Skull Island: The Birth of Kong

MonsterVerse #3

by Arvid Nelson, Zid (Illustrations)

ABOUT THIS BOOK...

“DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH?”

As the ultimate monster icon returns to the big screen in the global blockbuster Skull Island, Legendary Comics expands the MonsterVerse with the official graphic novel prequel to the film. Discover the secrets of Kong’s mythic origins as the cryptozoological adventurers of Monarch return to the birthplace of one our world’s greatest wonders. As a journey of discovery becomes a desperate escape mission, a team of operatives will fight to survive the hidden dangers of the island – and each other.

Now available for the first time as one epic saga, join Monarch’s mission into myth, revealing the untold history of this god-like creature and the battle for survival that made him the last of his kind.

This all-new collected edition includes declassified files from the Monarch datacore, revealing expert zoological analysis of some of Skull Island’s most extraordinary florafauna.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Survival, Monsters, Adventure, Comic Book

112 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 2017

About the author

Arvid has worked on everything from film to video games, but he’s best known for his original comics title, Rex Mundi, published by Dark Horse Comics. The Band of the Crow has occupied his creative memory banks ever since Rex Mundi ended.

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here is a prequel AND a sequel to the film Kong: Skull Island. Like the film it's a fast paced, action packed adventure that doesn't need you to engage your brain very much.
The artowrk is impressive & often better than the story itself. However, for a graphic novel about King Kong the legendary ape is absent for much of the story & that was a real shame.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never get enough giant monsters in my reading diet. I am always on the lookout for Kong, Godzilla and other Kaiju books and graphic novels. This one did not disappoint and is a prequel to the Movie. Monarch sends people to Skull Island to try to establish what is there and they discover that everything they thought could happen was wrong. It gets way, way worse. The group ends up doing all they can to escape the place with strange creatures on their tails the entire time. They discover the final resting place of Kong's mother and father and realize that this is where they fought an army of large reptilian creatures who boiled up from below the surface. They gave their lives to ensure their small offspring could live. He became the strongest creature on the island and ends up saving the Monarch crew, allowing the few that remain to escape.
This book has a bunch of technical readouts and reports that are made to support the story given here. I found that to be really cool as it gives a little glimpse into that Monarch does to hunt and document the giant monsters on our planet.
I liked this a lot. Giv it a shot if you liked the movie, you will like this!

Danny

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of the Monsterverse, but this was my first trip into reading the Legendary comics. I was impressed. This story ties into the Skull Island movie and while there wasn't anything entirely new introduced, it was still a cool story focusing on Kong and his background. Recommended for Monsterverse fans.

[Kyle Warner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic art, basic plot, and poor characterization. Could've used more pages/issues to flesh things out. *shrug* It has giant monsters. I was entertained. Three stars.

[Jasher Drake · Rating 4 out of 5]

zid’s artwork rules, kong’s backstory is heartbreaking and the surprise antagonist was pretty wild. loved it!

[Donavon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful art, interesting story.

Only downside is events from "Kong VS Godzilla" movie do not match well with timeline here. This has no one from Monarch on Skull Island until well after 2012. KvG movie has Skull Island domed off for years and only Kong left...


Aside from that, really enjoyed it,

[Sheldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the best art I've ever seen in a film / media tie in before. Beautiful stuff.

If you've enjoyed the new MonsterVerse films then you will dig this Skull Island follow up.

[Kyler Kuehler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This acts as a sequel to the 2017 film "Kong: Skull Island" and a prequel to the 2014 film "Godzilla"

The story of the graphic novel was okay, but it lacked the presence of Kong throughout most of the story. Instead, they focus more on the human characters and even add in some psychic visions to show what really went down between all of Kong's species and the Skull Crawlers. I did like the psychic visions to see the true past of how Kong's species went extinct leaving him the lone survivor.

I do wish that they spent more time on what Kong was up to since the events of "Kong: Skull Island" because that is what readers want to see in the story.

The human characters were okay and had enough development to understand why they acted the way they did.

The artwork was the best of the whole story as it was properly presented in the way and graphic novel with giant monsters or in this case, Titans should be. Other than that nothing else was really special about this graphic novel.

[Rizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

To my surprise, this isn't a prequel like most tie-in comics, but a sequel to film set two decades later in the 1990s (oddly enough, the same time period as the Skull Island animated series, but there's no crossover). Being a movie tie-in comic, obviously it's nothing special, but it does what it sets out to do. We get some background info on Kong and Skull Island not seen in the movie, a few unique monsters, and a bit of connective tissue to bridge the gap between the Kong movie and Godzilla 2014. The art is the real star though. They went all out on the painted vistas, and the sense of scale regarding the monsters is genuinely excellent. That's something often difficult to do on a comic page, but this is a good example of how to do it. Though oddly, I felt the paneling was a bit stock and amateurish. I'm guessing the artist is a painter first, sequential artist second. Regardless, it's pretty.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picks up decades after the events of Kong: Skull Island. As we see the journey that Houston's son Aaron went on, we learn more about Kong's origins. The film felt pretty shallow to me, but this story made me care about Kong. We got to see the tragedy that befell him, accompanied by the words, "He wept although there was no one to hear him. But still, he wept." And the fate of Aaron was something to really think about. This is a story about children and their parents. Plus, the art is simply gorgeous. I daresay that the creatures look much better in here than on film.

[Dayana · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a great monster-verse, keep in mind you won't learn anything new about kong and its your basic story about a group of skilled soldiers landing on skull island only to get killed one by one BUT THE ART is so good! the colorful illustrations are beautiful and I enjoyed that the native people were a stronger presence.

[Ezma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous art that captures the beautiful vistas and dangerous monsters of Skull Island. A bit weird as a prequel. It’s been a minute since we saw the movie but it seems like this spoils all the monsters and secrets of the movie. Probably better to read after the movie, where it’s a fun return trip to the island.

[Farhan Nayem · Rating 3 out of 5]

মন্সটারভার্সের আমার সবচেয়ে প্রিয় মুভি 'স্কাল আইল্যান্ড ' মুভিটার প্রিক্যুয়েল এই গ্রাফিক নভেলটা। প্লট একেবারে ব্যাসিক,চরিত্রায়নও ভালো। কিন্তু যে আশা নিয়ে শুরু করেছিলাম সেটা পূরণ হয়নি। ভেবেছিলাম রহস্যময় স্কাল আইল্যান্ডের আরও মিথ ও রহস্য এক্সপ্লোর করবে নভেলটা। অথচ স্টোরিলাইনের শুরু থেকেই বোঝা যাচ্ছিল শেষটা কি ঘটবে।


I must say, this could have been better.


★ পারসোনাল রেটিংঃ ৬/১০

[Gabe Chaves · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. Nothing ground breaking.

[Raymond Just · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best of the Monsterverse prequels, this story sets up both the Kong mythology and the central motivation of one of the film's protagonists quite well, enriching the plot line of the movie.

[Brannigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun middle book between King Kong Skull Island and Kong vs Godzilla. If you’re a fan you’ll enjoy another visit to the island.

[Sam Nicholson · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

[AgentTarvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favorite of the Monsterverse comics so far. Arvid Nelson spins a heartfelt and intriguing story. The declassified monster files at the back are a real treat!

[Matt Coulter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda out there, but ok. The monster names might be some of the dumbest they've come out with, though, even for Kaiju movie standards.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Both backstory and sequel filling gaps between the movies, so it works better if you've seen them.
Cool inclusion of monsters files helps deepen the mythos.

[Francesco Tehrani · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice non-canon sequel and prequel comic to the Kong: Skull Island film! Definitely some thought-provoking stuff! The characters and art were beautiful as always!

[El Shnookmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arvid has a new original comic book, Band of the Crow. Check out the trailer https://youtu.be/Z16wRyYKl2A?si=gEEFy...