Legendary Comics Unleashes Batch Of Godzilla vs. Kong Books

We’ll finally get to see the clash of Godzilla vs. Kong here in the US on March 31, 2021. In anticipation of this epic clash of titans, Legendary Comics is announcing a horde of new books to commemorate the film’s release. Looks like we’ll be getting a lot more fights between giant monsters now.

This whole horde of Godzilla vs. Kong books is apparently part of a companion publishing program Legendary is sponsoring. The goal is to “allow fans to dive deeper into stories relating to the upcoming cinematic showdown between two of the most beloved pop culture Titans of all time”. Basically, Legendary Comics really wants to build up the hype surrounding the film, and they also want to take advantage of the hype afterwards. Much of this will depend on how good the film is, but it’d be kind of hard to mess up a fight between giant monsters. Unless you’re the 2014 Godzilla film, that is.

All the Godzilla vs. Kong Books You Could Ever Want

So what exactly are we getting in terms of Godzilla vs. Kong books? Well, Robert Napton, Senior Vice President of Legendary Comics, summed it up as:

As with previous installments in the Monsterverse franchise, Legendary Comics is excited to expand the story universe by paving the way for the cinematic clash with two prequel graphic novels that will tell separate tales of our favorite Titans. We are also expanding our publishing offerings with our first-ever children’s book and board book, and are thrilled to be working again with Insight Editions and Titan Books on an art book and novelization that will offer exclusive content, taking readers deeper into the world of Godzilla and Kong.

But that’s too vague for our purposes. We’re going to have to get into the specific of each Godzilla vs. Kong book. To start with, we have:

Godzilla Dominion

A new graphic novel that’s a direct sequel to the 2019 Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and basically bridges the gap between it and Godzilla vs. Kong. Godzilla Dominion is apparently entirely from Godzilla’s perspective, and it features his story as he clashes with another giant monster. You know da rules: if there’s two giant monsters, they must fight.

Godzilla Dominion is written by Greg Keyes (Age of Unreason trilogy, three New York Times bestselling Star Wars novels in the New Jedi Order series) and has art drawn by Drew Edward Johnson (DC’s Wonder Woman, Supergirl; Legendary Comics’ Godzilla Aftershock). It’s available on March 30, 2021; but you can preorder it on Simon & Schuster for $16.99.

Kingdom Kong

Another graphic novel with a very punny title. Kingdom Kong is a sequel to another graphic novel: Skull Island: Birth of Kong, and is a direct prelude to Godzilla vs. Kong. It’s basically about a bunch of military guys who think travelling to Skull Island is a great idea, awaken a new monster like idiots, which of course sets up a fight between this new monster and King Kong. You get the picture by now.

Kingdom Kong is written by Marie Anello (Shout Out) and features art by ZID (Legendary Comics’ Skull Island: The Birth of Kong; Trick ‘r Treat: Days of the Dead; Spectral: Ghosts of War). It’s also available on March 30, 2021; but you can preorder it on Simon & Schuster for $16.99.

Kong & Me

This is one of the kids’ books, featuring King Kong being unusually passive and friendly as he travels around Skull Island with a new friend. Not sure if the “me” in Kong & Me is a human or not, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

Kong & Me is written by Kiki Thorpe and features illustrations by Nidhi Chanani (Pashmina; I will be fierce). If you really want to read this, it’ll be available on March 30, 2021. However, you can preorder it on Simon & Schuster for $19.99.

Godzilla vs. Kong: Sometimes Friends Fight (But They Always Make Up)

Okay, this is another kids’ book. You can tell because this is apparently a board book. What’s a board book, you might ask? Well:

Godzilla vs. Kong: Sometimes Friends Fight (But They Always Make Up) is apparently about Godzilla and Kong fighting over something silly, and then becoming friends afterwards? Yeah, not exactly canon, but it is a kids’ book after all.

This kids’ book is illustrated by Carol Herring. If you want to get this for your young children, it’s available on April 6, 2021. You can preorder it from Simon & Schuster for $9.99.

Godzilla vs. Kong: The Official Movie Novelization

This is exactly what it sounds like on the tin. If you can’t get enough of Godzilla vs. Kong for some reason, look no further than the official novel of the movie.

Greg Keyes returns as the writer for this. It’ll be available on April 6, 2021. However, you can preorder the paperback version on Penguin Random House for $8.99.

Monsterverse Titanthology Vol 1

This one is a bit of an anthology, collecting previous graphic novels into a single book. In this case, Monsterverse Titanthology Vol 1 will contain Skull Island: The Birth of Kong (2017) and Godzilla: Aftershock (2019).

This graphic novel collection will be available on May 11, 2021. Unfortunately, we have no official information on where you can preorder it. Stay tuned for more later.

Godzilla vs. Kong: One Will Fall, The Art of the Ultimate Battle Royale

Ah, this one is basically a giant making-of book for Godzilla vs. Kong. It not only features concept artwork from the movie, but also pre-production materials, on-set photography and insight from the filmmakers. If you have a thing for how movies are made, this is your book.

Godzilla vs. Kong: One Will Fall, The Art of the Ultimate Battle Royale will be available on May 21, 2021. You can preorder it on Simon & Schuster for $45.00 though.

Conclusion

Legendary Comics will release a whole bunch of books to promote Godzilla vs. Kong‘s release on March 31, 2021. Some of them look interesting, and some of them not. At least to me. Your mileage may vary on this merch. At the very least, you won’t be lacking for some hot Godzilla on King Kong action in 2021.

Source: Legendary Comics