Godzilla Movie News: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah review

Here I go over the "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah" movie and offer my thoughts and opinions on what works well and what doesn't.

Godzilla: Kingdom Of Monsters, Vol. 3 info

IDW has also just released info on "Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters Volume 3", the latest volume within this successful series.

Here it is in its entirety:

Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters, Vol. 3

Jason Ciaramella (w) • Victor Santos (a) • David Messina (c)

As the dust settles on another epic monster battle, humanity has finally found a way to beat back the relentless assault of giants. But in this brief moment of respite, new threats arise, and mankind finds itself on the losing end again. Plus, the twins are back, and they are after the King of Monsters himself! Battra, Rodan, Godzilla! Get ready for a battle of titans.

TPB • FC • $17.99 • 104 pages • ISBN 978-1-61377-205-8

Bullet points:
- “Why is this so much fun? Godzilla: KOM gives American G-Fans what they always wanted: Godzilla on American soil.” –ComicBastards.blogspot.com
- Collects Issues #7-12!

As a reminder this stretch began the all new creative team of Jason Ciaramella and Victor Santos, who had previously replaced Eric Powell and Phil Hester.

For better or for worse (more for the better) the series did pick up here, with added focus on the soldier and the little girl, plus great monster battles, rounding things out.

The only thing I can lament on is the mediocre artwork that this series continues to have.

I don't know what it is about IDW. They put so much effort into creating kick-ass comic book covers...but place so little emphasis on the interior pages.

In any case this series is also set to be released in May!

New IDW series "Godzilla" #1 full info

IDW has finally released the full info on their latest Godzilla series "Godzilla", coming out in May.

Here it is in its entirety:

GODZILLA #1

Duane Swierczynski (w) • Simon Gane (a) • Art Adams, Tony Harris (c)

Godzilla is back... in an all-new ongoing series! Duane Swierczynski and Simon Gane launch this ultimate action-movie blockbuster, ushering in a new era of monster battles. Ex-special forces tough-guy Boxer is a man with a grudge and vows to end the terror of Godzilla, no matter what. He assembles a top notch team to take down monster-sized threats... at $7 billion a bounty. What starts as a vendetta could become a lucrative business for Boxer... if he can live past day one!

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

*Variant Covers:
Ryan Kelly movie-tribute cover!
Art Adams gatefold cover!

Bullet Points:
- The new ongoing Godzilla series STARTS HERE!
- Bigger, badder and more radioactive... this is the ultimate Godzilla tale!
- Every issue contains a random Art Adams monster trading card! 9 different cards available, collect the whole set! Also, look for randomly inserted unique sketch cards from Matt Frank!

LOVE the story preview thus far.

The idea that someone will personally place bounties on Godzilla to the tune of $7 billion, which leads to Boxer's team trying to take down the King of Monsters, is instantly intriguing and original.

Plus every issue will have a trading card from Godzilla artists Art Adams and Matt Frank! What more could anyone ask for!

On a side note look at the BEAUTIFUL variant cover by Ryan Kelly. Absolutely stunning how he captures the scope of Godzilla as he stomps down on running citizens!

Great stuff, and I can't wait until this first issue comes out.

Cinema's 15 Greatest Giant Monsters

Dmentdcinema.com has a pretty good article highlighting what they consider to be the "Top 15 Giant Monsters" within Cinema.

From the very old to the very new, decades worth of film monsters are included within this list.

Coming in at number one of course is the King of Monsters himself, Godzilla!

Here's what they had to state about why he makes the top of the list:

Could the fact that Godzilla, aka Gojira, is number one on my list be a shock to anyone? After all, the big, fire-breathing Japanese one-monster wrecking crew is the King of the Monsters! First appearing in the 1954 Japanese film "Gojira", Godzilla has since appeared in well over 50 films and remains the world's most popular giant monster. It's unlikely that another will ever come along to unseat Godzilla from his rightful spot at the top of the giant monster heap! Long live Gojria!

Amen brother!

What Superman is to comics is what Godzilla is to giant monsters. Both are the birthplaces of their respective genre, and I'm glad to see that this article recognizes this.

For the full list check it out here.

It's got some surprising mentions such as fan-favorite Cthulhu, the Clover Monster, and even that Gigantic Monster from The Mist.

dmentdcinema.com: Cinemas 15 Greatest Giant Monsters

Godzilla was featured within a 1960's hippie magazine?

Apparently so, as the article from Salon.com highlights.

Back in the 1960's some students at UCLA decided to create their own "radical" newspaper aimed at taking on "American Imperialism", which they apparently coded as Godzilla.

For their mascot they created their own monster "Gidra" which as the article states would "...destroy American imperialism in Southeast Asia and racism at home".

(Hmmm...I've never heard of a Godzilla villain known as "Gidra" unless someone knows otherwise. Were they perhaps referring to "King Ghidorah")?

In any case the newspaper ran for a strong 5 years, with most of its content consisting of drawings (such as the one pictured above) showcasing the students' united front towards their enemy.

You can see how patriotic they made themselves in that drawing with those few students holding off a row of military tanks, and a worried Godzilla wondering how he's going to be able to take them on!

(Flashforwarding to today...something tells me these hippies now have high five/six figure incomes with good retirements, the standard two-story house and latest luxury car parked right outside.  I wonder what they would state if they were to revisit articles like the ones they wrote here).

In any case here's the original article for further info, including a whole bunch of trippy, weird drawings from that newspaper:

salon.com: Gidra takes on the American War Machine

Godzilla-sized monster teased for "Resident Evil 6"

Recently Capcom unveiled the newest trailer for "Resident Evil 6", the latest in the ultra-successful "Resident Evil" franchise.

What makes me talk about this game/trailer here is that it includes a very very very quick shot of what looks to be a Godzilla-sized monster as a villain.

You can see the shrouded image of this monster above, and on the embedded trailer here:



The game of course looks FANTASTIC...the best looking game yet, and I can't wait to play it just for that specific level.

There's just something about facing such a giant creature that makes it so cool.

Other games have done this in the past like "Shadow of the Colossus" and "Resistance 2" to great effect.  Having the hero face such amazingly large opponents makes things both daunting and amazing.

The "Resistance 2" in particular stands out with its Leviathan level, which I've included here for your viewing pleasure:



Now THAT is a Godzilla-sized monster!

In any case here's the original article which showcases more images from the upcoming "Resident Evil 6" game:

gamezone.com: Resident Evil 6 Trailer breakdown

As an added bonus, how could I not include pictures of the two sexiest BABES within the "Resident Evil" movies.

Enjoy!

IDW Publishing Godzilla Comic Sales

For the longest time I've been chronicling past sales of all three of the IDW Godzilla series', which again include "Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters", "Godzilla: Gangsters and Goliaths" and "Godzilla: Legends".

(One can find my entire set of articles on this topic here).

Now tohokingdom.com has taken it a step further, compiling every single Godzilla IDW issue released thus far and ranking them from strongest sales to weakest!

Here's how their list looks like:

Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #1 - 69,662
Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #4 - 14,890
Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #3 - 14,588
Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #2 - 14,492
Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #5 - 14,232
Godzilla Gangsters & Goliaths #1 - 13,292
Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #6 - 12,525
Godzilla Gangsters & Goliaths #2 - 12,018
Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #7 - 11,141
Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #8 - 10,638
Godzilla Gangsters & Goliaths #3 - 10,526
Godzilla Legends #1 - 10,330
Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #9 - 9,879
Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #10 - 9,294
Godzilla Gangsters & Goliaths #4 - 9,061
Godzilla Gangsters & Goliaths #5 - 8,725
Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #11 - 8,677
Godzilla Legends #2 - 8,465
Godzilla Legends #3 - 8,013

Fantastic list, and it even includes readjusted (and more current) figures for issues that sold strongest after their initial month's ranking.

Looking at everything here all at once...it's safe to say that overall the series sold pretty well.

Kingdom of Monsters was the flagship title and it sold the most...but the rest weren't too far behind.

Consistency is the best word here, which is something any comic book publisher wants as they can't have hero or zero sales. They have to be consistent.

I guess this explains why two more series' are being planned this year by IDW.

They know they have a semi-strong franchise here...all they have to do is keep things strong and consistent.

For the full article on these figures please go here:

tohokingdom.com: IDW Godzilla Sales

More info on IDW's new Godzilla series!

Just a few days back I had unveiled information about IDW's new Godzilla series debuting in May.

(See that article here).

Now comes more info on this new series from tohokingdom.com, which is again from IDW editor Bobby Curnow:

- "... there will be a main lead character, and he will have a regularly appearing supporting cast. Having an identifiable and interesting human character from the start is key, I think, and one of our main goals."

- "Not too much time will have passed since the events of KOM #12. Enough time for the world to start to rebuild. Some things from KOM will be referenced, but not in depth or detail. If you've never read KOM, you'll be okay in the new series."

- "...Godzilla #1 will be 30 pages long for standard price. Bonus!"

- "There is definitely another, self-contained mini already in the works, which will hit in July or August."

(An eight page preview will also debut in March, which I'll be happy to post here).

Great stuff!

So again it's a semi-reboot of sorts...while still branching into an all new path with a new creative team and tone.

They're even continuing the theme of one main lead character, which if it works will keep readers tuned in each month.

I'm excited about this new series!  It seems to finally have that Godzilla excitement and tone that we're all looking for.

Did you catch the last part though about the other new mini-series!

Coming in August it will apparently follow the theme that the successful "Godzilla: Gangsters and Goliaths" series had, i.e. self-contained and original.

For further info on this new series, including the who's who of writers and artists, visit the tohokingdom.com website here:

tohokingdom.com: IDW New Godzilla

"Godzilla" rescued from a fire

Who knew that even Godzilla needed some saving every now and then.

Pictured is "Godzilla", the pet iguana that was recently saved from a disastrous house fire in Cincinnati.

(Named of course after the iguana-lizard from the 1998 film, it was kept as a pet by owner Nikki Hagaman).

So yeah even "Godzilla" needs some saving, and it was good to see animal control officers willing to help during the fire.

What makes this story unique is that this iguana was just one of 77 pets rescued during the fire!

It seems that Nikki was in fact an animal hoarder!

It took this fire for Cincinnati officials to realize this, and as such the entire lot of animals, including "Godzilla" have been sent to various adoption agencies.

In fact the fire was caused when a heat lamp used to warm the lizards accidentally caused a towel to catch on fire.

Strange story.

I can see the good in people when they try and take care of so many animals at one time...but as with anything  there has to be a level of moderation involved.

Too much of something is always a bad thing, and as a result Nikki is now out of a home and these animals could have lost their lives.

For the entire story check it out here:

news.cincinnati.com: Fire hits home with at least 77 pets inside

Outside The Box: The true story behind 'Heat'

Examiner.com has created one of my favorite articles yet!

One picture is of course Robert De Niro as "Neil McCauley" from the incredible movie "Heat".

The second picture is the REAL LIFE Neil McCauley who inspired that movie's character.

Who knew that behind the fantastic film "Heat" was a real-life story that happened back in the 1960's!  That the famous "Coffee Scene" between the two actors really happened between a real life cop and robber!  That the real-life Neil McCauley was eventually shot and killed during his final robbery!

This is what the article from Examiner.com examines (no pun intended) as it gives all of the really cool info behind what led to the creation of this film.

I love the movie "Heat"!

It remains one of my favorite movies of all time.

From a writing, acting, choreography, cinematography, directing and overall standpoint, the movie excels in EVERYTHING.

Alas I never saw the film in theaters as I was too young at the time...but catching it later on home video still swept me off my feet.

The beauty of this movie lies in its detailed, real-life intricacy.

To this day I can watch the movie and STILL catch something new that I had not noticed before!

If you've never seen "Heat" before order it NOW...you will not regret seeing it.

Even Christopher Nolan cited this movie as his inspiration for "The Dark Knight", what many consider to be the greatest superhero movie yet.

How exciting it was then to realize this new bit of insider information, to know that sometime ago there really were Al Pacino's and Robert De Niro's characters existing out there.

In any case here's the original article that I highly recommend any "Heat" fan out there to read.

examiner.com: The True Story Behind "Heat"

The Host: Godzilla for a New Generation

Gizmodo.com has a succinct article retro-reviewing the revered monster film "The Host", citing it as the "Godzilla" for a new age.

Normally I would agree to this assessment...as from the outside looking in it definitely has all the makings of a classic Godzilla film.

Chemical actions from a military/scientist compound create this monster...there's an official "first-attack" on a large city and its population...there's responses from the government and military...and at the heart of all this is a family looking to survive.

(On a side note I've seen this movie and found it to be pretty good. It wasn't exactly great...but at the same time there were certainly some memorable scenes).

What makes me question Gizmodo's assessment is the timing of the article.

Just posted last Friday, which means it's obviously in 2012...they picked this movie as the "Godzilla for a New Generation" over "Cloverfield"?

To me "Cloverfield" remains FAR more closer to a Godzilla movie than anything else out there.

Just as I had described in my notes on "The Host"..."Cloverfield" is all that times 1000!

I mean we're talking about massive military actions against a 300-foot tall creature rampaging through the middle of New York! What more could anyone ask for?

Reading this article makes me want to see "The Host" now again.

In any case here's the original article from Gizmodo for further information:

gizmodo.com: The Host: Godzilla for a New Generation