| Twisted Kaiju Theater | |
|---|---|
| [[ ]] | |
| Author(s) | Sean "Shin-Goji" McGuinness |
| Website | http://www.neomonsterisland.com |
| Current status/schedule | Updates Mondays & Fridays, frequent "bonus-comics" on Wednesdays |
| Launch date | August 11, 2000 [1] |
| Genre(s) | Comedy/Drama/Action |
Twisted Kaiju Theater or TKT is a web comic by Sean "Shin-Goji" McGuinness. McGuinness was inspired by a humorous photo comic-strip appearing in Toyfare: The Toy Magazine, Twisted Mego Theater (now renamed "Twisted Toyfare Theatre"). Like these strips, McGuinness poses and takes photos of figures in his personal vinyl/action figure collection in bizarre situations, with added dialogue bubbles.
Quite often, the subject matter of TKT is not for children; in fact, the webcomic has a self-imposed NC-17 rating, and Shin-Goji is unapologetic in his take on controversial topics and use of language most would consider offensive.
TKT is divided into fifty-episode seasons, and is currently on season 17. It has been running for 5 years as of August 11th, 2005. Shin-Goji also maintains another web comic similar to TKT: Ultimate Hero-Lix, a series of one-panel cartoons using WizKids Heroclix figures.
The site is also popular for its "Kaiju Girl" page; which features humanoid female versions of famous Kaiju monsters (mostly Toho Studio's famous creations, like Godzilla, King Ghidora, and Mothra) in sexual poses (another reason for the NC-17 rating). It should be noted that McGuinness does not draw the Kaiju Girls. They are gifts and commisions from a series of different artists.
Plot
TKT depicts the goings-on on Neo-Monster Island, an island nation of daikaiju (giant monster). The characters are represented by kaiju toys in McGuinness' collection; Shin-Goji himself is a super-deformed Godzilla.
Storylines in the comic have included Shin-Goji's convention visits (the most recent being [[2]]), a "takeover" by Yahoo!, a second takeover attempt, a quest to reshoot a lost episode, and a number of invasions by bootlegs and a Bionicle warlord.
Style
The art of TKT is done by juxtaposing photos of kaiju figures into backgrounds also primarily generated from photos. This style has alternately been called photocollage, photocomics or fumetti. Other webcomics that utilize this style include Alien Loves Predator and Nukeland Cinema.
The first comic featured what would become a running gag in the series: Lemon Sours.
Availability
Characters
Since the comic is a platform to creatively display McGuinness' vinyl/action figure collection, there are various kaiju, mecha, bionicle, comic and anime characters who make appearances within the comic. These characters may only make one appearance in an episode or throughout several storylines and are known for occasional colourful expletives, such as "Mongolian Butt Monkey" and "Sweet Monkey Jesus." However, the main cast of TKT represents Shin-Goji and his friends, collectively known as the Toxic Pirates: ===Shin-Goji=== The Bootlegger. Shin-Goji founded Neo-Monster Island on August 11th, 2000. From his lair of bootleg vinyl and molested theater exclusives, he has waged a one-man war against the world of Godzilla Fandom and web comics in general. ===Space Hojo=== The Ghost Writer. Space Hojo is Shin-Goji's long suffering roomate. A true soul brother, he'd much rather listen to some Led Zepplin or Steely Dan than torture his delicate ears with the crap spewn out over the radio, especially rap and pop. Space Hojo contributes heavily to the development of Twisted Kaiju Theater. ===Mogeura Marius=== The Wheelman. Bidibidibidi! Another of Shin-Goji's friends reduced to Twikki from Buck Rogers. Also a long-suffering victim of Shin-Goji's bullshit, he buries himself in his Taekwondo, his motorcycle, and his vinyl women. ===Grendel=== The Smuggler. This voodoo lovin', tequila drinkin' Stormtrooper in one of the best miniature painters around. This guy is a bigger lecher than any of the other Toxic Pirates, and will probably end up in jail long before Shin-Goji does. By the way, he really does hate it when you ask him, "Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?" ===C-Ball Sleazeball=== The Married Man. Life has not been kind to C-Ball. Already saddled with the burden of being associated with Shin-Goji, C-Ball is also a husband and a father. He's had to give up his days of punk rock and Danzig worship, but he's traded them in for a glorious sunset of Slim Shady and Marshall Mathers. No clowns down here. Since he's married, he also gets laid more than any of the other Toxic Pirates combined. ===Spidersense=== The Spirit Warrior. God-loving man, walks the path of faith, rocks hard to Dokken. He's an oddity on the sometimes blasphemous island of Twisted Kaiju Theater, but watches over Shin-Goji and friends to make sure they don't stray too far. He also plays Mini-Heroes with the Toxic Pirate crew. ===Thor=== The Manga Fanboy. Don't ask where his hammer is. You won't be original. Thor is the resident manga artist of Neo-Monster Island and has a "special" store of rare artist's ink. As a major artist in Antartic Press, he helped Twisted Kaiju Theater see actual publication!