Godzilla Trivia of the Day

Did you know...

...that George Takei of Star Trek fame (Mr. Sulu) began his movie career with the film "Godzilla Raids Again"!

Although to be specific...not technically on-screen.

You see when the film was first being transitioned for US release, various voice actors were hired to provide English dubbing.

George Takei was one of those voice actors, which essentially launched his career within film!

Godzilla films are (of course) famous for having some of the worst dubbing around, with long pauses and mismatching dialogue.

So it's interesting to note that one of the most famous voices in Hollywood started off his career in this manner.

Source: IMDB.com

Godzilla Publisher IDW comics to debut on the NOOK

IDW Comics is going into the next frontier and launching a whole slew of titles onto the NOOK.

For those not in the know, the NOOK is a reading tablet designed by retail book giant Barnes and Nobles.

It's essentially like Amazon.com's Kindle only from another company.

Well IDW seems to think that the NOOK is going in the right direction, so they've decided to align themselves with this new format.

Unfortunately the recent Godzilla comics are not listed yet, and I suspect this has to do with Toho's ever-increasing fees on royalties, but that could change in the near future.

In any case here's a list of the titles that will be available when IDW launches this application:

• Bloom County: The Complete Digital Library Volume 1 1980-1981
• Bloom County: The Complete Digital Library Volume 2 1982
• Bloom County: The Complete Digital Library Volume 3 1983
• Code Word: Geronimo
• Doctor Who: Fugitive
• Doctor Who: Tessaract
• Doctor Who: Agent Provocateur
• Doctor Who: The Forgotten
• Doctor Who: Through Time and Space
• Doctor Who: Fairy Tale
• Dead Space
• Dragon Age
• G.I. JOE: Hearts & Minds
• The Last Unicorn
• Little Adventures in Oz Vol. 1
• Locke & Key Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft
• Locke & Key Vol. 2: Head Games
• Locke & Key Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows
• Locke & Key Vol. 4: Keys to the Kingdom
• The Murder of King Tut
• Mystery Society
• Parker: The Hunter
• Parker: The Outfit
• The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures
• Star Trek: Countdown
• Star Trek: The Movie Adaptation
• Star Trek: Nero
• Star Trek: Spock Reflections
• TRANSFORMERS 3: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation
• True Blood Vol.1: All Together Now
• Witch & Wizard: Battle for Shadowland

Not bad huh, but it's missing the Big G of course.

Here's the original website for further information about this joint venture:

seibertron.com: IDW and Barnes & Noble to bring graphic novels to NOOK

Godzilla Toy of the Day

This is the "Toy Vault Godzilla Talking Keychain Toy", which makes my Godzilla Toy of the Day column due to how awesome it is!

Essentially this toy allows you to press a button and a monster roar from one of the Godzilla movies plays!

In fact there's four distinct roars to choose from:



Godzilla
Mothra
Baby Godzilla
King Ghidorah

How INCREDIBLE is that.

I remember as a kid these kind of keychain toys use to be all of the rage, but they always included weird stuff like farts and yells.

Now you can have that distinctive Godzilla roar play anytime you want to, which is sure to be a crowd-pleaser wherever you take it.

If you're a Godzilla fan this is DEFINITELY one toy to have.

*SIDE NOTE: it's neat to see that a picture of the "Godzilla 1985" model was used within this toy. It shows how popular that model still remains after 20 plus years of existence*

Godzilla Video of the Day

What you're looking at is a small, rarely seen clip from the "Godzilla 1985" film.

I say rarely because the scene was unfortunately only incorporated into the overseas film version, so for the US theater/video release it was nowhere to be seen.

This scene is amazing considering the magnitude of it.

That foot you see stomping down is a LIFE-SIZE replica of Godzilla's foot!

You see anticipating the magnitude of this film's release, Toho studios decided to go all out on its special effects.

For starters they created a 20-foot scale Godzilla for some of the most dramatic scenes, titled the "Cybot Godzilla". You can read more about this here.

The next part was creating a life size replica of Godzilla's foot for some city-stomping scenes.

So if you've ever wanted to gauge how Godzilla would look like in real-life, here's at least a small preview of it.

Godzilla in a "50 more sequels that never happened" column

Moviehole.net has an interesting blurb regarding the failed sequel to the 1998 Godzilla movie, citing it in their "50 more sequels that never happened" column.

Coming in at number 35, it is as follows:

35. Godzilla 2

A financial and critical disaster, the hugely-expensive U.S language remake – which pitted Ferris Bueller against a giant Barney the Dinosaur in wet Manhattan – had the brass at Sony frowning and sulking for months. Still, Sony were confident enough in the “Godzilla” brand to begin development on a sequel, “G2″, though one that was set at a lower- budget. Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, the duo behind Fox’s cash-cow “Independence Day”, likely feeling responsible for the original disaster, opted not to be involved in “G2″. Ultimately, Sony dropped the project anyway.

For the most part this is all information we already know of...

...but look at how the sequel was going to be titled, "G2".

This is the first time I've heard of that as everywhere else it was always referred to "Godzilla 2".

I can see it being called "G2" as it's a catchy title (something movie marketers dream to do), but still "Godzilla 2" would have been much more appropriate.

I mean "G2" sounds like something involving Gatorade!

"Superman 2", "Spider-Man 2", "Iron Man 2", "Terminator 2" are all examples of titles working out fine with just an added 2.

In any case here's the original link for further reference. You'll find some great info on 49 other failed sequels too:

Moviehole.net: 50 more sequels that never happened

Godzilla Gangsters and Goliaths #5 Rankings

Well it looks like the final issue for the "Godzilla: Gangsters and Goliaths" series has come...and sales for it took a tumbling.

For reference issue #4 came in at 194th place with 9,061 issues sold.

Now issue #5 closes at 223th place with only 8,725 issues sold!

I was really expecting this issue to have a higher number sold, as people/stores knew this was going to be the last one.

Usually last issues sell higher because people reading throughout the series, those who probably dropped in and out periodically, come to see how things end.

I guess it just didn't happen here.

In any case this was still a great series, and for those who haven't picked it up I highly suggest giving it a read by ordering through the link below.

You'll be surprised at how well the world of policemen and the mafia works within Godzilla. 

Writer John Layman did outstanding work here, and I hope we get to see him again within another Godzilla series.

Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #8 Rankings

Well it looks like things continue to slip for the Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters series.

The latest numbers are in for issue #8 and it ranked at 197th place with 10,637 issues sold.

That's over twenty places down from issue #7 and about 500 less issues sold too!

This was suppose to have been the ultimate comic featuring the massive Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah fight we've all been waiting for.

But alas its sales just didn't make it so.

Again I can see why the sales trend goes down, as the payoff just hasn't been there when it comes to this series.

Lots of setups, very few results.  It's like LOST only in comic book form (ooooh, too soon).

This marks the last issue for writer Eric Powell and unfortunately it looks like things went out without a bang.


In any case I'll be very interested in seeing how issue #9 comes along as I do recall IDW comics hyping it as an all new adventure of sorts for Godzilla.

You couldn't buy any IDW comic without seeing such an advertisement, so we'll see how things turn out.

Godzilla shopping around in a grocery store?

My favorite part is the shopper looking at Godzilla
and then returning back to his watermelons, as if everything were normal!

I don't know how this costume was even let into the store, as policies are pretty strict at these places.

Trust me, as a teen I use to work at grocery stores and if somebody even tried to pull this off they would never make it past the front door.

Managers would be out so quickly...

The closest thing I can think of is that this is a store employee who was dressed as Godzilla for some event, and he's now coming back in to end his shift.

Destroyer 14's Review of Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #9

Destroyer 14 has an excellent review of the latest issue (#9) from the "Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters" series.

I have yet to pick up this issue, it should be within my subscription pile the next time I visit my local comic book shop, but I trust Destroyer14's word when it comes to the changes being associated.

For starters Jason Ciaramella replaces Eric Powell as the writer (either this was already planned for or Eric was forced out, I don't know) and the tone seems to have dramatically changed.

I say I don't know because writers are usually on board for years upon years.

Past examples of Mark Waid, Peter David, Geoff Johns, etc., are just a few showcasing writers sticking with a series for many issues thereafter.

Maybe IDW knew sales were dropping because of Powell's unsatisfactory work and decided to switch gears...or maybe Powell truly left on his own for other reasons.

In any case there's no more real-world satiric references to pop culture or stereotypical jokes abound.

This is absolutely good news as these two traits from Powell are what kept the series from ever achieving any high notes.

Just when it seemed like the series was getting to a great point...along comes Powell adding in his diatribes yet again. 

Such losses will not be missed.

Destroyer14 states that the issue instead focuses on what was working before, i.e. the story of the soldier and little girl still on their path.

Plus the soldier finally gets to handle the MechaGodzilla suit and I'm sure this looks amazing!

In any case here's the original link for further info:

comicbookmovie.com: Destroyer 14's Review of Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #9

Godzilla Image of the Day

Credit for this beautiful image goes to an artist named "Engelszorn".

Utilizing the 1998 Godzilla movie monster design, Godzilla rises above the sea on his way to destroy yet another city.

His famous spikes charge up with electricity as he's apparently about to fire off his fire breath.

Whoever this Engelszorn is...he made a fantastic looking piece of artwork!

I can't tell if he was utilizing digital paint or the real thing, but in either case it all looks amazing.

Even for those who don't particularly like this Godzilla design will have to admit that this work makes everything very impressive.

While I can draw a pretty mean picture the painting medium still eludes me.  It's expensive to learn and mistakes mean the entire artwork being ruined, but the results seem to be worth the effort.

Godzilla Movie News SPECIAL EDITION: Austin Wizard Comic Con 2011

In this special edition video I highlight the recent Wizard Comic Con that I visited in Austin, TX, and go over the events there.