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MonsterVerse #3
Skull Island: The Birth of Kong
ABOUT THIS BOOK...
“DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH?”
As the ultimate monster icon returns to the big screen in the global blockbuster Skull Island, Legendary Comics expands the MonsterVerse with the official graphic novel prequel to the film. Discover the secrets of Kong’s mythic origins as the cryptozoological adventurers of Monarch return to the birthplace of one our world’s greatest wonders. As a journey of discovery becomes a desperate escape mission, a team of operatives will fight to survive the hidden dangers of the island – and each other.
Now available for the first time as one epic saga, join Monarch’s mission into myth, revealing the untold history of this god-like creature and the battle for survival that made him the last of his kind.
This all-new collected edition includes declassified files from the Monarch datacore, revealing expert zoological analysis of some of Skull Island’s most extraordinary florafauna.
“DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH?”
As the ultimate monster icon returns to the big screen in the global blockbuster Skull Island, Legendary Comics expands the MonsterVerse with the official graphic novel prequel to the film. Discover the secrets of Kong’s mythic origins as the cryptozoological adventurers of Monarch return to the birthplace of one our world’s greatest wonders. As a journey of discovery becomes a desperate escape mission, a team of operatives will fight to survive the hidden dangers of the island – and each other.
Now available for the first time as one epic saga, join Monarch’s mission into myth, revealing the untold history of this god-like creature and the battle for survival that made him the last of his kind.
This all-new collected edition includes declassified files from the Monarch datacore, revealing expert zoological analysis of some of Skull Island’s most extraordinary florafauna.
112 pages, Paperback
First published September 12, 2017
About the author
Arvid Nelson
303 books13 followersArvid Nelson is an American comic book writer, best known for the Rex Mundi series.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 22, 2023
Story-wise, there’s not a lot in “Skull Island: The Birth of Kong” that you haven’t already seen in a ton of other Kong-related media before: a band of characters wind up on Skull Island and are slowly picked off by the island’s deadly inhabitants one by one, yada, yada, yada. But the art, by Zid? It’s absolutely stunning – whether it’s Kong clobbering dinos, or our crew exploring ancient ruins, or even just a character examining an old photograph, there’s not a panel in these four issues that isn’t beautiful. Writer Arvid Nelson’s’s narrative doesn’t do a lot new, but when your series has art as gorgeous as this, it’s hard to complain too much. Also, the subtle tie-ins to “Kong: Skull Island” and the broader Monsterverse? Pretty cool.
November 12, 2020
Here is a prequel AND a sequel to the film Kong: Skull Island. Like the film it's a fast paced, action packed adventure that doesn't need you to engage your brain very much.
The artowrk is impressive & often better than the story itself. However, for a graphic novel about King Kong the legendary ape is absent for much of the story & that was a real shame.
The artowrk is impressive & often better than the story itself. However, for a graphic novel about King Kong the legendary ape is absent for much of the story & that was a real shame.
November 27, 2022
I will never get enough giant monsters in my reading diet. I am always on the lookout for Kong, Godzilla and other Kaiju books and graphic novels. This one did not disappoint and is a prequel to the Movie. Monarch sends people to Skull Island to try to establish what is there and they discover that everything they thought could happen was wrong. It gets way, way worse. The group ends up doing all they can to escape the place with strange creatures on their tails the entire time. They discover the final resting place of Kong's mother and father and realize that this is where they fought an army of large reptilian creatures who boiled up from below the surface. They gave their lives to ensure their small offspring could live. He became the strongest creature on the island and ends up saving the Monarch crew, allowing the few that remain to escape.
This book has a bunch of technical readouts and reports that are made to support the story given here. I found that to be really cool as it gives a little glimpse into that Monarch does to hunt and document the giant monsters on our planet.
I liked this a lot. Giv it a shot if you liked the movie, you will like this!
Danny
This book has a bunch of technical readouts and reports that are made to support the story given here. I found that to be really cool as it gives a little glimpse into that Monarch does to hunt and document the giant monsters on our planet.
I liked this a lot. Giv it a shot if you liked the movie, you will like this!
Danny
February 7, 2018
Fantastic art, basic plot, and poor characterization. Could've used more pages/issues to flesh things out. *shrug* It has giant monsters. I was entertained. Three stars.
February 26, 2024
zid’s artwork rules, kong’s backstory is heartbreaking and the surprise antagonist was pretty wild. loved it!
November 25, 2023
Beautiful art, interesting story.
Only downside is events from "Kong VS Godzilla" movie do not match well with timeline here. This has no one from Monarch on Skull Island until well after 2012. KvG movie has Skull Island domed off for years and only Kong left...
Aside from that, really enjoyed it,
Only downside is events from "Kong VS Godzilla" movie do not match well with timeline here. This has no one from Monarch on Skull Island until well after 2012. KvG movie has Skull Island domed off for years and only Kong left...
Aside from that, really enjoyed it,
April 7, 2021
Some of the best art I've ever seen in a film / media tie in before. Beautiful stuff.
If you've enjoyed the new MonsterVerse films then you will dig this Skull Island follow up.
If you've enjoyed the new MonsterVerse films then you will dig this Skull Island follow up.
July 23, 2022
This acts as a sequel to the 2017 film "Kong: Skull Island" and a prequel to the 2014 film "Godzilla"
The story of the graphic novel was okay, but it lacked the presence of Kong throughout most of the story. Instead, they focus more on the human characters and even add in some psychic visions to show what really went down between all of Kong's species and the Skull Crawlers. I did like the psychic visions to see the true past of how Kong's species went extinct leaving him the lone survivor.
I do wish that they spent more time on what Kong was up to since the events of "Kong: Skull Island" because that is what readers want to see in the story.
The human characters were okay and had enough development to understand why they acted the way they did.
The artwork was the best of the whole story as it was properly presented in the way and graphic novel with giant monsters or in this case, Titans should be. Other than that nothing else was really special about this graphic novel.
The story of the graphic novel was okay, but it lacked the presence of Kong throughout most of the story. Instead, they focus more on the human characters and even add in some psychic visions to show what really went down between all of Kong's species and the Skull Crawlers. I did like the psychic visions to see the true past of how Kong's species went extinct leaving him the lone survivor.
I do wish that they spent more time on what Kong was up to since the events of "Kong: Skull Island" because that is what readers want to see in the story.
The human characters were okay and had enough development to understand why they acted the way they did.
The artwork was the best of the whole story as it was properly presented in the way and graphic novel with giant monsters or in this case, Titans should be. Other than that nothing else was really special about this graphic novel.
March 16, 2024
To my surprise, this isn't a prequel like most tie-in comics, but a sequel to film set two decades later in the 1990s (oddly enough, the same time period as the Skull Island animated series, but there's no crossover). Being a movie tie-in comic, obviously it's nothing special, but it does what it sets out to do. We get some background info on Kong and Skull Island not seen in the movie, a few unique monsters, and a bit of connective tissue to bridge the gap between the Kong movie and Godzilla 2014. The art is the real star though. They went all out on the painted vistas, and the sense of scale regarding the monsters is genuinely excellent. That's something often difficult to do on a comic page, but this is a good example of how to do it. Though oddly, I felt the paneling was a bit stock and amateurish. I'm guessing the artist is a painter first, sequential artist second. Regardless, it's pretty.
February 24, 2021
This picks up decades after the events of Kong: Skull Island. As we see the journey that Houston's son Aaron went on, we learn more about Kong's origins. The film felt pretty shallow to me, but this story made me care about Kong. We got to see the tragedy that befell him, accompanied by the words, "He wept although there was no one to hear him. But still, he wept." And the fate of Aaron was something to really think about. This is a story about children and their parents. Plus, the art is simply gorgeous. I daresay that the creatures look much better in here than on film.
May 21, 2020
this is a great monster-verse, keep in mind you won't learn anything new about kong and its your basic story about a group of skilled soldiers landing on skull island only to get killed one by one BUT THE ART is so good! the colorful illustrations are beautiful and I enjoyed that the native people were a stronger presence.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2018
An enjoyable read. Nothing ground breaking.
July 1, 2019
The best of the Monsterverse prequels, this story sets up both the Kong mythology and the central motivation of one of the film's protagonists quite well, enriching the plot line of the movie.
March 29, 2020
This is a fun middle book between King Kong Skull Island and Kong vs Godzilla. If you’re a fan you’ll enjoy another visit to the island.
November 25, 2023
This is my favorite of the Monsterverse comics so far. Arvid Nelson spins a heartfelt and intriguing story. The declassified monster files at the back are a real treat!
May 22, 2024
Kinda out there, but ok. The monster names might be some of the dumbest they've come out with, though, even for Kaiju movie standards.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews