The year is 1954, and Japan is about to face the terrifying, destructive power of Godzilla as the kaiju makes his first attack on the island nation. The story is chronicled in The Horror of Godzilla comic, co-written by Ethan S. Parker and Griffin Sheridan (Marvel Zombies: Red Band) and illustrated by horror artist Tristan Jones (Event Horizon: Dark Descent). The IDW book begins in July 2026.

“The Horror of Godzilla is for fans of Godzilla Minus One, Shin Godzilla, and Godzilla ‘54,” editor Jake Williams said. “It’s a terrifying look at the Kai-Sei era’s first Godzilla attack. It grabs the reader and places them on the ground in the middle of the most petrifying night in human history… the arrival of Godzilla. Through the power of Tristan Jones’ visceral art style, this is the first Godzilla comic we’ve released that goes 100% in on horror. It very well might become the best Godzilla comic ever made… it’s certainly the scariest.”

“Godzilla’s been such a huge part of my life as far back as I can remember, and as someone that had Godzilla 1985 on near permanent loan from our local video store, and hounding my local bootlegger every day on the walk home from high school for the original Japanese cut, I’m genuinely hard-pressed to think of anything I’ve been this excited about in my career,” Jones said. “As a storyteller that’s become something of a fixture in the horror genre, it’s a genuine honor and a thrill to work with Griffin and Ethan (and our incredible editor Jake) on a Godzilla story that leans so hard into my favorite visuals and even harder into things I always wished the films would. It’s a huge departure from what I’ve been known for so far and everyone’s given me incredible space to both try new things, and bring visuals to comics I’d never had a proper chance to before.”

“The first year of the Kai-Sei Era found us in a world – a galaxy, even – steeped in kaiju, as we felt that was the best starting point for this universe,” Parker and Sheridan said in a joint statement. “But now is the perfect moment to go back to the narrative bedrock, the genesis of our tale: humanity’s very first meeting with Godzilla. To not only be asked to tell this crucial chapter of the Kai-Sei saga, but also to make it as wild and horrific as possible… Oh, and Tristan Jones is going to draw it?! We’re beyond honored and cannot wait to share this one with readers.”