Mad Monster Party Commentary?

Today's date, March 8th, was the original release date for MAD MONSTER PARTY? (1967), an animated horror-comedy from Rankin-Bass productions which also features IT, a giant King Kong-inspired gorilla monster who appears in full in the third act.

Unlike the film's other supernatural weirdos, IT was not deliberately villainous, even showing moments of kindness and mercy, but was a destructive menace who ultimately doomed Dr. Frankenstein's Island and almost every soul living there.

While on the subject of Mad Monster Party?: several years ago, me and my friends Wyn, Brayton, and KaijuNoir did a live-watch and Mystery Science Theater 3000-style commentary track for the film, which can be viewed on the following link:

https://archive.org/details/livewatch-mad-monster-party

Enjoy!

Godzilla: Singular Point, First Episode Impressions

Thanks to the magic of the mighty Surfing Shark of V.P.N., I was able to view the first episode of GODZILLA: SINGULAR POINT which is being released on Netflix Japan on a weekly basis instead of a full season drop (still no word of an international release date though one is still coming this year).

Similar to the first act of "Gamera: Guardian of the Universe" (1995), the first episode is a slow burn building up the mystery behind a missing scientist and a haunting 1930s love song that's somehow being used to summon and/or resurrect the ancient monsters, with the 'Rodan the First' only appearing in the closing minutes to menace our heroes (as seen in the Toho Animation video clip released recently online).

I'd go more into the plot but, unfortunately, no English subtitles were available to me. However, unlike other untranslated kaiju media heavy on dialog, the human cast instantly made an impression with their appealing character designs alongside quirky personality moments and related visual gags, all of which kept my interest. 

In addition to the previously mentioned "Gamera" comparisons, the first episode's atmospheres and the near future world presented within was also reminiscent of "Ultra Q" and early Showa-era science fiction films like "The Mysterians" (1957), "The H-Man" (1958), and "Rodan" (1956): a virtually quiet, normal world on the eve of a monstrous cataclysm or an otherworldly event.

The twist was that Godzilla was dead all along!

First Look at Pacific Rim: The Black

First full trailer for PACIFIC RIM: THE BLACK recently dropped and... It actually looks good for a CGI anime show! That or I'll take anything after Pacific Rim: Uprising but that's a totally different story.

The appearance of tangible human antagonist gives me pause for concern: like most anime series, it will begin with a fantastical otherworldly threat that will disappear several episodes in while a 'normal human' (cheaper to animate) one takes over as the main focus.

However, it would be cool to see equal amounts of human and non-human antagonists which this trailer also hints at with the smaller dog-like kaiju, a rogue hybrid Kaiju Yeager, and a strange mystery child.

Direct Text Link: https://youtu.be/umtOGzti-XQ

Superman vs The Prehistoric Pterodactyls

 

Today, we're looking at the titular winged menaces from the second episode segment of "The New Adventures of Superman", "The Prehistoric Pterodactyls" (Filmation, September 17th 1966).

Playfully nicknamed by Superman as Terry #1 and Terry #2, they're a pair of gigantic pterodactyls awakened from suspended animation deep within some arctic icebergs.

Soon after awakening, the flying beasts began a brief reign of mayhem by attacking jet bombers, naval ships, and threatening Louis Lane (of course) in San Francisco before Superman battled and ultimately subdues the winged giants.

Captured and tied up in nets made of electric cables, Terry #1 and Terry #2 were then flown into space by Superman and safely exiled to an alien world where they can live peacefully.

It's likely pure coincidence but the script and its titular pterodactyls share some similarities with the more famous titular monsters of "Rodan" (1956) who were also jumbo-sized pteranodons awakened from a long slumber though in their case it was eggs buried deep underground and revived with super-heated volcanic water.

Despite being one of the earliest superheroes known for his incredible strengths and feats, I prefer Superman stories were a giant monster (or monsters) is either a worthy challenge to or equal force against The Last Son of Krypton. This balance of power works great for more energetic adventure stories but way less so for character-driven (talking head) tales. Hence why we see a lot of Superman vs. giant monster entries in older comic books and animated shows while modern media limit said giants to one-hit cameo defeats.

One-hit cameo defeats are highly impressive for Superman's abilities but also exceptionally of lame for us giant monster and action fans.

The Two Terrys are definitely among the simpler fair (fare?) coming from a Filmation produced children's cartoon but I honestly don't mind these slim-down Saturday morning shows of the sixties even if Hanna-Barbera were making superior versions of the same material with the likes of "The Herculoids" and "Space Ghost and Dino Boy".

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF THE PREHISTORIC PTERODACTYLS:

Spoof of The Hiromi Gargantua

Get it? Spoof of The Hiromi Gargantua? It's a play on War of The Gargantuas! No? Ah, nuts to you!

Anyways...

The long running anime series Mobile Police Patlabor is often cited as a strong example of the 'Realistic Mecha' genre from Japanese fiction.

Realistic Mecha is where giant robots are presented as plausible machinery that could exist and work within the real world while also avoiding the more fantastic clichés of most other giant robot stories such as alien invaders, supernatural power-ups, soulful sentience in the  machines, and giant Godzilla-style enemy monsters.

However, there are several exceptions seen throughout the Patlabor franchise where wacky monsters do appear and cause havoc, betraying the very concept of Realistic Mecha.

Yes, between giant albino alligators, unmanned killing machines, out-of-control Labor robots, deep-sea reptiles, genetically engineered mega-rodents, hideous human-alien hybrids, and gigantic Kappa androids, this otherwise unassuming franchise about police officers piloting 30-foot-tall police-bots in the near-future has a lot of giant monsters popping up.

This continuous trend started with The 450 Million-Year-Old Trap (July 25th, 1988): the third episode in the original direct-to-video series and was an early directorial effort from the now famous director Mamoru Oshii, one of the forgotten grandfathers of Patlabor.

A series of mysterious incidents occur in and around Tokyo Bay, including damaged undersea cables and a parked car being pulled off a pier, leading some to believe that it could be the work of an actual sea monster. Detective Takahiro Matsui of the Metropolitan Tokyo Police Department (a recurring character in the franchise) requests Captain Goto, head of the Police Special Vehicle Section 2 Division 2 (SV2 for short), for help on the strange case. 

Goto and his SV2 Patlabor team help pilot a remote control submersible Labor to search for what caused the incidents. However, the Labor is destroyed during its underwater search, convincing all present that the monster truly does exists.

The SV2 are given orders to kill the monster soon after but not before they stumble upon the giant creature's origins: an life-form birthed from a science experiment gone...a little out-of-hand thanks to a well-meaning but clumsy and shortsighted mad scientist.

Although this sea monster is largely off-camera throughout the episode, its noted that the artificially created being went through various stages of accelerated evolution (presented in a brief montage of resurrected prehistoric animals) until reaching its supposedly final form which makes its rather anti-climactic reveal by the story's end.

As you can tell by now, The 450 Million-Year-Old Trap is a subtly played spoof of Toho Studio's classic run of giant monster movies, complete with a big blue-colored War of The Gargantua homage shown throughout this article.

Now we could call this unnamed guy 'The Blue Gargantua' for obvious reasons but, based on an odd little twist in the tale where this somewhat benign beast shares an unexplained resemblance with SV2's team member Hiromi Yamazaki, the ironically tall man from Okinawa who's soft-spoken and kindhearted, I shall nicknamed this character The Hiromi Gargantua until I'm corrected otherwise with an official moniker.

RELATED VIDEOS ON PATLABOR:

Marc of Oh No Anime takes you through the life and legacy of one of anime's most under-appreciated franchises, Patlabor (direct video link right below video box).

https://youtu.be/J52ecXnl_EE

Here's Glass Reflections' take on the franchise.

https://youtu.be/TydVnMSC3Y0

And for those of you asking yourselves "What the Hell is a Gargantua?".

https://youtu.be/aDwI-wTAxdM

Giant Toy Soldiers With The Joker

I still cannot stand this bloody holiday known as Ex-Mess but if it offers some festive giant monsters then I'll take it!

Robin: Gargantuan killer toys whose bright colors highlight them from the otherwise pitch black background? I don't see any, Batman!

Here's a trio of giant toy soldiers from the fun but ultimately passable CHRISTMAS WITH THE JOKER, the second episode of BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES (November 13, 1992) which also marked that show's first appearance of the titular Clown Prince of Crime.

Despite the series' attempts to avoid the more fanciable clichés of children's adventure cartoons of the 1980s and early 1990s, the producers and writers would still dip their toes into such nonsense occasionally, as with their rendition of The Joker being surprisingly efficient at building murderous robots as either attack drones, booby traps (Hazel), or fully functioning henchmen (Captain Clown).

Despite their great size and stomping square-shaped feet, The Toy Soldier Robots were among The Joker's weaker creations as their heads were easily torn or knocked off by the defending Batman and Robin, destroying the holiday giants instantly.

I really have nothing much other to say about these three automatons other than that their Joker-like smiles were a nice design touch.

Criss-Mass still blows. Give us the time off but keep everything else I hate about this time of year. Happy Arbor Day, suckers!

Items From Hawanja - December 2018

My dear friend Hawanja offers the following unboxing video of the Thundercats Savage World figures; give it a watch if you can!

And while we're at it, here's Hawanja's review of the She-Ra revival.

Godzilla Meets Pacific Rim... In Poster Form!

Facebook is a confusing and inefficient distraction, equally terrible for archiving articles, that wastes time and this would still be true even if said networking service wasn't openly selling your search data and personal information.

NO! You can wear the tinfoil hat! I'm bitter!

With that factual gag now out of the way, I will admit that one of the better Facebook pages that I follow is Gormaru Island, a giant monster-based news-stream overseen by the always diligent Gormaru Omega (real-name is currently unknown but Facebook promised me that I can get it for a bargain price so stay tune).

Unless Gormaru Omega requests otherwise (or threaten to sell my search history that he can buy off from Facebook's info dealers), I'll be sharing the more intriguing news-bites from his fantastic page on my blog, mainly for archiving purposes, starting off with the first official crossover between Godzilla and Pacific Rim!

Don't get TOO excited... It's just an official visual collaboration in movie poster form.

Godzilla: Look at all these nifty action figures I just bought!

FROM GORMARU ISLAND, originally posted on 4/11/2018, 1:53 AM:

"GODZILLA: City on the Edge of Battle" and "Pacific Rim Uprising" Storm An Official Visual Collaboration Together

The collaboration was produced in commemoration of the continuous theatrical films released from both series, which for Godzilla is the second anime film "Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle". And for Pacific Rim is the second film installment, "Pacific Rim Uprising".

The visual collaboration was illustrated by Hidetaka Tenjin. A professional talent classified as a sci-fi illustrator and freelancer artist. He has also worked in various anime productions as a mechanical, texture, and special effects artist. Involved in properties such as "MACROSS", "Gundam Evolve", "Hellsing Ultimate", and more! As well as having done videogame box-art illustration work for franchise games such as Mobile Suit Gundam and MACROSS.

From the visual, GODZILLA Earth from the Godzilla Anime Trilogy, and the new generation of Jaegers from Pacific Rim Uprising, cross properties with each other. In what will be one of the most awesome and fitting crossovers to emerge from the kaiju genre.

One of the directors of the Anime GODZILLA series, Kobun Shizuno, went on to say that such a collaboration was something that he'd like to see on screen someday.

(((If it's an anime film that we're talking, then we'd love to see that too!)))

"Pacific Rim Uprising" will hit Japan's market on April 13, 2018. The second Godzilla anime film, "GODZILLA: City on the Edge of Battle", will be released in Japan on May 18, 2018.

Original Japanese News Link: https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/277557

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders Review

After the rather bad taste left over by the disappointing Batman: The Killing Joke, me and KaijuNoir returns with a far brighter and more enjoyable Bat-Romp in the form of Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders. Below is our in-depth video-podcast review for the straight-to-DVD animated feature.

Enshohma and KaijuNoir Reviews BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE (2016)

Here's a 'video-podcast' where I and friend KaijuNoir have a rather extensive conversation on the recently released animated adaptation of Alan Moore's 1988 graphic novel (fancy speak for really long comic book issue), Batman: The Killing Joke.

My First Impressions of the New Voltron Series

UPDATE: Wow...I never realized the number of typos and absent linkage that this article previously had! I've gone back and re-edited this piece for the better.

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I just returned from Wondercon 2016 and attended the "Voltron: Legendary Defender" panel - a new series coming to Netflix from Joaquim Dos Santos and Lauren Montgomery; two directors and storyboard artists with an impressive resume of recent animation works, though I am most familiar with both through their significant contributions to "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and "The Legend of Korra"

Images courtesy of The Nerdist.

Based on the three extensive clips shown during the panel, along with the given information and impressive cast of voice actors, the new series looks extremely promising, with an openly admitted combining of elements from both the original Japanese series "Beast King GoLion" and its American adaptation, brand new concepts, and added with the fun energy, appealing character designs, and high production values that both "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and "The Legend of Korra" offered.

This series looks to be something special for us Kaiju / Super Robot fans.

Some of the new character design and casting choices are surprising (Rhys Darby as the new Coran?), but also brilliant in a 'thinking-out-of-the-box' sort of way (Rhys Darby as the new Coran!).

Princess Allura in particular has been re-imagined / rebooted into a dark-skinned (black) elf maiden and simply looks fantastic, like the gorgeous love-child of "The Legend of Zelda" and "Revolutionary Girl Utena".

Not much was said of the villains, other than they'll be as vile and almost as horrifying as their Japanese originals (complete with the returned name of The Garla Empire), and RoBeasts will be more significant threats over the one-and-done opponents of older Voltron series.
Plus, voice actor Neil Kaplan will be portraying the Garla's supreme leader, King Zarkon, which was a nice surprise for me, since Neil was a very kind and friendly person towards yours truly, during my attendance at the very first Power Morphicon back in 2007.

Never been that big of a "Voltron" fan from the past despite my love of gigantic monsters in all shapes and sizes, and watching the series on occasion. But this new version has me hyped, and I can't wait for its streaming premier on June 10th, 2016.

Additional Links:

Cartoon Brew's Preview
Nerdist Interviews with the Producers and Cast Details

Ghost, Robots, and Lions - OH MY!

Nothing major this time around, with these three 'Kaiju-ish' items to share, along with a little bit of feedback from my side.

I Ain't Afraid of No Trailer...?

MovieBob perfectly sums up the REAL problems and echos A LOT of my own thoughts towards the recently released trailer for the upcoming "Ghostbusters" reboot / remake, as well as the fog of controversy that also surrounds the production, and the challenge of remakes in general. On the other hand, I still want to post my own take on this future film, and my general feelings on Sony Pictures and its continuing misadventures.

Why The Ghostbusters Reboot Should (But Won’t) Be Judged On Its Own Merits

Text Linkage: http://screenrant.com/ghostbusters-reboot-trailer-female-characters-response/

My Take of the Upcoming Iron Giant Art Book

An "Iron Giant" art book 17 years after its release...GOOD! Meaning the book will be far more extensive and informative then the tie-in crap that the studios will poop out for a film's impending release, and deliberately leave out A LOT of pre-production material just to 'save face', in case the films become flops and people realize how much better the abandoned concepts were compared to the final product. Again, being late is a GOOD thing for our robotic superman from space and for us, his many fans!

Brad Bird’s ‘Iron Giant’ Is Getting An Art Book (Preview)

Text Linkage: http://www.cartoonbrew.com/books/book-preview-art-iron-giant-137950.html

Surprisingly Good News for Voltron

I was honestly NOT looking forward to the new "Voltron" series on Netflix for TWO VERY good reasons. ONE - American-made "Voltron" sequels and spin-offs have usually been average at best, and TWO - original animated shows from Netflix have almost always sucked. So I had NO hope what-so-ever for this upcoming series...Until THIS fantastic bit of news was announced (SEE the link)!

The New Voltron Cartoon on Netflix Is Being Headed Up by Legend of Korra Alums

Text Linkage: http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-new-voltron-cartoon-is-being-headed-up-by-legend-of-1764359651

Seriously, this bit of news is for me at least is the equivalent of discover Guillermo del Toro making his own mecha-vs-kaiju film, Sam Raimi working on a 1960's inspired Spider-Man film, and Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi given a chance to finally create their own spin on Godzilla!

Random Thoughts for June 2015

Hello everyone! Life has NOT been good towards me of late, so here's an article based on questions and random musings from both my Facebook and DeviantART pages. Enjoy!

Yours truly, in deep, terrified thought.

King Kong 2005? OR Godzilla 2014?

Both films are good, and I've come to appreciate both on their own respective merits, upon revisiting. BUT man do they have flaws that almost turn me off from either!

"Godzilla" (2014) tries way too damn hard with the 'Hide the Shark' method (inspired by the 1975 classic "Jaws"), that every director or screenwriter in Hollywood is hopelessly in love, these days. Even when it's a terribly ill fit with the source material, like the appalling dumb-ing down of 2011's "Green Lantern" (There's space aliens? What space aliens?).

And "King Kong" (2005), while having way better, imaginative monster designs and action sequences...Spends way too much time on THAT GOD DAMN BOAT! It's almost a tie for me here, between these two, but I'd have to pick "Godzilla" for NOT having the hour-long boat ride.

Which isn't really saying much for either, I might add.

Although hated by most fans, Gabara from "All Monsters Attack" (1969) is totally alright in my book!

The Lamest Giant Monsters of Them All?

Somebody recently asked me Who (or What) is the Lamest Kaiju Ever Made? Well...

Almost all Kaiju / Giant Monsters are awesome in my opinion. But the ones I really can't stand, is from an obscure sub-category that you never really see in films or television - Giant monsters created by people who clearly don't take the material seriously, done as a pretty lazy joke, AND is somehow still treated was pure brilliance by said creators.

Like when you ask an unimaginative jackass to create a worthy foe for Godzilla. And instead, they come up (without any real thought) something akin to 'Nazi-Dinosaur-Hitler-Rex', or 'Satan Possessed Mega Cow', or 'Giant Super Jesus', or 'Killer Blob Made of Toilet S***' and so-on-and-so-forth.

For me, these are the lamest monsters of them all.

What sucks is that there's a VERY thin line between this 'normal people' laziness and flippancy towards monster concepts. And the comical or silly monsters that are actually GOOD in their own offbeat right. Such as the more charming and equally creative 'guest villains' from "Power Rangers". Or comical monsters that can still pose a threat and can hold their own in battle - 1970's Gigan comes to mind.


My Thoughts on the Female "Ghostbusters" Reboot?

I'm getting sick of remakes and 'late sequels' as much as the next person...Which isn't saying much, seeing how the two biggest hits this summer was "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "Jurassic World". And yet, I have nothing against the upcoming female reboot / remake / re-imagining / re-branding / redo / re-whatever of "Ghostbusters".

Me and my two brothers grew up with both the films, and the animated series. And even though I'm not a video game guy, the 2009 entry was a satisfying alternative to third film with the original cast. But I too was wary at yet another film, and one so late in the game. And the unfortunate passing of Harold Ramis, pretty much sealed the deal.

If you were to revisit "Ghostbusters", take it to new direction, or give it one Hell of a twist. Even if an original story (OR not doing it at all), would have been preferred. So yeah...I'm more than okay with an all female Ghostbusters team!

BUT my true concern is how the ghosts and monsters will be handled in the new film. The two previous films (and 2009 video game) had a great variety of otherworldly creatures, ranging from humanoid specters, to Lovecraftian monstrosities. And although many were played for offbeat giggles, they were all still terrifying and menacing beings. Including The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man himself - that evil 'I'm gonna get you' stare, that he gives our four heroes, is priceless!

Sadly, considering modern movie trends, the ghosts will likely be portrayed as too comical, or as way too serious. And with no excellent middle ground in-between, minus a lucky accident or two.

But at least the new Ghostbuster suits look classy! I'm less thrilled with the literally homemade Proton Packs. But not bad either!

The new GB suits and Proton Pack.

Your Thoughts on the Film Version of "Rampage"?

A live action movie based on the 1986 arcade game "Rampage" has been in Development Hell since 2011.

So the recent announcement of the film moving forward with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, is being met with a large block of salt from my end, as it could still get cancelled at the last minute. Especially if the decision to finally make this film is less based on the recent successes of "Jurassic World" and "Godzilla" (2014). And more on the 'insider projections' of the upcoming film "Pixels".

Plus, knowing Hollywood trends, and how the monster characters always take a backseat to the more marketable (often bland) human stars, I agree with this particular article that the classic "Rampage" monsters George the Gorilla, Lizzie the Lizard, and Ralph the Werewolf, will be the distant co-stars to The Rock, like the title robots of the "Transformers" films. Or at best, the aforementioned "Godzilla" (2014).

On the OTHER hand...The Rock could ultimately become one of the three giant monsters, which is also likely. Personally though, I hope they get someone like Elizabeth Banks in the Lizzie the Lizard role.

Your Biggest Inspirations for Your Original Characters?

The colorful, humanoid creatures from most tokusatsu shows, most notably Super Sentai / Power Rangers. And the criminally underrated series "Metalder".

Lesser, but related influences come from 1960's fantasy cinema and television (Kaiju Eiga for sure), classic Anime, American cartoons of the past (Tex Avery, Disney, Chuck Jones, etc.), and documentaries focused on biological life, mainly obscure animal based ones.


Your Favorite Color?

Blue - It's majestic, calm, and dignified, but also looks great on almost anything you put on it. Though I must admit, that I'm also an Aquarius. So I might be a tad bias in choosing the universal color of deep, massive amounts of water there.

How I love Blue, and it's many shades and variants.

Favorite Underrated Anime?

There's a lot of overlooked anime shows and movies, but my top choices include "Robot Carnival" - fantastic film, even when some of the segments fall short. "Dai-Guard" - giant robot anime meets charming office comedy, while doing it with a totally straight faced. And to a slightly controversial extent, "Space Dandy" - a lot of people abandoned that series quite early on, but as a fun and funny love letter to all things space fantasy, it's great!


Favorite Underrated Character in Any Media?

Gamera, the flying giant fire-breathing super turtle. 2015 was supposed to be his 50th anniversary, and NOTHING is being done for the poor monster. And the outcome of the Godzilla vs. Gamera "Death Battle" hasn't helped his street credit much either.

All that aside, Gamera really is an fantastic 'hero monster' who deserves a lot better.

Beautiful promotional image, from 1996's "Gamera 2: Attack of Legion"

Favorite Movie You Like BUT EVERYONE Hates?

Wow...Pretty much opened my whole DVD collection right there.

But as far as films that have no fans outside myself, that honor goes to "Space Invaders", "Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century", "Coneheads", and possibly "Overdrawn At The Memory Bank". Though granted, that last one I've only seen as it's "Mystery Science Theater 3000" version.


Words of Advice for Artist and Writers Out There?

That's a REALLY tough one, as often almost any kind of advice given to artists will end up bruising their confidence, based off on my own unfortunate experiences.

And in some environments, artists are only there to stroke their individual egos, and often take any advice, let alone basic questions about their works, as a negative attack. Not because it is, but because their individual 'pissing contest' is being endangered by an 'outsider'.

Or the opposite side of the same problem, when 'alpha jerk artists and writers' give bad or hurtful advice, as a deliberate attempt to undermine your own talents. Again, based on my own experiences (various creator meetings at the local comic shops).

The only stern advice I can give is JUST DO YOUR OWN THING, and see how it's received AFTERWARDS.

So many times an artist or a writer will double guess their own works, to such a point that's it's never finished, or in a constant cycle of re-working. And it doesn't help when other artists will tell you your idea sucks, based on the basic plot description alone (again, creator meetings at the local comic shops).

It's totally okay to get second opinions on your work-in-progress, and filter out the aforementioned saboteurs from actual constructive criticisms out there (though that can be freaking difficult).

But at the end of the day, you got to just finish it, post it, and see the reaction, good or bad. Often times a story that sounds horrible in the pitch meeting, will entrances a large audience when completed as its final whole (SEE "Star Wars").

Somewhat cynical (and long) answer, but I hope you keep this cautious advice for yourselves in the future.

Waiting for Gamera - Featuring Artwork by WinterGaia

Despite several official news announcements made across 2014, it looks as if the "Gamera Revival Project" (its official placeholder title), which might have been a new movie planned for 2015, has been canceled.

And quietly swept under the proverbial rug.

Now giant monster movies are announced and ultimately cancelled all the time (looking at you two, Hollywood and Kickstarter). But with 2015 being the 50th Anniversary of Gamera, this is a very discouraging turn for fans of the fire-breathing super-turtle.

Today's subject, as seen in his successful 1995 film revival "Gamera: Guardian of the Universe"

There's still some hope that we'll be getting SOMETHING significant later this year, to commemorating Gamera's original 1965 debut. Outside some limited Japanese toy releases, and simple lip-service from 'niche-nerd' news sites.

And I also suffer from extremely terrible, awful, miserably BAD timing, which has been a major factor in why I don't update my blog that often to begin with. And knowing my luck, the greatest final trailer for the completed "Gamera Revival Project" film, will premier an hour from whenever your reading this.

But since this is Gamera we're talking about, for once my bad timing would be a good thing.

Some of my fellow fans have noted that there's still plenty of time left for a new Gamera film to begin shooting, before year's end. But unless Kadokawa Pictures has one Hell of a secret production plan in the works, this is cutting it way too damn close!

Something all turtles are known for; flying through the outer space without oxygen

After giving it some thought, I've come to realize that I actually like Gamera a little bit more than the original Kaiju King who inspired him, Godzilla.
Blasphemous, I know (nor do I really care), but the world needs more positive heroes, fictional and otherwise...Even if Gamera did start out as a berserk destroyer, in his very first film outing.

And the very idea of a gigantic, fire-breathing turtle monster from ancient Atlantis, who can pull into his armored shell, and become a flying saucer of blue flames and physics-deifying awesomeness, is just too insane for me NOT to love!

There are many fellow Gamera fans who feel the exact same way. And have taken their own paths in celebrating Gamera's 50th birthday, through endeavors like web-podcasts and fan created artwork.

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Over the course of 2015, I'll be doing several Gamera-themed articles, as well as showcasing related projects from people outside myself.

Beginning with this melancholy, but ultimately sweet nature comic strip, entitled "Cheer Up Gamera". And was written and drawn by fellow artist, Kaiju fan, and overall nice person, WinterGaia.

It captures both the negative and positive aspects of the Gamera's now overlooked legacy. In an anime-inspired, anthropomorphic, somewhat schmaltzy, kind of way.

Click HERE for An Enhanced View of Page 1

Click HERE for An Enhanced View of Page 2

Click HERE for Page 3

Click HERE for Page 4

Click HERE for Page 5

Click HERE for Page 6

Click HERE for Page 7

Click HERE for Page 8

Click HERE for Page 9

Multiple Morals of the Story:

*Cute, young anime girls are eternal angels of mercy.

*Guiron the knife-headed monster is a much nicer guy off-camera.

*The Kaiju from "Pacific Rim" really are a bunch of teenage jerks.

And the love and support of friends is always welcomed, when keeping one's spirits up. And that last sentence was diffidently NOT meant as a simple joke.

RELATED LINKS:

WinterGaia's DeviantART Page

Kaiju Images: The Stone Creatures

As previously stated, I'll be using my blog as a public service (limited and obscure as it is) for the Kaiju fan community online. And one such way to do so, is by posting random articles, featuring random images, of random Kaiju (giant monsters) from across random fiction!

I'll try my best to largely use images I've either scanned or taken myself - the latter of which, by using the age old method of a crummy digital camera, while sitting affront of a decent sized TV screen at night.

In other cases however, I will of course credit sources for images that I've 'borrowed' from other sites, and their related owners and contributors.

Especially since a lot of the most Obscure Kaiju characters have equally as few images floating about the Internet. And usually on web-pages that have an unreliable lifespan, like forum threads. Or the dreaded, diminished attention spanned beast dubbed Tumblr.

For this first outing, we're going to start off with some (crappy) screen-captures I made of The Stone Creatures; twin lion-like stone statues from third episode of Hanna-Barbera's "Godzilla" series, entitled "Attack of the Stone Creatures" (September 23rd, 1978).

'Crossfire! Crossfire!'

'Hey Godzuki! Check out my winter cool breath!'

'Huh...Not that impressive?'

'We're combing the desert, in search of Princess Vespa!'

'We ain't found S***!'

I'll have more Kaiju images to share on a near weekly basis from now on, so stay tuned. And if you'd like to assist me in this ongoing endeavor, with scans or screen-captures from your ends, please contact me through the comments below.