IDW Publishing
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IDW Publishing, also known as IDW Comics or simply IDW, is an American comic book publisher, and a division of Idea and Design Works, LLC. It is widely recognized as the fifth-largest American comic book publisher, behind Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and Image Comics. Rather than original titles, IDW primarily focuses on comics based on licensed IPs such as Star Trek, Doctor Who, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, G.I. Joe, Transformers, and Sonic the Hedgehog. IDW's first run of Godzilla comics spanned from 2011 to 2016, with a second wave beginning in 2021. Unlike previous U.S. Godzilla comic publishers Marvel and Dark Horse, IDW has licensed many of Godzilla's monster co-stars from the Toho films.
IDW has published more titles using the Godzilla license than any previous American publisher. Its catalog of Godzilla comics currently consists of eight ongoing series (including two series of one-shots), 20 miniseries, and six one-shots, as well as a series of Best of reprint one-shots. The first three ongoing series—Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters, Godzilla (2012–13), and Godzilla: Rulers of Earth—all take place in a shared continuity known as the "IDW Universe," while the most recent three—Godzilla (2025–), Godzilla: Escape the Deadzone, and Starship Godzilla—constitute their own continuity called the "Kai-Sei Era." Most of the miniseries and one-shots, by contrast, are standalone and take place in their own individual continuities. The exceptions are Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors with its sequels All Hail the King! and Summer Smash, Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons with its sequels Here There Be Dragons II - Sons of Giants and Here There Be Aliens, and Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers with its sequel Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers II. The latter two were published collaboratively with BOOM! Studios.
Rulers of Earth is the Godzilla comic with the most issues, at 25 issues (one more than Marvel's Godzilla comic), while the quarterly-published Godzilla Rivals is the longest-running American Godzilla comic. Almost all of IDW's Godzilla comics are or will be collected in at least one paperback or hardcover collection, with the only exceptions so far being the one-shots Godzilla: Valentine's Day Special and Godzilla: Mechagodzilla 50th Anniversary. In addition, multiple IDW Godzilla comic titles have been translated and published in Japan by Phase Six, which marked the first-ever instance of American Godzilla comic series being released in Japan (although Dark Horse one-shots Godzilla Color Special and Godzilla vs. Charles Barkley were included in Super Comic Maker Vols. 1 and 2, respectively). Saldapress has translated and localized several of IDW's Godzilla comics in Italy since 2019, while Moztros has translated and released Godzilla: The Half-Century War and Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in Spain.
Selected publications
Gallery
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1999–2010 logo -
2010–2025 logo
Trivia
- IDW's initial deal with Toho in 2010 included the rights to 13 Godzilla characters—Godzilla, Anguirus, Battra, Destoroyah, Gigan, Hedorah, King Ghidorah, Kumonga, Mechagodzilla, Mothra, Rodan, SpaceGodzilla, and Titanosaurus. IDW’s first three Godzilla comic series included the trademark icons of all 13 of these monsters regardless of whether or not they actually appeared within the issue in question. After renegotiating its deal with Toho in 2012, IDW expanded its license to include access to over 20 additional Godzilla characters.[1] The first IDW comic to take advantage of this expanded deal was Godzilla: The Half-Century War #3, which included Ebirah and Megalon.
- According to Matt Frank, an Infestation 2 comic story was planned where Godzilla would have fought Cthulhu, but Toho turned down this idea.[2]
- Godzilla eventually fought Cthulhu in the 2024 CMON comic Godzilla vs. Cthulhu: A Death May Die Story.
External links
See also
- Marvel Comics
- DC Comics
- Dark Horse
- BOOM! Studios
- Charlton Comics
- Dynamite Entertainment
- Legendary Comics
References
This is a list of references for IDW Publishing. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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