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Giantkiller: 20th Anniversary Edition
An oversized expanded hardcover collection of the classic American Kaiju Epic!
A cosmic event sparks an invasion of giant monsters in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the only effective weapon the military possesses to combat them is a hybrid soldier sharing both Human and Daikaiju DNA.
A cosmic event sparks an invasion of giant monsters in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the only effective weapon the military possesses to combat them is a hybrid soldier sharing both Human and Daikaiju DNA.
276 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
34 people want to read
About the author
Dan Brereton
179 books35 followersDaniel Alan "Dan" Brereton is a Comic book storyteller, 5-time Eisner not-winner. Responsible for The Nocturnals and a lot of comics.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 8, 2020
A wormhole collides with Mt. Diablo, loosing daikaiju, giant monster,s into the Bay Area. Fortunately, the United States have created a man-kaiju hybrid, The Giantkiller!
A couple years ago, I contributed to the Giantkiller anniversary edition hardcover Kickstarter. I finally got it in the mail a few days ago and it is fantastic!
The Giantkiller Anniversary edition is a daikaiju sized tome, oversized and packed with extras. It contains Giantkiller 1-6, Giantkiller A-Z, tons of pinups, a sketchbook section, and a second monster guide detailing the Antarctic monsters hinted at at the end of the tale.
Born out of Dan Brereton's love of Ultraman, Cthulhu, and Godzilla, Giantkiller is the tale of a human-monster hybrid with a samurai sword fighting giant monsters from another dimension. As you can imagine, the story isn't overly complex. Lots of monster killing action, with Jill guiding Jack as he learns about the daikaiju. One thing I really liked is that Jill became a sister figure to Jack instead of immediately getting impaled on his genitals.
The art is gorgeous. Alex Ross is the painter most comic fans adore but I find Dan Brereton's art to be superior. His figures feel fluid and full of life, never stiffly posed, and he has a lot more style than Ross. Brereton's art would not be out of place on the cover or interior of an old pulp magazine, brimming with action. The monster designs are great, as is Jack's, the Giantkiller of the title.
No gripes from me on this other than wanting more Giantkiller. The Giantkiller anniversary hardcover is one gorgeous book of monster-slaying action. Four out of five kaiju.
A couple years ago, I contributed to the Giantkiller anniversary edition hardcover Kickstarter. I finally got it in the mail a few days ago and it is fantastic!
The Giantkiller Anniversary edition is a daikaiju sized tome, oversized and packed with extras. It contains Giantkiller 1-6, Giantkiller A-Z, tons of pinups, a sketchbook section, and a second monster guide detailing the Antarctic monsters hinted at at the end of the tale.
Born out of Dan Brereton's love of Ultraman, Cthulhu, and Godzilla, Giantkiller is the tale of a human-monster hybrid with a samurai sword fighting giant monsters from another dimension. As you can imagine, the story isn't overly complex. Lots of monster killing action, with Jill guiding Jack as he learns about the daikaiju. One thing I really liked is that Jill became a sister figure to Jack instead of immediately getting impaled on his genitals.
The art is gorgeous. Alex Ross is the painter most comic fans adore but I find Dan Brereton's art to be superior. His figures feel fluid and full of life, never stiffly posed, and he has a lot more style than Ross. Brereton's art would not be out of place on the cover or interior of an old pulp magazine, brimming with action. The monster designs are great, as is Jack's, the Giantkiller of the title.
No gripes from me on this other than wanting more Giantkiller. The Giantkiller anniversary hardcover is one gorgeous book of monster-slaying action. Four out of five kaiju.
October 1, 2010
Giantkiller is what you’d get if you watched a few dozen kaiju movies while tripping on acid. It’s Dan Brereton’s all-out homage to the genre of giant monsters destroying stuff. It’s told in six parts, and the gist is that a comet has struck Mt Diablo in San Francisco, causing it to erupt and open a dimensional gateway. Through that gateway come dozens of towering monsters, and they proceed to wreak havoc while the puny humans spend the next few years trying to find a way to stop them.
Their main weapon against the monsters becomes a genetically engineered human/monster hybrid named Yochu. He’s nine feet tall, has a long lizard/scorpion tail, and wields a samurai sword in his quest to kill all the giants. Yochu is a warrior born and bred, and his character is like that of a samurai, which adds to the book’s Asian flavor. He even calls the scientist who created him “sensei”.
Beyond the basic coolness factor of the story concept, there’s Brereton’s artwork, which is some of the best in comics. His painting has a unique style all his own. Some elements are dark, macabre, or even gothic. Then there are great eruptions of color and psychedelic intricacies in the monsters’ designs. Brereton’s art brings together a strange mix of pulp horror and monster-fighting action. Most of Brereton’s stuff is worth it for the art alone, but Giantkiller will definitely satisfy fans of the rampaging monster genre.
Their main weapon against the monsters becomes a genetically engineered human/monster hybrid named Yochu. He’s nine feet tall, has a long lizard/scorpion tail, and wields a samurai sword in his quest to kill all the giants. Yochu is a warrior born and bred, and his character is like that of a samurai, which adds to the book’s Asian flavor. He even calls the scientist who created him “sensei”.
Beyond the basic coolness factor of the story concept, there’s Brereton’s artwork, which is some of the best in comics. His painting has a unique style all his own. Some elements are dark, macabre, or even gothic. Then there are great eruptions of color and psychedelic intricacies in the monsters’ designs. Brereton’s art brings together a strange mix of pulp horror and monster-fighting action. Most of Brereton’s stuff is worth it for the art alone, but Giantkiller will definitely satisfy fans of the rampaging monster genre.
June 5, 2021
A beautifully-rendered work of Kaiju madness. No one does it quite like Dan Brereton.
July 8, 2021
It's been a few months since I've been able to read something, so I figured I should read something I backed on Kickstarter. Prior to reading this, I have been consuming tons of kaiju entertainment in preparation for "Godzilla vs. Kong," so this is a perfect read.
The overall story is really good. Brereton has a firm grasp of the characters and the plot for the most part and it makes reading it a fun experience. The only thing that puts a damper on that would have to be that often I would feel I missed a few pages or a chapter because something (like the ending) would either end in an abrupt, anticlimactic fashion or we would skip ahead with no warning. I felt that the story ultimately was bigger than six issues and Brereton had a tough time fitting it in— especially in the final issue.
The art is mostly impressive. I'm not sure if it's because I'm colorblind (not greyscale), but often I felt each section looked similar with similar colors and similar designs. The design part is the only thing that bothered me. A lot of the daikiaju looked very similar to one another. Sometimes it was the tentacles, other times it was the jawline. I think it was a fabulous idea to feature the ABCs of monsters (named similar to hurricanes' naming convention) in the beginning and end of the book as it helped paint a picture of the universe as a whole. The only real negative (other than there being exactly 26 of them, I mean what are the odds!) would be that seeing them side by side highlighted and excentuated the similarities even more. The human characters were extremely well-drawn (even Jack, who you may need a couple of issues to get used to). Jill was well-drawn too, but I couldn't help but think it was a weird choice to make her look like Michael Jackson.
I loved the concepts, inspirations, and rogues galleries featured at the end of the book. It's always fun to see where the comic could have gone. However, I will admit, seeing takes on the comic drawn by the likes of Kelly Shannon and Alex Horley made me sad that they didn't draw the entire series. But on the flipside, Brereton included inspiration drawings of Godzilla, Cthulhu, Ultraman, etc. as well as Jack with a hat, so that should have more than made up for it in my eyes.
The overall story is really good. Brereton has a firm grasp of the characters and the plot for the most part and it makes reading it a fun experience. The only thing that puts a damper on that would have to be that often I would feel I missed a few pages or a chapter because something (like the ending) would either end in an abrupt, anticlimactic fashion or we would skip ahead with no warning. I felt that the story ultimately was bigger than six issues and Brereton had a tough time fitting it in— especially in the final issue.
The art is mostly impressive. I'm not sure if it's because I'm colorblind (not greyscale), but often I felt each section looked similar with similar colors and similar designs. The design part is the only thing that bothered me. A lot of the daikiaju looked very similar to one another. Sometimes it was the tentacles, other times it was the jawline. I think it was a fabulous idea to feature the ABCs of monsters (named similar to hurricanes' naming convention) in the beginning and end of the book as it helped paint a picture of the universe as a whole. The only real negative (other than there being exactly 26 of them, I mean what are the odds!) would be that seeing them side by side highlighted and excentuated the similarities even more. The human characters were extremely well-drawn (even Jack, who you may need a couple of issues to get used to). Jill was well-drawn too, but I couldn't help but think it was a weird choice to make her look like Michael Jackson.
I loved the concepts, inspirations, and rogues galleries featured at the end of the book. It's always fun to see where the comic could have gone. However, I will admit, seeing takes on the comic drawn by the likes of Kelly Shannon and Alex Horley made me sad that they didn't draw the entire series. But on the flipside, Brereton included inspiration drawings of Godzilla, Cthulhu, Ultraman, etc. as well as Jack with a hat, so that should have more than made up for it in my eyes.
comics
July 24, 2022hardcover (HUGE/heavy) and slipcased, with a signed remarque bookplate (and other extras) - some days I love kickstarter
February 23, 2023
Very fun read
September 20, 2023
Absolutely amazing book. So much kaiju fun. You even remotely like Godzilla movies, then then you need to read this series.
December 8, 2025
Art is a five
February 12, 2017
a great kaiju fun !!!!!
Read
March 15, 2009I enjoyed the art - the images are beautifully painted. Also, it takes place in the East Bay, where I live, showing Mt. Diablo spewing nuclear creatures across the highway I commute on. Cool local angle.
July 24, 2009
six star books. takes place on mt. diablo and destroys monte vista high school, guess i won't be walking by there anymore.
October 12, 2011
have it in issues, reread it last night! still great!
August 31, 2012
Fun stuff. The ending's a little rushed, but the story still works. Totally worth it.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews