My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

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GoKelley85
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My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by GoKelley85 »

I mentioned this in another thread, but I might as well keep updates going in its own standalone.

So, I have embarked on writing my own Godzilla book! The Monster Fight Record is a project I've taken on to go over all the Godzilla films (as well as Kaiju films with connections to the Godzilla series) to determine the win-loss records and win percentages for The King of the Monsters and all of his co-stars.

The purpose of the book was to answer a nagging question I've had for years, decades even: What is Godzilla's win/loss record? There are plenty of scenarios that are open for debate (The endings to King Kong Vs. Godzilla, Invasion of Astro-Monster, and Godzilla Vs. Biollante in particular stand out). What I aim to do is with this book is answer that question and address all the debated outcomes from my point of view and nail down a win-loss record for Godzilla and all of his co-stars that makes sense to me. I do not seek to end all debates. On the contrary, I hope to throw my two cents in and keep the discussions alive for years to come.

My original concept was to have it include all Godzilla media (Movies, TV shows, comics, manga, theme park rides, and anything else I could think of) but the scope got so big that there was no way I could make it manageable. Because of that, the scope has been reduced to just the films (51 in total) and even that resulted in my original manuscript being over 1000 pages! Knowing that this is also too long, I have split it into two volumes: Volume 1 for the Showa Era and Volume 2 for the 1980s and beyond.

The in scope films are as follows:
*All 36 Godzilla films, including Showa Era, Heisei Era, TriStar film, Millennium Era, MonsterVerse, Shin, and Anime Trilogy
*Showa Era Films that connect to the Godzilla series by featuring Monsters or concepts that would eventually cross over into the series: Rodan, The Mysterians, Varan, Mothra, Gorath, Atragon, Dogora, Frankenstein Vs. Baragon, The War of the Gargantuas, King Kong Escapes, and Space Amoeba
*The Rebirth of Mothra Trilogy
*All other MonsterVerse films, which to date, the only non-Godzilla MonsterVerse film is Kong: Skull Island

This is something I've been working on for a couple of years and right now, the project is making strides towards being ready for publication. I have a fantastic editor reviewing my manuscript for Volume 1 and that review is nearing completion. We are still a ways away from getting published, but we have taken great steps towards getting Volume 1 ready for prime time. Currently, my editor is checking my math on the wins/loss totals and win percentages to make sure everything checks out.

All updates on the book will be posted in this thread! Also, you can follow me on Twitter where I will also be posting updates to the book: Username = @PatrickGBook
Last edited by GoKelley85 on Tue May 17, 2022 9:47 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Major sssspielberg!
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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by Major sssspielberg! »

^Cool project! I'll definitely try to check it out when it's done.
Looking forward to Minya's stats....
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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by H-Man »

Looking forward to the project, too!

Thanks for your contribution!


GoKelley85
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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by GoKelley85 »

UPDATE:

So with recent news of a Godzilla Vs. Kong follow up and the recent release of Shin Ultraman, its caused me to consider making changes to Volume 2.

Obviously, with a new MonsterVerse film on the way, that would have to count towards the scope of the book, and I'd have to add it into Volume 2, either as part of the initial release or as part of a 2nd edition. I have also thought about leveraging the release of the film as a way for publishers to be interested in releasing it as interest in Godzilla will spike once the film is nearing release.

Even more up in the air is the recent release of Shin Ultraman. Now, I have no intention of adding ALL of Ultraman's history added into the fight record because that would be far too massive of a scope and worthy of several volumes all its own. However, Shin Ultraman is a different case because the movie has ties to this "Shin" universe that connects to Shin Godzilla. Now as far as I can tell, the two movies do not exist in the exact same continuity, but falls under the "Shin" umbrella of Anno and Higuchi's reboots. Shin Ultraman is also the first Ultraman project to be distributed by Toho.

It looks like the Shin movies will be handled similarly to the Millennium films in that its a series with a bunch of individual entries that exist in separate universes. Does that constitute enough of a connection to where Shin Ultraman, and all other Shin films, should be included in the Monster Fight Record? Honestly, I am leaning on yes!
Last edited by GoKelley85 on Thu May 19, 2022 6:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by mikelcho »

GoKelley85 wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 6:22 am UPDATE:

So with recent news of a Godzilla Vs. Kong follow up and the recent release of Shin Ultraman, its caused me to consider making changes to Volume 2.

Obviously, with a new MonsterVerse film on the way, that would have to count towards the scope of the book, and I'd have to add it into Volume 2, either as part of the initial release or as part of a 2nd edition. I have also thought about leveraging the release of the film as a way for publishers to be interested in releasing it as interest in Godzilla will spike once the film is nearing release.

Even more up in the air is the recent release of Shin Ultraman. Now, I have no intention of adding ALL of Ultraman's history added into the fight record because that would be far too massive of a scope and worthy of several volumes all its own. However, Shin Ultraman is a different case because the movie has ties to this "Shin" universe that connects to Shin Godzilla. Now as far as I can tell, the two movies do not exist in the exact same continuity, but falls under the "Shin" umbrella of Anno and Higuchi's reboots. Shin Ultraman is also the first Ultraman project to be distributed by Toho.

It looks like the Shin movies will be handled similarly to the Millennium films in that its a series with a bunch of individual entries that exist in separate universes. Does that constitute enough of a connection to where Shin Ultraman, and all other Shin films, should be included in the Monster Fight Record? Honestly, I am leaning on yes!
I saw on Wikizilla they have an article called "Shin series". You might want to read it. It'll give you some good current info on Anno's "Shin" films, both present and future.

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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by Legion1979 »

I dont know. Including Shin Ultraman and Shin Kamen Rider simply because they "fall under the Shin umbrella" seems a bit much. Despite the Shin designation, they're all different franchises made by different studios.

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GoKelley86
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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by GoKelley86 »

So it has been a long time since I've stated any updates for my book here at Toho Kingdom!

I lost my login a while back and had trouble logging in, so I just created a new account to get this information on here.

Anyways, I have huge updates!

First and foremost, the intended August/September release timeframe is looking like it will be met! Volume I is nearly completely finished and Volume 2 is almost done with its editing process. Once completed and ready for release, I will pursue all the usual self publishing avenues, such as Amazon Kindle, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Book Baby, etc.

Second, the Forewords:

I reached out to three people to write forewords for this project. I figured at least one of them would reply to me. Much to my amazement, all three of them replied to me and were very helpful. They gave me forewords to use in the book and I have decided to use all three of them in both Volumes.

The three people I reached too are people involved in Godzilla fandom and I was honored to have their voices leant to my project. They are:

1) Barry Goldberg, the webmaster of "Barry's Temple of Godzilla", the first Godzilla fansite I went too back in my youth. That website was also the first time I saw a Win-Loss record for Godzilla.

2) John Lemay, an author who has written many books on the subject of Japanese giant monsters, and Godzilla in particular. Lemay not only wrote a foreword, but also gave me some advice on formatting the book. He was a great help to me.

3) James Rolfe, the Angry Video Game Nerd and head of Cinemassacre. An AVGN review was the first video I ever watched on YouTube, and his material dedicated to Godzilla definitely shows how much of a fan he is. His Monster Madness specials and AVGN episode focusing on Godzilla games are only some examples. I was glad to have him involved in my own Godzilla project.

I owe all three of them a major thank you for helping me out with my book. They inspired me and it only feels right to have them involved in some capacity. Each of their forewords is roughly a page long and all three of them are included in both Volumes I and II. That is irregular, but hey. Its my project and I'll do what I want, lol.

Finally...THE COVERS! They are done, but I can't seem to post images here on this forum. Instead, you can find them on my Twitter: (@PatrickGBook). I was very happy with how they turned out and I hope you all like them too.

This project has been a few years in the making and it is great to finally have a light at the end of the tunnel!

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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by GoKelley86 »

More updates!

Volumes I and II will be available on digital, paperback, and hardcover at the end of August!

Additionally, if this project proves successful, I am considering doing a Volumes III and IV, one for Kong and one for Gamera.

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GoKelley86
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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by GoKelley86 »

FINALLY!

Volume I is available for Pre-Order on Kindle! It will be released on August 27th!

Volume I will be available on Paperback and Hardcover, but those formats are not available for Pre-Order.

Additionally, Volume II is nearing completion. I am shooting to have Volume II available in all formats on the same date as Volume I, August 27th.

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GoKelley86
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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by GoKelley86 »

The Kindle Edition of Volume II is available for Pre-Order!

The Kindle, Paperback, and Hardcover editions of both Volume I and Volume II are scheduled for release on Amazon the same day: August 27th, 2023!

I am coming close to the end of this project that has been in the works for almost three years now. I just order proof copies for the Paperback and Hardcover editions of Volume II, which will allow me one final proofread/edit before release!

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GoKelley86
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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by GoKelley86 »

I am happy to report that Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record Volumes I and II are available for sale in all formats (Kindle, Paperback, and Hardcover) on Amazon!

Be sure to check it out!

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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by GoKelley86 »

I did an interview with Toho Kingdom! Check out the front page.

Thank you to Nick for conducting the interview and to the TK staff for helping to promote the book!

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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by SG-17 »

Whats the backstory on the coverart?

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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by Spuro »

Those AI artwork covers are atrocious. They kill any glimmer of interest or goodwill I might have had in this project of yours. Sorry, but not sorry. It’s kind of disgusting that Tohokingdom would promote this.
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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by Moth »

I can draw a cover for you. Serious offer.
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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by Kiryu2012 »

I really like the concept of this book series, but the use of AI images for the covers is really distracting for me.
Last edited by Kiryu2012 on Mon Dec 11, 2023 12:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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SG-17
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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by SG-17 »

I didn't want to say it outright, but yeah using AI art is a hard no-go.

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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by Loganrules115 »

SG-17 wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2023 1:37 pm I didn't want to say it outright, but yeah using AI art is a hard no-go.
I second this opinion. I greatly admire when authors publish their work, but AI art takes from legitimate creators unfairly.
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Re: My Book - Godzilla: The Monster Fight Record

Post by Showa Gyaos »

I'm not doing this to aid in piling on, but to point something out: The Great AI Debate™ aside, using AI generated imagery for a book cover makes it suspect for me and potentially others. It makes for an easy way out of paying an artist, sure, but it will make me--and so many others--question the quality and merits of such a book by putting the details into question because you skimped out on the cover.

Unlike the saying itself implies, there are people who will judge something by its cover, and this can be quite literal.
Last edited by Showa Gyaos on Mon Dec 11, 2023 2:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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