Godzilla will once again rampage throughout the United States this coming April thanks to a newly brokered multi-year publishing partnership between IDW Publishing and Toho International, Inc. The King of Monsters will appear in a wide variety of published products including comic books, coloring books, art books, journals, and puzzles. Godzilla will be joined by other iconic Toho kaiju (Japanese for “strange beasts”) including Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah.
The renewal of this productive partnership will kick off with a five-issue Godzilla comic book series aimed at readers aged 8 to 12 that will be available April 2021 both digitally and in comic book stores. The creative team of Erik Burnham, Dan Schoening, and Luis Antonio Delgado should excel at adapting this established property for young readership, having worked together previously on Ghostbusters 101. Worldwide distribution rights will be held by IDW except for a handful of Asian markets likely reserved by Toho.
The upcoming collaboration will not be the first time IDW and Toho have teamed up to produce comic books based on the beloved fire-breathing monster. IDW Publishing gained the rights for the license to Godzilla in 2010 and continued to publish comic books based on the property through 2016’s Godzilla: Rage Across Time. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Toho International Managing Director Lora Cohn said, “IDW has been such a fantastic partner in bringing Godzilla characters to life through high-quality graphic storytelling, and we’re excited to take our relationship to the next level."
Godzilla debuted in the critically acclaimed Japanese film Gojira in 1954. In the wake of its success, Toho sold the American rights for $25,000 and a heavily edited version of the film was released in the US in 1956. The film was retitled Godzilla, King of the Monsters! The original film spawned the longest running movie franchise of all-time and a subsequent multimedia empire, including comic books. Since his inception, Godzilla has appeared in black and white Japanese comics, called manga, to coincide with each of his classic films. His first American comic was produced in 1976 for Godzilla vs. Megalon, and the King of Kaiju has since been associated with such major publishers as Marvel and Dark Horse.
Fans are no doubt excited about IDW and Toho’s future collaborations on Godzilla comic books. Here’s hoping that subsequent publications aren’t just for younger readers. Further analysis would seem to indicate that titles geared towards teenagers and adults are certainly on the horizon. “We’re very excited to work with Toho to build a comprehensive array of stories and products that Godzilla fans everywhere can enjoy,” said IDW Publisher Nachie Marsham of the two companies' reunion. “Their library of characters are quite literally titans of pop culture.”
Source: THR
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/33PsfsZ
0 Comments