Kaijumax is something else. It’s so uncomfortable. This issue’s entirely about the corrupt prison guards exploiting the prisoners. Oh, and there’s something with the giant goat monster being in tune with the mountains. It’s unclear where it’s going to go. And there’s a little with the protagonist kaiju bonding with one of the okay prison guards.
But it’s mostly just the bad Ultraman guy shaking down prisoners and abusing them, all while the humans joke about sending them to extinction. And Cannon’s art is so jovial and friendly, it makes Kaijumax such an uncomfortable read.
Cannon’s almost entirely past the “Monster Island as a prison” gimmick just because the evil acts of the humans does so much to, well, humanize the monsters. They’re not just caricatures, the personalities he’s giving them are rather affecting.
The issue doesn’t have much of an ending, which would be nice. It’s still real good.
CREDITS
Ten Thousands Years to Life; writer, artist and letterer, Zander Cannon; editor, Charlie Chu; publisher, Oni Press.
My friend summed up Kaijumax for me before I read it. Monster Island is a maximum security prison. Ultraman is the guard. He neglected to tell me there was bickering between classes of monster, silly cameos from an Aliens alien and a whole bunch of Mecha-Godzillas. Because Zander Cannon loves this stuff. It’s clear. He loves it.