An epic new kaiju story arrives in January 2025, vii Behemoth Tell the story of what it’s like to be ate By a gigantic monster. Described as a “The Story of David vs. Goliath,” Behemoth will follow a group of bus passengers who find themselves literally inside a Godzilla-sized monstrosity after their subway car is devoured whole. now, They will have to take on the ferocious kaiju from within To have no hope of survival.
Behemoth brings together two writers with immense experience writing kaiju stories, with Ryan Engle (writer of 2018’s Giant Ape Movie Rampage) and Grant Sputore, the director of an upcoming film set in Godzilla x Kongs Monsterverse. However, this time they are not after the giant monster, but the people who have to push to survive his hired appetite. The four-issue series comes from Dark Horse Comics.
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Behemoth #1 (2025) |
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Release date: |
January 15, 2025 |
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writer: |
Grant Sputore & Ryan Engle |
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Artist: |
Jay Martin |
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writer: |
Frank Kvetkovic |
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When a giant monster attacks a city and swallows a bus full of civilians, one woman must fight for her life. Trapped in the huge beast, Sara and her fellow bus passengers soon find that they are not alone. But what dangers lie in the belly of the beast? And who – or what – will they have to fight to survive? |
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Co-writer Grant Sputore says the project was dreamed up by imagining a kaiju destroying a city in 2022, only to realize with surprise that the concept had never existed before. Sputor says:
Being a lifelong kaiju fan, I often find myself imagining giant monsters rampaging through whatever city I happen to be in. Enjoying such a vision, back in 2022, I found myself struck by a thought: “How come we’ve had 70 years of giant monster movies, but no one has ever told the story of the poor souls trapped in a subway car like this.” Being eaten by a kaiju?’ Since then, I’ve been on a long journey to bring the David vs Goliath story to life, with the help of Ryan and Jay’s boundless genius. Recently, I’ve been invited to play in Legendary’s Monsterverse, which is clearly a dream come true True for a kaiju fan like me – but for those interested, my first foray into the world of kaiju storytelling can be found in the wild pages of BEHEMOTH.
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Co-writer Ryan Engle warns readers to expect a “claustrophobic” story, completely flipping the usual logic of a kaiju destroying a city. English says:
I’ve spent my entire film career crafting claustrophobic action-thrillers, from Non-Stop to BEAST. BEHEMOTH takes this sub-genre to a new level in a way we’ve never seen before.
The idea of a group of heroes trying to escape from a kaiju has a lot to offer. For example, while survival is on their mind, they can Fantastic Voyage-esque mission actually help bring the monster to its knees? And as the government prepares to fight back against the kaiju’s rampage, what will a military response mean for the people trapped in its stomach? Artist Jay Martin (Lost boy) shared his enthusiasm for the project, saying:
Grant and Ryan’s concept for turning a kaiju story literally inside-out is mind-blowing. As soon as I heard it, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of.
Kaiju storytellers have often struggled to incorporate human stories into their depictions of giant monsters, often because the scale of a kaiju is not reflected by a single human’s experience. Behemoth has seemingly found the answer in the last way anyone would have expected – by trapping its human characters inside the titular monster and taking them along for the ride.
Behemoth #1 Coming from Dark Horse January 15, 2025.