A new Godzilla shared universe and era called the Kai-Sei Era that features superpowered humans launched at IDW at the end of last month.
Godzilla #1 from Tim Seeley and artist Nikola Čižmešija launched on July 23rd and puts viewers in a world where monsters have been attacking humanity for decades. While the attacks have been happening for decades, different countries react to them in different ways. The Japan views them as natural disasters while the United States G-Force has launched a war against them in an attempt to stop them and they might have found a secret weapon, a young boy who has the powers of Godzilla.
READ: 4 Indie Alternatives To The Punisher That Capture The Character's Feel Better Than Marvel
Later this month, the universe will expand in Godzilla: Escape the Deadzone #1 from writers Ethan Parker and Griffin Sheridan with art by Pablo Tunica. The first issue introduces a half-human, half-kaiju hybrid, the first in Toho history. Not only will it introduce this new character, but it will the post-apocalyptic Deadzone and promises “the search for answers will forever change how fans view this new universe as they experience this thrilling and shocking ride.”
Then in October it will release Starship Godzilla #1 from writer Chris Gooch and artist Oliver Ono.
The series will take readers on a journey through the stars and explore the various alien races in the universe. Specifically, a group of misfits from Earth “embark on high-risk high-reward kaiju-based missions with a secret that could impact the whole universe.”
READ: Marvel Teases Possibility Of John Byrne Returning To X-Men
IDW’s Godzilla line editor Jake Williams touted the new universe saying, “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,” he added.
He reiterated these points in an interview with AIPT telling the outlet, “The Kai-Sei Era is about building a new universe for Godzilla that plays to the strengths of the comic book medium. When you translate Godzilla to a comic book page, you lose some of the spectacle and grandeur of going to the movies —but you gain so much when you use the medium correctly.
Everyone goes to see a new Godzilla movie, but typically the comics (as was the case for most licensed comics for years) were viewed as material for only the most diehard of fans. The Kai-Sei Era aims to change that by telling wildly original Godzilla stories that you can’t get anywhere else–that are, at the end of the day, simply really good comics.”
Additionally, he explained how this universe differs from traditional Godzilla stories, “Our universe differs from most Godzilla stories by taking place about 70-years after a typical Godzilla film. Godzilla movies generally feature a fairly standard version of our world having its first (or first few) interactions with kaiju. The world of the Kai-Sei Era has been entirely shaped by these encounters with kaiju over the decades. They have different technology, a different geopolitical situation, and, well…humans that have been physically altered by these interactions.”
While he pointed out how the universe is different, he did want to maintain what he described as the original idea of Godzilla in that he “is a reckoning for humanity. A monster born out of humankind’s inability to stop meddling with the natural order, and going to war with one another.”
Will you be checking out this new shared universe?
Will I check it out?
No
IDW's imprimatur discourages me. They hate me more than they want money.