11.28.19

Growing up one of my first and few Godzilla books was from the Movie コミックス ゴジラ·シリーズ (Movie Comics Godzilla Series). Each was B6 in size, full color, 158 pages and sold for 790 yen. They were published from July 1984 until January 1985 by Akita Shoten (秋田書店). Akita Publishing Co., Ltd. (est. 8/10/1948) is a Japanese publishing company in Chiyoda, Tokyo, that marketed to teenagers and currently publishes mostly manga.

Godzilla Movie Comics Series

My first was purchased from my favorite toy shop Rocketships & Accessories in my hometown Philadelphia. When Godzilla movies on television were few and far between, this innovative series offered Godzilla movies in comic book format full of movie stills and dialogue from start to finish. Browsing the pages recreated and captured the movie experience right around the advent of video tape recorders.

Mothra vs Godzilla Movie Comics Series

Over the years I was fortunate to collect what I thought was a complete set for the Godzilla series. These included Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monsters, Ebirah Horror of the Deep (aka, Godzilla vs the Sea Monster), The Terror of MechaGodzilla and Godzilla (1984). However, several months ago, I spot Mothra vs Godzilla (1964) that had eluded me. And I had to have it. After much searching, I found it for sale on Facebook several weeks ago. And finally, I have a complete set finally. Books in this wonderful series are still available and can often be found on Mandarake.co.jp.