INTRODUCTION--A little bit about The Godzilla Saga.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS--Some of the names who inspired this work of mine.
ON GODZILLA--A few of my thoughts on the Atomic Titan of Terror and what he means to the world, as well as more info on what The Godzilla Saga is all about.
NEW ADDITIONS TO THE SITE--This continually updated section of the main page will list all new material added to the site as soon as it's posted.
G-NEWS--Another continually updated section of the main page, which features any and all news relating to the Big G, posted as soon as I find out about it. Sources always listed.
ITEMS OF INTEREST--This continually updated section of the main page features any item or bit of news that I think would be of interest to my readers.
GUEST BOOK.
BABEL FISH translator.
SITE LINKS--This final section of the main page features many links leading to the meat of the site, including all of my reviews of the G-films, my episode guides for the two Godzilla animated TV series (both from Hanna-Barbera and from Centropolis), my discussions of the two most popular Godzilla commercials (the ones produced by Dr. Pepper in the 1980s and the one produced by Nike in the 1990s), my guest section (featuring articles, book reviews, CD reviews, and other contributions by esteemed G-fans other than myself), my extensive timelines (including one for the Showa Toho Universe, one for the Heisei Toho Universe, and one for Marc Cerasini's Tohoverse), my glossary, my links to other cool sites on the Net, and more.
My thanks to regular contributor Vennie Anderson for suggesting this table of contents, as well as other improvements for The Godzilla Saga.
This online book features an analysis of the various on-screen aspects of the King of the Monsters, the greatest movie dai kaiju (Japanese for "giant monster") of all time. It's the work of a single lifelong fan of the genre, and this book represents my effort to share all of my insights and opinions concerning the decades long career of the Toho Titan with all of my fellow G-fans, as well as kaiju-fans and sci-fi fans in general who may wish to augment their knowledge base of Godzilla.
Now, for the following necessary disclaimer: please note that this online work is in no way, shape, or form authorized by Toho Co., Ltd., who owns the copyright of Godzilla, as well as every other character and piece of technology included in this text (with the sole exception of King Kong, who is owned by Turner Network, and Charles Barkley, whose image is, of course, copyright himself). Also note that I haven't made a single red cent off of this work, and it's presented here free to all of my fellow G-fans and other general sci-fi fans who may benefit from reading its contents. Thus, I am in no way violating Toho's copyright with this work, and my very limited use of pics (now and in the future) stay well within the realm of fair use according to U.S. law. Since there is already an ample supply of Godzilla pics all over the Web and in numerous print magazines, I am going to include only a small amount of pics on this site, and I will instead endeavor to make this online tome text and information heavy, as opposed to picture and graphics heavy. Accordingly, there will be no graphics at this time, since not only can such eye candy be readily found elsewhere on the Net, but as pretty and impressive as graphics can be, they ultimately slow down the download time for the page, knock out browsers and sound cards on slower computers, and take up huge amounts of bandwidth. Thus, if you are looking for eye-pleasing stuff like that, you have come to the wrong site; however, if you are looking for a lot of information on all of Godzilla's big and small screen exploits (both live action and animated), then you have come to the right place. This site will be constantly expanded and updated, though what it includes right now is considerable. So read on and enjoy! :)
This work is respectfully dedicated to the memory and astounding career of producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, who died April 2, 1997 at age 86. Not only was he the creator of Godzilla, as well as the producer/executive producer of the first 22 Japanese G-films over a period of 41 years (which encompasses every movie in the first two film series), but he was also responsible for many of the legendary Akira Kurosawa films, often hailed as some of the greatest movies in international cinematic history. Every G-fan and serious cinema buff the world over mourns the loss.
This work owes a high level of gratitude to the creative staff of Toho Co., Ltd., past and present, particularly Tomoyuki Tanaka, Ishiro Honda, Jun Fukuda, Eiji Tsuberaya, Teruyoshi Nakano, Akira Ifukube, Takao Okawara, Kazuki Omori, Koichi Kawakita, Shogo Kumiyama, and the many others whose talents combined to bring us the exploits of the King of the Monsters over the past four decades.
Also, this book probably would never have been possible if not for the hard work and inspiration provided by the many G-fans of North America who have written and published material on Toho’s atomic titan of terror. These include, in no particular order, Greg Shoemaker, Forrest J. Ackerman, Henry G. Saperstein, John Rocco Roberto, Guy Mariner Tucker, August Ragone, J.D. Lees, David Kalat, Ed Godziszewski, Keith Sewell, Jim and Cheryl Cirronella, Modstoon, Edward Holland, David May, Dan and Diane Reed, Robert Biondi and Brian Culver. Your efforts are much appreciated by this particular G-fan, as well as numerous others.
Special thanks must also be given to my grandmother, who is greatly responsible for my life long interest in the Big G. Due to her employment as a secretary of the film industry in the 1970s, she acquired a huge amount of G-film pressbooks for me when I was a young child, brought me to see the last two Godzilla movies of the original series when they first opened in U.S. theaters, and to this day never fails to remind me when a Godzilla movie marathon is playing on TV. I strongly appreciate her active role in nurturing and preserving my status as a die hard G-fan!
Godzilla, the King of the Monsters, continues to stand as the most famous figure in the history of dai kaiju eiga (Japanese for “giant monster movies”), as his only real rivals in this area are King Kong and Gamera, although Mothra also made a foray into a solo film series. Godzilla, who has been referred to by his creator, Tomoyuki Tanaka, as the “sacred beast of the apocalypse,” has become synonymous with destruction and atomic horror in the annals of popular fiction, and he’s been the subject of three separate movie series, produced by Toho Co., Ltd., over a period of five decades, and a completely new version of the character was the subject of a 1998 American made film from Tri-Star Pictures. During this time he has gone from being depicted as a mindless engine of devastation and the personification of the misuse of nuclear power, to a super-heroic and sometimes even near-comical figure, and back to being a feared menace to humankind again. In fact, audiences in the Western world continue to perceive Godzilla as a campy rather then menacing figure, due partially to the mishandling in America of the first movie in the second (Heisei Era) film series, released by New World Pictures in 1985, and partially due to the disproportionate amount of attention the semi-juvenile films produced by Toho in the original (Showa Era) series of G-films during the 1970’s receive on Western shores. Furthermore, the Tri-Star film and its accompanying advertising campaign with Taco Bell (“here leezard leezard!”) did absolutely nothing to improve his image. As a result, G-fans (as we devout Godzilla fans call ourselves) are often ridiculed when we admit our interest in the Big G’s movies.
Within this online book, you will find a synopsis and review of all G-films as they are released (with the first two film series complete thus far), along with creative credits, detailed comments about numerous aspects of each film reviewed, and descriptions of the differences between the Japanese and American versions of these films. Each movie will be listed with the title it is currently known as on U.S. video and TV, not its original U.S. release title, which have often been ludicrous, deceptive of the film’s content, and exploitive of popular but unrelated film material. Many G-fans believe that the original American release title should be highlighted in these reviews for reasons of historical posterity, or that even the usually very different Japanese titles of the films should be given center stage for reasons regarding loyalty to Toho's original intentions, but in my personal opinion, doing either of the latter two things just makes it confusing for current G-fans in the U.S. who are not familiar with the entire fulcrum of G-film history to find the current versions of the films on video. Nevertheless, I will list the original American release title and the Japanese and international release titles of each film in the reviews (and please note that different sources tend to have somewhat different interpretations of how the Japanese film titles precisely translate into English, so be aware of these variations); for my English-speaking visitors from the U.K., please compare the American film titles with the listing of international film titles to figure out what each film may be titled on home video or TV in your respective country. This may work for the U.K., but in Germany, France, Italy, etc., the G-film release titles have often been extremely varied, and I couldn't begin to guess what film title they would currently carry on home video and TV, and for this I apologize.
Also here you will find an overview of the classic Godzilla commercials by Dr. Pepper and Nike Shoes, a synopsis and analysis of the Tri-Star film, a section covering the Hanna-Barbera animated Godzilla series from the late 1970s on American television, an analysis of the Tri-Star produced animated Godzilla series from the late 1990s, some info on Club Daikaiju (which is perhaps the best place to acquire Godzilla merchandise), and a long glossary featuring detailed descriptions of every major kaiju, piece of technology, locale, and even individual to be featured in Godzilla's live action appearances on the big and small screens in every conceivable Godzilla continuity. New sections of the site are added from time to time, also.
Finally, a word on Video Daikaiju will be provided, including the arguments by G-fans for and against purchasing the high quality bootleg videos that the company distributes.
I have endeavored to be as accurate as possible in this work, but some bloopers in a venture like this, from random grammatical and spelling errors to a few factual inconsistencies, are commonplace in a project of this nature, and I will be continually reviewing this work and making corrections of all kinds as necessary (ah, the advantages of an online book!).
The links on this page will take you to the various different sections on the site...so go ahead, explore the universe of Godzilla, and enjoy :-)
If anyone would like to get in touch with me in care of this site, and would rather not leave a private entry in the guest book, you can reach me at g_saga_admin[AT]fastmail[DOT]us
11/16/12:
Today has seen the release, both in hard copy and e-book format, of another short fiction anthology featuring a story from yours truly. That would be CARNAGE: AFTER THE END Volume 1, published by the fine folks at Sirens Call Publications. This horror anthology features ten tales that all center on the common theme of scattered remnants of humanity struggling for survival in a world following a devastating apocalyptic event, the nature of said event varying with each story, but all depicting what is left of the human species doing their best to survive in a future world that embodies a never-ending nightmare. My own story, "The Scurrying," centers around a tribe of post-apocalyptic humans fighting to survive on an Earth overrun by a species of predatory giant rat who have displaced humanity as the top life form on the planet's food chain, and are relentlessly determined to hunt every last human being to extinction. My fellow writers in the first volume are Kimberly A. Bettes, Shane Cashman, Shane R. Collins, Laura Diamond, Rodney James Galley, Michael Griffin, Russell Linton, Adam Millard, and Julianne Snow, with the volume having been edited by Gloria Bobrowicz. The cover is just below:
The e-book version is only $3.99, and you can get it at the following places, depending on your preference:
For those who may prefer to order a print copy of the book at $14.99, you can order it here: CreateSpace
Also on sale now is the companion volume, CARNAGE: AFTER THE FALL Volume 2, which features ten more tales centering on the above theme, also edited by Gloria Bobrowicz and featuring short stories by Angel D. Callido, Charlie Fish, Harper Hull, Magda Knight, Jason Lairamore, Harry Manners, Zachary O'Shea, Wednesday Silverwood, Adrian Tchaikovsky, and L.E. White.
You can check out the cover here:
And you can get the e-book version, also at just $3.99, at the following locales:
And for those who would prefer a hard print copy, you can get one, also for just $14.99, here: CreateSpace
The covers to both Volume 1 and Volume 2 are right below:
9/21/12:
For those of my visitors who may be interested in checking out some of my published fiction writing, recently released in in both e-book and hard copy paperback formats is the anthology ALIENS AMONG US Volume 1 by Pulp Empire/Metahuman Press. It features ten stories of sci-fi oriented pulp action all centered around the common theme of extra-terrestrials visiting the Earth in a familiar setting--i.e., in the past or the present--and interacting with human beings, either for good or ill (or sometimes both). My particular story in the anthology, "A Martian Warrior on Earth," tells the tale of a Barsoomian Red Martian law enforcement officer, Cy Tharnn, who travels to the slums of the Earth city of Rochester, New York circa late 1980s on a clandestine mission to hunt down and neutralize a genetically modified member of the vile octopoid alien race known as the Sarmaks (remember them from H. G. Wells' WAR OF THE WORLDS, and their subsequent appearances elsewhere, including Alan Moore's THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN Vol. 2?) who has sequestered itself some place in the impoverished section of the city while using the drug-addicted human inhabitants as both a source of food and as psychically controlled security guards. Can Tharnn successfully pull off the imposture of being human and succeed in his vital mission when he has yet to fully master the American English dialect, runs afoul of the police, and inadvertently picks up a perky young prostitute as a sidekick to serve as his guide in this horrid section of town? And what about the difficulty of actually neutralizing such a dangerous quarry if he should succeed in locating it? Buy the book and find out already! :-)
The e-book version is only $2.99, and you can get it on Smashwords here. For those who own a Kindle and prefer to make your e-book purchases from Amazon, go here.
For those who prefer the paperback (or would like a copy of that in addition to the electronic version), it's available for $12.00 on Amazon here and wherever you can purchase books.
10/31/11 Hitting book shelves and online digital inventories of book-sellers this coming December (of 2011) will be the eighth volume of Black Coat Press’ popular TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN anthology series, featuring new tales of pulp adventure starring many classic heroes and villains from French literature. The eighth volume will be sub-titled AGENTS PROVOCATEURS, and amongst the many authors who penned stories for this latest volume will be the debut published work of yours truly. My offering is the tale “Patricide,” which features a very unfriendly family reunion as the Phantom of the Opera battles Ghoroull, the French version of the Frankenstein Monster, in a deadly and bitter war between two monstrous killers who share a nightmarish lineage. My thanks and appreciation to Jean-Marc Lofficier, the finest editor anyone could ask for, and for my fellow creative mythographers such as Crazy Ivan Shablotski, Jay Lindsey, Win Scott Eckert, Chuck Loridans, Henry and Sarah Covert, Mike Ongsincgo, Matthew Baugh, Brad Mendel, Gordon Long, Dennis Power, Prof. Pete Coogan, Art Bollman, Jess Nevins, Kim Newman, Jonah Heim, Dimadick, Jean-Marc Lofficier and his wife Randy themselves, and several others who provided heaps of support and inspiration to make this move into the ranks of published authors possible for me. A finer and more gifted set of genre writers and researchers could not be found in this or any other reality, and I am proud to be among them, and to have my byline appear in an anthology featuring such an august body of authors.
Oh, and did I mention the truly incredible cover for this volume provided by artist Jean-Claude Claeys? Don’t take my word for it, check it out yourself:
10/31/11 The world of Wold Newtonry and monsterphiles are receiving a very important gift this Halloween, i.e., October 31, 2011! Going "live" today is the long-awaited, triumphant return of MONSTAAH, and the new version will be helmed by none other than yours truly until such time as its founder and true owner, Chuck Loridans, is able to reclaim the helm himself. With Chuck's gracious approval and blessings, I now carry the torch of one of the greatest sites in the horror genre to ever be created, and you can rest assured I take such a great honor quite seriously (but not so seriously that myself and viewers alike will not have heaps of fun with the return of MONSTAAH--boo-yaah!). It was a great honor to be entrusted with the curatorship of MONSTAAH as the org enters a new era, and I look forward to doing Chuck's legacy proud. The new site, complete with a heavily updated Children of the Night Timeline, can be found here. The new site is still a work in progress, so expect much more from it in the coming weeks.
Of specific interest to kaiju-fans on the revived MONSTAAH site is my new article describing the situation regarding dai kaiju in the Wold Newton Universe within the framework established by Win Scott Eckert and Dennis Power.