King Kong (comics)
King Kong in comics | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Various |
Main character(s) | King Kong |
Creative team | |
Created by | Various |
Throughout the decades King Kong has been featured in numerous comic book publications from numerous publishers.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6e/Kk68.jpg/220px-Kk68.jpg)
RKO comic strips
In 1933,
The King Kong Show
A mini-story (called "Kong Joins the Circus") which was based on the King Kong from The King Kong Show was published in the one-shot comic America's Best TV Comics by Marvel Comics in 1967.[6]
In Japan, the cartoon version of King Kong appeared in a comic strip in issue #34 of the Japanese magazine
1960s/1970s Mexican King Kong comics
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e7/KingkongMexico.jpg/150px-KingkongMexico.jpg)
From 1965 to 1969 a Mexican comic company called Editorial Orizaba published a series based on King Kong.[10][11][12] The series was published with fully painted color covers, but with sepia and white interior artwork. A new issue was published every Wednesday and the series would run 185 issues.[13] In 1972 the series was reprinted (only 118 issues) by a company called Ediciones Joma.[14][15]
In 1980 the series was reprinted yet again by a company called Ediciones Mexico. For these reprints the series was renamed The Gorilla (El Gorilla) for the first 15 issues[16] before being renamed to The Gorilla of the Jungle (El Gorilla del la Selva) when a company called Nama took over publishing.[17] The series ran to issue #131.[18][19]
The next King Kong comic from Latin America was King Kong in the Microcosmos. The publisher of the series was Editorial America. It was published in 1979 and lasted roughly 35 issues. This comic was about a group of aliens who live in the Microcosmos that are facing a war on their planet. Searching for a warrior to help them in this war, they find a gorilla being chased by a group of hunters in the macro-world. They take the gorilla and some of the hunters to their planet. After reducing the gorilla and the others to enter their micro-world, they reversed the effects making the gorilla (now called King Kong) gigantic. Kong would help them win the war.[20][21]
Gold Key Comics
King Kong the Robot
In 1964, the British comic company
Monster Comics
Monster Comics, an
It is not, in fact, based on the 1933 film, but instead on the 1932 novelization by Delos W. Lovelace, and thus differs from the movie in numerous places. Notably, the ship is called the Vastator instead of the Venture and the characters of Charlie the Chinese cook and Second Mate Briggs are absent, replaced by a character from Lovelace's novel named Lumpy. The comic also contains several scenes not found in the film, including the infamous "spider pit" scenes and extra encounters with dinosaurs by the search party. Other notable changes include the addition of a character totally original to this comic, Denham's assistant Wally, and an extended sequence of several dinosaurs joining Kong in attacking the native village.
Issues
- Part 1: Denham's Quest with cover by Dave Stevens.
- Moviemaker Carl Denham hires a down-on-her-luck woman named Ann Darrow to be the star of his latest picture. During the voyage to their destination aboard the Vastator, Ann falls in love with first mate Jack Driscoll, and is given as a sacrifice to the god of Skull Island, a giant gorilla-like ape known as Kong. The cover by Stevens depicts Ann cupped in Kong's palm.
- Part 2: Kong's Island! with cover by Tom Luth.
- Driscoll, Denham, and some of the Vastator's crew mount a rescue operation to save Ann. Instead, they find themselves fighting for their lives against Skull Island's population of fierce dinosaurs. The party fights heroically onward. Meanwhile, Kong battles a herd of dinosaurs, and then the search party catches up to him while crossing a log bridge over a chasm. The cover by Schultz and Luth shows Kong shaking the men off the log (even though this does not actually occur until the next issue).
- Part 3: Death in Devil's Chasm! with cover by William Stout.
- Kong shakes most of the sailors off the log bridge and into the chasm, where they are eaten by a swarm of giant spiders. Kong's efforts to catch Driscoll are interrupted when Ann is attacked by a large meat-eating dinosaur, an Allosaurus. Kong fights and kills the dinosaur, then picks up Ann and moves on with Driscoll in pursuit. Denham, meanwhile, is sent back for reinforcements. Stout's cover shows Kong battling a Tyrannosaurus (when it is clearly an Allosaurus in the actual story).
- Part 4: Beauty and the Beast! with cover by William Stout.
- Kong fights and kills a giant python en route to his lair atop Skull Mountain, then settles down to begin toying with his new "bride". He strips her of her clothes, leaving only her bra and panties, but is interrupted when a Pteranodon attacks. While Kong is busy with the pterosaur, Driscoll arrives and he and Ann escape together. The cover by Stout shows Kong's battle with the Pteranodon.
- Part 5: The Wrath of Kong with cover by Al Williamson, Mark Schultz, and Tom Luth.
- Driscoll and Ann return to the native village, Denham and Captain Englehorn. Denham begins plotting to capture Kong alive, betting that he will come for Ann. He is proven right, as the giant gorilla, along with a swarm of dinosaurs, attacks the village. Kong and the other prehistoric beasts are brought down with a load of gas bombs, and Denham reveals his intention to take Kong back to New York. Possibly the oddest of all the covers, Williamson, Schultz, and Luth's cover shows Kong fighting with a Plesiosaurus. While this happened in the movie, it not only does not occur in this issue, but is absent from the comic entirely.
- Part 6: The Eighth Wonder of the World with cover by Ken Steacy.
- Kong is revealed to the public in chains, but soon escapes, recaptures Ann, and runs amok throughout New York. He ultimately climbs to the top of the Obie!"
- Kong is revealed to the public in chains, but soon escapes, recaptures Ann, and runs amok throughout New York. He ultimately climbs to the top of the
Dark Horse Comics
In the 1990s,
The above book has various sketches from the planned Tarzan vs. King Kong project that never materialized. The most Dark Horse was able to do was feature King Kong in a one-page segment in the one-shot comic Urban Legends, published in 1993, that dispels the dual ending myth from the film King Kong vs. Godzilla.[35]
In 2005,
They also were able to strike a deal with Joe DeVito a year earlier, to publish an illustrated novel (in both hardcover and softcover editions with differing cover art) called Kong: King of Skull Island. This story, by Joe DeVito, was an authorized sequel to the original King Kong story, commissioned by Merian C. Cooper's estate.
Kong: King of Skull Island
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/37/Kongskull.jpg/220px-Kongskull.jpg)
Kong: King of Skull Island is an illustrated novel labeled as an authorized sequel to
An addition to the main storyline is the appearance of a new type of dinosaur species called the "deathrunners" by the natives. They are clearly evolved dromaeosaurs with an intelligence that easily surpasses that of the Venatosaurus. They are intelligent and crafty enough to create complex traps and plan strategies long beforehand. They "serve" a gigantic lone dromaeosaur named "Gaw", who was originally the beast that the Skull Islanders appeased with human sacrifices instead of Kong. She is a monstrous raptor-like theropod with some dragon-like features in her face and a flat, almost Godzilla-90's-like snout. One day, she went on a rampage and killed Kong's parents in a brutal fight, leaving him the last of his kind; the two titans grew up with a bitter hatred until Kong killed Gaw in battle and was then crowned "king" of the island, leading to the sacrifices to him currently.
Boom! Studios
From July through December 2016, Boom! Studios published a six-issue series called Kong of Skull Island.[41] Working with the Cooper estate[42] and Joe DeVito's company, the series tells the origins of King Kong and the denizens of Skull Island. The series was extended,[43][44] ultimately running 12 issues. In February 2017, Boom began reprinting the series as a three-volume trade paperback.
In October 2017, Boom! published a one-shot comic book titled Kong: Gods of Skull Island.[45]
From November 2017 to April 2018, Boom! published a six-issue crossover series with Planet of the Apes called Kong on the Planet of the Apes.[46] The series was collected as a trade paperback in October 2018.[47]
In May 2018, a one-shot comic book was published called Kong of Skull Island 2018 Special #1. The story features Vikings landing on Skull Island.[48]
Legendary Comics
From April though November 2017, Legendary Comics published a four-issue miniseries based on the film Kong: Skull Island, called Skull Island: The Birth of Kong.[49][50] In the miniseries, which acts as both a prequel and a sequel to the film, Kong's backstory and origins are revealed: his kind were killed eons ago in a brutal war with the reptilian monsters known as the Skullcrawlers when they invaded Skull Island. Kong's parents were the strongest and the last two of his race to survive, and during the final battle with the Skullcrawlers, Kong was born in the melee and sealed inside a cave to protect him by his mother. His parents died in the battle, leaving Kong an orphan and the last of his kind shortly after he was born.[51] The series was collected as a trade paperback in December.
In April 2021, Legendary Comics released Kingdom Kong, a prequel to the film Godzilla vs. Kong. The story concerns Monarch's attempts to clear a path into Skull Island's Hollow Earth portal, while lingering remains of King Ghidorah's global superstorm from Godzilla: King of the Monsters begin to move dangerously close to Skull Island's barrier storm. Monarch discovers too late that the storm is being manipulated from within the Hollow Earth caverns by Camazotz, a bat-like Titan prophesied by the Iwi to engulf their world in darkness and challenge Kong for rule over the island. Though Kong is able to defeat Camazotz and drive him back into Hollow Earth, it is too late and Skull Island's storm has engulfed the island permanently, setting the stage for Godzilla vs. Kong.
In May 2021, Legendary Comics released Monsterverse Titanthology Vol 1. This collection reprints both the Skull Island: The Birth of Kong trade along with the Godzilla: Aftershock trade from 2019.[52]
In October 2023, both Legendary Comics and DC Comics published a seven issue miniseries called Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong which features King Kong and Godzilla battling heroes from the Justice League.[53] To promote the series, both characters appeared on variant covers on other DC titles. Kong appeared on the variant covers for Detective Comics #1074,[54] Batman and Robin #2,[55] and Shazam! #4.[56] The first two issues were reprinted as Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong: Monster-Sized Edition #1 in March 2024.[57]
A graphic novel prequel to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire called Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted was released in February 2024.[58] The Kong side of the story follows Raymond Martin, a wealthy trophy hunter that poaches superspecies with the use of a mech suit. Having managed to gain access to Hollow Earth, he has his sights set on battling Kong, which proves to be his downfall.
Dynamite Comics
Devito partnered with Dynamite Entertainment to produce comic books and board games based on the property.[59] The first is a six issue series called King Kong: The Great War which started getting published in May 2023.[60]
Other appearances
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/30/Kongbluedevil.jpg/220px-Kongbluedevil.jpg)
King Kong has appeared in other comic publications as well, whether it be cameos or in mini-comic strips/adaptations (most of these are foreign publications). He had a couple of cameos in both
Outside of these major comic book companies, King Kong was featured in various smaller publications as well. In 1933, an adaptation of the original film was published in Spain in the magazine Bowling by Josep Alloza. That same year an adaptation appeared in issues #320-336 of Rin-tin-tin by Marco Publishing by Casals and Arlet.
Publications
These include:
- Anthony Browne's King Kong (art and script by ISBN 0552553840)
- Kong: King of Skull Island (art and script by ISBN 1-59582-006-X)
- King Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World (by ISBN 1-59307-472-7)
- Doc Savage: Skull Island (by Will Murray, 410 pages, softcover, 2013, ISBN 9781618271136)
See also
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