philipf's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
crookedtreehouse's review
3.0
I'm really not sure how to rate this book.
The cartoony nature of the art style for a book about kaiju monsters imprisoned on an island, suggested this would be a light satirical book. So when I picked up issue three and saw a prison shower rape scene, I assumed it was being played for comedy, and put the book down, deciding it was not for me.
I don't remember when or why I bought the trade, but when I picked it off the shelf to read, I completely forgot about the prison rape scene.
Reading from the beginning, you realize that, while it does fit the definition of satire, the series is not played for humor. This is like HBO's Oz but with kaiju.
I'm not sure how to rate this book because I think the story beats are very well done. Both the human and kaiju characters are pretty well fleshed out, and the art is excellent, if tonally confusing. But I'm ok with tonally confusing. A conflict between the story's tone and the visual look of the book is interesting. What bothers me about the book is the language. The use of the word "zilla", short for Godzilla is clearly a substitute for a racial epithet that the author would be chastised for if they used it, it not being a word traditionally use against people like him.
I can't decide whether this is supposed to be edgy, or whether it's supposed to make the reader uncomfortable whenever it's used. Either way, I don't like it. It feels similar to when you read a book or see a movie about prisons where it's very clear the author has never been in one, but has seen other peoples' movies, or read other peoples' books, and has mimicked their language. It feels disingenuous.
Why do I care that someone who has not been in a prison is writing a prison story using prison language when I don't give a fuck that Zander Cannon is not a kaiju, and yet is writing a kaiju story using kaiju language? Because the world is a complex and confusing place.
I think I have to come back and reread this book before I know who to recommend it to, and how many stars to give it.
The cartoony nature of the art style for a book about kaiju monsters imprisoned on an island, suggested this would be a light satirical book. So when I picked up issue three and saw a prison shower rape scene, I assumed it was being played for comedy, and put the book down, deciding it was not for me.
I don't remember when or why I bought the trade, but when I picked it off the shelf to read, I completely forgot about the prison rape scene.
Reading from the beginning, you realize that, while it does fit the definition of satire, the series is not played for humor. This is like HBO's Oz but with kaiju.
I'm not sure how to rate this book because I think the story beats are very well done. Both the human and kaiju characters are pretty well fleshed out, and the art is excellent, if tonally confusing. But I'm ok with tonally confusing. A conflict between the story's tone and the visual look of the book is interesting. What bothers me about the book is the language. The use of the word "zilla", short for Godzilla is clearly a substitute for a racial epithet that the author would be chastised for if they used it, it not being a word traditionally use against people like him.
I can't decide whether this is supposed to be edgy, or whether it's supposed to make the reader uncomfortable whenever it's used. Either way, I don't like it. It feels similar to when you read a book or see a movie about prisons where it's very clear the author has never been in one, but has seen other peoples' movies, or read other peoples' books, and has mimicked their language. It feels disingenuous.
Why do I care that someone who has not been in a prison is writing a prison story using prison language when I don't give a fuck that Zander Cannon is not a kaiju, and yet is writing a kaiju story using kaiju language? Because the world is a complex and confusing place.
I think I have to come back and reread this book before I know who to recommend it to, and how many stars to give it.
stadkison's review
4.0
I think it’s apt that Kaijumax arcs are “seasons” and issues “episodes”, because this does feel like an attempt at a prestige TV show. Which is completely ridiculous for something so filled with easter eggs for Japanese children’s media. It’s like a prestige manga combining cowboys, The Avengers, GI Joe, and Transformers, setting it in a prison, adding in adult themes, and somehow it all works. Each issue gets its own themes and tells a complete episodic story while also developing previous plots and themes. This is a real piece of art, and a dense one at that.
kavinay's review
5.0
Outstanding. You don't really know you needed a mix of Ultraman + Kaiju + Oz (the prison show), but once you do get into it, Cannon's storytelling is just captivating. Case in point, Zonn's quiet psychopathic prison stare genuinely freaks me out more than any Kaiju rampaging through a city.
carroq's review
4.0
I expected not to like this book. The idea is extremely silly. It features a maximum security prison designed to hold giant monsters akin to Godzilla. There are cliques, schemes, corrupt guards, and romance.
To be honest, it took me a while to differentiate between the various monsters. The early potion of the book jumps around a bit. Once it gains some more focus, the story starts to shine. It can be ridiculous at times, which is fine given the subject matter. I think it is easier to set aside some of the strange events because of the subject of the book. Yet, it addresses some real issues with prisons at the same time.
That is one of the strengths of the book. It gives the reader much more than they would expect going in. Yes there are some clichés that pop up. Cannon seems to include those more as homages to the things he loves more than anything else.
The art left me with mixed feelings. The styling is more like manga or anime. It fits the theme appropriately, but it didn't do a whole lot for me. I loved the color work though. It is flashy and bright in contrast to the dark events of the story.
This book is so far afield from what I would normally read and it's great. Definitely recommended for anyone that likes Godzilla (or other monsters), science fiction, or prison stories a la Orange is the New Black.
To be honest, it took me a while to differentiate between the various monsters. The early potion of the book jumps around a bit. Once it gains some more focus, the story starts to shine. It can be ridiculous at times, which is fine given the subject matter. I think it is easier to set aside some of the strange events because of the subject of the book. Yet, it addresses some real issues with prisons at the same time.
That is one of the strengths of the book. It gives the reader much more than they would expect going in. Yes there are some clichés that pop up. Cannon seems to include those more as homages to the things he loves more than anything else.
The art left me with mixed feelings. The styling is more like manga or anime. It fits the theme appropriately, but it didn't do a whole lot for me. I loved the color work though. It is flashy and bright in contrast to the dark events of the story.
This book is so far afield from what I would normally read and it's great. Definitely recommended for anyone that likes Godzilla (or other monsters), science fiction, or prison stories a la Orange is the New Black.
mcmillan's review
4.0
Last year, while attending PAX West, we dropped by the Oni Press booth. They had some discounted comics for sale, and since I've only read their Bryan Lee O’Malley books, most of it was new to me. I picked out the first volume of The Sixth Gun and a funny little book called I Was the Cat, both of which I still haven't read, and then I asked which book he'd recommend. He chose Kaijumax, because it's hilarious and different from anything he'd come across.
He was correct! This is a very odd book. It takes place on an island that holds a maximum security prison for Kaiju monsters. I'm still a little confused as to whether Kaiju is the term for the monsters themselves or the film genre, but it's basically your Godzillas and Mothras mixed with Orange is the New Black. When he told me the book featured Kaiju, I stared back at him blankly for a while, which I think lost me some major geek points. After he explained it, I vaguely remember hearing the term before, but it's definitely a part of geek culture that I don't know a lot about.
Thankfully, being a Kaiju newbie doesn't get in the way here. There are gangs and racial tension, drug smuggling, corrupt prison guards - everything you'd expect from a prison drama. Zander Cannon takes those known clichés and mixes them with monsters and the result is surprisingly fresh. He does very clever things in mixing the two styles. The monster's gym equipmen is a good example of that.
This comic gets surprisingly dark at times as well. The illustrations are disarmingly cute, so when these things happen it really sneaks up on you. The main drama centres around a monster who was just admitted and the fact that his children are still out there, unable to feed or protect themselves. It's a completely bizarre premise that happens to be grounded with somewhat relatable issues.
Cannon wrote and illustrated this himself, so you're getting one person's (extremely bizarre) vision, which I think gives it a nice personal touch. I will probably pick up the second volume at some point, to see where this story goes.
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He was correct! This is a very odd book. It takes place on an island that holds a maximum security prison for Kaiju monsters. I'm still a little confused as to whether Kaiju is the term for the monsters themselves or the film genre, but it's basically your Godzillas and Mothras mixed with Orange is the New Black. When he told me the book featured Kaiju, I stared back at him blankly for a while, which I think lost me some major geek points. After he explained it, I vaguely remember hearing the term before, but it's definitely a part of geek culture that I don't know a lot about.
Thankfully, being a Kaiju newbie doesn't get in the way here. There are gangs and racial tension, drug smuggling, corrupt prison guards - everything you'd expect from a prison drama. Zander Cannon takes those known clichés and mixes them with monsters and the result is surprisingly fresh. He does very clever things in mixing the two styles. The monster's gym equipmen is a good example of that.
This comic gets surprisingly dark at times as well. The illustrations are disarmingly cute, so when these things happen it really sneaks up on you. The main drama centres around a monster who was just admitted and the fact that his children are still out there, unable to feed or protect themselves. It's a completely bizarre premise that happens to be grounded with somewhat relatable issues.
Cannon wrote and illustrated this himself, so you're getting one person's (extremely bizarre) vision, which I think gives it a nice personal touch. I will probably pick up the second volume at some point, to see where this story goes.
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ethancf's review
3.0
I picked this up after reading the author's graphic novel HECK, which really surprised me with how it blended old-school pulp aesthetics with religious iconography and a moving story. I figured this guy would handle kaiju pretty well and, for the most part, that's true. This is a novel concept, basically just re-skinning a prison series into godzilla-esque monsters. If you read it like that, all the slang and worldbuilding details are pretty easily traced 1:1 back to something like Oz. I'm not a huge fan of prison stories so this didn't do much for me, but I gotta give credit where its due to something this imaginative. It's a lot darker than you might expect at first glance, too, and the writing does its themes justice. It just didn't work well enough for me to keep on with the series.
A fun minor detail - the kaiju use "Goj" instead of "God". Presumably for Gojira.
A fun minor detail - the kaiju use "Goj" instead of "God". Presumably for Gojira.
wingedpotato's review
3.0
As much as I love Zander Cannon, this didn't really do it for me ultimately. Too difficult to empathize with any of the characters I guess.
ania's review
4.0
Love the genre mashup & visual jokes & countless references but on the linguistic side - maybe a little bit problematic, sometimes?
I'm super into Electrogor's character arc though. The trials that megafauna's been through, sheesh!
I'm super into Electrogor's character arc though. The trials that megafauna's been through, sheesh!
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