Across Time'' #1–5, ) * ''Godzilla: Unnatural Disasters'' (2021, collects ''Godzilla: Legends'' #1–5, ''Godzilla in Hell'' #1–5 and ''Godzilla: Rage Across Time'' #1–5, ) * ''Godzilla: World of Monsters'' (2021, collects ''Godzilla: Gangsters and Goliaths'' #1–5, ''Godzilla: Cataclysm'' #1–5 and ''Godzilla: Oblivion'' #1–5, ) * ''Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors—Rise Up!'' (2022, collects ''Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors'' #1–5, ) * ''Godzilla Rivals'' ** ''Round One'' (2022, collects ''Godzilla Rivals'' #1–4, ) * ''Godzilla vs. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' (2022, collects ''Godzilla vs. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' #1–5, )


Legendary Comics

* ''Godzilla: Awakening'' (2014, Legendary, hardcover , paperback ) * ''Godzilla: Aftershock'' (2019, Legendary, ) * ''Godzilla Dominion'' (2021, Legendary, )


See also

*
Godzilla
at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe


References


External links


Official


Godzilla

Dark Horse Godzilla comics

Dark Horse Gamera comics


Information


Kaiju comics

Kaiju books



''Godzilla's Path through the Marvel Universe''
– tracks the geographic location of Godzilla through the entire Marvel Comics series {{Godzilla 1976 comics debuts Comics by Doug Moench Crossover comics Comics based on films Dark Horse Comics titles IDW Publishing titles
comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
Marvel Comics titles