What’s New in Home Video & Pop Culture – October 27, 2026 – Frankenstein, The Frighteners, Masters of the Universe, Surf Nazis Must Die!, and more

The Frighteners

It’s the week of Halloween, so of course there some high-profile horror movies, including one of my favorites of the past year and one of my favorites of all time. So color me excited! Read on for the full breakdown!

In This Week’s Column:

• Frankenstein (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
• Masters of the Universe (4K Ultra HD)
• The Frighteners (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
• Surf Nazis Must Die! (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
• Bunker Heights (Blu-ray)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Ongoing Series Compendium – Vol. 3 (Graphic Novel)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Booyakasha Books – Vol. 2 (Graphic Novel)
• Godzilla: Here There Be Complete Collection (Graphic Novel)

Frankenstein (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)

Official Synopsis:

Guillermo del Toro’s spellbinding take on one of the most enduring of all modern myths, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, imbues the classic tale with new depths of humanity while pushing it toward dazzling heights of gothic grandeur. Shifting between the perspectives of the brilliant but callous Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) and the creature (Jacob Elordi) he fashions from flesh and then cruelly mistreats, del Toro movingly reframes the legend as a story of fathers and sons struggling to break free from cycles of trauma. A decades-in-the-making triumph of darkly ravishing visual invention and operatic storytelling, and the winner of multiple Oscars, Frankenstein is a deeply personal statement from a director who has long been drawn to the realm where men and monsters merge.

The Movie: 

Guillermo del Toro is one of my absolute favorite filmmakers, so I don’t know why it took me until now to get around to watching Frankenstein, his 2025 adaptation of Mary Shelley’s groundbreaking horror story. Maybe it’s because as a physical media advocate, I get a little tired of watching movies on streaming services sometimes, but it took until the beautiful new Criterion Collection edition of Frankenstein hit shelves that I finally sat down to watch it.

And it is an absolute Masterpiece with a capital M. Look, would I have cast Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as the monster? Probably not. But that’s why I’m not a filmmaker and Guillermo del Toro is. Both actors absolutely own the screen in their respective roles and completely suck you into this Victorian world of horror and heartbreak. And while it shouldn’t be surprising because del Toro is a visual prophet, the film looks absolutely stunning. The production value is insane, and everything from the sets to the special effects to the make-up is completely breathtaking.

Del Toro also structures the film into three acts, with the first two acts focusing one each on Victor and the monster. At first, I wasn’t convinced that was the way to go, but again, I should know better than to doubt the master. After a brief (and intense) prologue, we find out how things got to where they are, and the story is utterly captivating. Simply put, I loved everything about this movie.

This week, The Criterion Collection releases Frankenstein in a gorgeously-packaged 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray combo pack that is the only way to watch this movie. It comes with beautiful artwork, an extra-thick digipak, copious extras, and a collector’s booklet. There’s also a director’s cut that runs about eight minutes longer and includes a seven-minute sequence that del Toro removed from the film at James Cameron’s suggestion. (He hasn’t publicly stated which sequence, but I have my suspicions.) To say this is one of my favorite home video releases of the year so far would be a massive understatement.

The 4K Video/Audio:

As you would expect from the Criterion Collection, Frankenstein looks and sounds spectacular on 4K Ultra HD, especially considering how good it looks from a production standpoint. The picture is sharp and features outstanding clarity, and the colors are deep and rich in a way that I rarely see. The surround soundtrack is equally as impressive. This is a movie with no shortage of action and spectacle, and it’s all represented in a 360-degree soundscape around you. The dialogue is anchored in the center, and the surround channels are constantly active; sometimes with quiet nuance and sometimes with bombastic action. Fantastic A/V stuff.

The Bonus Features: 

• New audio commentary on The Reborn Cut featuring director Guillermo del Toro
• The Anatomy Lesson: Director’s Cut, a new documentary on the making of the film
• The Parlour, a collection of conversations on craft featuring del Toro; actors Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, and Oscar Isaac; cinematographer Dan Laustsen; production designer Tamara Deverell; costume designer Kate Hawley; and creature designer Mike Hill
• Q&As moderated by filmmaker Martin Scorsese and musician Patti Smith
• Interview with composer Alexandre Desplat conducted by film-music scholar Jon Burlingame
• Trailer
• PLUS: An essay by scholar and author Christopher Frayling

Digital Copy Included: No

Masters of the Universe (4K Ultra HD)

Official Synopsis:

After being separated for 15 years, the Sword of Power leads Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) back to Eternia where he discovers his home shattered under the fiendish rule of Skeletor (Jared Leto). To save his family and his world, Adam must join forces with his closest allies, Teela (Camila Mendes) and Duncan/Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba), and embrace his true destiny as He-Man — the most powerful man in the universe.

The Movie: 

I was SO excited for Masters of the Universe from the trailers, I couldn’t wait to watch it. It just looked like so much fun, and as a child of the ‘80s who grew up watching He-Man cartoons – and who suffered through the 1987 disaster with Dolph Lundgren – I just knew it was going to be awesome.

And then, unfortunately, it wasn’t. Now, to be fair, I know a LOT of people who have seen this movie and opinions vary wildly. I have some friends who absolutely loved it, and other people I know who absolutely hated it. I’m somewhere in the middle. There was a lot to like about it, but there are also a lot of problems with the film.

Opinions aren’t the only thing that vary wildly about Masters of the Universe; the film’s tone does, too, and it’s a huge misstep. In one scene Skeletor is threatening to murder someone’s infant, in the next he’s doing a TikTok dance. Am I supposed to be scared of this guy or laughing at him? (Although he looked absolutely incredible from a visual standpoint!) And there are so many poorly written and/or directed scenes, it’s distracting. For example, throughout the film Skeletor wants one thing: He-Man’s sword of Eternia. There are at least two scenes in the film where He-Man gets disarmed and the sword is just lying around unattended, and not once does Skeletor or any of his goons try and retrieve it. It’s maddening, and it’s lazy writing.

Now, there are some positives to the film as well. Visually, it looks great, the characters all feel very true to the original cartoon versions we grew up with. There’s also a lot of humor in the film, even if sometimes it doesn’t land or feels too forced. Ultimately, the biggest issue with Masters of the Universe is that it just can’t seem to make up it’s mind if it’s trying to make a movie for nostalgic adults, modern kids, all audiences, or genre fans, and instead it tries to do them all. The result is a bit of a mess, but at least it’s a fun mess. I will say this, though; if you’re a fan of the cartoon, make sure you watch both post-credits sequences. They’re two of my favorite scenes in the film.

Sadly this disc doesn’t come with a digital copy, which is standard for most Amazon releases and is a practice I hate. I hope someday Amazon will realize they have enough money and give us a digital copy with our home video releases like every other major studio. Physical media doesn’t need any other barriers to success, and many collectors like myself like to have the disc in hand AND a digital copy in our library.

The 4K Video/Audio:

This is what you want a 4K release to look and sound like. Colors pop off the screen, imagery is sharp and textured, blacks are deep and rich, and contrasts are strong. It’s like you’re existing inside the cartoon (even though it’s live action), and it’s breathtaking. Likewise, the surround soundtrack doesn’t give your speakers a chance to breathe, as they are getting a workout from the very first scene to the last. Well-balanced, active, directional, and nuanced, this mix is everything you could want in a big-budget fantasy spectacle.

The Bonus Features: 

• Behind the Scenes Promotional Gallery
• Masters of Light: Skies of Eternia Drone Spectacle

Digital Copy Included: No

The Frighteners (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)

Official Synopsis:

Dead yet? Before The Lord of the Rings made him a household name, Peter Jackson delivered The Frighteners – a wildly inventive blend of supernatural horror and dark comedy. Produced by Robert Zemeckis, it cemented Jackson’s reputation as one of the most imaginative filmmakers of his generation. Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future) stars as Frank Bannister, a small-town psychic who uses his ghostly friends to con unsuspecting locals – until a series of mysterious deaths points to a far darker force. Racing to uncover the truth, Frank realizes he’s the only person capable of stopping a malevolent spirit from claiming more victims… even if it means facing his own haunted past. As macabre as it is mischievous, The Frighteners blends chilling suspense with offbeat humor and groundbreaking visual effects. Stylish, spooky, and full of heart, this cult classic continues to thrill from beyond the grave.

The Movie: 

Too funny to be a true horror movie, too scary to be a true comedy. That’s The Frighteners, one of the true cult classics of the 1990s. Directed by Peter Jackson before he became a household name with the Lord of the Rings movies, The Frighteners has always been my favorite Peter Jackson film, and I couldn’t be more excited to see it get a release from Arrow Video, my favorite boutique home video label.

What’s funny is that the movie never got any kind of traction in movie theaters, and I’m not even sure if it was ever a HUGE seller on home video, but I don’t know a single person who’s seen the movie and doesn’t love it. Michael J. Fox is outstanding as Frank Bannister, who uses his psychic ability to see ghosts to act as a sort of one-man Ghostbuster (even while using his ghostly friends to drum up business.) The supporting cast is terrific, especially Jake Busey in one of his earliest roles, who turns a villainous specter into something truly terrifying.

But what makes the film truly shine is its masterful blend of horror and comedy. Released just six months before Scream would became a cultural phenomenon, The Frighteners manages to have some true laugh-out-loud moments and a comedic tone that is present throughout. Yet, when the supernatural horror intensifies, there’s no doubt the film is genuinely creepy. It’s no surprise that Peter Jackson was able to deftly blend the two genres, it’s just a shame that more people didn’t see it.

This week, Arrow Video (yay!) releases the film on home video in 4K Ultra HD (a Blu-ray version is also available.) Not only does it include a complete collection of extra features, but it also includes the legendary four-hour documentary about the film that was produced for – if I’m not mistaken – the original laserdisc release. I mean, you literally get every possible piece of media ever made about The Frighteners in this release… what more could you ask for?

The 4K Video/Audio:

The Frighteners is 30 years old at this point, so it’s not like it suddenly looks completely brand new. That said, you’ll notice brighter colors, a sharper picture, and good contrast than you’ve seen on home video before with the new 4K Ultra HD transfer. There is a relatively active soundtrack (mostly making sure the dialogue is clear and the music sounds good) that also offers up some effective surround activity to help fill in the soundfield. It’s hard to complain about any of those things.

The Bonus Features: 

• Collector’s booklet featuring Peter Jackson’s 1998 introduction to the LaserDisc release, original production notes, and two 1996 articles from American Cinematographer
• Theatrical and Director’s Cuts
• Audio commentary by co-writer/producer/director Peter Jackson (director’s cut only)
• Peter Jackson’s 10th anniversary introduction to the film
• Theatrical trailer
• No Way to Make a Living: A Look Back at The Frighteners, a feature-length documentary produced in 2022, featuring new interviews with actors Dee Wallace Stone and Jake Busey, cinematographer John Blick, production designer Grant Major, creature and miniature designer
• The Making of The Frighteners, an exhaustive 225-minute documentary exploring every aspect of the film’s production, from script development and casting to post-production and release, produced in 1998 for the LaserDisc release, with a 2005 retrospective
• A Conversation with Richard Taylor and Alexandre Poncet, a 2022 interview with the man behind the film’s creature and miniature effects
• Image gallery

Digital Copy Included: No

Surf Nazis Must Die! (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)

Official Synopsis:

When the son of a woman is murdered by neo-Nazi surf punks in the post-apocalyptic future, his Mama hunts them down for some bloodthirsty revenge. An earthquake leaves the California coastline in ruins and reduces the beaches to a state of chaos. A group of neo-Nazis led by Adolf (Brenner), the self-proclaimed “Führer of the new beach”, takes advantage of the resulting chaos by fighting off several rival surfer gangs to seize control of the beaches. Meanwhile, an African American oil well worker named Leroy (Harden) is killed by the surf Nazis while jogging on the beach. Leroy’s mother, “Mama” Washington (Neely), devastated by the loss of her son, vows revenge. After arming herself with a handgun and grenades, she breaks out of her retirement home and exacts vengeance on the Surf Nazis.

The Movie: 

Welcome to California, where the beaches are battle zones!

I don’t know how much more you need to know about a movie called Surf Nazis Must Die to get a good sense of what kind of movie you’re about to watch, but let me tell you: it’s exactly what you expect. This Troma cultsploitation flick is low-budget ridiculousness, and how you feel about it will likely be determined by how you feel about low-budget ridiculousness in general.

Set in a post-apocalyptic future, a group of surfing Nazi-like gang members have taken over the coast. When they murder an innocent man, his mother (“Leroy’s Mama”) sets out to get revenge. The reported budget for the film was $20,000, and even in the 1990s that was a really small amount of money to try and make an action-movie set in the future for. The result is about what you’d expect: a cheap-looking, poorly-acted exploitation flick that just barely gets by on the gonzo over-the-top nature of Troma filmmaking.

Now, Surf Nazis Must Die has always had a bit of a cult following, owing largely to its unforgettable name and a healthy dose of VHS rentals in the ‘90s. And this new 4K Special Edition from Troma celebrates the movie’s fans by giving them a home video edition that is probably the greatest version we’re ever going to see. Not only do you get the movie in 4K Ultra HD, but it also comes with the most complete collection of extras ever assembled for a film that cost $20,000 to make!

The 4K Video/Audio:

This is one of those movies where it’s a little harder to see the improvements made in the 4K transfer without a direct comparison to a previous home video version. The movie is not only a low-budget film that’s decades old, but it’s on-screen limitations are pretty obvious. Colors are solid if unspectacular and while image clarity is good, it’s not that razor’s edge clarity we’re used to from the format.

The Bonus Features: 

• Surf Nazis Must Die Theatrical Trailer
• Projection Booth Podcast Audio Interview
• ‘Who Controls The Beaches?!?” An Interview With Peter George
• Original Blu-Ray Intro
• Original DVD Intro
• Scenes From The Tromaville Cafe
• Waves Are A War Zone: Interview with Peter George & Interview with Robert Tinnell
• Deleted Scenes
• Independent Artists VS. Corrupt Cartels
• Radiation March
• Soul Of Troma
• “INNARDS” Music Video
• The Toxic Avenger In Ukraine
• Troma Sleepover
• Troma Trailers

Digital Copy Included: No

Bunker Heights (Blu-ray)

Official Synopsis:

Set in a once-thriving Midwestern city overrun by corruption, organized crime, and violence, Bunker Heights follows burned-out homicide detective Derek Tucker as a routine investigation spirals into a nightmare involving a botched bank robbery, political assassination, and a horrifying secret beneath the city streets. Inspired by cult classics such as C.H.U.D., The Return of the Living Dead, and Tremors, Bunker Heights combines practical creature effects, outrageous humor, monster mayhem, and offbeat charm into a throwback genre experience celebrating the creature features and horror-comedies of the 1980s and 1990s.

Written and directed by award-winning independent filmmaker Drew Fortier, the film stars Hannah Fierman (V/H/S), Chaney Morrow (Haunt), Paul T. Taylor (Hellraiser: Judgment), Violent J (Insane Clown Posse), Vinnie Dombroski (Sponge), and David Ellefson (Megadeth). This 2-disc Limited Edition Blu-ray includes the Director’s Cut (106 min), the exclusive Extended Cut (121 min), and the 80-minute documentary Amateur Hacks: Making Bunker Heights, chronicling the film’s journey from conception through production and post production featuring nearly 30 cast and crew interviews and behind-the-scenes footage

The Movie: 

At first I couldn’t figure out why I had never heard of Bunker Heights, because I’m pretty well versed in cult classic films, but this one was new to me. And then I realized that it’s because it’s new to everyone; Bunker Heights is a 2026 release. But does it have the potential to become a future cult classic?

Well, yes and no. The film has some pluses and some minuses. I’m always a little wary when I see a film that’s not only written and directed by the same person but also has them in the lead role (in this case, it’s Drew Fortier, who’s made a few other micro-budgeted films and is also a musician who plays with some other notable musicians). I don’t want to say Fortier took on too much here, because he actually does a decent job in all three of his roles, but I would also say that Denzel Washington and Martin Scorsese can sleep easy at night knowing their potential future Oscars won’t be going Fortier’s way.

But the movie, which blends a crime caper with a creature feature and a black comedy, is eminently watchable and has a few decent laughs. A handful of interesting guest stars show up in supporting roles, including Vinnie Dombroski from ‘90s rock act Sponge (of whom I’m a huge fan), Violent J from Insane Clown Posse, and David Ellefson from Megadeth. Bunker Heights isn’t a masterpiece, or even a great film, but for a movie  that was made with almost no budget, it gets several things right and has its heart in the right place, and I’ll take that any day.

The Bonus Features: 

• Director’s Cut and Extended Cut
• Amateur Hacks: Making Bunker Heights – A feature-length documentary

Digital Copy Included: No

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Ongoing Series Compendium – Vol. 3 (Graphic Novel)

Official Synopsis:

Read IDW’s entire epic TMNT ongoing comic series (150 issues!) in three easy-to-collect volumes for the first time! Each volume contains over 1,000 pages of content!

This final volume collects the last 50 issues of the series, #101–150, with new writer Sophie Campbell taking the helm. Sophie also illustrates some issues and is joined by a myriad of artists, including Nelson Dániel, Jodi Nishijima, Ken Garing, Pablo Tunica, Fero Pe, Gavin Smith, Vincenzo Federici, and more!

After a mutagen bomb transforms hundreds, forcing them to live in squalor in a walled off section called Mutant Town, the Turtles find New York City drastically changed—new factions and enemies are on the rise, and allies are in short supply. The Turtles discover that in order to survive, they will need to work together like never before as Mutant Town takes center stage in this countdown to the finale!

These compendiums offer the perfect opportunity for new readers to catch up on the series and longtime fans to collect all the ongoing issues in just three volumes!

The Book: 

If you’ve read my column before at all, you’ll already know that I’m a massive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan. If you haven’t read my column before, well… guess what? I’m a massive TMNT fan. And if you have read my column, you might also recall that the 2011-2025 TMNT series published by IDW has never been my favorite.

Starting with Issue #101 and going through the final issue at #150, the series was taken over by Sophie Campbell, who both wrote and drew it – similar to what she’s currently doing on DC’s Supergirl title. I really like Sophie Campbell’s artwork on TMNT… I wish I felt the same way about her writing. Admittedly, Campbell has to work with what came in the previous 100 issues, and as I’ve stated before, I don’t really love IDW’s take in which there are so many mutant characters. I always preferred the Turtles to be anomalies in the human world of New York, rather than surrounded by mutated animal characters.

In Campbell’s arc, that aspect of the book gets amplified, with the creation of Mutant Town, a section of New York where all the residents are mutants. We see the Turtles separate in the aftermath of [SPOILER] Splinter’s death in the previous issues, so a lot of supporting characters step in to interact with our four heroes. It’s not bad storytelling per se, and like I said, I enjoy Campbell’s artwork, but this isn’t the universe I enjoy seeing my Turtles live in, and I’ve never truly been able to get into it.

This week, we get the final of three volumes from IDW in the TMNT Ongoing Series Compendium set. In Volume 1, IDW collected the first 50 issues of the IDW series that started in 2011. (A compendium, by the way, is like an Omnibus, but it’s paperback instead of hardcover and thus costs about $50-$75 less.) The second entry, Volume 2, collected issues 51-100. This third and final volume gives us issues #101-150, which concludes the first era of the series before it was relaunched last year. (The compendiums, unlike the IDW Collection hardcover library series, wisely omit any of the spin-off series and one-shots and just focuses on the main series issues.)

And while I maintain that my criticism of the series remains valid – which I fully admit is a matter of personal taste – I will say that reading these books in the way they’re meant to be read certainly improves the experience. It’s hard to argue with any book where you’re getting 50 issues of a comic book run for just over a dollar an issue. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Compendium: Volume 3 is a massive tome and a great buy for TMNT fans, even if it’s not my personal favorite run of comics.

The Specs: 

• Publisher: IDW Publishing
• Format: Softcover
• Page Count: 1144 pages
• Cover Price: $59.99

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Booyakasha Books – Vol. 2 (Graphic Novel)

Official Synopsis:

Revisit the world of the 2012 TMNT animated series in two omnibus editions that collect all the stories for the first time! Each volume contains over 300 pages of content! Originally produced by Panini in 59 issues of its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles magazine, the majority of these short stories (6–12 pages) have never been published in the U.S. Volume 2 collects all the stories from issues #32–59. The 2012 animated series has become a fan favorite, and this two-volume set offers fans the opportunity to dive into adventures they’ve never seen before! Includes work by creators such as Erik Burnham, Alec Worley, Jennifer Keating, Sholly Fisch, Iain Buchanan, Ryan James Neal, Bob Molesworth, and more!

The Book: 

As I stated above, I’m a huge fan of the Ninja Turtles, and probably my third favorite Ninja Turtles iteration is the 2012 CGI animated series. Now, third place might not sound like lofty praise, but my #1 spot goes to the original Eastman and Laird black-and-white comics, while my #2 spot is reserved for the 1990 film, which ranks as one of my favorite movies of all time. So third place in this context means it’s incredibly highly regarded in my worldview.

Now, if you’re like me and don’t remember there ever being a comic book based on said 2012 series being published, well, you’re both right and wrong. I was in the same boat when Volume 1 of The Booyakasha Books came out; I didn’t remember there ever being a comic book series based on the show. I assumed my memory was just failing me but then I was vindicated because it turns out the comics collected in this trade paperback are NOT from the IDW publishing universe, but rather from another source entirely: Panini!

Yes, Panini, makers of sports cards and sticker albums, also produced a Ninja Turtles magazine for a good few years (they’ve also produced a ton of other magazines based on popular kids’ properties.) It turns out, in each issue, there was a comic book styled short story to go along with all of the games, puzzles, articles, and photos, and TMNT: The Booyakasha Books – Volume 1 collected the stories from the first 32 issues of that magazine. This second volume completes the set by collecting all of the short stories from issues 33-59, which is where the series ended.

As I mentioned in my first review, these stories are mostly 12 pages or less, meaning that they’re more bite-sized story chunks than big TMNT epics. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but these stories are aimed more at an all-ages and kids’ audience. They’re a fun read, but it’s nothing particularly deep or involved. The artwork is great, though, and much like with the first volume, I enjoyed The Booyakasha Books – Vol. 2 quite a bit.

The Specs: 

• Publisher: IDW Publishing
• Format: Softcover
• Page Count: 328 pages
• Cover Price: $24.99

Godzilla: Here There Be Complete Collection (Graphic Novel)

Official Synopsis:

Travel through history with Godzilla in this trilogy of graphic novels full of action, adventure, and intrigue! From the 1500s to the 1950s, Godzilla battles from the age of discovery to the age of UFOs! This omnibus collects the complete trilogy of Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons, Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons II—Sons of Giants, and Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens by writer Frank Tieri and artists Inaki Miranda and Angel Hernandez for the first time.

Before humanity had successfully traveled the entire globe, it was believed that monsters ruled the oceans just beyond the horizon. “Here there be dragons…” was written on maps to denote the areas people dared not go. That is, until Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the seas, visiting foreign lands and collecting treasure. That’s what history tells us, at least, but history does not have the full tale. Monsters did lurk yonder, living on an island that still doesn’t appear on any map, and among them was the king of them all…Godzilla!

Then, in the sequel, discover the shadowy society that controls the secrets of the kaiju, from ancient Rome to colonial America and beyond. Who are the members of this Illuminati-esque cult, known only as the Sons of Giants, and what is their mission? More importantly, how have they been pulling the strings of every major kaiju encounter since the dawn of time?

In the finale, it’s the middle of the 20th century, and Americans everywhere are terrified of the strange lights hovering above them in the night sky…and they should be. These UFOs are actually the Xilien invasion force! Revealed to have already been on Earth during the events of Sons of Giants, the Xiliens have been attempting to destabilize the planet with the help of kaiju from outer space. With the aliens’ claws deep inside the U.S. government, will our rogue operatives manage to band together to save humanity? Read all three graphic novels in one collection for the first time to find out!

The Book: 

This week, we get Godzilla: Here There Be Complete Collection, the first full collection of Frank Tieri’s history-spanning, conspiracy-laden Godzilla epic. Originally released as a trio of miniseries, this book collects Here There Be Monsters, Here There Be Monsters II: Sons of Giants, and Here There Be Aliens, giving us an entire saga that spans from the 1500s to the 1900s.

I really enjoyed this book, as Tieri crafts a tale full of mystery and intrigue and some interesting ideas and concepts that tie Godzilla into world history events in a way that’s pretty fun and unique. The first series sees Sir Francis Drake sailing off the edge of the maps, where it was simply written, ”Here there be monsters.” And monsters there are indeed, in the form of Godzilla and other monstrous Kaiju from the Godzillaverse! In the second miniseries, we learned about the Sons of Giants, a secret society in the early 1800s dedicated to protecting all knowledge of the Kaiju beasts that exist on earth. What is their purpose? How does the president of the United States fit into it? What is the real history of the world? It’s a super-fun and fascinating look at Godzilla and his brethren’s history in a new and unique way.

Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens was the concluding chapter of the trilogy, moving things into more modern times, in the UFO-crazed era of the 1950s. The story is super fun, with the big green lizard taking on aliens and spaceships with a retro feel. The story is told through the perspective of government agent Bob Jones, who’s been trying to prove that Godzilla and other monsters like him exist. Throughout the course of five issues, we get plenty of sci-fi action, but we also get to see some of the conspiracy threads that were so prevalent at the time coming into play as well. And of course, it ties together with the events of the first two series in a creative way, especially the second entry.

This is a huge book, coming it at over 350 pages full of great stories, fantastic artwork, and plenty of monster mayhem. Definitely worth tracking down!

The Specs: 

• Publisher: IDW Publishing
• Format: Softcover
• Page Count: 368 pages
• Cover Price: $39.99