Kill All Monsters Omnibus Volume 1

by Michael May, Jason Copeland (Illustrator)

Monsters rule the world. Humanity's last hope is a squad of giant robots and their skilled pilots, all from different backgrounds, each with a unique reason to fight. Can we survive the conflict? Are we worth saving? A familiar but wholly original story about war, survival, and the human spirit, told through gigantic-scale battles fought by memorable characters! Contains over 100 pages of new story, in addition to collecting the entire hit webcomic!"Although May gives us plenty of giant monster-killing, he's smart enough to make sure that there's a reason we care that the robots are fighting the monsters rather than just saying "Hey, robots fighting monsters is cool, right?" -comicbookresources.com"May and Copland have engaged in some pretty cool world-building, taking the basic idea and running with it until they have something special that goes way beyond what you might expect from "another giant monster title." -Robot6

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

368 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2017

Reviews

[Diz]

If you're the type of person that loves to see giant robots beat up monsters, then this is the book for you. The monsters come in a wide variety and it's interesting to see the creator's imagination in that regard. On the other hand, the robot designs are not so cool. The art itself has a bit of a retro manga vibe. The story addresses the issue of man's overreach in science, and shares a lot in common with the latest Godzilla movie. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I didn't really connect with the characters. They seemed a bit distant from the reader to me.

[Chad]

This is everything I wanted from a Kaiju type series. Take Godzilla and throw in some storytelling from the likes of Atomic Robo and we have Kill All Monsters. Michael May and Jason Copeland need to take over IDW's Godzilla series. Great storytelling and world building. I can't wait to see more from these two.

In the world of Kill All Monsters, nuclear tests in the 50's caused the rise of Kaiju. Now, 60 years later, the monsters have destroyed most of society. Those left living in what's left of the cities have devolved back to the stone age. In Africa, humanity is fighting back with giant robots. With society crumbling, May still manages to add in conspiracies and betrayal. It's fantastic.

[Valéria.]

Monštrá. Roboty ovládané ľuďmi/AI. Bitky jak hovado. Na 350+ stránkach s parádnou kresbou v čiernej a bielej. So super dejom. A postavami. What's not to like there, seriously?

[Darcy]

When I was a kid I was introduced to my first giant robot named Gigantor. This was an early 1960s cartoon with a 12 year old boy controlling his massive robot and kicking evil guy's butts. I was smitten. My desire for oversize mechanoids and huge monsters was of course met with all of those terrific Tojo movies featuring Godzilla and company. There is just something primal about a few thousand tons of steel battling it out with radioactive mutant lizards that speaks to me. Of course Pacific Rim fed my Jones in spades. (Not so much the sequel though. Get del Toro back!) Anyway, it seemed only natural that when I saw the cover for Kill All Monsters that I had no choice but to buy!

Fortunately for me I picked it up from the illustrator, Jason Copland, who also drew a spiffy picture of a monster calling out my name inside. (No bad dreams will come from that surely...) His artwork and Michael May's scripting make for a first rate slug 'em up that I absolutely enjoyed. The feature story had layers, nuance and twists to it that drew me in and the action beats kept me smiling the entire time. I really like the fact that there is room for more story in this universe so I will certainly keep my eyes open for more.

Yes I know that the biology and physics to these tales makes no sense whatsoever, but who cares? The likelihood that I will ever get to control a 60-story mechanical behemoth and smack Rodan upside the head is pretty minimal, so if I can live out this dream vicariously in marvelous tales like this one, I will be a happy camper. If Kaju and fantasy tech floats your boat, you will not be disappointed with this anthology.

[Nicholas Driscoll]

Very enjoyable giant monster romp that still didn't quite impress or connect with me sometimes. It feels a bit derivative of Pacific Rim, which came out around the same time as this volume--both have a future earth ravaged by giant monsters wherein the only defense is a united international human front using giant robots to beat the giant monsters back, and both feature a prominent young Japanese female character who lost her family to the giant monsters. The art is a bit spotty, and occasionally the action felt a little difficult to follow, but the panels are big, lots of spreads and splash panels, a real fast read packed with action and some fun twists and turns. The last story ends on a cliffhanger, so I hope that is picked up sometime (if it hasn't been continued already).

I had a lot of fun to be honest, even though the above review may sound a bit so-so. If you like giant monsters and comics, I totally recommend this.

[Centauri]

Nothing new here in concept: humanity piloting towering mecha against Kaiju. There is a fairly decent plot twist on the trope, but nothing too dazzling. And there was not enough time put into character personality or relationship(s). It's a fun action story with nice imagery.

[Andrew]

This was awesome. Great artwork and an incredibly fun vibe.

[Ryan McSwain]

Killraven with Kaiju!

The atomic tests of the 1940s gave birth to giant monsters. With nothing to stand in their way, these creatures wiped out civilization. Years later, the Africa Defense Force has developed humanity’s last and best hope: giant freaking awesome robots.

I’ve enjoyed chatting with Michael May on Twitter, and he was kind enough to kickstart one of my books. I missed the Kill All Monsters softcover, but this omnibus was definitely worth the wait.

This thick hardcover contains the original Kill All Monsters webcomic (previously collected in the “Ruins of Paris” TPB), “The Ministry of Robots” from Dark Horse Presents, and a new story, “Island of Giants.” The hardcover is absolutely gorgeous, with a colorful matte cover and quality binding. The 9” x 6” page dimensions work to the book’s advantage, giving it a letterbox feel. There’s no dust jacket, but there’s none of that annoying marketing text cluttering the front cover. This is really a first-class presentation and will look great on a bookshelf.

Michael May’s writing is solid, with mysteries and action that keep the pages turning. I think the real trick to a story with giant monsters and robots is balancing the large-scale destruction with human-sized consequences, and this story nails it. This world feels big enough to contain its monsters, and we’re given glimpses into the situation on several continents. My favorite bit involved a post-apocalyptic Paris with elements of Kamandi or Thundarr. The pacing is good, especially in the action scenes, and the characters have depth.

The art from Jason Copeland is perfect for the story. It’s challenging to tell a story visually on such different scales, but there’s never any confusion about what’s happening. The destroyed world looks nice and messy, and the robots are distinctive. The art for the monsters have almost a Guy Davis feel, and that’s definitely intended as a compliment. The variety in monster designs is a real treat, and the fights have a great flow. The book is black and white, with excellent uses of grayscale and Zip-A-Tone effects. “The Ministry of Robots” was originally printed in color, but you wouldn’t know it here.

I look forward to seeing more from May and Copeland. I’d love more Kill All Monsters, and I hope we get an Omnibus 2. I’d like to explore more of this world and its characters, and I wouldn’t mind seeing these bots go up against even bigger threats.