Godzilla vs the Justice League

[GoKelley86]

I just read all seven issues in one sitting.

Overall, its a bit messy, with certain elements underdeveloped. Why exactly did Ra's Al Ghul want an army of Skullcrawlers for his League of Assasins? Why was Toyman, of all characters, one of the major focal points? Why didn't Godzilla, Kong, and Mechagodzilla (the three big MV reps) interact with each other? Why didn't they build up the Kong/Supergirl dynamic more.

However, there were some fun moments to keep it interesting, especially in the last issue. The Godzilla-Superman rivalry was probably what held the entire story together and had a nice payoff at the end.

Its easy to think of crossovers as cheap marketing ploys, but I've seen some really enjoyable comics crossovers in recent years (Batman/TMNT and He-Man/ThunderCats come to mind). This one doesn't measure up to those, but there is some surface level entertainment to be had by having Godzilla and Kong in the DC world. I'd give it a C overall.

[GigaBowserG]

Sequel on the way! https://x.com/dcuworld/status/1847701609608073447

DC and Legendary are teaming up again for Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2 with the same creative team!

Sequel takes place in the monsterverse. Killer croc will turn into a Kaiju,King Ghidorah, Rodan, and Mothra will appear. They also said Skull Island will be a location!

[Monster-Fan]

I honestly liked the first one JLvGvK. It was fun. Not the best, but definitely fun. Surprised they are making a sequel, even more that they are using Ghidorah, Rodan and Mothra. I’m happy that we’ll see these versions of Ghidorah and Rodan return in some form, especially cause I consider this version of Ghidorah the best one, so I’m definitely happy to see him back.

[dillonking55]

I honestly liked the first one JLvGvK. It was fun. Not the best, but definitely fun. Surprised they are making a sequel, even more that they are using Ghidorah, Rodan and Mothra. I’m happy that we’ll see these versions of Ghidorah and Rodan return in some form, especially cause I consider this version of Ghidorah the best one, so I’m definitely happy to see him back.

The first JLvGvK run sold REALLY well. Each issue made the Top 10 in the sales charts. I'm not surprised they announced a sequel at all. I'm more surprised they didn't announce an animated film for it (yet) lol.

Happy to see King Ghidorah, Rodan, and Mothra will be involved with the sequel. Also surprising Lee Shaw (the younger version) will take part in it as well. I'm curious if anyone else from Monarch/the films will be involved in the human cast.

[Gojira2K]

Excited to see sequel confirmed! Unfortunate that we already have blatant tracing though.

Regardless, awesome to see more Toho monsters, especially interested to see what they do with Ghidorah.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Excited to see sequel confirmed! Unfortunate that we already have blatant tracing though.

Regardless, awesome to see more Toho monsters, especially interested to see what they do with Ghidorah.

Where’s the tracing? The first crossover had a little bit of it too, but it’s not an absolute dealbreaker. The first series, minus some small pacing issues, was pretty good.

Honestly, happier to see Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah over Behemoth, Tiamat and Scylla. Wonder if Shimo and Skat Ling will make an appearance .

Also, Joker better be involved.Joker Skar King?

[Gojira2K]

Excited to see sequel confirmed! Unfortunate that we already have blatant tracing though.

Regardless, awesome to see more Toho monsters, especially interested to see what they do with Ghidorah.

Where’s the tracing? The first crossover had a little bit of it too, but it’s not an absolute dealbreaker. The first series, minus some small pacing issues, was pretty good.

Honestly, happier to see Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah over Behemoth, Tiamat and Scylla. Wonder if Shimo and Skat Ling will make an appearance .

Also, Joker better be involved.Joker Skar King?

This Ghidorah is literally just the SH Monsterarts one.




I think the Mothra is traced from the Hiya figure.



And the Rodan might be from the Bandai Hyper Modeling series



I mean yeah, it’s not a dealbreaker, but when you see stuff that IDW is putting out, it’s still a little disappointing. Especially when they won’t even trace the more accurate Hiya Toys Ghidorah. I just wish we could get a little more effort put in to the art. Or at least give the artists more time so they don’t have to trace.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Unless I’m blind or misunderstanding, seems more like the cover artist is using the figure as a reference, rather than tracing directly over it. Could be wrong. Still, I did find the choice of the blue Mothra, as an odd choice.

[Gojira2K]

Unless I’m blind or misunderstanding, seems more like the cover artist is using the figure as a reference, rather than tracing directly over it. Could be wrong. Still, I did find the choice of the blue Mothra, as an odd choice.

I guess it depends on how it was referenced. If the artist posed it then took a picture and traced it, well still tracing. Don’t know that for sure though obviously. Just annoying when they use an inaccurate design versus the actual design, given how different the SHMA design compared to the KOTM design. Could’ve at least used the Hiya, it’s an accurate design.

Also, just found this, one of the other covers actually traced a fanmade Skull Island map.

Cover:


Fan map (with link to original):

https://www.deviantart.com/toonholt/art ... -860807499

Actual Skull Island:

[kaijukurt]

Unless I’m blind or misunderstanding, seems more like the cover artist is using the figure as a reference, rather than tracing directly over it. Could be wrong. Still, I did find the choice of the blue Mothra, as an odd choice.

I guess it depends on how it was referenced. If the artist posed it then took a picture and traced it, well still tracing. Don’t know that for sure though obviously. Just annoying when they use an inaccurate design versus the actual design, given how different the SHMA design compared to the KOTM design. Could’ve at least used the Hiya, it’s an accurate design.

Also, just found this, one of the other covers actually traced a fanmade Skull Island map.

Cover:


Fan map (with link to original):

https://www.deviantart.com/toonholt/art ... -860807499

Actual Skull Island:

Man, thats just disappointing.

[ebirahsmeg1]

Synopsis from Wikizilla:

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2 is an upcoming comic book collaboration between DC Comics and Legendary Comics in association with Toho International. A sequel to the previous year's Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong, the series will reunite writer Brian Buccellato with illustrator tracer Christian Duce

Fixed

[SG-17]

There is a difference between tracing and using something as reference.

[LSD Jellyfish]

There is a difference between tracing and using something as reference.

That’s also possible. I did a google search, and that map comes up relatively early if you search. We don’t know if these artists get easy access to reference materials.

Seems dicey, but I don’t think it’s just easy to assume this is as cut and dry as one might assume.

[Gojira2K]

There is a difference between tracing and using something as reference.

That’s also possible. I did a google search, and that map comes up relatively early if you search. We don’t know if these artists get easy access to reference materials.

Seems dicey, but I don’t think it’s just easy to assume this is as cut and dry as one might assume.

I mean it's something that will depend on just how the issues look when we get our hands on them. Cause while there is tracing in the first series (the first of Issue #2 with Superman confronting Godzilla comes to mind first), there is still a lot of original and good art in the overall series.

It also depends on what you consider tracing and reference as well. If you want to look at what bad tracing looks like in comics books, just look up anything to do with what Greg Land has made in the last 5 years at least (which thank god he's not working this series). To me personally the difference between tracing and referencing is how much has the artist added to it with their own creativity and artistic flair. And how much the art is different from the reference. As well as whether or not the artist themselves creates the reference they are using. Most of the art in the first series feels referenced. But there is stuff that stands out and feels traced. And unfortunately the traced stuff sticks out like sore thumb. Especially when someone can easily find what is being traced and that there is little to no differences between the original and the trace.

And I should say as well. Most of this is fault of comic book industry as whole, rather than the actual artists themselves, at least for the most part. Most if not all artists are not allowed the proper time to do what they want, at the level they want too. It has to come out monthly after all, and they don't get a ton of time, unless you're famous. So is it the artist fault that they have to trace sometimes? No, they do what they have to do, and sometimes they have to do it for licensing approval reasons. It just sucks that it happens.

[ebirahsmeg1]

There is a difference between tracing and using something as reference.

Sincere apologies, correction made below:

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2 is an upcoming comic book collaboration between DC Comics and Legendary Comics in association with Toho International. A sequel to the previous year's Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong, the series will reunite writer Brian Buccellato with illustrator tracer professional referencer Christian Duce

Fixed

It also depends on what you consider tracing and reference as well. If you want to look at what bad tracing looks like in comics books, just look up anything to do with what Greg Land has made in the last 5 years at least (which thank god he's not working this series). To me personally the difference between tracing and referencing is how much has the artist added to it with their own creativity and artistic flair. And how much the art is different from the reference. As well as whether or not the artist themselves creates the reference they are using. Most of the art in the first series feels referenced. But there is stuff that stands out and feels traced. And unfortunately the traced stuff sticks out like sore thumb. Especially when someone can easily find what is being traced and that there is little to no differences between the original and the trace.

And I should say as well. Most of this is fault of comic book industry as whole, rather than the actual artists themselves, at least for the most part. Most if not all artists are not allowed the proper time to do what they want, at the level they want too. It has to come out monthly after all, and they don't get a ton of time, unless you're famous. So is it the artist fault that they have to trace sometimes? No, they do what they have to do, and sometimes they have to do it for licensing approval reasons. It just sucks that it happens.

Yeah, not really buying that as an excuse for the excessive tracing (er…”referencing” ). It’s no different from what every artist has faced from 1930s until now (in many cases, past artists faced worst, more challenging deadlines than today). Every once in a while, heavy "referencing" in select areas is tolerable...but the frequency it happened in JLvsGvsK was ridiculous and, as you mentioned, stuck out like a sore thumb at times. It's something several artists who've worked on the IDW G books have been guilty of (i.e. David Missena's covers for KOM, Ulises Farinas's cover for GinHell #3 and Gege Schall short In Summation-70th Anniversary Issue off the top of my head), but this DC series was particularly obnoxious at times...

[StreamOfKaijuness]

I've read the whole seven-issue hardcover edition of Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong. It's a blast!

I'm not deeply familiar with DC Comics lore aside from Batman and to a lesser extent Superman. I watched both of their '90s animated series but I've only seen a handful of episodes of the two Justice League animated shows in my life, and I actually saw much more of the first three Super Friends shows on Cartoon Network back in the '90s, which was my introduction to Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Hawkman and the Legion of Doom. I still haven't even seen either cut of the live-action Justice League movie and I'm way behind on live-action DC films in general. I've watched Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad but I still haven't seen Aquaman, Shazam, Joker, Wonder Woman 1984, The Batman, Black Adam, The Flash or Blue Beetle. I've only seen a few of the many direct-to-video animated DC movies and I've never watched any of the many live-action DC shows aside from Adam West's Batman. On top of all that, I've never kept up with the comics, so it's helpful for readers like me that this comic doesn't require any deep DC knowledge.

Even with such a huge roster of heroes and villains, these are characters who have existed agelessly in comics for decades, so this story has no problem establishing its own present-tense status quo. At the outset, Lois Lane already knows that Clark Kent is Superman, they're already dating and he's preparing to propose to her. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor has located Superman's Fortress of Solitude and he leads a cadre of villains inside to steal certain artifacts, but when Toyman picks up a magical item called the Dreamstone, he inadvertently transports the villains into a different reality, namely the Monsterverse right on Skull Island! As Kong battles a Skullcrawler to Gorilla Grodd's astonishment, Toyman's wishes cause the Dreamstone to transport them back to their home reality, along with all of Skull Island itself and a slew of titans from the Monsterverse. Just as Superman is about to propose to Lois on top of the Daily Planet building, Godzilla emerges off the shore of Metropolis! Scylla attacks Central City! Behemoth appears in Themyscira! It's all hands on deck for the Justice League!

Crossovers like this are less about original storytelling and more about mixing and matching the elements of different franchises in interesting ways. Any kid with a sandbox full of toys can mash them together to create a franchise crossover, you know? They're simple and obvious premises, so it's all about how they're done. Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong is no different and it succeeds at making the most of its premise. We get to see a plethora of DC heroes and villains interact with creatures from Legendary's Monsterverse in iconic locations. The seven issues are thoughtfully structured, rather than just a continuous cacophony of toys mashing together, so each issue stands out with its own distinct content.

This comic even went beyond my knowledge of both Batman and the Monsterverse, as it features Gotham City under attack by a giant bat monster called Camazotz. Since it hasn't been in a movie, I initially thought Camazotz was an original creature made for this story but I later learned that he debuted in Legendary's 2021 graphic novel Kingdom Kong, which I don't own as I've mostly ignored Legendary's Monsterverse comics before this. I got the 2014 graphic novel prequel Godzilla: Awakening, which I thought was pretty lame, and then I got the 2019 graphic novel Godzilla: Aftershock but I still haven't read it, and I just never got around to picking up Skull Island: The Birth of Kong, Godzilla: Dominion, Kingdom Kong, or Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted, so I'm glad I made an exception for this one. Batman and his bat-adjacent allies race into action to protect Gotham from the giant bat monster. Along with Batgirl, Batwoman, Black Canary and Cyborg, Dick Grayson is there as Nightwing, and Jason Todd is there as Red Hood, so I assumed that the young Robin riding with Batman in the Batwing was Tim Drake, but apparently he's an even later Robin named Damian Wayne who is Bruce Wayne's son. That's new to me. Another thing in this comic that surprised me, but which is presented like it's nothing new, is that Wonder Woman is able to fly. When did that become the norm? It's also not clear when this comic is supposed to take place with regard to Godzilla vs. Kong. I know that the movies aren't made with the lore of the comics in mind but this comic seems to be set after the events of GvsK, based on context clues throughout the story, with the glaring exception that Kong is shown to still be living on Skull Island in this story rather than in Hollow Earth. There's also a Warbat on Skull Island in this comic, whereas those creatures were never depicted outside of Hollow Earth in the movies. I just chalk that up to inconsistency. This comic is a sequel to an alternate version of GvsK in which Kong resumes living on Skull Island at the end!

There are a lot of cool scenarios throughout this story that take advantage of the crossover premise. Green Arrow investigates Skull Island. Hawkgirl and Shazam show up to assist Superman against Godzilla. Supergirl meets Kong and proves to be unlike any blonde he's ever encountered in prior media. Lex Luthor locates the beacon of a certain Apex Cybernetics cyborg and commences his own reconstruction. Tiamat attacks Atlantis, and I later remembered that those issues were published before her screen debut in GxK last year, and then I learned that she actually first appeared in the Godzilla: Dominion graphic novel back in 2021. I guess that means Tiamat's inclusion in GxK was meant to be a treat for devoted readers of the Monsterverse comics, although I wonder how fulfilling that really was for them considering how quickly and gratuitously she's eliminated in the movie.

There are plenty of other surprises in this comic that I won't spoil, although some of them are spoiled by the variant covers of certain issues so beware looking at those. Speaking of which, the cover art for this series is phenomenal and the hardcover edition includes a full cover gallery at the end. The interior art is really good too. The DC characters look great and the colors pop all around. The monsters are clearly elements that these artists aren't accustomed to drawing, as there are lots of images (particularly of Godzilla) that are obvious recreations of specific shots from the movies and promotional materials. I don't think that ruins anything but that's definitely there.

This series must have sold well because they've already announced a sequel comic for 2025, which will be set in the Monsterverse and feature Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah. I'm all for that, although what I'm really hoping for is a direct-to-video animated film adaptation of this comic. Imagine that: a fully-animated American Godzilla movie, co-produced by Legendary and DC in association with Toho and WB, featuring Kong and the Justice League and the Legion of Doom. It could be the sixth American Godzilla movie, the fifth Godzilla/Kong crossover movie, the fourth fully-animated Godzilla movie after the anime trilogy, and the first movie in which Godzilla fights Superman! Since Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have already had a comic book crossover that was adapted into an animated movie, I'm holding out hope that the same can happen with this!

[Gojira2K]

New look at Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2. Art looking really good. If the art looks like this consistently, we could be in for a treat.

It also begins on June 4th, so mark your calendars.

In the aftermath of last year’s Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong, Task Force X launches a plan to develop hybrid Titans that Amanda Waller can control to guard against future Titan attacks on our Earth. To stop Task Force X, the Justice League travels to Legendary Earth and must face the dangers of the Hollow Earth, Kong, and Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

This Titan-size threat will require a Titan-size response, and the Justice League will fight fire with fire, as readers will see “titanized” versions of DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains facing off against Kong, Godzilla, and other Legendary monsters. In addition to new Titans from the Legendary Comics Monsterverse, the series will also feature the comic book return of Col. Lee Shaw, who first appeared in the 2014 graphic novel Godzilla: Awakening.

Covers:








Preview:




Source: https://aiptcomics.com/2025/03/17/justi ... -kong-2-1/

[zukzilla]

June can't come soon enough.

[ShinGojiX98]

This Titan-size threat will require a Titan-size response, and the Justice League will fight fire with fire, as readers will see “titanized” versions of DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains facing off against Kong, Godzilla, and other Legendary monsters. In addition to new Titans from the Legendary Comics Monsterverse, the series will also feature the comic book return of Col. Lee Shaw, who first appeared in the 2014 graphic novel Godzilla: Awakening.

Titanized's Versions ? Are we going to get Superman turned into a Blue and Red version of Godzilla with a Cape and Batman as Giant Bat ?

Not that I would mind that but honestly it feel weird for individuals like Superman, Shazam and Wonder Woman have to turn them themself into Kaiju for fight the Titans. Sorry if I'm acting like the classic Internet Fan that complain about Power Scaling but it can't be helped. Still I'm looking forward for this.

[Gojira2K]

This Titan-size threat will require a Titan-size response, and the Justice League will fight fire with fire, as readers will see “titanized” versions of DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains facing off against Kong, Godzilla, and other Legendary monsters. In addition to new Titans from the Legendary Comics Monsterverse, the series will also feature the comic book return of Col. Lee Shaw, who first appeared in the 2014 graphic novel Godzilla: Awakening.

Titanized's Versions ? Are we going to get Superman turned into a Blue and Red version of Godzilla with a Cape and Batman as Giant Bat ?

Not that I would mind that but honestly it feel weird for individuals like Superman, Shazam and Wonder Woman have to turn them themself into Kaiju for fight the Titans. Sorry if I'm acting like the classic Internet Fan that complain about Power Scaling but it can't be helped. Still I'm looking forward for this.

I don't think that ones like that will be Titanized. I'm guessing it's going to be ones that have more monstrous qualities to them inherently, like Killer Croc for example or the already shown King Shark. Though they could just be scaled up as well and not have any physical changes besides that. Or I could just be completely wrong, but we'll see.