Japanese Giants
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''Japanese Giants'' was a
kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju'' ...
(giant monster)
fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...
with an emphasis on Japanese monsters, such as
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
. The first issue was published in 1974 by Stephen Mark Rainey and publication continued under different editors until 2004.


History

''Japanese Giants'' was inspired by the fanzine ''Japanese Fantasy Film Journal'' (JFFJ), edited and published by Greg Shoemaker. Shoemaker has been credited with founding American Godzilla fandom. ''Japanese Giants'' was the second fanzine to be published on the genre. Fifteen year-old Stephen Mark Rainey published the first issue of ''Japanese Giants'' in 1974. Rainey was also the editor. Offset printed, the 18 page issue revolved around the first half of a filmbook of ''
Destroy All Monsters is a 1968 Japanese epic ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects directed by Sadamasa Arikawa and supervised by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film, which was produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, is the ninth film in the ''G ...
''. Other articles included ''
Ultraman The , also known as ''Ultraman'', is a Japanese science fiction media franchise owned and produced by Tsuburaya Productions, which began with the television series '' Ultra Q'' in 1966. The franchise has expanded into many television shows, fi ...
'', ''
Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot , also known as ''Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot'' in the United States, is a manga and tokusatsu series created by Mitsuteru Yokoyama. It is similar to Yokoyama's ''Tetsujin 28-go'' (known as ''Gigantor'' in the U.S.), but ''Giant Robo'' has ...
'' by Tom Murdock, as well photos and art by Rainey, Chuck Neely, and Robert Cox. ''Japanese Giants'' issue one was a clear expression of Rainey's love of the genre, but was not financially successful. Bradford Grant Boyle took over the fanzine with issue two. Also 15, he had previously published other fanzines including Sci-Fi. Issue two had a more professional look but still obviously a fanzine. The cover was two-color offset on glossy paper, with ''Destroy All Monsters'' drawn by Tim Johnson. Boyle printed issue two at his East High School graphics class. A fanzine budget was often very small and bootstrapping was a necessity. The contents included the conclusion of the ''Destroy All Monsters'' filmbook by Stephen Mark Rainey, "The Day of
Daiei , based in Kobe, Hyōgo, is one of the largest supermarket chains in Japan. In 1957, Isao Nakauchi founded the chain in Osaka near Sembayashi Station on the Keihan train line. Daiei is now under a restructuring process supported by Marubeni ...
" by Tony Picariello, "Kappa: Terror from the Deep" by Stephen Mark Rainey, and an Aurora Ghidrah Model review by Bradford G. Boyle. Like Rainey, Boyle took a financial bath until ''
Famous Monsters of Filmland ''Famous Monsters of Filmland'' is an American film genre, genre-specific List of film periodicals, film magazine, started in 1958 by publisher James Warren (publisher), James Warren and editor Forrest J Ackerman. ''Famous Monsters of Filmland ...
'' mentioned ''Japanese Giants'' in an issue. ''Japanese Giants'' issue 3 had a cover by Bill Gudmundson. Contents included film news, monster sizes by Bill Gudmundson, part one of the
Mothra is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's '' 1961 film of the same name'', produced and distributed by Toho. Mothra has appeared in several Toho ''tokusatsu'' films, often as a recur ...
filmbook, by Tony Picariello, "Godzillla! Coincidence or Allegory" by
Peter H. Brothers
The issue was 32 pages, offset printed. Issue four featured a cover of
Mothra is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's '' 1961 film of the same name'', produced and distributed by Toho. Mothra has appeared in several Toho ''tokusatsu'' films, often as a recur ...
by Tim Johnson. The interior of the issue was printed with a Xerox machine. Published in September, 1977, the issue was 34 pages. Contents included an Editorial by Brad Boyle, readers' letters, monster footprint chart by Bill Gudmundson,
Rodan is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's 1956 film of the same name, produced and distributed by Toho. Following its debut standalone appearance, Rodan went on to be featured in numer ...
model review by Peter H. Brothers, '' Yusha Raideen'', an analysis of the cartoon series by Dan Briggs, ''Ultra 7'' by Diego Agbayani, '' Godzilla vs. Megalon'' / '' Bionic Monster'' by Stephen Mark Rainey, reviews of the Marvel Godzilla comic issues #1–3, and the conclusion of the Mothra filmbook by Dan Murray. Ed Godziszewski took control of the fanzine after Boyle. Issue five's cover of Godzilla was drawn by Godziszewski, and contained features on '' Revenge of MechaGodzilla'', '' Latitude Zero'', and '' The War in Space''. Issue six was focused on Rodan with a cover by Gudmundson. The ''Japanese Giants'' webpage is no longer active but can be accessed vi
archive.org
A gallery of cover images of all the ''Japanese Giants'' issues may be found at original editor Mark Rainey's blog site

The fanzine ceased publication in 2004 with its tenth issue, marking thirty years since Rainey's efforts. Godziszewski carried his passion into writing multiple books, and contributing to several
Classic Media DreamWorks Classics is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded as Classic Media in 2000 by Eric Ellenboge ...
movies' commentary. Because of the age and limited print runs, early issues are rare. The University of Iowa has issue four in their collection.aspace.lib.uiowa.edu
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References

{{reflist Science fiction fanzines Kaiju 2004 disestablishments in the United States 1974 establishments in Utah