Archive - Batman Meets Godzilla

Published on: December 8, 2019

Artist Spotlight: Stephen Schilling

The Monster Mashup

Today we take a look behind the scenes with Batman Meets Godzilla artist, the wise, the awe-inspiring, Stephen Schilling.

Schilling’s credits are as varied as they are unique. He has storyboarded for Jack Films, illustrated charity graphic novels, self-published his own graphic novel, and recently relaunched Red Panther for Lucky Comics.

Schilling counts John Byrne, Arthur Adams, George Perez, and Jack Kirby among his influences. But just one look at the artist’s Deviant Art page, and you know he is perfect for this project.

Just one of many Godzilla’s gracing Schilling’s Page

Schilling resides in Hollywood and can be seen at local conventions like Wondercon and Comic Fest where he sells art and performs commissions. He is currently working on the relaunch of Crom the Barbarian for Lucky Comics.

Schilling brought Red Panther back to life, with a little Kirby crackle

Schilling has a fondness for Mash-ups. In fact, he worked on his own version of the Batman-Godzilla mashup.

“Basically its a noir-ish take on Batman having to take out Godzilla because Clark is off planet. And he ends up getting assisted by a very surprise cameo,” says Schilling.

Batman Meets Godzilla

The artist also grew up on the Batman TV series.

“I loved the Batman TV show as a kid...and I have been a Godzilla fan since the 60s,” says Schilling. “My favorite Godzilla is the less humorous take. basically I like it all...but the Godzilla that speaks to me is Gojira and Shin Godzilla and anything with that kind of tone.”

When he’s not drawing, Schilling is teaching Shakespeare and Martial Arts. In fact, we like to think of Schilling as our own Batman. He holds 2 blacks-belts and practices Wing Chun, Bujinkan, Tai Chi, and Aikido. He has worked as a stunt fighter and choreographer, and knows his way around most weapons. Hello Batarang!

Schilling’s talents will be on full display when he kicks off the first four pages of issue one.

Published on: November 30, 2019

Writer Spotlight: Matthew Dennion

I Like Big Beasts and I Cannot Lie

Today we go behind the scenes with Batman Meets Godzilla writer, Matthew Dennion, a man who really loves Japanese monster movies.

Growing up in New Jersey, Saturday afternoon creature features were a staple of the Dennion Household viewing diet.

“Dad got us hooked on the likes of Toho, Ray Harryhausen, and such, at a young age,” says Dennion.

Matthew’s interest in monsters continued to grow until he began writing about his own. He is now the author of numerous kaiju novels including: Chimera Scourge of the God, Operation R.O.C., Atomic Rex, and Polar Yeti.

Dennion’s monster stories can also be found in the “Kaiju Tales” section of G-Fan magazine.

Dennion’s most popular creature, Atomic Rex, has been featured in three books and a graphic novel.

Writer Spotlight: Paul Brian McCoy

Today we go behind the scenes with Batman Meets Godzilla writer, Paul Brian McCoy, or PBM as we call him around the office.

McCoy is the Editor In Chief of Psycho Drive-in, a site that features movie news and reviews. He has written, edited, and contributed to fourteen books, including the Mondo Marvel series that chronicle the creation of the Marvel Universe.

Four volumes of the Mondo Marvel series have been released to date.

Damaged Incorporated

Batman Meets Godzilla is not McCoy’s first venture into comics. He recently completed his first comic, Damaged Incorporated, about a team of government psychics who fight evil in the dream realm.

A page from the soon to be released Damaged Incorporated comic book

Damaged Incorporated spawned out of the dark sci-fi/horror novel, The Unraveling. McCoy says that in addition to the comic, a second novel is in the works.

McCoy’s influences include Philip K Dick, Robert Anton Wilson, Warren Ellis, and William Burrows. His work is as original and deliciously disturbing as you would imagine based on his influences.

Script writer, Eric Elliott, says, “Reading a PBM story is like going on a super smart acid trip. You get a hundreds ideas thrown at you but they’re wrapped in a compelling story, with these wonderfully, strange characters.”

The first appearance of Damaged Incorporated was in the novel, The Unraveling

Batman Meets Godzilla Writer’s Room

The basis for the comic is the nineteen page movie treatment found in Batman TV producer, William Dozier’s collection. But the treatment contains no dialogue. Plus there are certain plot holes to contend with in bringing the story to the page.

The Project Batzilla team collaborate in a virtual writer’s room to brainstorm dialogue and to pitch ideas to flesh out the characters.

“It’s rare to find a project that promises to be this much fun with this much collaboration encouraged,” says McCoy.

The Project BatZilla team is now wrapping up the script for issue one. Art director, Jorge Luis Gabotto, is working to assign those pages to the project’s artists, with the hope of completing issue one in the first quarter 2020.

When asked why he joined Project Batzilla, McCoys says, “I love mash-ups and this sounds like an exciting way of combining two distinctly, different worlds that pays tribute to both.”

Published on: November 19, 2019

Artist Spotlight: Kero Wack

Today we go behind the scenes and take a look at the work behind the cover for Batman Meets Godzilla issue #1 by artist, Kero Wack.

Kero Wack, a former MTV animator, made a name for himself among fans this summer for his web comic series, MASK 85.

MASK 85 Issue 1 Cover

Kero Wack developed the story for years before committing stylus to tablet and creating the best fan project in recent memory.

Spanning four issues, the MASK 85 comic harkens back to those classic 80’s mini-series published by Marvel and DC.

So when the Batman Meets Godzilla project began, Kero Wack was a natural fit. It didn’t hurt that he was a huge Godzilla and Adam West Batman fan.

The Cover

Batman Meets Godzilla writer, Eric Elliott, asked Kero Wack to create the first artwork for the comic to help generate interest in the project and set the tone for the series.

The writer says, “Kero Wack did this amazing web comic, MASK 85. It was done with so much heart and talent. So when the [Batman Meets Godzilla] project started, he was the first one I thought of for the artwork.”

Elliott discussed the cover with the artist, describing some of the story’s key action sequences. It was Kero Wack who suggested illustrating Batman and Robin running from Godzilla.

A few hours later, the artist sent over a rough.

Kero Wack felt that a simple composition - Godzilla in the back and our heroes in the foreground, would be an exciting way to get the concept across to readers.

After Elliott signed off on the rough, the artist quickly got to work, refining the art and adding details.

By the end of the day, Kero Wack had completed the line art and logo.

The artist also added a crushed Batmobile to create some action.

The next day, Kero Wack delivered fully colored art. He added a classic Batman sound effect to give it the 60’s feel.

For the final artwork, Kero Wack, cooled the color pallet and adjusted the logo. The whole process took less than 24 hours, making him one of the fastest artists working today.

Kero Wack, who teaches high school art classes, says that his whole classroom is papered in Godzilla posters.

”The whole idea is right up my alley,” says Kero Wack. “Wish it would’ve been a real thing!”

So what’s next for the artist? MASK 86 naturally.

MASK 86 is scheduled for 2020 release date

Fans can follow Kero Wack on Twitter, where he posts drawings daily.

Published on: November 16, 2019

A Story 50 Years in the Making

Kero Wack artwork for the new fan comic

By E. Elliott

An Unlikely Story

The details are sketchy, but at one time, a movie featuring Batman and Godzilla was a real possibility.

Following the success of King Kong vs Godzilla, Toho Co kicked around a number of ideas for the next Godzilla movie, including Frankenstein Meets Godzilla.

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