IDW Publishing has graciously gone to the trouble of interviewing the creative teams behind Godzilla Legends on Toho Kingdom's behalf. Below is the first in a five part series where the publisher asks the creative team of the five comics the same ten questions to compare their responses and answers. This first column deals with the creative team behind Godzilla Legends #1.

MATT FRANK (Artist, co-writer: Legends #1)

1.) If you had the chance, what Godzilla movie would you remake and why?

Matt Frank: Hmmmmm...I'm unsure if I would remake any specific Godzilla film, but if I had a choice, a cool, modern remake of King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) could be a LOT of fun. The original is a great comedic flick, but it'd be cool to try it in a modern style just for the sake of the concept.

2.) Godzilla has died. Who do you think should take his place as "King of the Monsters?"

Frank: Normally, I'd say Godzilla's son, maybe Minilla growing up and mutating into something that more resembles his "father," but another interesting idea would be Anguirus taking up the mantle. It could be akin to how Bumblebee started leading the Autobots in the Transformers ongoing series - this underdog who may not have many wins under his belt, but he's determined and feisty, definitely not one to give up. It would be great to see a bunch of monsters fighting, then little Anguirus showing up and putting them all in their place.

3.) What was the first Godzilla product you owned and do you still have it?

Frank: Hmmmm...that would probably be my 6-inch Imperial Godzilla, which I received before I even saw any of the films! One of my favorite memories is having it while going with my parents to a restaurant when I was very young, and this restaurant had a kids' area in the back of the property. In that area, there was a giant, inflatable "Godzilla," like the props that car dealerships use to promote sales. I sat at his feet, holding my little Godzilla, and was just in awe, since it was the biggest thing my little five-year-old brain had ever beheld.

4.) Godzilla should return to (blank).

Frank: Gonna' have to be more specific! It doesn't really feel like Godzilla should have to "return" to anything. Toho's doing a good job of keeping any new incarnations true to the classic interpretation...but if anything, I'd like to see a "return" to some of the wackiness of the Showa era (1950's-70's) when there was a wide range of crazy ideas that writers like Shinichi Sekizawa were pumping out en masse.

5.) What fiction-turned-reality terrifies you more, giant monsters or zombies?

Frank: Hmmmm...that's a good one, because both represent very real, primal fears. Monsters represent being insignificant, being powerless, and zombies represent civilization dying and, in effect, turning on itself. However, a giant monster is a bit more of an adventurous situation, because the threat in centrally focused, so a battle plan can be devised. Zombies are a plague that infect a wide radius of influence, and it becomes a battle of attrition. I'd say that zombies "scare" me more, but in the face of a 30-story behemoth, I think I'd be plenty scared regardless!

6.) What was the most challenging aspect of creating your issue of 'Legends'?

Frank: Probably finding the right balance of compelling human drama to go with the monster action. Jeff Prezenkowski and I were both laser-focused on trying to make our human characters likable and compelling, not just walking mouthpieces that spout exposition between monster fights.

7.) What was the most fun part of the process for you?

Frank: Drawing the monsters, of course! It's always a thrill to find a new, cool angle to draw a kaiju, to really get a feel for how they move and act and express emotion without words. Also, explosions.

8.) Is there anything you wish you could have done differently?

Frank: Definitely could have used more pages, but them's the breaks! You've got to use the resources you're given.

9.) What do YOU want to see from future Godzilla comics? From the upcoming new movie?

Frank: From the comics? More exploration of the Godzilla universe. Aliens, ancient gods, undersea civilizations, south seas island babes, you name it!
From the movie? A good story and a REAL Godzilla. Icing on the cake would be exploring the angle of the helplessness of the humans, who, instead of just shooting at their problems, find a more clever, but costly, way to vanquish the monster (or monsters).

10.) Who's your favorite monster?

Frank: I have a soft spot for Varan. C'mon, he's an ancient demigod-reptile-flying-squirrel!

JEFF PREZENKOWSKI (co-writer: Legends #1)

1.) If you had the chance, what Godzilla movie would you remake and why?

Jeff Prezenkowski: Destroy All Monsters (1968) because I'm a sucker for having every Toho monster loose in cities around the world and then all coming together for the climax. I know Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) was sort of a psuedo remake/homage but I don't count Godzilla sprinting through monster battles with multiple monsters and no climactic battle royal with ALL the monsters as a true remake.

2.) Godzilla has died. Who do you think should take his place as "King of the Monsters?"

Prezenkowski: King Kong. But I'm talking '33 Kong (or '05 Kong), not Toho's Kong. Now granted if '33 Kong had to tangle with anything out of Toho's monster menagerie, he'd pretty much just get squashed. But I love me some Kong and in my eyes, he's the only one worthy of the throne after Godzilla has gone belly up.

3.) What was the first Godzilla product you owned and do you still have it?

Prezenkowski: Oh wow, that's tough since I've loved Godzilla for as long as I can remember so it's hard to pinpoint exactly which product that I owned as a kid was first. My first memory of a Godzilla toy is probably of the getting Mattel's Shogun Warrior Godzilla for Christmas. I couldn't have been more than 3 or 4 years old but I very distinctly remember carrying that thing around with me everywhere that year.

4.) Godzilla should return to (blank).

Prezenkowski: The big screen! And I'm talking Japanese/Toho too.

5.) What fiction-turned-reality terrifies you more, giant monsters or zombies?

Prezenkowski: You know it's funny, I've actually had nightmares that entail both of these scenarios. I think the giant monsters ones have scared me out of sleep more often because I'm always trapped in a building that's being demolished by a monster and there's never any escape. Zombies, you can shoot and they don't cause you to be crushed under falling debris.

6.) What was the most challenging aspect of creating your issue of 'Legends'?

Prezenkowski: Keeping the human character's story as compelling as the monster story/action. As a giant monster fan, there's nothing worse to me than having to sit through boring human interactions in between monster battles. Hopefully, we succeeded in keeping the reader just as riveted when there aren't any monsters on the page.

7.) What was the most fun part of the process for you?

Prezenkowski: Definitely getting to play with Toho monsters in pairings that haven't been seen before.

8.) Is there anything you wish you could have done differently?

Prezenkowski: Even after the issue has been sent off to the printer (and I've already read over it a dozen times) there's still always lines of dialogue that I find I wish I could change or lose.

9.) What do YOU want to see from future Godzilla comics? From the upcoming new movie?

Prezenkowski: From the comics, I'd love to see even more of Toho's monsters make it from screen to page. From the upcoming movie, I want a great monster vs monster battle set amongst a a really compelling human character story. Something that can be appreciated by both monster and non-monster fans alike. And you know, actually have it be Godzilla this time (cough, cough...'98 giant lizard movie)!

10.) Who's your favorite monster?

Prezenkowski: Well Godzilla of course and I already mentioned Kong. But after them, I'm all about Gigan.

MATT FRANK AND
JEFF PREZENKOWSKI

The creative team behind Godzilla Legends #1. Matt Frank, artist and co-writer, has been working with IDW Publishing on their Transformers and most recently their Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters series, doing the character focused covers.

Jeff Prezenkowski, who co-wrote the first issue, has been active in various forms on animated projects. He has worked for Cartoon Network, Hasbro and most recently Warner Brothers Animation as a writer, director and manager.

Date:	11/17/2011
Interviewer:	IDW Publishing

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