I’ve always been a fan of giant monsters. From the Godzilla to Pacific Rim, I have just eaten them up just like they have eaten their victims. So when Zander Cannon’s Kaijumax was released a few months back I ate that up too. I even had the debut issue as one of the comics you should read in April. Now you can eat it up too with Kaijumax #1, the opening issue of the Orange is the New Black meets giant monsters comic, which is now available for free. I’ll let you know why you should be reading it as well as where you can find it.
As you can probably tell already, Kaijumax is all about giant monsters in maximum security prison, with the focus on the new inmate Electrogor. In the pages of this debut issue we see him try to settle into prison life and try to figure out where he’s seated in the greater hierarchy. At the same time, our giant protagonist worries about his children, which have been felt alone to fend for themselves since his incarceration. Electrogor will do anything for his children, even if that means making his own situation worse.
Along with a great concept, Cannon’s art is another highlight of Kaijumax. It’s colourful and fun, bursting off the page with great character designs. Many of the giant monsters are inspired by those from popular culture, Cannon puts his own spin on them by making them hardened criminals with prison tattoos and other markings. Others in the background are rather wacky and it’s worth flicking through the comic a second time to see the ones that you missed.
Another great thing about Kaijumax is the letters page, which is cleverly called Kaijumail. I feel like the good old letters page gets discounted too easily, with many people ignoring it, which I hope is not the case with Kaijumail as it’s full of gold. Not only does it include your regular message from the creator and letters from fans, but also full of other goodies including giant monster movie reviews and, in subsequent issues, much more.
If you’re a fan of giant monsters, such as Godzilla or Gamera, then Kaijumax is the comic for you. People who are not fans of giant monsters will love it too – especially if they dig a good prison story.
If you’ve gotten this far into the post and want to read it, publisher Oni Press has given readers the chance to read this great comic for free. You can download it as a PDF from their website.
If you dig Kaijumax #1 I highly recommend you go out and buy #2 and #3, both of which are available now. You can pick them up from your local comic book store (tell them to order it in if they don’t have it), Comixology or the Oni Press webstore.
Have Your Say
Will you be reading Kaijumax #1? Also, let me know who your favourite giant monster is! You can tell me all about it in the comments below of via Facebook or Twitter.
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