What do you get when you put Gatsby, Sherlock Holmes, the Time Machine’s main character, and more literary characters and mix them up with Godzilla? You get GODZILLA’S MONSTERPIECE THEATRE.

This unique graphic novel, written and drawn by Tom Scioli, is my newest review book from Net Galley. I read it on Net Galley’s Reader on their website and before going into my feelings about the book, I just want to say this was not the best way to read this book. The Net Galley Reader is very good for regular books but its lacks proper zoom and page expansions that make reading graphics novels comfortable. I hope Net Galley will work to improve the graphic novel aspect of their e-reader. That said, I still enjoyed the heck out of Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theatre!

The core concept of his book, teaming up Gatsby with Sherlock Holmes and more is absolutely ridiculous, campy, corny, and a complete joy. This is a wonderful book that you have to go on a ride with. You can’t over think whats happening. Just sit back and enjoy this story. And most of all, enjoy Tom Scioli’s artwork which is completely jaw-dropping. The big two-page splash pages didn’t work well digitally and I think would be amazing in physical form.

Honestly if you are going to get this book, make sure you get a physical copy! You are going to want to hold this book in your hands. The splash pages are amazing. But also panel to panel you don’t know what to expect. The book panels twist and turn, the coloring changes are masterful and the amount of detail packed into this book is breathtaking. The story is a lot of fun, but I do truly believe that is the artwork that makes this book a masterpiece. Oh I’m sorry, a MONSTERPIECE.

As a fan of Godzilla, I got plenty of awesome fights, destruction, and cool moments with the big guy. It was also fun to see how Gatsby, Holmes and more react to the situation. This book is such a treat. I loved every second of it.

Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theatre is so much fun!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing a digital copy of this book for review. Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theatre will release on July 22nd, 2025. Hey thats one day before my birthday! GODZILLA FOREVER

Godzilla's Monsterpiece Theatre was unhinged chaos featuring several classic lit characters. It was over the top and crazy. I loved it. The classic comic art style was really fun and the incorporation of so many famous characters was really entertaining. I was nervous based on the description of this book, but I do recommend it to people who are interested in genre-blending to the extreme.

This is like a mushroom-fueled fever dream and I adored it. It's just too weird to dislike! The art is fantastic and very evocative of early comics. As many others have remarked, this feels like a lighter version of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. But with Godzilla. Scioli also did a great job parodying F. Scott Fitzgerald's prose and he really leaned into Daisy's inability to commit to ... literally anything.

My thanks to NetGalley and IDW Publishing for an advance copy of this graphic novel that tells a story of a man who in his quest to win back the love of his life, takes on the King of all Monsters, with a cast of characters that are drawn from the real world, and the world of imagination.

My father always said I was reading cartoons from birth pulling the weekend funnies out of his hand the first Sunday I was home from the hospital and just looking at the colorful pages in joy. As such I have seen things many can't imagine, though I don't think I could have imagined this story even with Hunter S. Thompson drug filled Cadillac. Usually one knows what to expect from Intellectual Property comics. Fan-service. The characters do what they are known for destroy cities, fight the Empire, the story begins, ends and a pleasant time is had by all. I'm not sure what blackmail material Tom Scioli has on the owners of Godzilla, but it most the some horrible stuff. For that is the only reason I could think of allowing Scioli to do what he has done. Crafted the most outrageous, intriguing, and mix-of-character stories about a giant lizard, a world-renowned detective, a self-made millionaire, in a story that is pure city wrecking havoc, and about the strength of the human heart. Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theatre by written and illustrated by Tom Scioli take Godzilla to new places, which he destroys, pursued by a mix of characters mostly gentleman, with one extraordinary lady.

This is a hard comic to try and summerize so I won't write spoilers, I promise. Honestly I could write a thousand words and not touch on some of the weirdness present. The time is 1922, and the man known as Jay Gatsby is ignoring the party going on in his massive estate, as he stares across the water at the house occupied by the only woman he has loved. The party is interrupted by something rising from the depths, 30 stories high breathing fire, and reducing his mansion and guests to ash. Jay and his companion Nick cross the water, saving Daisy, Jay's love, but are swamped by the creature, taking Daisy away. Jay wants revenge on this huge creature, turning to Thomas Edison for help in developing weapons to fight this King of All Monsters. Daisy is found, but New York is lost, the creature turning towards Europe. For allies Jay approaches the world's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes. Joined by the man known only as the Time Machinest and others Jay leads the efforts to save the Earth, but other forces work in the shadows, for they also have plans for the one known as Godzilla.

I can say this is like no other Godzilla story. I don't know how Scioli got this passed, but what a great story. I wish more owners of IP's would not be afraid of making fans write mean letters, and stop giving fans what they want, give them what they need. Comics needs more stories like this. One does have to know who the characters are, both fictional and nonfictional. And maybe there are too many to keep track of. However the story is rollicking and never really slows down. Godzilla destroys lots of cities, blows a lot of smoke and does some bad wrestling. No flying drop kicks, but I don't want to ruin anything. I love that a lot of dialogue is adapted from the works the characters came from, mainly in the first issue. A lot of work went into this, one can tell, and love. The art I enjoyed. A washed out look befitting black and white, and the way we look at the past. Godzilla is seen seldom, eyes, tail, fire, until near the end, which I liked, giving Godzilla a sense of scope and majesty.

I really loved this story, one I couldn't tell where it was going, nor who might appear next. I can't recommend this enough, and wish that more publishers allowed their writers this kind of leeway in writing the same old characters. New can be good. This is the first thing I have read by Tom Scioli, but I will be looking for more after I finish this review.

I figured this was in my wheelhouse with Gatsby, Sherlock Holmes and The Time Machinist all taking on the Big G but it ended up being even better and more Wold Newtonian than I could have possibly imagined.

Special Thanks to IDW Publishing and Netgalley for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.