Twisted Kaiju Theater
Encyclopedia
Twisted Kaiju Theater or TKT is a photo-based comedic
webcomic
by Sean McGuinness created on August 11, 2000. McGuinness created Twisted Kaiju Theater when inspired by a humorous photo comic-strip appearing in ToyFare
called Twisted Toyfare Theater
(in which TKT has been mentioned twice over the years). Similar in concept, McGuinness poses and photographs figurines
in his personal vinyl/action figure collection (most of which consist of Godzilla
-based kaiju
) in bizarre situations with added dialogue bubbles.
As one of the first and longest running photocomics ever produced, Twisted Kaiju Theater updates twice a week (with a frequent bonus updates), and has over 1,600 episodes. It is a BuzzComix Hall of Famer, achieving the number one position three months in a row, and has maintained a steady position in the top 10 of Top Web Comics for several years. Sean McGuinness has also been a guest of honor at I-CON
in 2006 and 2007. On January 2007 and January 2008, Twisted Kaiju Theater was nominated for Outstanding Photographic Comic in the Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards.
of vinyl/action figures (mostly kaiju) into backgrounds (primarily generated from photos) and photoshopping various effects. This style has alternately been called photocollage, photocomics or fumetti
, and McGuinness shares these art techniques with "tutorials" on web photography and specific comic effects. Webcomics which utilize this style or similar techniques include Alien Loves Predator
, Insecticomics, Perils of the Bold, and Nukeland Cinema.
When the comic began, figures were posed against props and backgrounds, with word balloons added after photos were taken. As the comic progressed, more advanced techniques were used to improve the quality of the comic. The figures are now shot against a white background, then superimposed with Bluescreen technology over a different background such as a sprawling cityscape. Special effects like Dutch angle
s, explosions, motion blur
s, and Wild Takes
have also been added to give a more cinematic and dramatic look. While many of the figures are articulated, McGuinness must use photoshop techniques in order to bring many of the characters to life, such as the figurines for Shin-Goji and the Toxic Pirates, which have no articulation at all.
, bionicle
, comic book
and anime
characters. The main cast consists of Godzilla
and his friends the Toxic Pirates, who are loosely based on Sean McGuinness and his personal circle of friends, all portrayed by Super deformed
(SD for short) figurines of Godzilla monsters. The remaining characters stem from a seemingly endless cast of figurines within McGuinness' collection, who make brief or recurring appearances.
The first few seasons revolved around random running gag
s and toilet humor, the most famous of which revolved around the source of lemon sours received in packaged figurine boxes, which are nothing more than the feces
of King Ghidorah
. As the comic progressed, longer and more provoking storylines took place, such as Legend of the Dark Mask, Epic and Legends. Most of the time the plots are vehicles to deliver political, social, racial or religious satire
while involving one or two fight scenes. Storylines included countless invasions (such as a takeover by Yahoo!
), a quest to reshoot a lost episode, and even a journey into Shin-Goji's urinary tract to destroy his kidney stones akin to Fantastic Voyage
.
Due to TKT godzilla being inspired by Sean McGuinness, real life events which occur are sometimes reenacted in TKT, even having one of the characters being shown as the creator of Twisted Kaiju Theater, breaking the fourth wall
. Comics such as these range from many different topics, such as playing video games or visiting comic conventions
.
On April 24, 2009, a notice went up claiming that Twisted Kaiju Theater's website Neomonsterisland.com was under new ownership, and that the series was apparently coming to an end, though there is a listing for an April 27 update on the site at which time the new management claims it will explain what the change in ownership for the website will entail, both for the website and for TKT. The 1500th update to the series depicted a mock-image complete with non-working hypertext links of a 'page not found' page that often comes up when a website has ceased operations.
A short time later, the website was updated, changing its name to 'Once and Future' and then shortly thereafter to 'The Once and Future Tyrant'.
This turned out to be the latest in a series of epic storylines featured in the webcomic, intended to reintroduce the character of Tyrant, a recurring villain who had first appeared in the strip as the president of Yahoo!
, who had returned and hatched an elaborate plan to take control of the island for himself, a recurring mission for the character. In this storyline, it was revealed that Tyrant is actually the elder brother of Shin-Goji, who had once ruled the island, but when their mother the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu
asked him to help end the 'War of the Monsters' and he refused, she set events in motion so that Shin would break away from Tyrant (whom she saw Shin as being too dependant upon) and become the leader of the island. She had expected Tyrant to understand. He did not. Instead, he lost his mind, apparently forgetting his true powers, and went on to become a supposed homosexual individual and later the president of Yahoo! He still harbored a desire to reclaim his birthright even in this insane state, which resulted in his numerous attempts to reclaim the island only to be rebuffed by Shin-Goji and the Toxic Pirates numerous times.
The storyline revealed that a previous epic storyline entitled Final Invasion was set up by Tyrant in order to distract Shin from realizing that Tyrant had managed to con him into essentially signing away the rights to the island by slipping in a falsified service provider document. Tyrant was revealed as Shin's elder brother and forced Shin to relinquish control of Neo Monster Island to Tyrant. As a direct result of the supposed 'change in management', the website itself became part of the storyline, allowing it to break the fourth wall
. Many fans were at first fooled by the events, while others- namely those on the online forums for the webcomic- were quick to point out that Sean McGuinness, the creator of the series, was still named on the website as the owner of the website and its copyrights.
Tyrant's plan was revealed to be twofold in its goals. Firstly he would regain what he saw as his birthright, and secondly to humble Shin, briefly exiling him from the island. Tyrant and Shin have since reconciled- for the moment at least- and went on a rescue mission to save the Toxic Pirates, who had gone missing during the storyline.
The strip has once again taken on the name Twisted Kaiju Theater, with Shin once again taking a starring role.
Shin-Goji: Small, loud, opinionated, vulgar, and more often than not insensitive and politically incorrect, Shin-Goji somehow leads the uncharted land mass known as Neo-Monster Island. The webcomic focuses mostly on his antics and the trouble he gets himself into. He works at a popular copy and shipping shop. Shin-Goji spent much of the last year absent from the strip except for flashbacks, has only recently returned to the series as a regular character. He has been replaced as the leader of Neo-Monster Island by Tyrant, who was recently revealed to be, in addition to a recurring villain, Shin-Goji's older brother. The two have since reconciled, though Tyrant has stated that if Shin still needs a 'rival' that he is more than willing to fulfill the role of being his 'Resident Evil'.
Space Hojo: Space Hojo is Shin-Goji's long suffering roommate who does not show up until Season 3. Space Hojo prefers trickery and common sense to keep himself free from the chaos that surrounds him and is usually the result of Shin-Goji's foolishness. Due to a botched Lasik surgery, he was endowed with the ability to shoot laser beams from his eyes. In one of the longer story lines he reveals that he is Nyarlathotep
from the H.P.Lovecraft novels. In the same storyline, he claims Cthulhu
is his high priest, although in the Mythos Cthulhu was the high priest of Yog-Sothoth
.
Grendel: Grendel is a friend of Shin-Goji and Space Hojo, he shows up around the end of Season 4. A member of the Stormtrooper 501st, he is only seen in his traditional armor and helmet. He serves as a bigger lecher than any of the other Toxic Pirates. As ex-military with a love of firepower, he associates with C-Ball very well.
MOGUERA Marius: MOGUERA Marius was originally represented by a High Grade MOGUERA figure in Season 4. To fit is with the short, super-deformed style of the other Toxic Pirates, he was later associated with an SD MOGUERA
from the Soshingeki Collection.
C-Ball Sleazeball: C-Ball shows up in Season 6, and is the only married Toxic Pirate. He is the most sarcastic and dangerous of the Toxic Pirates.
Spidersense: Spidersense is called The Spirit Warrior, a God-loving man who rocks hard to Dokken
. An oddity on the sometimes blasphemous island of Twisted Kaiju Theater, watching over Shin-Goji and the others and making sure they don't stray too far. He also plays HeroClix
with the Toxic Pirate crew. His figure is a painted in the colors of Spider-Man
.
Thor: Thor is the resident manga
artist of Neo-Monster Island, having a "special" store of rare artist's ink. Described as "The Manga Fanboy", the character of Thor is represented by a personified (Custom Virus SD), and the butt of many jokes involving the origins of his ink. Thor's daughter makes an appearance as the same but smaller figurine. As a real life artist with published works in Antarctic Press and Radio Comix
, Thor helped Twisted Kaiju Theater see actual publication.
Son Goharotto: Son Goharotto (Son Go-san for short) is the creator of Saikyo Powaa, and is a moderator of the forums in Twisted Kaiju Theater. He is most remembered for his renditions of half-naked anthropomorphic babes and his temper. He fought Shin-Goji to a stand still when his "Vengeance Seal" was activated.
Big Will: Big Will is a Toxic Pirate who joined the team during a time when Space Hojo was not present as a replacement. Despite Space Hojo's return in the strip he has not been removed from the team and is still a member. Apparently he has tried to commit suicide every time Shin accepts fan comics for "fan week". He is portrayed with an SD Destroyah figure.
after the various Toho kaiju. As opposed to some art sites where females are put into Godzilla costumes, McGuinness was the first to commission anthro art of Godzilla costumes. They started when McGuinness wanted to create a poster girl for the site, which was heavily male dominated. Anthro artist Danny Valentini drew the first girl using specifications from McGuinness. G.I.N.A. (Godzilla Inspired Naked Anthromorph, name by MOGUERA Marius) was drawn reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe
's Playboy
cover, based on the Godzilla 2000
suit. Soon after each Toho Godzilla monster was envisioned as a Kaiju Girl. There are now 75 or so Kaiju Girls including original creations and girls based on characters like Great Mazinger
the more recent Cloverfield
monster, as well as other genres, gathered from a series of different artists either by gift art or commission. The galleries are split up into the specific eras of Godzilla movies, as well as original creations, group shots and sprite
based art. The galleries range from Rated G to NC-17 for adult situations and nudity.
The Kaiju Girls have been drawn into a few TKT episodes, and models were created by NToonz for other episodes. But when it comes to overall "continuity", any comics which depict them are not considered canon
. There are a few fanfics dedicated to the Kaiju Girls — McGuinness ultimately decides if each is to be considered "official" to the overall mythos of the kaiju girls or not.
The site draws some controversy for the Kaiju Girls because of the unregulated adult situations, and from people who find the "furry
" genre distasteful. After a conflict with some of the artists who submitted work to his site as gift art, he required all artists to include a disclaimer stating all fanworks sent to Neo-Monster Island/Twisted Kaiju Theater would be regarded as gifts unless otherwise specified, and K-Girls and other such characters would remain the intellectual property of their respective creators. Legal ownership of actual images is given to Shin-Goji/Sean McGuinness with the provision the creators would be consulted in the event of use beyond showcasing. Fanworks submitted by the artists and authors are be treated with utmost care and respect, and in return the creators agree they no longer possess sole interest in the managing of their creations.
Artists have started donating Kaiju Girl artwork more rapidly than McGuinness can upload to the site, to the point where Wednesdays are usually devoted to updating and cleaning up the Kaiju Girl archives.
On May 18, 2009, The Kaiju Girls have been removed from the primary website of Twisted Kaiju Theater, and have their own website devoted entirely to them, called DaiKaiju Academy.
doctrine of the United States Copyright Act of 1976.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
by Sean McGuinness created on August 11, 2000. McGuinness created Twisted Kaiju Theater when inspired by a humorous photo comic-strip appearing in ToyFare
ToyFare
ToyFare was a monthly comedy and collecting magazine published by Wizard Entertainment that focused on collectible action figures, busts, statues, and maquettes. It previewed new and upcoming lines and figures each month, as well as providing a price guide for toy lines, new and old...
called Twisted Toyfare Theater
Twisted Toyfare Theater
Twisted ToyFare Theatre is the most popular feature in the monthly magazine ToyFare. Originally titled Twisted Mego Theatre, it is a humorous comic strip done in the fumetti style by photographing toys on sets built by the magazine's staff, and using Photoshop to add effects and word balloons...
(in which TKT has been mentioned twice over the years). Similar in concept, McGuinness poses and photographs figurines
Figurines
Figurines is an indie rock band from Denmark, formed in the mid-1990s. The band released their first EP, The Detour, in 2001 and their first full-length album, Shake a Mountain, in 2004. The band began to receive national attention in Denmark around the time of the full-length release, and began...
in his personal vinyl/action figure collection (most of which consist of Godzilla
Godzilla
is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
-based kaiju
Kaiju
is a Japanese word that means "strange beast," but often translated in English as "monster". Specifically, it is used to refer to a genre of tokusatsu entertainment....
) in bizarre situations with added dialogue bubbles.
As one of the first and longest running photocomics ever produced, Twisted Kaiju Theater updates twice a week (with a frequent bonus updates), and has over 1,600 episodes. It is a BuzzComix Hall of Famer, achieving the number one position three months in a row, and has maintained a steady position in the top 10 of Top Web Comics for several years. Sean McGuinness has also been a guest of honor at I-CON
I-CON
I-CON is a yearly fan convention, held on the campus of the State University of New York at Stony Brook on Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. First held in 1982, I-CON has become a very eclectic convention...
in 2006 and 2007. On January 2007 and January 2008, Twisted Kaiju Theater was nominated for Outstanding Photographic Comic in the Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards.
Style
The art of TKT is done by juxtaposing digital photographsDigital photography
Digital photography is a form of photography that uses an array of light sensitive sensors to capture the image focused by the lens, as opposed to an exposure on light sensitive film...
of vinyl/action figures (mostly kaiju) into backgrounds (primarily generated from photos) and photoshopping various effects. This style has alternately been called photocollage, photocomics or fumetti
Fumetti
Fumetti is an Italian word which refers to all comics. In English, the term refers specifically to photonovels or photographic comics, a genre of comics illustrated with photographs rather than drawings. Italians call these fotoromanzi...
, and McGuinness shares these art techniques with "tutorials" on web photography and specific comic effects. Webcomics which utilize this style or similar techniques include Alien Loves Predator
Alien Loves Predator
Alien Loves Predator is a webcomic written by Bernie Hou. It spoofs the Alien vs. Predator franchise. Reversing the adversarial relationship depicted in the comics, games, books and movies, ALP presents an Alien and a Predator as friends and roommates in modern-day New York City.The first issue...
, Insecticomics, Perils of the Bold, and Nukeland Cinema.
When the comic began, figures were posed against props and backgrounds, with word balloons added after photos were taken. As the comic progressed, more advanced techniques were used to improve the quality of the comic. The figures are now shot against a white background, then superimposed with Bluescreen technology over a different background such as a sprawling cityscape. Special effects like Dutch angle
Dutch angle
Dutch tilt, Dutch angle, Dutch shot, oblique angle, German angle, canted angle, Batman angle, or jaunty angle are terms used for one of many cinematic techniques often used to portray the psychological uneasiness or tension in the subject being filmed...
s, explosions, motion blur
Motion blur
Motion blur is the apparent streaking of rapidly moving objects in a still image or a sequence of images such as a movie or animation. It results when the image being recorded changes during the recording of a single frame, either due to rapid movement or long exposure.- Photography :When a camera...
s, and Wild Takes
Wild takes
The term Wild Takes describes facial expressions in cartoon physics and its origins credited to artists of Warner Bros. Cartoons as it commonly appeared in Looney Tunes shorts; particularly in many of the Tex Avery shorts. Other American Animation studios soon followed suit. These techniques soon...
have also been added to give a more cinematic and dramatic look. While many of the figures are articulated, McGuinness must use photoshop techniques in order to bring many of the characters to life, such as the figurines for Shin-Goji and the Toxic Pirates, which have no articulation at all.
Plot
The webcomic is set in the fictional land mass known as Neo-Monster Island, populated by the various types of kaiju, mechaMecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
, bionicle
Bionicle
Bionicle is a line of toys by the LEGO Group marketed primarily for 5- to 16-year-olds. The line was launched on December 30, 2000 in Europe and June/July 2001 in Canada and the United States. "Bionicle" is a portmanteau constructed from the words "biological" and "chronicle"...
, comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
and anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
characters. The main cast consists of Godzilla
Godzilla
is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
and his friends the Toxic Pirates, who are loosely based on Sean McGuinness and his personal circle of friends, all portrayed by Super deformed
Super deformed
Super deformed or SD is a specific style of Japanese caricature where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads, to make them resemble small children...
(SD for short) figurines of Godzilla monsters. The remaining characters stem from a seemingly endless cast of figurines within McGuinness' collection, who make brief or recurring appearances.
The first few seasons revolved around random running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
s and toilet humor, the most famous of which revolved around the source of lemon sours received in packaged figurine boxes, which are nothing more than the feces
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
of King Ghidorah
King Ghidorah
is a kaiju, a fictional Japanese monster featured in several of Toho Studios' Godzilla films...
. As the comic progressed, longer and more provoking storylines took place, such as Legend of the Dark Mask, Epic and Legends. Most of the time the plots are vehicles to deliver political, social, racial or religious satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
while involving one or two fight scenes. Storylines included countless invasions (such as a takeover by Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
), a quest to reshoot a lost episode, and even a journey into Shin-Goji's urinary tract to destroy his kidney stones akin to Fantastic Voyage
Fantastic Voyage
Fantastic Voyage is a 1966 science fiction film written by Harry Kleiner, based on a story by Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby.Bantam Books obtained the rights for a paperback novelization based on the screenplay and approached Isaac Asimov to write it....
.
Due to TKT godzilla being inspired by Sean McGuinness, real life events which occur are sometimes reenacted in TKT, even having one of the characters being shown as the creator of Twisted Kaiju Theater, breaking the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
. Comics such as these range from many different topics, such as playing video games or visiting comic conventions
Fan convention
A fan convention, or con , is an event in which fans of a particular film, television series, comic book, actor, or an entire genre of entertainment such as science fiction or anime and manga, gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and...
.
On April 24, 2009, a notice went up claiming that Twisted Kaiju Theater's website Neomonsterisland.com was under new ownership, and that the series was apparently coming to an end, though there is a listing for an April 27 update on the site at which time the new management claims it will explain what the change in ownership for the website will entail, both for the website and for TKT. The 1500th update to the series depicted a mock-image complete with non-working hypertext links of a 'page not found' page that often comes up when a website has ceased operations.
A short time later, the website was updated, changing its name to 'Once and Future' and then shortly thereafter to 'The Once and Future Tyrant'.
This turned out to be the latest in a series of epic storylines featured in the webcomic, intended to reintroduce the character of Tyrant, a recurring villain who had first appeared in the strip as the president of Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
, who had returned and hatched an elaborate plan to take control of the island for himself, a recurring mission for the character. In this storyline, it was revealed that Tyrant is actually the elder brother of Shin-Goji, who had once ruled the island, but when their mother the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu
Amaterasu
, or is apart of the Japanese myth cycle and also a major deity of the Shinto religion. She is the goddess of the sun, but also of the universe. the name Amaterasu derived from Amateru meaning "shining in heaven." The meaning of her whole name, Amaterasu-ōmikami, is "the great August kami who...
asked him to help end the 'War of the Monsters' and he refused, she set events in motion so that Shin would break away from Tyrant (whom she saw Shin as being too dependant upon) and become the leader of the island. She had expected Tyrant to understand. He did not. Instead, he lost his mind, apparently forgetting his true powers, and went on to become a supposed homosexual individual and later the president of Yahoo! He still harbored a desire to reclaim his birthright even in this insane state, which resulted in his numerous attempts to reclaim the island only to be rebuffed by Shin-Goji and the Toxic Pirates numerous times.
The storyline revealed that a previous epic storyline entitled Final Invasion was set up by Tyrant in order to distract Shin from realizing that Tyrant had managed to con him into essentially signing away the rights to the island by slipping in a falsified service provider document. Tyrant was revealed as Shin's elder brother and forced Shin to relinquish control of Neo Monster Island to Tyrant. As a direct result of the supposed 'change in management', the website itself became part of the storyline, allowing it to break the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
. Many fans were at first fooled by the events, while others- namely those on the online forums for the webcomic- were quick to point out that Sean McGuinness, the creator of the series, was still named on the website as the owner of the website and its copyrights.
Tyrant's plan was revealed to be twofold in its goals. Firstly he would regain what he saw as his birthright, and secondly to humble Shin, briefly exiling him from the island. Tyrant and Shin have since reconciled- for the moment at least- and went on a rescue mission to save the Toxic Pirates, who had gone missing during the storyline.
The strip has once again taken on the name Twisted Kaiju Theater, with Shin once again taking a starring role.
Toxic Pirates
- The figure used is an SD HeiseiHeisei era (daikaiju eiga)In the context of Japanese monster cinema the Heisei Era refers not to the current era in Japan but to all kaiju eiga made between 1984 and 1999...
Godzilla from the Super Collection set, and is also a representation of the author, McGuinness, inserting himself into the comic. Shin-Goji is of Irish descent because McGuinness also is. He does not make an appearance until the second season. Shin-Goji means, literally translated, "True Godzilla". McGuinness chose the name Goji, which is an affectionate, shortened name for Godzilla. The Shin part came from his love of the Street Fighter character Shin-Akuma.
Nyarlathotep
Nyarlathotep, also known as the Crawling Chaos, is a malign deity in the Cthulhu Mythos fictional universe created by H. P. Lovecraft. First appearing in Lovecraft's 1920 prose poem of the same name, he was later mentioned in other works by Lovecraft and by other writers and in the tabletop...
from the H.P.Lovecraft novels. In the same storyline, he claims Cthulhu
Cthulhu
Cthulhu is a fictional character that first appeared in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. The character was created by writer H. P...
is his high priest, although in the Mythos Cthulhu was the high priest of Yog-Sothoth
Yog-Sothoth
Yog-Sothoth is a cosmic entity of the fictional Cthulhu Mythos and the Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft. Yog-Sothoth's name was first mentioned in his novella The Case of Charles Dexter Ward...
.
- Space Hojo is characterized by an SD Space GodzillaSpaceGodzilla, is a modified clone of Godzilla featured in the Heisei Godzilla film Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla . SpaceGodzilla is the main antagonist of the film. It was originally planned for use in the Showa era of films but dropped, and its physical appearance is nearly identical to Super Godzilla, a variant...
figure due to its angry and disgruntled look, a trait McGuinness associates with Howard Williams, McGuinness' real life roommate whom Space Hojo is based on. As a result of Williams being African AmericanAfrican AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
and being represented by a Space Godzilla figure, the running theme is all Space Godzillas represent black people. Williams has a heavy influence into the development of the comic and many of the controversial strips involving race or racism have been co-written by Williams.
- The figure that represents him is an SD 1984 GodzillaThe Return of GodzillaThe Return of Godzilla The Return of Godzilla The Return of Godzilla (released as in Japan and as Godzilla 1985 in North America, is a 1984 Science Fiction Kaiju film. The sixteenth film in Toho's Godzilla series, it was produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka and directed by Koji Hashimoto with special...
from the Soushingeki set. The head was cut off and replaced with that of a LegoLegoLego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
stormtrooperImperial stormtrooperThe Imperial Stormtroopers are fictional soldiers from George Lucas' Star Wars universe. Stormtroopers are the soldiers of the imperial army under the leadership of the evil Sith Lord and Emperor Palpatine and his commanders, most notably Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin.They are shown in...
helmet along with armor. The model was created by real life Grendel, who also helps with some other custom figures, including the more recent Steel Pyramid.
Moguera
is a Kaiju featured in two of Toho's science fiction films. The name is derived from the Japanese word for mole.-Showa:...
from the Soshingeki Collection.
- Also a long-suffering victim of Shin-Goji's foolishness, he buries himself in his Taekwondo model painting. His speech is most often reminiscent of Twikki from Buck RodgersBuck Rogers in the 25th Century (TV series)Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is an American science fiction adventure television series produced by Universal Studios. The series ran for two seasons between 1979–1981, and the feature-length pilot episode for the series was released as a theatrical film several months before the series aired....
.
- He is represented by an SD Hedorah from the Soshingeki set (Though he has said he would rather be represented by a "chainsaw doggie"). Sometimes paranoid, and as a gun-nut, he gets along quite well with Grendel. His name comes from a nickname carried by the real-life C-Ball.
- C-Ball has been documented as being able to secrete his own super glue (As mentioned in Epic IX). This ability came into play when C-Ball had to build Mazinger-Z for Shin. C-Ball was placed into a RobotechRobotechRobotech is an 85-episode science fiction anime adaptation produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd. and first released in the United States in 1985...
Valkyrie figure in battloid mode when his original body was destroyed. It acts much like a life support system for him.
Spidersense: Spidersense is called The Spirit Warrior, a God-loving man who rocks hard to Dokken
Dokken
Dokken is an American heavy metal and hard rock band formed in 1978. They split up in 1989 but reformed four years later. The group accumulated numerous charting singles and has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide...
. An oddity on the sometimes blasphemous island of Twisted Kaiju Theater, watching over Shin-Goji and the others and making sure they don't stray too far. He also plays HeroClix
HeroClix
HeroClix is a collectible miniatures game that uses the Clix system. Originally designed and produced by WizKids, it is now owned and marketed by NECA. Players construct teams of comic book heroes, villains, and other characters from popular video games such as Street Fighter, Gears of War, and Halo...
with the Toxic Pirate crew. His figure is a painted in the colors of Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
.
Thor: Thor is the resident manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
artist of Neo-Monster Island, having a "special" store of rare artist's ink. Described as "The Manga Fanboy", the character of Thor is represented by a personified (Custom Virus SD), and the butt of many jokes involving the origins of his ink. Thor's daughter makes an appearance as the same but smaller figurine. As a real life artist with published works in Antarctic Press and Radio Comix
Radio Comix
Radio Comix is an alternative comic book publishing company based in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Founded in 1996 by former Antarctic Press employees Elin Winkler-Suarez and Pat Duke, Radio Comix has published hundreds of comics from many genres, from both American-created and translated...
, Thor helped Twisted Kaiju Theater see actual publication.
Son Goharotto: Son Goharotto (Son Go-san for short) is the creator of Saikyo Powaa, and is a moderator of the forums in Twisted Kaiju Theater. He is most remembered for his renditions of half-naked anthropomorphic babes and his temper. He fought Shin-Goji to a stand still when his "Vengeance Seal" was activated.
Big Will: Big Will is a Toxic Pirate who joined the team during a time when Space Hojo was not present as a replacement. Despite Space Hojo's return in the strip he has not been removed from the team and is still a member. Apparently he has tried to commit suicide every time Shin accepts fan comics for "fan week". He is portrayed with an SD Destroyah figure.
The Kaiju Girls
The Kaiju Girls (also known as K-Girls) are a gallery of females anthropomorphizedAnthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
after the various Toho kaiju. As opposed to some art sites where females are put into Godzilla costumes, McGuinness was the first to commission anthro art of Godzilla costumes. They started when McGuinness wanted to create a poster girl for the site, which was heavily male dominated. Anthro artist Danny Valentini drew the first girl using specifications from McGuinness. G.I.N.A. (Godzilla Inspired Naked Anthromorph, name by MOGUERA Marius) was drawn reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
's Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
cover, based on the Godzilla 2000
Godzilla 2000
is a 1999 Japanese science fiction kaiju film directed by Takao Okawara and written by Hiroshi Kashiwabara and Wataru Mimura. It was the twenty-third film released in the Godzilla series. It is the only film to feature Orga. The film was released on December 11, 1999...
suit. Soon after each Toho Godzilla monster was envisioned as a Kaiju Girl. There are now 75 or so Kaiju Girls including original creations and girls based on characters like Great Mazinger
Great Mazinger
is a manga comic book and anime television series by manga artist Go Nagai, made as a direct continuation of the successful Mazinger Z series...
the more recent Cloverfield
Cloverfield
Cloverfield is a 2008 American disaster-monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard.The film follows six young New Yorkers attending a going-away party on the night that a gigantic monster attacks the city...
monster, as well as other genres, gathered from a series of different artists either by gift art or commission. The galleries are split up into the specific eras of Godzilla movies, as well as original creations, group shots and sprite
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
based art. The galleries range from Rated G to NC-17 for adult situations and nudity.
The Kaiju Girls have been drawn into a few TKT episodes, and models were created by NToonz for other episodes. But when it comes to overall "continuity", any comics which depict them are not considered canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
. There are a few fanfics dedicated to the Kaiju Girls — McGuinness ultimately decides if each is to be considered "official" to the overall mythos of the kaiju girls or not.
The site draws some controversy for the Kaiju Girls because of the unregulated adult situations, and from people who find the "furry
Furry fandom
Furry fandom is a fandom for fictional anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics. Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, the ability to speak, walk on two legs, and wear clothes...
" genre distasteful. After a conflict with some of the artists who submitted work to his site as gift art, he required all artists to include a disclaimer stating all fanworks sent to Neo-Monster Island/Twisted Kaiju Theater would be regarded as gifts unless otherwise specified, and K-Girls and other such characters would remain the intellectual property of their respective creators. Legal ownership of actual images is given to Shin-Goji/Sean McGuinness with the provision the creators would be consulted in the event of use beyond showcasing. Fanworks submitted by the artists and authors are be treated with utmost care and respect, and in return the creators agree they no longer possess sole interest in the managing of their creations.
Artists have started donating Kaiju Girl artwork more rapidly than McGuinness can upload to the site, to the point where Wednesdays are usually devoted to updating and cleaning up the Kaiju Girl archives.
On May 18, 2009, The Kaiju Girls have been removed from the primary website of Twisted Kaiju Theater, and have their own website devoted entirely to them, called DaiKaiju Academy.
Archive CDs
McGuinness sells archive CDs of his work at cost. Volume I is currently for sale and available on his website, containing the first 500 episodes, two CD exclusive cartoons, an exclusive G.I.N.A. picture by manga artist Thor Thorvaldson, and the complete Kaiju Girl archive as of March 17, 2006. Volume II was released in March 2007, and also features exclusive comics and Kaiju Girl artwork. These CD have since been discontinued and are no longer offered.Availability and copyright
All strips are available free of charge from the website. McGuinness acknowledges the individual copyrights retained by the vinyl/action figures he personifies and the artists he showcases. McGuinness' work may fall under the fair useFair use
Fair use is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. In United States copyright law, fair use is a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders...
doctrine of the United States Copyright Act of 1976.
