Godzilla has had a host of comics published by IDW Publishing, and now the big green lizard is getting a new series from acclaimed cartoonist Tom Scioli. The Transformers vs. G.I. Joe artist describes Godzilla as his dream project, a comic that the famed cartoonist has wanted to make his entire life.
Appearing on the Cartoonist Kayfabe YouTube channel co-hosted by Ed Piskor and Jim Rugg, Tom Scioli dropped the bomb that he’s currently hard at work on a Godzilla series for IDW. “I’ve been trying to get a Godzilla thing going with IDW,” Scioli says, describing how he began compiling ideas for the proposed series during the pandemic.
According to Scioli, Toho rejected his original pitch as being too weird, but the writer/artist wasn’t deterred. After reworking his ideas, he pitched the series again to success. “Toho loved it,” Scioli says, “they approved this new (story).”
Tom Scioli Is the Perfect Artist for Godzilla
Scioli started his comics career with The Myth of 8-Opus, which was produced after the writer/artist received the prestigious Xeric Foundation grant in 1999. Scioli later collaborated with writer Joe Casey to produce the Image Comics series Godland, which ran for 37 issues from 2004-2012. The writer/artist then set his sights on reimagining classic toy-lines of the 1980s with Transformers vs. G.I. Joe and Go-Bots at IDW. More recently, Scioli received acclaim for his comic book biographies of the two architects of the Marvel Universe: 2020’s Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics and last year’s I Am Stan: A Graphic Biography of the Legendary Stan Lee.
In many ways, Tom Scioli is the perfect artist to tackle a new Godzilla comic. Taking clear inspiration from his artistic hero Jack Kirby, Scioli’s talent is emboldened by his limitless imagination. While the cartoonist doesn’t divulge what his eventual IDW series will be about, he does detail some ideas from his original, rejected pitch. Tom Scioli even posted some of his process art to Instagram, where the artist uses Godzilla to reference everything from Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns to Jack Kirby’s classic cover for The Avengers #4. Titled Godzilla Quest, the original pitch would have seen an ordinary man gaining the powers of Godzilla.
Tom Scioli’s Rejected Godzilla Quest Pitch
For Scioli, it sounds like this Godzilla story might be his biggest project yet. Scioli tells host Piskor, “I’ve been wanting to do a Godzilla comic my whole career.” It couldn’t come at a better time, as the big green machine is currently riding a wave of popularity thanks to the Oscar-nominated Godzilla Minus One, which Scioli professes admiration for. IDWPublishing has been putting out solid Godzilla comics for a while now, and the company’s willingness to hire a cartoonist of Scioli’s caliber is a big reason why. Whatever story Tom Scioli winds up telling about Godzilla, it should be something special.
Sources: Cartoonist Kayfabe, Tom Scioli
