September 8, 2025 – Bram Stoker Award-winning editor and writer James Aquilone’s Monstrous Books has celebrated the traditions of pulp fiction and classic movie monsters with MONSTROUS MAGAZINE, an acclaimed black-and-white magazine-format comic book anthology which features some of the most interesting and inventive genre writers being published today. Now MONSTROUS MAGAZINE will look east for the inspiration for its next all-star anthology: MONSTROUS: THE KAIJU ISSUE will celebrate the legendary monsters from Japan, just in time for the ongoing global celebration of Godzilla’s 70th anniversary. The Kickstarter campaign for MONSTROUS: THE KAIJU ISSUE is now live.
MONSTROUS: THE KAIJU ISSUE features a fantastic line-up including:
- Godzilla at 70, a celebration of the King of Monsters by Patrick Macias (The Essential Anime Guide: 50 Iconic Films, Standout Series, and Cult Masterpieces).
- A Brief History of Kaijus by Samuel Sattin (Unico: Awakening).
- An all new kaiju design by Dinosaur Sanctuary mangaka Itaru Kinoshita.
- “The Colossus From the Crater,” a brand-new sci-fi short story set on a remote moon and featuring a giant alien mummy, penned by novelist Greg Cox, who wrote the official prose adaptation of Godzilla (2014), soon to be reprinted in a new omnibus edition.
- An all-new Konga vs. Gorgo comic, featuring the creatures from the cult 1960s American International Pictures movies and Charlton Comics, written by James Aquilone and illustrated by Dave Swartz (Confederate Monster)
- Ninjago writer and the co-founder of Wandering Planet Toys, Chris “Doc” Wyatt explores the long history of Godzilla toys.
- The first appearance of the Kaiju MegaSquatch, in a comic book story by James Aquilone and EV Cantada (Joe Ledger, Grimm Fairy Tales)
- Superfan Promotions co-host David Hyde charts the history of music in iconic kaiju cinema.
- Three iconic covers — a Konga vs. Gorgo cover by Larry Tuason (Knightingail: The Legend Begins), a MegaSquatch cover by EV Cantada and colorist Zac Atkinson and a Godzilla cover.
Just like the creatures themselves, this magazine (previously digest size) will be enlarged to a full-size 8.5-x-11-inch format. “When I decided to do a Kaiju issue of MONSTROUS MAGAZINE I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do a Kaiju-size magazine, so we’re going from 5.5 x 8.5 to 8.5 x 11 inches,” said James Aquilone. “And that’s just the beginning. We’re resizing the MONSTROUS MAGAZINE back issues, too, and now, for a limited time, they will be available in the new collectible, oversized Kaiju format.”
Previous issues of MONSTROUS MAGAZINE, feature a mix of comics, prose stories, and articles. The debut issue includes:
- A collectible cover by Colton Worley (Kolchak: The Night Stalker 50th Anniversary Graphic Novel, The Shadow)
- An essay by Elvira Mistress of the Dark writer David Avallone about the legacy of his father, pulp legend Michael Avallone
- A reprint of pulp legend Michael Avallone’s first short story “The Man Who Walked on Air, ” originally published in Weird Tales in 1953
- The very first Dead Jack comic, “Dead Jack and Oswald Meet Frankenstein,” written by James Aquilone and illustrated by J.K. Woodward
- “Monster Rally,” a comic story by Nancy A. Collins with art by Zac Atkinson
Other rewards for the MONSTROUS: THE KAIJU ISSUE campaign include an exclusive Kaiju challenge coin and the debut issue of MONSTROUS PRESENTS, a 32-page comic reprinting “Rise of the Morlocks” and “Dead Jack and Oswald Meet Frankenstein,” both by James Aquilone and artist J.K. Woodward.
The Kickstarter campaign for Monstrous Kaiju Issue is now live:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/manbomb/kaiju?ref=3wor0y
To celebrate Godzilla’s 70th anniversary, Monstrous presents a Kaiju-themed issue of our flagship magazine — and just like the creatures themselves, the mag (previously digest size) will be enlarged to a full-size 8.5-x-11-inch format!
MONSTROUS: THE KAIJU ISSUE features a fantastic lineup including:
- An all-new Konga vs. Gorgo comic, featuring the creatures from the cult 1960s American International Pictures movies and Charlton Comics, written by James Aquilone and illustrated by Dave Swartz (Confederate Monster)
- The first appearance of the American Kaiju MegaSquatch, in a comic book story by James Aquilone and EV Cantada (Joe Ledger, Grimm Fairy Tales)
- Godzilla at 70, a celebration of the King of Monsters by Patrick Macias (The Essential Anime Guide: 50 Iconic Films, Standout Series, and Cult Masterpieces).
- A Brief History of Kaijus by Samuel Sattin (Unico: Awakening).
- Ninjago writer and the co-founder of Wandering Planet Toys, Chris “Doc” Wyatt explores the long history of Godzilla sofubi toys.
- Superfan Podcast co-host David Hyde charts the history of music in iconic kaiju cinema.
- A Brief History of Konga and Gorgo by Henry L. Herz.
- “The Colossus From the Crater,” a brand-new sci-fi short story set on a remote moon and featuring a giant alien mummy, penned by novelist Greg Cox, who wrote the official prose adaptation of Godzilla (2014), soon to be reprinted in a new omnibus edition.
- An all new kaiju design by Dinosaur Sanctuary mangaka Itaru Kinoshita.
COVER A – Konga vs. Gorgo
- Art by Larry Tuason
- Colors by Zac Atkinson
- Cover design by Tom Napolitano
COVER B – MEGASQUATCH
- Art by EV Cantada
- Colors by Zac Atkinson
- Cover design by Tom Napolitano & Zac Atkinson
COVER C – GODZILLA (Limited Edition)
- Art courtesy of Toho Co., Ltd.
- Cover design by Jeremiah Lambert
KONGA VS. GORGO
- WRITER: James Aquilone
- ARTIST: Dave Swartz
- LETTERER: Tom Napolitano
MEGASQUATCH
Comic debut of MegaSquatch, an American Kaiju!
- WRITER: James Aquilone
- ARTIST: EV Cantada
- LETTERER: Tom Napolitano
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