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justaddcats's review
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
geekwayne's review
3.0
'Kaijumax Season One: Terror and Respect' by Zander Cannon seemed like an interesting premise, but by the end, I felt like it had worn out its welcome with me.
A remote island in the South Pacific serves as a supermax, or kaijumax, prison for out of control monsters. They all live here in uneasy peace. There are radioactive monsters and robotic ones and weird natural ones like giant goats and a bigfoot. The guards manage them using powered suits that help them grow to a size that helps give them an advantage. Not all the guards are clean though. Some have their own cons and blackmail going on.
I really liked the concept. I liked how it mimicked a prison story. I even liked the slang and profanity that was made up for the story. The art is pretty average, and the writing just left me wanting it to be over. I have the next volume to read, and I'm hoping that one is more interesting.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Oni Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
A remote island in the South Pacific serves as a supermax, or kaijumax, prison for out of control monsters. They all live here in uneasy peace. There are radioactive monsters and robotic ones and weird natural ones like giant goats and a bigfoot. The guards manage them using powered suits that help them grow to a size that helps give them an advantage. Not all the guards are clean though. Some have their own cons and blackmail going on.
I really liked the concept. I liked how it mimicked a prison story. I even liked the slang and profanity that was made up for the story. The art is pretty average, and the writing just left me wanting it to be over. I have the next volume to read, and I'm hoping that one is more interesting.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Oni Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
abookabookabook's review
4.0
Oz (prison) meets old school Godzilla. Not exactly my cup of tea. But I can see the appeal.
rkiladitis's review
3.0
This book has been going strong for a few years now; the collected trades for Season 4 published in late 2019, so I expect we'll see a Book 5 sometime this year? Maybe? Anyway, the series is written by two-time Eisner Award winner Zander Cannon, and it centers of the lives of Kaiju - giant monsters, a la Godzilla and Friends - in lockdown on a prison island. Think Pacific Rim meets Oz. In Season One, Electrogor is a loving Kaiju single dad who goes out to get some radioactive waste for his kids to eat, gets nabbed, and sent off to Kaijumax, where he experiences all the prison horror: he gets shanked, meets corrupt guards, and has run-ins with gangs that run the prison.
I'll be honest, I was expecting a lighter-hearted comic. The artwork is bright, the monsters and guards' Ultraman-inspired uniforms are amazing to look at, and, come on: it's monsters! On a prison island! I didn't expect things to be so heavy, so if that's not your jam, watch Pacific Rim one more time. It was entertaining for me, and I know older teens who will love this, but I just felt so bad for poor Eletrogor and his kids while I read this. So if you're a mush like me, you've been given notice. Kaijumax was a Best New Series nominee in the 2016 Eisners. When I finally get back to my library, I'll order the first four trades, because I am confident that these will move.
I'll be honest, I was expecting a lighter-hearted comic. The artwork is bright, the monsters and guards' Ultraman-inspired uniforms are amazing to look at, and, come on: it's monsters! On a prison island! I didn't expect things to be so heavy, so if that's not your jam, watch Pacific Rim one more time. It was entertaining for me, and I know older teens who will love this, but I just felt so bad for poor Eletrogor and his kids while I read this. So if you're a mush like me, you've been given notice. Kaijumax was a Best New Series nominee in the 2016 Eisners. When I finally get back to my library, I'll order the first four trades, because I am confident that these will move.
helpfulsnowman's review
3.0
The bright colors and fun concept belie the dark tone of the book. There are seriously some characters you feel pretty bad for. Like the goat man. Poor, poor goat man.
It's fun to look at, and I like where it's going. It's just that I left feeling not so great for whatever reason. I'm not dying to get back into that world.
It's fun to look at, and I like where it's going. It's just that I left feeling not so great for whatever reason. I'm not dying to get back into that world.
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.