Godzilla Compendium

[Moonshadow]

I was going through one of the many bins of books I have in our garage, and came across this book which I have not seen in years: The Official Godzilla Compendium, by J.D. Lees and Marc Cerasini.



This is a paperback book that covers the Godzilla series from the first film up to 1995's Godzilla vs. Destroyah. Each film is covered chronologically, with black and white stills included. A center section has a number of color photos, including original Japanese movie posters, illustrations from the comics, photos from all the movies, and a very cool centerspread by artist Art Adams showing the relative sizes of Godzilla and many of his friends and foes. There are several other articles. One covers the changes in the Godzilla costume over the years, as well as a paleontologist's view of Godzilla.

My favorite section though is the monster profiles. The monsters are illustrated by Adams and their vital statistics are listed. Here's part of Godzilla's listing, and Kong's:



I'm really enjoying looking at this book again! If you're a G-fan, you'd probably really like it.

[Scatter]

That looks pretty cool! I love me some rubber suited monsters!! I'll take them any day over some CGI figment.

[michblk]

Looks like a fun book, with an additional bonus of Art Adams art! 

BK

[RedKing]

This is a very nice book, with some great stills and Art Adams art which is always a treat. It's not the most informative english language book on the King of the Monsters, but it is definitely worth having.

[Paul L]

It's a great book. I'd like to see a revised edition featuring the Millennium series. Can anyone recommend the "definitive" dai kaiju book?

[Unknown Primate]

Love it!  Looks awesome - and it has PICTURES!

Unknown Primate like picture books ...

[Opera Ghost]

This is Definitely a publication well past due!

[Moonshadow]

This is Definitely a publication well past due!

I don't have the book with me but I think it was published in 1998. So perhaps there is an updated version?

But regardless, it's a really fun book, just chock full of info on these films, and a lot of great illustrations and photos too.

If only the gargantuas were included, it would have been perfect!

[RedKing]

Unfortunately none of the english language dai kaiju books cover anything past 1995 or 1998. Hopefully with the new 2012 US Godzilla there will be some revised or new books. I think the best english language book is Steve Ryfle's Japan's Favorite Mon-Star. It has tons and tons of info on the Godzilla series(it only covers Godzilla, not the other Toho movies) both on the making , behind the scenes and the various US versions, how those came about, the dubbing actors, etc.