James Aquilone is going big or going home with Monstrous: The Kaiju Issue, a new anthology that is live on Kickstarter now. Featuring tales of Godzilla, Konga vs. Gorgo, and the all-new MegaSquatch, this is gonna be huge.
“We’re not just retelling the classics — we’re mixing it up,” Aquilone told Comic Book Club over email. “You’ll see the debut of the American kaiju MegaSquatch, alongside a new Konga vs. Gorgo comic and even a brand-new design from manga creator Itaru Kinoshita. Plus, we’ve got essays, short stories, and deep dives into kaiju history. It’s that blend of the new and the nostalgic that gives Monstrous its own perspective.”
To find out more about the book, read on.
Comic Book Club: I know it’s Godzilla’s 70th anniversary, but the king of the monsters is clearly having a moment with new books at nearly every comic publisher… Why now?
James Aquilone: It’s not just a big anniversary — Godzilla has been kicking butt over the last few years on the big screen. You have the Legendary Pictures Godzilla vs. Kong blockbusters as well as the critically acclaimed Toho movies such as Shin Godzilla and Godzilla Minus One. The Big G is as culturally relevant as ever so it’s no surprise that we’re seeing all these new books and comics. We’re living in a golden age of Godzilla.
So much has been done with giant monsters; how do you bring a fresh perspective to Monstrous?
We’re not just retelling the classics — we’re mixing it up. You’ll see the debut of the American kaiju MegaSquatch, alongside a new Konga vs. Gorgo comic and even a brand-new design from manga creator Itaru Kinoshita. Plus, we’ve got essays, short stories, and deep dives into kaiju history. It’s that blend of the new and the nostalgic that gives Monstrous its own perspective.
Most of Monstrous has been, well, smaller monsters… How do you see how kaiju connect with other creatures like the classic Universal Monsters, or others?
Godzilla and King Kong aren’t Universal Monsters, but they are classic monsters. King Kong was right there at the beginning, coming out only two years after Dracula and Frankenstein. We were supposed to get a Godzilla vs. Frankenstein movie in 1964, after Big G took on King Kong in 1962, but it was never produced. So we would have had a direct connection between the Universal Monsters and the Kaiju-verse.
Universal Monsters tapped into personal terrors like death, transformation, or forbidden knowledge, while Kaiju scale those fears up to global proportions — natural disasters, wars, survival of humanity itself. So it’s just a matter of perspective.
You assembled a crack team to take on these kaiju… What’s important when casting a book like this?
Passion. That’s the most important thing. I want creators who genuinely love kaiju and bring their own unique angle — whether that’s manga artistry, historical expertise, or a bold new story idea. When you combine those voices, the whole becomes bigger than the sum of its parts.
And you cast yourself, in classic Alfred Hitchcock fashion. How did you choose the story you’re tackling? What drew you to it?
I’ve always had a soft spot for Konga and Gorgo. The idea of bringing them back and setting them against each other was irresistible. It’s nostalgic, but it also lets me reintroduce them to a new audience in a MONSTROUS-sized way.
Bonus question: Would you survive a kaiju attack? And if so, how?
Absolutely not. I’m not much of a runner, so unless I have enough time to hide, I’ll be stomped into a pancake with little trouble.
Monstrous: The Kaiju Issue is live on Kickstarter now.
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Monstrous comics are not good. Kickstarter stuff with paper giveaways.