Godzilla Kai-Sei Era Will Flesh Out Kaiju Universe in New Ways | Interview

IDW is launching its new Kai-Sei Era of Godzilla comics this summer (read our preview to learn more), and SuperHeroHype spoke to Editor Jake Williams, who is the architect of the line. Williams spoke about all three titles, which will be connected in a shared universe, and teased what’s to come for kaiju fans.

IDW‘s Godzilla #1 hits shelves on July 23, and the pre-order deadline for the first issue is June 9. It will be followed by the release of Godzilla: Escape the Deadzone #1 on August 6 and Starship Godzilla #1 on October 1.

Tyler Treese: The Godzilla Kai-Sei Era line is very ambitious. What’s been the biggest challenge in coordinating three connected titles?

Jake Williams: There’s three series, and only one Godzilla. One of our biggest creative changes has been properly fleshing out a world that’s so totally derived by one specific being. To be honest, this universe really puts the god in Godzilla. 

We’ve dealt with this problem by splitting up Godzilla’s function among the three titles. Our ongoing Godzilla series is going to follow Godzilla around the globe. Where Godzilla goes, G-Force follows, ready to kill.

Escape the Deadzone is about the people that Godzilla leaves behind. A world that was built upon the ashes of a Godzilla attack–filled with beings that were forever changed through interactions with Godzilla and Kai-Sei energy. Godzilla itself won’t always be physically present in this book (although it’s heavily featured in key moments), but its presence is eternally felt. Especially considering that our main character, the Wanderer, is turning into something very physically similar to Godzilla… 

And that leaves Starship Godzilla–where Godzilla has been replaced by its metal counterpart, that flies through the cosmos seeking out the various space kaiju of the universe. 

Godzilla #1 is up first by Tim Seeley and Nikola Cizmesija. What made them the right creative duo to correctly set the tone for the comic line?

Tim Seeley is a dream collaborator. I knew finding the perfect writer for the ongoing was paramount to making this launch work. We needed someone who can generate an entire world’s worth of ideas, but also isn’t so precious about those ideas that they can’t adjust to make them fit with notes or the other books in the line. At the end of the day, Tim is a great writer, and also just the type of person you want to make things with. 

As for Nikola–it was important to me that Godzilla #1 set itself apart by looking incredibly different than any kaiju comic that had come before. Nikola’s unique and incredible art style helps announce to the world that this is something new. Nikola also has an incredible design sensibility–as you can see from his take on G-Force and Godzilla. We are incredibly lucky to have him.

How is the balancing act of allowing each creative to tell their own stories and use their sensibilities, while also making sure the series takes advantage of being connected?

Building out this universe was about giving each creative enough space to fully tell their story, exactly how they want to tell it. Deadzone is quite literally sequestered from the ongoing Godzilla book, and Starship Godzilla takes place lightyears away. 

We’re at the point of the collaboration where everyone is off creating incredibly fun toys that we’ll eventually get to smash together in crossovers. Everyone’s ideas have been really additive, and have sort of been little gifts to the other books. So far nothing invented in one book has been restrictive for another. 

Godzilla: Escape the Deadzone is extremely exciting as it features a half-human, half-kaiju hybrid. A real difficulty for Godzilla media has been in blending the human storylines with the kaiju’s story, so what really appealed to you about having them interwoven with Escape the Deadzone?

The driving force of the entire Kai-Sei Era was figuring out ways we can use the comic book medium to create human characters that don’t fall into the same pitfalls as their film counterparts. Human characters that are as cool–and powerful–as the kaiju themselves. This allows these characters to directly interact with the kaiju around them–fully blending together the two sides of every Godzilla movie. The Wanderer (our half-kaiju character) was the perfect embodiment of that idea…and so are the other mutant characters that will be joining him on his quest. 

As you’ll discover, the Wanderer isn’t even the most interesting or bizarre human character in the Deadzone–and that’s saying something. 

There’s a long history of fantastic creatures and alien races in Godzilla. What was most interesting about getting to flesh out those races and see their home planets in Starship Godzilla?

It’s been rare for fans to get any sort of a peek at what’s happening beyond Earth in the world of Godzilla. Meaning, for us, it’s an entire universe that we get to shape. It’s been interesting to figure out what makes the cosmos of the Godzilla universe unique from other space offerings. And, honestly, the answer was obvious–the kaiju. 

Just like the Earth of the Kai-Sei Era, the entire universe, and every planet within, is shaped by its interactions with kaiju. It’s been incredibly fun to watch Chris Gooch and Oliver Ono design the way these alien inhabitants of other worlds build their lives around the titanic beasts living among them.

The Kai-Sei Era is starting with three comics connected titles. Could we see it grow even larger in the future if it makes sense creatively?

Yes! While I believe it’s important to keep a line slim and focused, Deadzone and Starship Godzilla are both built to have season breaks, and we’re looking to fill those breaks with new entries in the line. Now that we’ve stopped viewing the world of Godzilla through the lens of what the kaiju can break, and instead started imagining what their presence would create, we’ve opened the door to infinite possibilities. 

Thanks to Jake Williams for taking the time to talk about the Godzilla Kai-Sei Era comics.