Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

I realize many of you out there think G-Fan is worthless...but you have GOT to see this issue!

Although I've only flipped through this issue, I haven't seen much, if any, Kaneko-bashing this time around. The cover is a well-done drawing of Godzilla 2000 preying on a submarine, by Jim Strate. There are your usual news reports, mostly regarding GFW and Akira Ifukube's 90th birthday.
There's an article titled "Box Office Blast for Godzilla", talking about Rialto's release of the original Japanese version of G54, followed by an article by the always-wonderful Allen E. Debus. After that, there's an article on Teruyoshi Nakano and his work, with the accurate title "Mr. Explosion".
Here's where things get...weird. There's an article by JD about DVD recommendations. The thing is, the first one is the G-Fest X DVD, followed by...Lost in Space. And the Universal Monsters set. Such an article is out-of-place here and should have been reserved. Then there is Armand Vaquer's article about daikaiju and the U.S. There are a couple articles by Mike Bogue as well.
But oh my goodness, THIS IS THE WHOLE POINT of getting this issue: "The Unofficial Godzilla Addendum", done exactly in the style of the old Compendium but chronicling the newest films! You have got to see it, it's simply incredible.
Then there is the always-welcome Globe Meter article. Krieg Der Infras, Kikaida, Sea Dragons (a book), Jack and the Witch, and some random comments along with the R4 DVD of Destroy All Monsters/Godzilla vs the Cosmic Monster.
Then there's the "Godzilla's Ancient Origins" article by Jerry Petersen, which I haven't read yet, the crappy "Down With Us" comic, and the Letters section. After all this, there's the G-Fan Publications of Note, a Kaiju Quotations quiz, and an interesting article called Weird Godzilla Stills. This has some very funny and very interesting images, including one of Minya shaking hands with the island girl from Son of Godzilla (!!). Oh, and one of Ghidorah carrying Minya in his jaws. Always good.
Finishing up, there's "Godzilla's Serious Side" by JD, some stories, another crappy comic book, then "Godzilla's Ray: Frequency of Use".
There are some stories spread throughout this issue as well.

At the moment I give this issue of G-Fan an 8.5 out of 10. But my score will probably change once I settle down to read it.

^^

WOW! How massive is this issue!? lol

Anyway, I can't wait to see the Unofficial Addendum as I've always been a fan of the style the Compendium was done in, despite its many flaws.

Meh. the stills article and the addendum are the only things that sound like they are worth my time. I wish they'd get rid of the lame filler comic books. does ANYBODY read those? OR even bother to glance at them?

Well, it still sounds better than the last issue. The only thing in there that was worth reading was the 1 page article on Toho's Gransazers series and that was only one page.

This issue is 99 pages long, an incredible amount for G-Fan.
And whoops, I found some bashing in the Annendum's 'review' of GMK. It's the same things he said in his last editorial. Heh.
Aaaand, I found JD ratting on GFW too, in his editorial. He was concerned about the infamous 'sterotyping' scene being too much for a G-film, the Gigan and Monster X designs, and a couple other things as well. I don't necessarily blame him for it; they are valid concerns at this point. Well, we'll just have to see.

My score has changed a little bit because of it. I now give this issue an 8.0 out of 10.