MONSTER WORLD
Eric Powell, Tracy Marsh and Phil Hester
GODZILLA:
THE STAND: NO MAN’S LAND #1 OF 5
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Mike Perkins
PSYCHOPATH #1 David Lapham
and Raulo Caceres
CROSSED:
STAR TREK INFESTATION #2 OF 2 Scott Tipton, David Tipton,
Gary Erskine and Casey Maloney
ECHOES #3 OF 5
Joshua Hale Fialkov and Rahsan Ekedal
SCARLET CITADEL #1 OF 4 Timothy Truman and Tomas Giorello
KING CONAN: THE
grown moths, men in rubber suits, space aliens, Jet Jaguar, a horrendous Hollywood remake, two Saturday morning cartoon shows, the Fantastic Four, King Kong and Raymond Burr. Now, with talks that another big-budget screen
I
remake is in the works, IDW unleashes Godzilla: Monster World, a new comic series co-written by The Goon creator Eric Powell and Tracy Marsh, with art by Phil Hester. “I’d been talking to Toho [producers of the
Godzilla film series] for about a year prior to us announcing the project,” reveals IDW’s Chief Cre- ative Officer, Chris Ryall. “It basically started with us wanting to use a lot of the Toho monsters who’d never been in comics before.” For the uninitiated, this includes Mothra, three-
headed dragon Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, Rodan and Megalon. Although regular participants in the films, few of these had made noteworthy appear- ances in any of Godzilla’s previous comic outings. The thought of showcasing them all in one series excited Ryall, but he knew he needed the right tal- ent to make it work. “It started with me
making a list of the cre- ators I thought would be well-suited to a Godzilla property and who I’d really want to work with on it,” he ex- plains. “Eric Powell’s name was at the top of both of those lists. I fig- ured that The Goon and everything else he’s up to would keep him too busy to even be able to consider this, but I had to try. And to my im- mense satisfaction, he was not only a big fan, but he was very interested in a long-term comic project, which would include co-writing the book with [Marsh] and painting covers for each issue.”
RM50
n the world of giant monsters, Godzilla reigns supreme. In the almost 60 years since he first roared onto screens, the giant lizard has survived encounters with over-
Godzilla: Monster World sees
the planet constantly under attack by Godzilla and his brethren, with a select group of human beings trying to predict the monsters’ ac- tions and survive the devastation left in their wake. “Eric had this great idea for
bringing an updated social com- mentary to the story without sac- rificing any of the hardcore monster action,” says co-writer Marsh. “We think it’s an approach that hasn’t been taken before: showing real consequences of monster attacks. If your city gets trampled, then you can kiss its in- frastructure goodbye. No food, no water, no shelter. It’s gonna be monster chaos.” Godzilla is no stranger to social
commentary, of course. The orig- inal 1954 film was a metaphor for the nuclear devastation seen in Hiroshima, with Godzilla as a bla- tant symbol of nature striking back at man’s destructiveness. In recent years, the fears surrounding a nuclear holocaust have taken a back- seat to the destruction caused by nat- ural disasters around the world, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes and volcanic eruptions. “Eric and I very consciously de-
cided to leave that part up to the reader,” says Marsh. “It’s more fun that way. But it’s true that recent dis- astrous events – both natural and man-made – have provided us with some great material for the book.” Of course revising the Godzilla
mythology comes with challenges; in particular, creating a new fan base without alienating the existing one.
“As a fan of Godzilla, I’m trying to do something
that I would enjoy reading,” admits Powell. “I be- lieve it pays homage to the spirit of the original Godzilla film, as well as some of the big-time
Godzilla: Monster World: Godzilla and his pals terrorize the planet anew.
monster battle films. But I’m also trying to estab- lish a continuing through-line that will keep the reader strung along and returning again and again.” IDW clearly shares the writers’ confidence in the
project. The first issue of Godzilla: Monster World (on sale now) has the distinction of having the company’s largest print run ever, even outnum- bering bestsellers such as Transformers and True Blood. So what is the key to Godzilla’s long-lasting popularity? “He continues to appeal to people on different
levels,” says Marsh. “Whether you’re a grown-up looking for a metaphorical exploration of nuclear war or a nine-year-old who thinks it’s cool to see buildings fall down, Godzilla’s your man.” “I can only answer this question as a nine-
year-old would,” echoes Powell. “He’s a big, cool-looking monster and he breathes fire and he smashes stuff and fights other monsters and it’s awesome!”
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