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World War Kaiju
World War Kaiju . WWK is the story of an alternate 20th century, where instead of the nuclear bomb, the great super weapon invented in World War II was the Giant Monster The Kaiju! Now, 25 years later, every major country has its own arsenal of marauding monsters. Learn about the United States Kaiju attack on Hiroshima, the Cuban Monster Crisis, and the rest of the story of the Kaiju Cold War. It s fun, it s funny, it s action-packed and it s certainly unique.
- GenresComicsAlternate History
104 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2014
11 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
J. Ishiro Finney
12 books10 followersJ. Ishiro “Ishii” Finney is a dark-eyed, pale-skinned creature who spends the majority of his time tapping away at a keyboard in a darkened room somewhere in the Arizona desert. There he writes tales of sci-fi, alt-history, horror, and occult noir. In a past life he worked as a music journalist, graphic designer, and had a very brief stint playing in an industrial band. He’s written for Industrial Nation, B-Side Magazine, and Alternative Press. In the realm of comics, he’s written and illustrated books with Archaia Entertainment(now Boom!), 01Publishing.
He’s best known for Casefile: Arkham, a graphic novel series which author Jonathan Maberry called “A wickedly entertaining noir mystery spin on Lovecraft’s cosmic horror… which is perfect for fans of The Dresden Files and Hellblazer.”
Finney also scripted the audiodrama adaptation of his book, Titanium Rain. In 2013 was nominated for two Audie Awards through the Audiobook Publishers Association in the categories of Best Audio Drama and Best Original Work. It also won the Earphones Award from AudioFile magazine and the Silver Mark Time Award.
Most recently, Finney published the sci-fi novella, SCARS. David J. West (author of the BRUTAL Saga) said of SCARS, “This was an amazing quick read, detailing the horrors of war and the beauty of brotherhood even that between the species. Simply amazing.”
His short stories have appeared in PseudoPod, Whispers from the Abyss, and NuMedia Journal. When not writing, Finney hosts a weekly podcast where he frequently claims to be a 600-year-old Zeta-Reticulan piloting a biomechanical flesh-suit. This is probably not true.
He’s best known for Casefile: Arkham, a graphic novel series which author Jonathan Maberry called “A wickedly entertaining noir mystery spin on Lovecraft’s cosmic horror… which is perfect for fans of The Dresden Files and Hellblazer.”
Finney also scripted the audiodrama adaptation of his book, Titanium Rain. In 2013 was nominated for two Audie Awards through the Audiobook Publishers Association in the categories of Best Audio Drama and Best Original Work. It also won the Earphones Award from AudioFile magazine and the Silver Mark Time Award.
Most recently, Finney published the sci-fi novella, SCARS. David J. West (author of the BRUTAL Saga) said of SCARS, “This was an amazing quick read, detailing the horrors of war and the beauty of brotherhood even that between the species. Simply amazing.”
His short stories have appeared in PseudoPod, Whispers from the Abyss, and NuMedia Journal. When not writing, Finney hosts a weekly podcast where he frequently claims to be a 600-year-old Zeta-Reticulan piloting a biomechanical flesh-suit. This is probably not true.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 12, 2016
Artist Patrick McEvoy wields a multitude of visual styles to bring Finney's revisionist, conspiracy theory laden version of 20th Century politics to life. From the end of WWII, through the Cold War presidents, and into near-modern times, the tale is spun by a CIA whistleblower to a journalist willing to expose the internal battle between the presidency and the intelligence community.
In this history in which WWIII saw the destruction of Washington DC, Maryland, Manhattan and San Francisco, the Americans co-opted German research and Oppenheimer to develop the ultimate weapon nicknamed "Fat Man," a Kaiju. The Kaiju attack on Tokyo ends WWII but leads to a Cold War after Russia soon develops the Kaiju, too.
Soon the tale broadens beyond allegorical atomic mega-monsters. Pixies present themselves to Eisenhower to warn of the ancient extraterrestrial origin of Kaiju [think Lovecraft] while Martians come to Roswell to propose an economic alliance. Even Carl Sagan makes a psychedelic appearance at this point . . .
I highly recommend this graphic novel. I received my copy of this novel directly from 01 Publishing through bookreviewdirectory.wordpress.com. I've previously reviewed this author's Utopiates , an extremely creative graphic work of near future speculative fiction, and Casefile: ARKHAM , a detective noir delving into a Lovecraftian landscape. The second of these two was also graphically rendered by Patrick McEvoy.
In this history in which WWIII saw the destruction of Washington DC, Maryland, Manhattan and San Francisco, the Americans co-opted German research and Oppenheimer to develop the ultimate weapon nicknamed "Fat Man," a Kaiju. The Kaiju attack on Tokyo ends WWII but leads to a Cold War after Russia soon develops the Kaiju, too.
Soon the tale broadens beyond allegorical atomic mega-monsters. Pixies present themselves to Eisenhower to warn of the ancient extraterrestrial origin of Kaiju [think Lovecraft] while Martians come to Roswell to propose an economic alliance. Even Carl Sagan makes a psychedelic appearance at this point . . .
I highly recommend this graphic novel. I received my copy of this novel directly from 01 Publishing through bookreviewdirectory.wordpress.com. I've previously reviewed this author's Utopiates , an extremely creative graphic work of near future speculative fiction, and Casefile: ARKHAM , a detective noir delving into a Lovecraftian landscape. The second of these two was also graphically rendered by Patrick McEvoy.
March 7, 2016
2/5 Rating Review coming soon and will be first posted at MyLifeMyBooksMyEscape
September 2, 2023
Having read a couple of Josh Finney and Patrick McEvoy's works before (the Casefile: Arkham books, which were great) I thought I’d give this a try, and I really enjoyed it- with one caveat, which I’ll mention at the end.
So first the good: the artwork is phenomenal, the storyline unique, and it shows a real love for the subject matter and attention to detail which any fan of pop culture, and kaijus in particular, will appreciate. There are a bunch of Easter egg references and a beautiful twisting of historical facts which lend a realism to such a fantastical premise. Some nice touches at the end featuring government reports and media advertisements round out the book.
The bad is that this is only half a story, stopping midway through the narrative. At the end of the book, we’re told to prepare ourselves for Book 2. Given that Goodreads gives the publication date as 9 years ago, it doesn’t look like we’re ever going to see the end. Unfortunately, this makes what would normally be a great book into something of a disappointing read, so I can’t give it 5 stars. It’s still great fun while it lasts, but ending with the promise of more which will likely never appear leaves the reader lacking a sense of fulfilment.
So first the good: the artwork is phenomenal, the storyline unique, and it shows a real love for the subject matter and attention to detail which any fan of pop culture, and kaijus in particular, will appreciate. There are a bunch of Easter egg references and a beautiful twisting of historical facts which lend a realism to such a fantastical premise. Some nice touches at the end featuring government reports and media advertisements round out the book.
The bad is that this is only half a story, stopping midway through the narrative. At the end of the book, we’re told to prepare ourselves for Book 2. Given that Goodreads gives the publication date as 9 years ago, it doesn’t look like we’re ever going to see the end. Unfortunately, this makes what would normally be a great book into something of a disappointing read, so I can’t give it 5 stars. It’s still great fun while it lasts, but ending with the promise of more which will likely never appear leaves the reader lacking a sense of fulfilment.
October 17, 2018
A fun homage to Japanese kaiju movies. Any fan of the Toho movies will recognize some thinly disguised versions of the classic giant monsters. The story mostly establishes an alternate history where the Cold War arms race was based on kaiju rather than nuclear weapons. It's more like a series of short episodes rather than a continuous story, but I enjoyed it for what it is. The cliffhanger ending promises more stories in the series, but I don't know if that ever got off the ground.
April 16, 2024
This was an immensely fun comic book that does a good job intertwining real world events from the time period with Kaiju tropes.
A re-read that I'm very glad I did.
Hope one day they'll continue the series.
A re-read that I'm very glad I did.
Hope one day they'll continue the series.
February 22, 2022
Didn't like it
January 9, 2016
01 Publishing has been around for approximately five years, and an admirable trait of them is their appreciation of niche, underground genres of literature and popular culture – the realms of nerds and hard core aficionados. They have flirted with old school cyberpunk and with H.P. Lovecraft, and with World War Kaiju: Book One: The Cold War Years they turn their attention to the big monster films of Japanese cinema.
World War Kaiju is an alt-history graphic novel, where instead of atomic weapons, the world's superpowers instead use kaiju – the giant monsters as seen in films like Godzilla and Gamera. The divergence occurs that instead of Fat Man being an atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima during WWII, it is instead a Godzilla-esque monster. The Cold War arms race is replaced with a giant-monster race, with the Soviets and America creating different kaiju, parlaying different political struggles and even combating stray kaiju that are surfacing around the globe.
The alternative history is interesting, but what really brings it to life is the peppering of homage and gentle nods, sometimes a hint of parody but without any maliciousness. Character names and design reflect their popular culture counterparts, such as Mohdrah being a counterpart to Mothra, and the failed experiment Little Boy being a tongue in cheek jab at Minya. One of the martians at the story's interlude is named Bormar, a reference to Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, a boat is named Ishiro after Ishiro Honda, the director of many kaiju films, and a giant rabbit towards the story's end has a Monty Python vibe to it.
There are a few negatives to the graphic novel however. There is an interlude in the story about martians visiting America, replacing the event at Roswell. The martians bring tidings of Multi-Level Marketing, and it feels a little too over the top, like a stray Saturday Night Live skit. It simply does not hit the mark, and it's overt parody is at odds with the homage of the rest of the graphic novel. Secondly, the overall narrative of the story needs refinement. The alt-history story itself is fine, but the narrative framework is told via a CIA Agent being interviewed by a reporter. No character really says anything to each other, other than “are you listening to me?” and “I am trying to tell you something!”. The idea is interesting, but the dialog between the two characters is too at odds and jumbled.
Regardless of the device, the true story is what is fascinating, and the art style is pretty good too. The monsters look menacing and believable, and not over the top. Sections of the story has the style change to a more “old school” comic book look, and these are executed quite well. The story has an appendix of terms, supplemental material and even thanks for the Kickstarter folks who helped fun it. It's always nice when thanks are given in a book to backers.
Unfortunately, as is the case with another 01 Publishing title, The Utopiates, only a first volume of World War Kaiju has been published. This is unfortunate as there definitely is a good alt-history story unfolding in the graphic novel, and to see it carried on or at least concluded in a second book would be extremely desirable.
World War Kaiju is an alt-history graphic novel, where instead of atomic weapons, the world's superpowers instead use kaiju – the giant monsters as seen in films like Godzilla and Gamera. The divergence occurs that instead of Fat Man being an atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima during WWII, it is instead a Godzilla-esque monster. The Cold War arms race is replaced with a giant-monster race, with the Soviets and America creating different kaiju, parlaying different political struggles and even combating stray kaiju that are surfacing around the globe.
The alternative history is interesting, but what really brings it to life is the peppering of homage and gentle nods, sometimes a hint of parody but without any maliciousness. Character names and design reflect their popular culture counterparts, such as Mohdrah being a counterpart to Mothra, and the failed experiment Little Boy being a tongue in cheek jab at Minya. One of the martians at the story's interlude is named Bormar, a reference to Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, a boat is named Ishiro after Ishiro Honda, the director of many kaiju films, and a giant rabbit towards the story's end has a Monty Python vibe to it.
There are a few negatives to the graphic novel however. There is an interlude in the story about martians visiting America, replacing the event at Roswell. The martians bring tidings of Multi-Level Marketing, and it feels a little too over the top, like a stray Saturday Night Live skit. It simply does not hit the mark, and it's overt parody is at odds with the homage of the rest of the graphic novel. Secondly, the overall narrative of the story needs refinement. The alt-history story itself is fine, but the narrative framework is told via a CIA Agent being interviewed by a reporter. No character really says anything to each other, other than “are you listening to me?” and “I am trying to tell you something!”. The idea is interesting, but the dialog between the two characters is too at odds and jumbled.
Regardless of the device, the true story is what is fascinating, and the art style is pretty good too. The monsters look menacing and believable, and not over the top. Sections of the story has the style change to a more “old school” comic book look, and these are executed quite well. The story has an appendix of terms, supplemental material and even thanks for the Kickstarter folks who helped fun it. It's always nice when thanks are given in a book to backers.
Unfortunately, as is the case with another 01 Publishing title, The Utopiates, only a first volume of World War Kaiju has been published. This is unfortunate as there definitely is a good alt-history story unfolding in the graphic novel, and to see it carried on or at least concluded in a second book would be extremely desirable.
January 20, 2015
This book was made for me. Combine political intrigue, historical fiction, and giant monsters with tons of references to the old Godzilla movies I loved as a kid and you get this excellent comic. Sometimes the back and forth between the former CIA agent and reporter was a bit too drawn out at times but the action was great and the writer cleverly interwove kaiju with Cold-War history. The constant references to Godzilla movies were great too, this was a real gem of a comic.
When will they make a sequel?!
When will they make a sequel?!
September 20, 2014
A wonderful little satire of the Cold War while at the same time loving tribute to the giant monster movies of the 50's through 70's. Also wonderfully drawn and half the fun was looking for the little Easter eggs hidden throughout it . I highly recommend it for fans of the kaiju genre mixed with political intrigue.
August 7, 2014
Wonderful satire of American history in the 60's combined with a true love of the Kaiju genre of cinema.
July 28, 2015
Read my review at http://noflyingnotights.com/2015/05/0...
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews