IDW Publishing

	IDW Publishing
	IDW Publishing
Type	Print media publisher
Status	Active
Founder(s)	Ted Adams; Alex Garner; Kris Oprisko; Robbie Robins;
Founded	1999
Head-; quarters	San Diego, California, United States
Parent company	IDW Media Holdings, Inc.
Part of	Idea and Design Works, LLC
Website	https://www.idwpublishing.com/

IDW Publishing, also known as IDW Comics or simply IDW, is an American comic book publisher, and a division of Idea and Design Works, LLC. It is widely recognized as the fifth-largest American comic book publisher, behind Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and Image Comics. Rather than original titles, IDW primarily focuses on the publication of comics based on licensed IPs such as Star Trek, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, G.I. Joe, Transformers, and Sonic the Hedgehog. IDW began publishing Godzilla comics in 2011, and continues to do so to this day. IDW did not publish any new comics utilizing the Godzilla license from 2017 to 2020; however, it signed a new licensing deal with Toho during that time and republished Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters as a complete volume, followed by Godzilla: Complete Rulers of Earth Vol. 2 in the summer of 2019.^[1] It republished Godzilla: The Half-Century War in August 2020 and republished Godzilla: History's Greatest Monster in January 2021. It later republished three of its miniseries: Godzilla: Legends, Godzilla in Hell, and Godzilla: Rage Across Time, in May 2021 as part of a volume titled Godzilla: Unnatural Disasters, and three more miniseries: Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths, Godzilla: Cataclysm, and Godzilla: Oblivion, as part of a volume titled Godzilla: World of Monsters that August. On December 2, 2020, it was announced that Toho and IDW had signed a new publishing deal that would result in new Godzilla comics being published by the company beginning in April 2021. This deal also covered non-comic media such as art books, journals, puzzles, and coloring books.^[2]

IDW has published more titles using the Godzilla license than any previous American publisher. Its catalog of Godzilla comics currently consists of four ongoing series (including a quarterly series of one-shots), 17 miniseries, and five one-shots, as well as a series of Best of reprint one-shots. The three ongoing series—Kingdom of Monsters, Godzilla, and Rulers of Earth—all take place in the same continuity known as the "IDW Universe", while most of the miniseries and one-shots are standalone and take place in their own individual continuities. The exceptions are Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors with its sequels All Hail the King! and Summer Smash, Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons with its sequels Here There Be Dragons II - Sons of Giants and Here There Be Aliens, and Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers with its sequel Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers II. The latter two were published collaboratively with BOOM! Studios. In 2025, IDW announced a new multi-series Godzilla continuity called the "Kai-Sei Era", which will begin with the one-shot Godzilla: The New Heroes and continue with the ongoing series Godzilla, Godzilla: Escape the Deadzone, and Starship Godzilla.^[3]

Rulers of Earth is the Godzilla comic with the most issues, at 25 issues (one more than Marvel's Godzilla comic), while the quarterly-published Godzilla Rivals is the longest-running American Godzilla comic. IDW also published Godzilla: The IDW Era, a book chronicling IDW's different Godzilla comics up to a certain point and including behind-the-scenes material, in 2014. All of its comics are currently available digitally through Amazon and comiXology, and have also been published completely as trade paperbacks, many of which were out of print until IDW eventually republished them following its new deal with Toho. Unlike previous U.S. Godzilla comic publishers Marvel and Dark Horse, IDW licensed many of Godzilla's monster co-stars from the films.

Multiple IDW Godzilla comic titles have been translated and published in Japan by Phase Six, which marked the first-ever instance of American Godzilla comic series being released in Japan. Saldapress has translated and localized several of IDW's Godzilla comics in Italy since 2019, while Moztros has translated and released The Half-Century War and Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in Spain.

Selected publications

Ongoing series

Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters (2011-2012) [12 issues]
Godzilla (2012-2013) [13 issues]
Godzilla: Rulers of Earth (2013-2015) [25 issues]
Godzilla Rivals (2021-2024) [one-shots; 16 issues]
Godzilla (2025-)
Godzilla: Escape the Deadzone (2025-)
Starship Godzilla (2025-)

Gallery

Pre-2025 logo

Trivia

IDW's initial deal with Toho in 2010 included the rights to 13 Godzilla characters – Godzilla, Anguirus, Battra, Destoroyah, Gigan, Hedorah, King Ghidorah, Kumonga, Mechagodzilla, Mothra, Rodan, SpaceGodzilla, and Titanosaurus. IDW’s first three Godzilla comic series included the trademark icons of all 13 of these monsters regardless of whether or not they actually appeared within the issue in question. After renegotiating its deal with Toho in 2012, IDW expanded its license to include access to over 20 additional Godzilla characters.^[5] The first IDW comic to take advantage of this expanded deal was Godzilla: The Half-Century War #3, which included Ebirah and Megalon.
According to Matt Frank, an Infestation 2 comic story was planned where Godzilla would have fought Cthulhu, but Toho turned down this idea.^[6]
- Godzilla eventually fought Cthulhu in the 2024 CMON comic Godzilla vs. Cthulhu: A Death May Die Story.

External links

References

This is a list of references for IDW Publishing. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: ^[1]

↑ Aiken, Keith (5 April 2019). "Godzilla Returns to IDW This Summer". SciFi Japan.
↑ McMillan, Graeme (2 December 2020). "'Godzilla' Publishing Deal Set Between IDW and Toho". The Hollywood Reporter.
↑ https://godzilla.com/blogs/news/idw-godzilla-shared-universe-comics-kai-sei-era
↑ "Godzilla: The Monster Comic Art Collection". Penguin Random House.
↑ Ford, Mike (2014). Godzilla: The IDW Era. IDW Publishing.
↑ [Soundout@ACE2012] Godzilla Panel w/ Matt Frank

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[SFJ-1] Aiken, Keith (5 April 2019). "Godzilla Returns to IDW This Summer". SciFi Japan.

[New_Deal-2] McMillan, Graeme (2 December 2020). "'Godzilla' Publishing Deal Set Between IDW and Toho". The Hollywood Reporter.

[3] ttps://godzilla.com/blogs/news/idw-godzilla-shared-universe-comics-kai-sei-era

[4] "Godzilla: The Monster Comic Art Collection". Penguin Random House.

[Era-5] Ford, Mike (2014). Godzilla: The IDW Era. IDW Publishing.

[6] [Soundout@ACE2012] Godzilla Panel w/ Matt Frank

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IDW Publishing

Contents

Selected publications

Ongoing series

Limited series

One-shots and original graphic novels

Miscellaneous

Gallery

Trivia

External links

See also

References

Comments

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