#tyrantis terror

[tyrantisterror]

A Hundred Some New ATOM Kaiju Pt. 3

In this part of the ATOM unfinished kaiju showcase, we're going to focus on a bunch of very similar designs that are all for the same arc: Tyrantor in Love.

In this story, we followed Tyrantor, the son of Tyrantis. It's the 1970's, and the young tyrannopyrodon is finally fully grown and experiencing the mating instinct for the first time. So he descends into the Yamaneon tunnel system in hopes of finding others of his kind.

Early in his journey he runs into two males of his species - Sharp Eye and Blue Brute (the story takes place away from human eyes, so most of the kaiju in it would have names based on what Tyrantor finds notable about them rather than the melodramatic portmanteau names that are standard for ATOM). In sharp contrast to the rivalry that formed between Tyrantis and The Terror, the three young male tyrannopyrodons quickly become friends and decide to explore the tunnels together, figuring it's safer and also will make their scent stronger and easier for others of their kind to follow.

The trio eventually find an enormous cavern filled with other retrosaur kaiju, including more tyrannopyrodons. There is a couple of older adults - Black Queen and Gold King - who have traveled here to shepherd their eldest daughter, Pale Gaze, who like Tyrantor has just reached maturity. They also have a younger son, Sparky, who's pubescent but not quite fully grown, and an adolescent daughter, Small Crown, who is by far the most imperious of the tyrannopyrodons despite her small size and young age.

(Yeah, Black Queen and Gold King lucked out spectacularly as kaiju go, as having this many viable young, all within a few years of each other, is pretty improbable given how kaiju reproduction goes.)

A final four tyrannopyrodons arrive, all female. Largest of them all is Big Quiet, who is uncharacteristically shy and docile for a female of their species. Then there's the punk trio: Gore queen, the de-facto leader, Murder Maw, the most brutal of the three and the one who's been in so many battles that she actually bears scars (again, a rare thing for kaiju given their biology), and finally Bright Hide, who is so named because she has brightly colored scales that are more often sported by male tyrannopyrodons (females tend to have duller color schemes), and who has a dynamic, energetic disposition to match her masculine-by-her-species'-standards color scheme.

All of the tyrannopyrodons in this are *loosely* inspired by various real world tyrannosaurs. To elaborate:

Sharp Eye = Bistahieversor Blue Brute = Daspletosaurus (one of the more robustly built tyrannosaurs) Black Queen = Tarbosaurus (a large Asian tyrannosaur) Gold King = Zhuchengtyrannus (another large Asian tyrannosaur) Pale Gaze = Gorgosaurus (gorgon, gaze, eh?) Sparky = Albertosaurus Small Crown = the now-almost-definitely-proven-to-just-be-a-juvenile-t.rex Nanotyrannus Big Quiet = Nanuqsaurus (polar bear lizard, big pale tyrannopyrodon) Gore Queen = Lythronax (the Gore King) Murder Maw = Teratophoneus (the Murder Monster) Bright Hide, who would at one point be called a "dynamic terror" in the story = Dynamoterror

[quinnred]

MOGUL: THE U.F.O. MIMIC

Name: MOGUL Aliases: The Shell, flying saucer , U.F.O. , Holothuria Resplendent , Patera Volans Date Discovered: July 7th, 1956 Place of Origin: Pacific Ocean Notable Stomping Grounds: Pacific Ocean, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Roswell, Akron, Leary Height: 60ft tall (flat) , 80 ft tall (expanded) Width: 100 ft wide (120 ft long when extended) Biology: When the MOGUL was first spotted spinning through the skies of America, it was immediately identified as an alien spacecraft by civilian and military witnesses. The object was too fast to be seen easily or photographed clearly. Jets could barely tail it, and even if they got close the heat of it’s own jet propulsion produced a molten aura that eliminated anything near it. Truly this alien threat seemed unstoppable. It was only through test of chemical traces in the air that hints of it’s true nature were realized. Gases emitting from the creature were similar to the digestive byproduct of large animals... The full truth was revealed when the U.F.O. made land fall in Washington and an Ambassador was sent to attempt communication with potential neighbors from the stars. Instead the MOGUL expanded into a sphere, it’s armor parting to show the soft tissue between. A large tendril like structure emerged, as if to taste the air, and was misunderstood as an alien pilot by the Ambassador who attempted a hand shake, only to be rejected as the “tongue” receded into the sphere and the body rolled over him towards an unknown goal. The MOGUL sphere would stop at a previously undiscovered Yamaneon tunnel and begin to elongate it’s body. This is when observing scientist theorized that MOGUL was a form of Yamaneon evolved Holothurian, aka a sea cucumber. MOGUL’s elopngated body would act as a drill and dig into the Yamaneon deposit’s below, releasing great bouts of radiation. Once it reached the yamaneon, it’s “tongue” began to root and feed on the material, as it’s organs emerged and bloated from the other side of it’s body, filling with both sustenance and digestive gases to likely fuel it’s next flight. The creature was vulnerable at this moment, with it’s delicate organs inflating like air balloons, but radiation made approach dangerous, and it was unknown how large the explosion of such a gaseous creature would be if punctured. It seemed that this creature couldnt be dealt with, that is until a question arised: Why here and not anywhere else? A theory: all known life requires water, and this creature is of an aquatic descent and thus needs water especially. It came for Yammaneon here, likely to avoid competition or predation, and must rely on reserves within it’s body to survive here. Perhaps it chose this spot because of a reservoir around the deposit it’s eating. So if we want it to leave, we must dry it out, and to dry it out we must drain the water. The theory was put into motion, as agents and miners followed the MOGUL’s path and discovered the reservoir. Through demolition it was drained away from the MOGUL, and absorbent materials along with many pounds of sodium to further dry the area. The effort proved worth it, and the MOGUL was successfully evicted from the tunnel and left Washington for another feeding ground were the tactic would be repeated until MOGUL returned to the sea. Was it the only member of it’s species? Unlikely, as U.F.O. sightings still occur, and most of those are likely a MOGUL. In each Yamaneon reservoir touched by MOGUL, reproductive material is found in the water, so it appears there are attempts to at least make more MOGUL. Personality: MOGUL dosent show off much of a personality, as it’s migration is difficult to observe and it’s objectives are rather simple. MOGUL does hate dryness on land, although can resist great heat and cold in it’s flying form as the armor protects it. MOGUL prefer wetter areas for feeding and reproduction. MOGUL often avoids a fight if possible, although it can deliver a hefty ram at full speed flight or roll, but these attacks are more hit and run rather than a full brawl. If caught in a conflict too long or difficult, MOGUL will latch and drop one of it’s tongues on to an opponent and leave it to blind and entangle them, before the tongue it self bloats with excess gas and exploded violently. MOGUL appears generally very unaware of other living things, even each other, although colonies cluster together in the sea tunnels for safety. This kaiju was made for @tyrantisterror ‘s “ Revenge of the ATOM Kaiju Contest “

[kiryuthechimera]

This image wouldn’t leave my mind until I made it.

@tyrantisterror

[glarnboudin]

Tiratola, the Long-Tailed Terror!

Aliases: the Dragon of Etna, the Serpentine Savior, Our Lady of Flame

Date Discovered: May 20th, 1954

Place of Origin: Mt. Etna

Notable Stomping Grounds: Mt. Etna, Messina, Pisa, Stromboli Kaiju Reserve

Height: Generally holds head around 15 meters above the ground, but can rear up to tower at around 34 meters at her tallest.

Length: 115 meters

Biology:

A prehistoric varanid of enormous size from the same lineage that produced Kraydi, Tiratola brings to mind the dragons of yore, slinking and serpentine and adorned with a crown of fearsome crests and horns. Indeed, her Mediterranean location closely matches with depictions of dragons from the ancient Greeks and Romans, although her demeanor is hardly that of a rapacious devourer of maidens and hoarder of gold.

Rather than her jaws, Tiratola’s primary weapon of choice is her tail - even for a reptile, hers is incredibly long and dexterous, making up more than half of her total body length and as flexible and powerful as the body of any snake. With it, she can lash at targets several hundred feet away, coil and constrict her opponents, and even pick up and hurl objects as big as buildings or handle very small objects with the very tip of the tail like an elephant’s trunk. Indeed, her style of combat is very similar to that of the American kaiju Gorgolisk, preferring to coil and constrict her opponents with her powerful body.

As a kaiju, Tiratola also sports a fairly standard powerset:

Super strength

An enhanced healing factor

Immunity to radiation

She also has one more trick up her sleeve - like many other prehistoric varanids as well as Tyrantis himself, the Terror of Italia sports venom glands within her jaws that she can either ‘chew’ into her opponents or spray like a spitting cobra, and like Tyrantis, this venom has further honed into a flammable compound like something out of the pages of myth and legend.

Of course, comparing Tiratola’s fire spitting with Tyrantis’ flaming breath would be akin to comparing a firecracker with a flamethrower - rather than napalm-like torrents of ignited venom, the enormous reptile’s sprayed venom ignites into a cloud of scalding sparks and embers that explodes outwards in a shotgun-like blast with a loud crack and a blinding flash. While it’s not the best at actually damaging opponents, it still stings and burns quite painfully for targets, especially if hit in the eyes and other sensitive areas, and the sharp rapport of the venom combusting can cause a few seconds of disorientation. Injecting the stuff into the bodies of opponents, however, produces rather more grisly results as it reacts with oxygen in the bloodstream, causing the wounds inflicted by her teeth to burst open a few seconds after she lets go. To a kaiju’s durability and regeneration, it’s not nearly as harmful as it looks unless Tiratola injects a truly immense amount of venom or her opponent is considerably smaller than herself, but it’s still quite painful to experience.

History & Personality:

When the Superquake of ‘54 rocked the world, the actual tremors weren’t the only force behind the resulting destruction - tidal waves lashed the coasts, avalanches and rockslides buried towns, and a number of already-rumbling volcanoes were roused to erupt once more, pushing up not only molten material but all manner of strange new landforms forged from the Yamaneon tunnels beneath the earth. Home to several volcanoes as they are, Greece and Italy were particularly subject to this, disgorging an assortment of subterranean environments alongside quite a number of kaiju. Among them was the great reptile Tiratola - emerging from the volcanic aftermath of Mt. Etna, the serpentine saurian made herself known to the public at large when she swept through the outskirts of Messina and smothered a major fire when she settled herself on top of it for warmth, inadvertently saving much of the city from burning to the ground. In the aftermath of the fire, she would go on to save even more lives as she nosed around the rubble, unearthing nearly two dozen people that had been trapped beneath fallen debris.

Since her awakening, Tiratola has come to roam across Italy and Greece, frequently digging people out of rubble wherever she went and frequently engaging smaller mutants emerging from local Yamaneon tunnels as well as the occasional full-on kaiju - her most famous scuffles include preying upon a hoard of Paleozoic invertebrates that emerged from a Carboniferous swamp in the Greek Kassandra Peninsula and engaging a hulking one-eyed hominid kaiju that had been menacing the city of Taranto, dragging it down to its doom beneath the waves before it could do anything worse than superficial damage to buildings. Aside from an incident involving the Leaning Tower of Pisa, she’s been responsible for relatively little destruction, and has become somewhat of a local hero to the populace of the regions, something that Tiratola has come to notice.

Low to the ground as she is, the Whip-Tailed Terror is by her nature literally closer to human beings than many other kaiju, and is more aware of their activities as a result. She’s come to recognize how people react to her presence and realizes how easily she can reshape the tiny world that she now finds herself in. Were she a more malevolent sort, this awareness and her ability to easily wind through city streets could potentially make her an incredibly dangerous thrat to human beings, but the ultimate result of this is that Tiratola has come to realize that she quite enjoys the attention and praise she gets from acts of heroism. Being a reptile, she is by nature a very energy-efficient creature, conserving her strength when she does need to exert herself… but being a kaiju, acts of aid towards humans are trivially easy for her. A couple sweeps of her tail can smother a major fire beneath dirt and water and pulling people from danger can be easily accomplished by simply pushing her head into, say, a burning building and using her keen senses to locate survivors in the same way that modern varanids break into termite mounds and locate warm chambers to lay their eggs in or mother crocodiles dig out their young from nests. It costs little to the great reptile to lend her aid to others, and the reward for doing so is more than worth it - adoration and cheers whenever she enters a populated area, occasional offerings of fish and other treats, even occasional cleanings by teams of volunteers that scrub her down and aid in peeling off any lingering bits of unshed skin. The latter task has also provided another boon to the people of Greece and Italy - analysis of Tiratola’s shed skin has shed a lot of light on kaiju cellular biology, and the scales themselves are durable enough to be shaped and worked like metal or glass, fostering a small but lucrative industry of decorative items made from the kaiju’s scales.

However, there may also be another reason for her gentleness towards humans - while unearthing survivors from rubble, Tiratola frequently makes vocalizations not unlike those of crocodilian and alligator parents when unearthing their buried young, even scooping them up in her jaws in a similar fashion to carry them to safety. It may be that trapped survivors reminds the the whip-tailed dragon of her own offspring, buried in sand and soil - joint Reptodite-human expeditions into the collapsed tunnels where the kaiju emerged have even found the crystallized remains of ruined nests and cracked eggs, suggesting that she may have produced several clutches of offspring before via parthenogenesis in the same manner as some species of monitor lizard, although none seem to have survived. 

Behind the Scenes:

Behold, my entry to @tyrantisterror ’s ATOM Create a Kaiju Contest 3D, Tiratola! I’ve entered both of his previous contests, and I didn’t want to miss out here, although this is admittedly my first time posting one here to Tumblr; there’s a bunch of really creative kaiju already entered into the competition, and I highly recommend checking them out. My entry really isn’t the best by far (I wanted to make Tiratola a lot lengthier and more serpentine, but I didn’t have the space to do it, and I can’t really do detail work for shit), but I’m still reasonably happy with how my girl Tiratola came out!

Tiratola is meant to be an homage to that tried-and-true staple of the monster movie genre - movie companies from other countries trying to cash in on a trend! It’s how the world got creatures like Gorgo, Paleosaurus, and Reptilicus - creatures whose movies were far from the source material, but were packaged as being the same thing in their posters and translated titles overseas, leading to weirdness like Godzilla vs Mothra becoming ‘Watang and the Fabulous Kingdom of Monsters’ in its Italian release, the infamous cut of ‘The Volcano Monsters,’ and so on. As such, she takes the basic concept of Tyrantis - ‘giant green prehistoric reptilian monster with a long tail and horns that breathes fire’, and reconstructs it through that lens. To that end, she’s also somewhat based on slurpasaurs and on cheap rubber props, staples of Italian monster cinema.

Designwise, I based her quite heavily on, well, monitor lizards as well as the classic LEGO dragon model plus the movie poster design for Reptilicus - both are a nice combination of reptilian features that doesn’t really lend itself to any particular order, with Kraydi factoring in as another reference. Indeed, Tiratola’s meant to be a cousin to that kaiju, another of the varanid lizard lineage that would have lead to dragons and their kin in the Lost Epoch - she’s meant to be a bit farther down that evolutionary line than Kraydi is, but still not exactly a direct ancestor.

I was struggling to get a feel for Tiratola’s personality at first, but I managed to get something when I reread ATOM and the way that its reptilian stars think, plus some takes on protective dragons and why they defend humans so much smaller and weaker than they. A big part of this series is about how the kaiju are far more intelligent and empathetic than they let on - I thought it’d be neat to play off of that. While her motivations come from a very different place than they would in a human being or a similar creature, the end result is still the same: if it feels good to help others, and doing so is relatively easy, why not do so? I also added a good deal of Ogra and Reptisaurus as well - I figured it would be only fitting.

The thing about her visiting Pisa is a nod to Dinosaurs Attack, the card where the Rhedosaurus and Giant Behemoth teamed up to destroy the Leaning Tower, while her battle with the giant is taken from the battle between the dragon Taro and the Cyclops in The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. The date of her discovery is also the date that Reptilicus was released in theaters, albeit moved back a few years.

[virovac]

I kinda would like to see somedaya short story/comic mix compilation dedicated to Pathogen

A story or multiple set in hell of various demons. or in the age of magic, and the undead curses that lay dormant in their cambion offspring.

Stories about the obtainment of various strains of reanimation virueses that were used in creating the Omega virus that would be cultured in the flesh cultures taken from The Terror. The exploration of tombs or investigation of reports of strange creatures by SPOOK agents.

(Maybe even mix that up by having a story of a vampire or other monster in the past, and end with a jumpforward where their remains are being excavated)

[A Bat Man from the Movie Latitude Zero , used here as a visual for a bestial vampire]

[A penanggalan , another spooky thing that flies through the woods and part of the great Pathogen’s lineage]

And finally a story about The Terror’s daily life before he met Tyranta or Tyrantis.

Events of demons, zombies, vampires and kaiju that led up to the ultimate monstrosity

[dappercritter]

ATOM Vol.1: Tyrantis Walks Among Us! An Honest Review

I have long waited for the chance to read William Cope’s (AKA @tyrantisterror​) giant monster mash passion project, and as of last Christmas I finally had my chance. The first volume of The Atomic Time of Monsters (AKA A.T.O.M.), Tyrantis Walks Among Us! is every bit the big fun love letter to classic giant monster movies from across both sides of the Pacific that the author has touted on his blog many times. However, although there is a lot of love that evidently went into this story, and plenty of fun to be read, I would not say it’s the best kaiju story I have ever seen, in print or otherwise. Of course, to expect perfection from anything is unfair, but it’s not perfection I’m looking for: it’s consistency. Consistency, particularly of ideas and presentation, has been one of the kaiju (the ever popular Japanese name for “strange/giant monster”) genre’s biggest problems since it first began—be it keeping worldbuilding consistent with themes, or keeping the quality of one shot of the giant juxtaposed monsters consistent with another. Sadly, readers will find that Tyrantis Walks Among Us, for all it’s charms and bravado, suffers from similar inconsistencies.

 The premise of the first entry in the A.T.O.M. series follows many well-worn tropes from the standard giant-size creature: set in an offshoot of postwar 50’s world, a mysterious earthquake linked to nuclear testing has revealed a subterranean lost world filled with mysterious radioactive crystals and (what else) giant monsters to the world. As the menagerie of prehistoric creatures make their way across the surface, gobbling up and/or stomping on the unlucky extras in their path, the government scrambles to gain control of the unprecedented situation, sending in scientists, men in black, and the military. The heroes of the story are the sole scientist smart enough to understand the gravity of the situation, their intrepid band of friends, and the good giant monsters who befriend the humans while fighting off the bad monsters to protect their world. Opposing them are crooked government men who refuse to listen to reason and more menacing monsters driven by hunger or simple malevolence. What follows is a mash-up of almost everything giant monster movies prior are made of: giant monster fights, quirky humans bouncing off each other while trying to stop corrupt governments from worsening the situation, discovering strange lost worlds and encountering the creatures that inhabit them, and even encounters with alien and robot monsters.

 What makes the seemingly formulaic Tyrantis Walks Among Us! stand out is it’s personality. The first volume of ATOM is an affectionate homage, but it’s also a something of a send-up and evolution of the giant monster movie. Not only is every giant monster trope treated with a mix of earnest excitement and tongue-in-cheek wit, embracing both the inherent impressiveness and absurdity of the subgenre in the same breadth (including more than a few references to a selection of giant monster films past, some more subtle than others), with a heaping helping of satirical edge in it’s depiction on atomic era America. Elevating this satirical edge is the colourful human cast, whose personalities, talents, and backstories make them some of the most memorable civilians you’ll ever see in a kaiju series while also giving the story its political punch. Dr. Mina Lerna, the human protagonist and paleontologist turned local giant monster expert, who grapples with sexism and ignorance in her quest to make her voice heard—a voice which is telling everyone to stop trying to kill every monster they see and listen to reason—and come out of her shell; Henry Robertson, an African-American reporter for the United Nations News Organization (a cheeky homage to the oft-maligned American cut of the original King Kong vs. Godzilla) who, with Dr. Lerna’s help fights back against the racial bias trying to keep him quiet to offer current and true coverage of the protagonist’s quest to unlock the mysterious of the kaiju; as well as Gwen Valentine, a spunky homage to activist actresses such as Marylin Monroe in her prime, who after being rescued from certain death in a monster-inhabited cavern, offers some much-needed close friendship, good publicity, and funds to Dr. Lerna and their cause. The more villainous humans opposing them also present some amusement and self-awarness, such as the mysterious vindictive government agent J.C. Clark who prioritizes secret government agendas over transparency and honesty, or “Doctor Brick Rockwell,” a machismo meathead straight out of a camp American monster movie who barely passes for a scientist hired as a talking head to perpetuate willful ignorance—as well as sexism—for the government amidst the monster situation.

Of course, this IS a giant monster story and the kaiju side of the cast deserves special mention as well. Despite being deriving from the all-too familiar archetypes you could expect from giant monsters (i.e. dinosaurs, insects, spiders, and reptiles on a giant scale), the monsters A.T.O.M. stand out from the crowd thanks to their colourful characteristics. The majority of which are “Retrosaurs”: alternate history based dinosaurs that evolved from Loricata, a group of ancient reptiles that included the first crocodylians, as opposed to birds and more or less resemble the terrible lizards as they were depicted in older illustrations such as those created by Charles R. Knight. Chief among them is the star monster, Tyrantis, a standard giant green fire-breathing dinosaur but with an out-and-out heroic complex and a goofy side, showing compassion for his fellow monster and human companions, as well as having a tendency to greet new friends and foes by boisterously charging into battle. Joining him are Tyrantra, a even more impressive red-hued female of Tyrantis’s genus, the tyrannopyrodon (i.e. the fire-breath-enabled Retrosaur equivalent to tyrannosaurs); Gorgolisk, a gigantic frilled serpentine creature who serves as the steadfast guardian of the Earth and the mysterious inhabitants of its hollow earth; and Bobo, a big pink and blue quasi-arachnid with a soft heart and a surprisingly playful disposition. The monsters opposing them are no slouches either, such as Ahuul, a ravenous pterosaur-like Retrosaur who takes sadistic delight in swooping down on smaller prey; Myrmidants, a swarm of gigantic fire ants who fight for their colony with equal parts duty and ferocity; and The Terror, a blue-tinted rival Retro  Tyrant who—without giving anything away—only becomes more of a monster as the story continues. Special mention also goes to a giant scorpion, a giant mothman-themed invader, a deadly duo of a giant wasp and mantis, and an entire island of Retrosaurs of almost every species.

 However, as previously stated, for all it’s charming characters and progressive political statements, the first volume of A.T.O.M., like its forebearers, sadly falls prey to the issue of inconsistencies. Everything from the writing itself to the logic of this world suffers from occasional dips in quality to outright plot holes. The first and most noticeable is the abundance of grammatical errors, and while the majority of the novel is tightly written in very sense of the word, I couldn’t help but notice that every few pages there was incorrect punctuation or a misspelled word, which gave a somewhat rushed impression. Another oddity is the sexuality of Dr. Lerna who develops an affectionate attraction to Ms. Valentine, despite the author confirming in a post on the author’s blog made several years before the novels completion, claiming Lerna was aro-ace (found here)—this is more of a metatextual nitpick and if the author made her an asexual lesbian, it’s still quite a progressive choice in that it offers that minority some representation shows ace folk can still pursue romantic relationships—however, it still can’t help but think think it would have been just as valuable to give aro-ace people some representation as well, rather than seemingly backpedalling on a prior statement on a character’s sexuality. Another distraction is how the story seems to be at odds with itself over anthropomorphizing the monsters, where in some scenes they are written with fairly animalistic traits in mind, wherein others they treated as if they were almost cartoon characters. (e.g. Tyrantis breaks into caveman speak in a postscript picture to advertise some more other novels—relatively harmless but jarring nonetheless.) But the most bothersome inconsistencies by far are concerned with the science of the novel. Specifically, despite possessing a narrative that pushes for embracing science and learning, throughout the novel there are numerous instances where outdated biological and paleontological theories are treated as scientific truths, such as when Bobo’s inability to swim is chalked up to the old misconception that spiders breath through their skin and would drown when but in water. But the most damning example would have to be the Retrosaurs, who despite originating from a completely different evolutionary line, largely resemble past media depictions of dinosaurs more than anything else, inaccuracies at all. It could have been fascinating to explore how familiar species such as ornithopods and sauropods would appear if they were derived from ancient archosaurs (i.e. the grand group from which crocodilians originate). This discrepancies between artistic license and science makes it hard to tell just how much of the author’s intent for the origins of these alternative dinosaurs was driven more by a desire to replicate the aesthetic of prior depictions of prehistoric creatures and movie monsters than a wholly original exploration in speculative biology.

 As critical as may be, I do not want to completely discount the author’s efforts. I enjoyed the first entry in the adventures of the mighty Tyrantis and the impeccable Dr. Lerna from start to finish. As a wholly affectionate parody of the great giant monster subgenre, it’s almost everything I could have wanted it to be! What’s more, I would like to see the ATOM series reach its full potential. However, due the author’s attitudes towards modern science and tendency towards error, I don’t know if this series will ever reach that potential. Tyrantis Walks Among Us! is good as a creative comical take on the classic kaiju story with a progressive sociopolitical punch, but as a scientifically conscious evolution of the genre that birthed it, it falls as flat as the tail of a Retrosaur, and it seems it will stay that way—sticking close to the ground and only occasionally swinging upwards.

[gojirahkiin]

What the  Godzilla Anime should’ve been! Part 1

Starting with an apology to Tyrantis Terror, and a promise that unlike the last time I pinged you with fanfiction, this will be a good read.

Alright, so @tyrantisterror​‘s cry of “BE INTERESTING YOU COWARDS!” is essentially the majority opinion of the Godzilla fandom towards the anime. This is how I, personally, would fix it.

To do so, I would take three premises, because in my spite I want to prove that there is a way that good can come of them:

Godzilla has reigned undisputed for 20,000 years

Mothra is dead, but her egg and people live

Ghidorah is an eldritch god.

What the anime lacks boils down to two things: character and spectacle. Everyone was boring and nothing cool happened.

But even assuming that you want to go in a completely different direction than the rest of the Godzilla franchise, you don’t have to be garbage about it. So Mothra has no Shobijin/Cosmos/Elias equivalents. Fine, but she doesn’t need any since she has an entire race/species of people. But you know who does need some now?

I present some amazing fanart for a priestess of King Ghidorah! Ignore the Noodledorah silhouettes behind her. I am scrapping that entire design for eldritch ramen.

Even worse, the canon Exif communicated with Ghidorah through math. That is the lamest thing possible. But once again harvesting and inverting classic Mothra, what do you think I could substitute for Fairy Mothra, a fragment of spirit given form and purpose?

A Dorat. Obviously it needs tweaking. No aspect of King Ghidorah would ever deign to be so cute. But my point stands: his most devout worshipers would have these tiny avatars of their god to guide them in their malice.

Now, I said that Mothra doesn’t need the Shobijin since she has a race/species. That’s not a metaphor. The canon Houtua are covered in powdery tattoos and given antennae. It’s never made explicit (because that might be cool) but they are implied to be literal children of Mothra.

Imagine the implications of being able to genetically prove that your goddess is the mother of your species? I discard the name Houtua and rename these technical kaiju the Elias. Could’ve also called them Cosmos, but I flipped a coin.

I’ll come back to Mothra in a bit. For now, let’s talk about Godzilla. He’s the ruler of Earth in this continuity, but what does that really mean? Well...

I do want to say that I’m not making this a post-apocalyptic MonsterVerse, as cool as that would be. What I mean is that every kaiju that hasn’t submitted to Godzilla’s dominance has been killed.

Godzilla is King of the Monsters in that he has no true rivals for the throne, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t resistance.

Mothra’s egg is hidden, proving that it is possible to hide from him. It is also possible to run from him since he can’t be everywhere at once, and there are creatures capable and willing to do both.

This is where my versions of the Servum (the worm & dragon-like creatures that were never named and hardly shown in canon) come in, in both name and concept.

The Kaiju Catastrophe wiped out many species, if only because humanity got increasingly destructive in their efforts to stop it, leaving vacuums in many ecosystems. 20,000 years isn’t a long time for new species to evolve, but a core theme of the Godzilla series is that mutations happen quickly.

In the aftermath, many species mutated and evolved to be symbiotic towards Godzilla, because being simultaneously around and useful to him was a great way to survive and be protected.

These creatures are the Servum, but there aren’t that many ways to be useful to Godzilla, and so they are essentially “battle honey guides.” They hunt down and swarm creatures that show signs of hostility toward the King, or simply call to summon him if they think they’re out of their league.

Godzilla has naturally been growing and mutating for all 20,000 years, but unlike the near-comatose tree in the anime, my Godzilla is active and roaming. Most of the Earth has well-worn pathways because unless he must deviate to deal with a challenger, he has a decently efficient patrol route.

One of the other results of Godzilla's never-ending world tour is that everything is a bit more radioactive and a bit more violent. The first is natural. The second requires explanation.

Essentially, kaiju that covet the throne hide in nice fertile areas with lots of food of whatever kind they eat. These are typically destroyed in the battle when Godzilla finds them. As a result, aggression, growth, and general "kaiju-fication" has been encouraged in the wildlife for the last 20,000 years, because if you can protect your territory from would-be crown-hunters it won't be destroyed by Godzilla.

Biollante exists, but less as a distinct creature and more as a taxonomic classification; when Godzilla destroys a region in battle, it takes truly remarkable plants to colonize it - these aggressive and radiosynthetic plants are the Biollante.

Now let’s talk about Mechagodzilla, an technology in general. What is left of humanity after 20,000 years? Not a lot to be honest.

Bunkers aren’t much protection from burrowing kaiju, and not even the most optimistic “abandoned by people” documentary thinks any skyscraper will last for 20,000 years.

But it sounds like I’m contradicting myself - if new kaiju are always rising, and virtually all traces of humanity are gone, then where are Mechagodzilla and Mothra’s egg in this continuity? Hilariously, they’re still around because they’re in almost the same place.

In my take on this scenario, Godzilla first appeared in 1954 at a height of 50 meters. By the time humanity had to flee in 2054, he’d swelled to his 100 meter height.

As a result, Mechagodzilla’s factory was built inside a mountain, so that the facility could constantly expand so that if and when the machine got wrecked, it could be rebuilt bigger and better for the next rematch, and both mecha and factory were constantly being built and improved until almost the day humanity evacuated.

Mothra first challenged Godzilla after humanity fled, but her standard procedure is to find a nice safe place for her egg before charging into mortal combat, and she found this very conveniently mostly empty hangar inside a mountain. A bit bland and sterile for her taste, but safe.

Hearkening back to the Heisei era again, Mothra’s egg is psychic, and has a useful passive defense. It radiates an aura that renders the area uninteresting to any kaiju not specifically looking for a Mothra egg. As a result, the egg, the Elias, and Mechagodzilla have been housemates for 20,000 years give or take.

Some of you may have caught that I said Mothra first challenged Godzilla. That’s because this version of Mothra is also active in the timeline... in a sense. Each time the egg hatches, the new Mothra has been challenging Godzilla, and each time she’s taken longer to develop, but done better in the fight. And the most recent challenger was 10,000 years ago...

So, let’s talk about King Ghidorah himself. The anime’s designers claim that their Ghidorah is the final evolution of the essence of Ghidorah.

Screw that! If I want an enemy that’s unkillable because he’s technically in another dimension, other franchises have done it better and with more spectacle.

King Ghidorah isn’t just about destruction. It isn’t enough to let a ghost noodle rip apart and eat a planet (in lore and not on screen of course). King Ghidorah is about the fear, helplessness, and despair in the face of an end to everything you care about that cannot be stopped.

Some people complain that in Rebirth of Mothra III, Ghidorah only destroyed a little bit and then went back to guarding his dome. My hypothesis is that there was a very deliberate and cruel reason for that.

The children knew that they’d been captured and knew that the walls were acidic because one of them tossed a ball at it. But their parents didn’t know yet. Ghidorah destroyed a little and then went back to the dome so that the parents would know what happened and that there was nothing they could do to stop it.

Also, he loomed over the dome and watched it - he was waiting for the digestion process to begin; he was people-watching in the most sadistic manner possible, like a child setting fire to ants with a magnifying glass.

But that incarnation of Ghidorah was a bit too stoic and focused for my taste. I want him to hearken back to Shōwa Ghidorah: we don’t know why he does what he does, only that he’s having a blast doing it!

So let’s run with that. I’m discarding the Exif’s name. In another callback to the past, their name can translate as Xians or Xiliens depending on your preference. And the Xiliens don’t often name their god, but they call him one of three euphemisms: The Laughing King, The Golden Light, and The Threefold Death.

The Xiliens also follow their god’s example: they are quite cheerful and always happy to meet new people (because they’ll get to kill them later); they’re decked out in gaudy, shiny golden colors; and when they’re getting ready to kill someone, they do their damnedest to give them a threefold death.

The Death of their Hopes.

The Death of their Body.

And reserved for their god alone, the Death of their World.

When King Ghidorah is summoned by the terrible cruelty and laughter of his followers, a tear into another dimension is opened over the planet, and an asteroid drops from it, with all the destructive power you’d expect of an asteroid strike.

To die in the blast is an honor and a mercy, because the true horror manifests from the molten ruins and lets out a cackling roar that can be heard across the entire planet. If there are any orbiting ships or space stations, the roar defies all laws of reality to be heard there too.

And in every listener, the sound inspires the primal terror of imminent death.

A cornered rat will bite the cat, but the Laughing King does not begrudge his prey. It’s no fun if they don’t fight back! They need to believe that they stand a chance, so that as they lie bleeding and broken by the Golden Light of gravity beams their hopes can die with their flesh!

This is the true purpose of the Threefold Death that is King Ghidorah. You don’t kill for sustenance or defense; such material needs are mark of a mortal. You kill for fun! For the joy of watching life and hope leave a victim’s eyes!

That is the true essence of King Ghidorah!

[skarmorydraws]

@tyrantisterror ATOM Create-A-Kaiju Contest Enntry #3: Oz and her Family

Date Discovered: December 25th, 1960 (Oz); November 2nd, 1961 (Dorothy, Toto, and Glinda)

Place of Origin: The Aboriginal Yameneon System

Notable Stomping Grounds: The Aboriginal Yameneon System, The Australian Outback

Height: 50 feet (Oz); 12 feet (Dorothy, Toto, and Glinda)

Length: 60 feet (Oz); 15 feet (Dorothy, Toto, and Glinda)

Wingspan: 100 feet (Oz); 25 feet (Dorothy, Toto, and Glinda)

Biology:

Despite resembling the Flying Tyrant subclade of carnivorous retrosaurs from a distance, "Oz" (short for "Ozdactylus", a corruption of her genus name of Australodactylus) and her children are in fact predatory flying mammals. For a time, their placement in the mammal family tree was uncertain, with a resemblance to primates and the ability to fly like bats. The only instance of close observation of these kaiju has revealed however that their closest relatives are modern marsupials, which ironically includes their favorite food - kangaroos. Convergent to the flying tyrants in form and function, the membranous wings of Oz and her family are supported by elongated, flexible spurs of bone mounted upon their wrists rather than actual fingers, allowing them to soar effortlessly and then swoop down on prey with prehensile foot claws and shearing teeth not unlike those of the marsupial lion, Thylacoleo carnifex.

As with other Australian kaiju, how Oz and her pups survived the extinction of much of the megafauna of Australia is not yet known, but most hypotheses point towards the Yamaneon tunnel system under much of the outback. Notably, an opening to the tunnel system was discovered shortly after Victoria was shaken by a magnitude 5.3 earthquake on Christmas Day of 1960 - while no major damage was reported, it is likely that this geological disruption caused a chain reaction in one or more of the Yamaneon tunnels nearby, eventually resulting in at least one of the tunnels close to the ground level opening up and its inhabitants escaping. Oz herself was originally thought to have been heavily pregnant when she was first sighted flying near Melbourne the day after the quake, but it is more likely that she was instead carrying her still-developing young in a pouch at the time, though how she was able to conceive a whole litter of "marsupial bats" despite atomic fossilization supposedly reducing fertility rates is uncertain.

Oz and her family sport the standard kaiju power set:

Super strength

An enhanced healing factor

Immunity to radiation

History and Personality:

While Oz herself was sighted regularly since her emergence into the surface world, her children would not make their debut until almost a year later. Strange disappearances of livestock and bits of kangaroo falling from the sky had been coming in from much of southeast Australia's rural areas, and the identity of the perpetrator was eventually revealed when a retrosaur-sized "winged monkey" swooped down upon the streets of Sydney. The creature was followed by two more of its kind and they soon went about terrorizing the pedestrians unlucky enough to be outside at the time. However, the intervention of a traveling circus led to the three of them being captured with only a few fatalities - humans turned out to be too bony for their taste, at least compared to kangaroos.

The city soon had bigger things to complain about, however, when word soon came of Oz - who, strangely, looked almost identical to the smaller fliers except much bigger - making a beeline for the city as well. What surprised onlookers was that despite taking down multiple aircraft and causing quite a bit of collateral damage during her visit, she wasn't actually interested in causing destruction, instead attempting to reach the circus grounds where the smaller fliers were being held captive. Once it became clear that these were in fact her offspring, the military backed off and let her leave the city with the pups in tow. It was a well-earned lesson for both sides, with humanity getting to know more about a few of their monsters, and Oz's family in turn now knowing better than to blunder haphazardly into human civilization.

Despite fearful comparisons by the public to Ahuul at first, Oz's demeanor is more akin to a caring but frequently bereaved single parent; scientists have theorized that her ancestors were social creatures, with both parents taking care of the young. Shy and retiring by nature, Oz tends to avoid humanity and more violent kaiju whenever she can - many "attacks" by her are often preceded by her children happening upon a random small town or farmstead and inciting mayhem until she intervenes, and given her harrowing albeit brief experience with the Australian military she knows better than to stick around any large city for very long. If her often exasperated-sounding calls while looking for her litter are any indicator, she presumably wishes they felt the same way. That being said, she loves her children and will throw her all into protecting them; as willing as she is to socialize with like-minded individuals at her size range, the grudges she holds towards anyone who attempts to hurt her pups are long-lasting and most such kaiju bear more than a few telltale bites and scars.

Oz's children were named after characters from the same book as the one whom Oz herself is named after. Unlike Oz herself, her children are full of youthful energy, spunk, and a propensity for mischief. Though they do cause unintended carnage when dealing with cities or other kaiju, they aren't malicious in nature - rather, their intelligence among marsupials often leads to them being easily bored from a lack of stimuli. When that happens, they tend to make their way towards the nearest herd of standard-sized animals, scattering and harrying them but not actually hurting them (unless they're chasing after food sources like grazing animals, which inevitably leads to complaints from ranchers and wildlife conservationists). They also enjoy buzzing skyscrapers, chasing vehicles, startling and teasing other monsters, and pelting structures with debris just to see what will happen - though unless kangaroos are involved, any fatalities they may cause in the process are purely accidental.

Though they're always seen together, each of the triplets has its own color and personality quirks, with the trio operating as a sort of "squad". The reddish-furred Dorothy is the de-facto leader of the three, and seems to behave the most sensibly - the other two seem to follow her around and will wait for her assent before commencing their mischief-making. The gray-colored Toto is the only male of the three, and also the physically strongest and most headstrong, stubbornly pushing his luck against other monsters and harassing military forces even after his sisters retreat, though any spirited defense will eventually ward him off before long. The pale-hued Glinda seems to be the "nicest" of the three, though that isn't saying much; she merely prefers to keep her distance from conflict, using her ominous shadow to scare smaller creatures into stampeding. She is also known to preen herself frequently - she could almost be described as vain, and her glossy, almost silken fur doesn't help much, either.

While the three of them do tend to bicker over food, roles in pranks, and sleeping space in their mother's pouch, these triplets' united spirit is likely to remain unbroken even after reaching adulthood. Wherever these triplets go, trouble tends to follow - as does their mother.

Super super late, but here’s my third entry for this contest! I was a bit sad that the original version of Oz got cut from the “main” storyline, due to being too similar, character-wise, to Ahuul. I decided to change up the character in its entirety, in terms of species, behavior, and role. Oz is now a she, and has little baby Oz-es to go with her - the backstory being an homage to Gorgo and his mom. I’m pretty sure something similar was done with another entry, but I felt that a passive creature would still be distinct enough from Ahuul to work well on its own.

Oz’s new look, the fact that she’s now a mammal and from Australia specifically, is based almost entirely on the obsolete hypothesis that pterosaurs were flying carnivorous marsupials - a notion that’s been explored before in monster artwork. I decided to take that particular concept and slap on a monkey/cuscus-ish head with the teeth of a marsupial lion, because most depictions in artwork have a long narrow snout based on the original Pterodactylus skull and I didn’t want to accidentally plagiarize. The wings are based on the patagium of a sugar glider, which is supported by a bony strut on the wrist; I expanded it into something that could make a conceivable wing, looking suspiciously similar to pterosaur wings but in fact being far more unique. I considered giving it another wing strut on the elbow like Otachi or Aerodactyl, but in the end I felt that the design looked a little better without it. Plus it helps distinguish the wing structure from all those the cartilaginous “bat-wing” struts on Ahuul’s wings. Another design idea was to give them colorful facial patches like a mandrill, but those were dropped too due to complicating the design a tad and being a bit too much of a stretch even for the evolutionary standards of their home universe of sorts. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! :D

I hope submitting these fellers all in one single entry doesn’t mean I can’t send in two more entries - they’re all the same species, treated as a group, and virtually inseperable as the people of ATOM’s Sydney can tell you - but then again, Tyrantor and Tyranta got their own entries compared to Tyrantis. Hmm...

[connorricks]

I made another entry to @tyrantisterror‘s ATOM Create a Kaiju Contest.

Normus

Aliases: The INCREDIBLE TITANTIC BEAST-MAN

Date of Discovery: June 30, 1958

Place of Origin: Military facility in southern Nevada

Height: 90 feet

Length: 200 feet

Lt. Geoffrey Isidor Normus volunteered to be injected with a genetic cocktail of genes collected from various retrosaur derived monsters in order to become the ideal anti-monster soldier. The injections went off without a hitch. The second phase of the project involved being exposed to radiation in order to greatly strengthen his body through the process of ATOMIC FOSSILIZATION. He steadily grew in size over the course of a month, as well as becoming stronger, faster, and keener of senses. But all was not well.

Unbeknownst to all, the radiation had awoken a doomsday clock within Normus. Slowly, the genomes of Stegronox, the Terror, Crocogon, and Tyrantis began to reassert themselves. One day he complained of a terrible headache and high fever, and on his way to the infirmary he suddenly began a startling metamorphosis. Mutating into a full on kaiju, Normus broke free of the bunker in order to heed his new monstrous instincts being channeled by his mutated brain: to destroy obstacles in his path, to fight other monsters when necessary, to return to the sea...

Normus usually fights when he feels he's pushed to it. In combat he's a mindless beast, aside from brief epiphanies and moments of clarity. His regenerative healing factor protects him from debilitating injuries, but doesn't protect him from overheating. To much strenuous activities and he will break off an attack or battle in order to find ways to cool off, like submerging into bodies of water. Some of the heat is released when he belches out fire, but this ability is mainly involuntary.

What happened to the amazing colossal Normus? Some say he was finally done in by the military, while others say he's still out there. Some people with an ear to the ground say he was frozen in some secret shady government bunker somewhere, dreaming dreams of an ancient primordial jungle.

(Inspired by this image of Haruo Nakajima operating part of the original Godzilla suit, as well as those Shin Godzilla Kaiju A/B rumors.)

[tyrantisterror]

So, FYI: the next few Horror Flora updates will be kaiju files, because I’m in a mood to draw some kaiju AND because it’s also hyping me up for writing the kaiju novel I want to finish the first draft of by, oh, say, the second weekend of July.  After that we’ll probably have some reviews followed by a long awaited Midgaheim Bestiary update.

Today’s kaiju file is Raroga, who’s basically a terror bird if it had the proportions of a T.rex.  And yes, that is the Jurassic Parl/Papo T.rex pose she’s striking.  You know:

THIS one. Despite what this pose may make you think, she holds her tail/body horizontally, like a proper theropod.

I consider Raroga and Sirinost as part of a pair, right down to both of their names being portmanteaus of different mythological Slavic bird creatures.

[kiryuthechimera]

Been reading TyrantisTerror's Tyrantis Among Us!, and this is honestly how I'm starting to feel rn.

[tyrantisterror]

Which Kaiju inspired each of your ATOM Kaiju?

Long reply below:

Tyrantis is inspired by Godzilla, Gamera, Yongary, Gorgo, Reptilicus, Lizzie from Rampage, Togera from War of the Monsters, and every other big, green, fire-breathing reptile kaiju that makes up that archetype, as well as Gwangi, the beast of Hollow Mountain, and the T.rexes from the Jurassic Park Franchise.

Ahuul is loosely inspired by Rodan (in that's he's a pterosaur monster paired with a fire-breathing theropod monster), though his character arc is more inspired by Kumonga (big voracious antagonist monster has a sudden face turn when it's time to fight aliens)

The myrmidants are inspired by the ants from Them!, while Girtabane is inspired by the black scorpion from The Black Scorpion, and also Sasori the giant scorpion from the Scott Ciencin young adult Godzilla books.

Tyranta is inspired by Gorgo's mother and the T.rexes from Jurassic Park. The Terror/MechaTyrantis is inspired by the various incarnations of MechaGodzilla (CyberGodzilla from Godzilla the Series being the most prominent). Tricerak is loosely inspired by Anguirus (in that he's a chimera of different herbivorous dinosaurs and has an enemies to friends arc with the main kaiju) and Toho's Kong (in that he likes to get drunk off soma berry juice).

Gorgolisk's personality is a loose homage to Mothra and King Shisa, being a heroic monster who's implied to have been worshipped at some point in her life. Mothmanud is inspired by the real life folklore of the Mothman.

Crustakra's design is actually based on a Destoroyah redesign I did when I was younger. Mantiresia is a loose homage to both The Deadly Mantis and Kamacuras. Chlorespa is a SUPER loose homage to the giant bees from The Monster of Green Hell - I actually came up with Chlorespa before I found out about that movie, and retroactively looked for a movie with giant wasps that she could fit the same way the other giant bugs do. Bobo is inspired by the giant spider from Tarantula, as well as various other giant spider movies, though her personality is also loosely based on Mothra's (big creepy crawly that's also the most explicitly benevolent monster).

The various dinosaur/retrosaur kaiju on Typhon Island are just me having fun making retrosaurs.

Karamtor is just me making a goofy retro alien monster, with, like, vague stylistic influences from the monster designs of 50's/60's/70's comic books and sci-fi magazines. Nastadyne, like Crustakra, is basically a redesign of a Godzilla kaiju I made as a teen (in this case, Megalon) that I repurposed as a new character. Kurokame wasn't inspired by anything at first, but the way I described his wail in the novel is inspired by Gamera's iconic scream. Burodon is inspired by Baragon and the various Ultraman kaiju who were built using Baragon's suit.

Herakoschei is loosely patterened after various clunky 50's/60's movie robots, as well as Cherno Alpha from Pacific Rim. Glypton and Mastemuth are purely original creations. Gorale is based on taking Godzilla's name (which is a combination of the Japanese words for Gorilla and Whale) very literally. The Writhing Flesh is inspired by various final bosses from the Resident Evil Franchise. Pathogen is based off of a monster I made while playing with dinosaur legos as a kid, though his personality and the dreadful violence he unleashes is in part inspired by/patterned off of Showa MechaGodzilla.

Minerva is based primarily off of the 50 foot woman from Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, though various other giant human movies from the 50's and 60's also inspired her. Kraydi is just a big dragony lizard. Promythigor is based on King Kong, Mighty Joe Young, George from Rampage, Congar from War of the Monsters, and the many other giant apes that make up that archetype in kaiju fiction, with his personality being a result of me trying to give that archetype a villainous spin in the same way I gave the fire breathing reptile an explicitly heroic one with Tyrantis.

Atomoton is more or less original, though his color scheme takes a little after Jet Jaguar.  Ullawdra is loosely inspired by Audrey II and Biollante. Kemlasulla is a flesh and blood version of the tripods from H.G. Wells's The War of the Worlds. Podritak is a flesh and blood version of the war machines from the 1953 adaptation of The War of the Worlds. Sombarvot is based on the big multi-legged lizards from the John Carter of Mars novels.

Frightron is just me having fun making a weird robot. Dhorazor is based on various space dragons in various stories, with Ghidorah being an inspiration for his name and role as a destroyer of Mars, but not much else. Pleprah is based on the one-eyed, one horned, flying purple people eater from the song Purple People Eater. Googora is based on those little novelty monster erasers that used to be so popular when I was a kid but now don't exist because the molds used to make them decayed into uselessness. The rest of the Beyonder aliens are just me having fun making goofy as fuck designs.

Diablosaurus is based on various attempts to make Carnotaurus the new T.rex in dinosaur media. Dominox is based on the Indominus Rex, Boney the Dinosaur from Weinerville, and outdated theoretical reconstructions of Deinochierus and Therizinosaurus from when we only knew what their arms looked like. Juggerdon is a Charles Knight-ified version of the Ultimasaurus from Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect.

Chowgarh Khan is more or less an original design. Sirinost is loosely based on la Carcargne from The Giant Claw. Raroga is more or less original but has the color scheme of Grimlock from the g1 Transformers cartoon.

Cudatra and Bigjaw are just me having fun making retrosaurs.

Kirclov is the Cloverfield monster if it was designed by Jack Kirby.

Stardrac is just me having fun making a big weird bat.

Gorilladon was inspired by an art jam here on tumblr where we drew apes that were built like tyrannosaurs.

Kramplauf is the yeti to Promythigor's sasquatch.

The Facsimile Ape is inspired by those hideous animatronic cymbal clapping monkey toys.

Deluxman is inspired by various Ultramans, Red Man, and the evangelions from Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Gomorel is a hybrid of Red King, Gomora, Baltan, and a loose vibe taken from Neon Genesis Evangelion's angels.

Big Iron is inspired by big clunky 1950's robots and also Megatron from Transformers. Cukaroch is inspired by the rad roaches from Fallout. Gulgek is inspired by the giant geckoes from Fallout. Necronychus is inspired by the deathclaws from Fallout. Lobjob is inspired by the mirelurks from Fallout. Helhornet is inspired by the cazadors from Fallout. Cerberat is inspired by the giant mole rats from Fallout. Gabelgill is inspired by the Mirelurk kings from Fallout, and also the Gill Man from Creature from the Black Lagoon. Atomic Frankenstein is inspired by the super mutants from Fallout, and also Frankenstein. Pamultimate is inspired by the Final Pam from Monster Factory's Fallout 4 arc, as well as various Resident Evil bosses.

And that's all of them so far!

[tyrantisterror]

COMING MAY 26TH (if not sooner): The Atomic Time of Monsters Vol. 2: Tyrantis Roams the Earth!  Thrill as the jade giant returns, battling new terror titans from the depths of your worst nightmares!  Mutants, abominations, and alien hordes await as TYRANTIS ROAMS THE EARTH!

[tyrantisterror]

The Official ATOM Vol. 1 & 2 Playlist

You may recall that I made a playlist of music for my first novel, No Sympathies, when it got published.  You may also have wondered why my second novel, ATOM Vol. 1: Tyrantis Walks Among Us! didn’t get one of its own.  Well, wonder no more!  The reason was because I was waiting for Volume 2, because Volumes 1 and 2 really need to be viewed as one big story rather than two separate ones.  And since Vol. 2 has now been published (BUY IT HERE), I figured it’s time to finally reveal this mix.

So, here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxjcPtZ64qKB9ZlzpaEPdRmETqF39HuW7

And below the cut, the breakdown!

The Superquake of 1954 (Shake, Rattle and Roll! by Bill Haley and the Comets)

Dr. Lerna’s Theme (Moons of Jupiter Retro-Mix by Freezepop)

Ahuul’s Theme (Legends of Dino’Soul and Monster Funk by SuperTohoRemix)

Tyrantis’s Theme 1 (Boogie Stop Shuffle by Charles Mingus)

The Spooks Organization (NERV by Shirou Sagisu)

Giant Bugs (The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth by Creature Feature)

Tyrantis’s Theme 2 (Ayla’s Theme by The Blake Robinson Symphony Orchestra)

Tyrantis vs. Girtabane (Godzilla vs. Kumonga by Masaru Sato)

Henry Robertson’s Theme (20th Century Man by The Kinks)

The Valley of the Mists (Jurassic Park Theme by John Williams)

Gwen Valentine’s Theme (Lucky by Max Rabbe und de Palastorchester)

Tyranta’s Theme (Wild Thing by The Troggs)

Eric and Laura, Meddling Teens (Leader of the Pack by The Shangri-Las)

Mothmanud Strikes (Horsell Common and the Heat Ray by Jeff Wayne)

Gorgolisk’s Theme (The Mothra Song by Toshiyuki Watanabe)

The Battle of Party Beach (A Step Forward Into Terror by Shirou Sagisu)

Tumult on The Ahab (Death of the Postosuchus by Benjamin Bartlett)

Bobo’s Theme (The Sacred Springs by Akira Ifukube)

Wasp and Mantis (For a Few Rocks More by SuperTohoRemix)

Tyrantis’s Theme 3 (Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis)

Typhon Island (The Lost World by John Williams)

MechaTyrantis’s Theme (Defeat MechaGodzilla! by Masaru Sato)

Trials of Tyrantis (The Battle of the Salt Plain by Benjamin Bartlett)

Dumped in the Ocean (Godzilla Love Theme by The Star Sisters)

Shark Chase  (Decisive Battle by Shirou Sagisu)

The Thunder Lizards Benefit Concert (Help! by The Beatles)

The Ballad of Tyrantis (Godzilla March by Susumu Ishikawa)

The Battle of Mount Fuji (The Fighting Machine by Jeff Wayne)

Herakoschei’s Theme (Pacific Rim by Ramin Djawadi & Tom Morello)

The Siberian Monster Zone (Back in the USSR by The Beatles)

The Writhing Flesh (Who Will Know? by Shirou Sagisu)

Pathogen’s Theme 1 (Tyrano Lair by The Blake Robinson Symphony Orchestra)

Area 51 (Weird Science by Oingo Boingo)

Tyrantis’s Theme 4 (The Last Dinosaur Few Men Remix by SuperTohoRemix)

Promythigor Theme (Sasquatch by Parry Gripp)

Return to Typhon Island (Godzilla by Bear McCreary and Serj Tankian)

Ullawdra’s Theme (The Red Weed by Jeff Wayne)

Atomoton’s Theme (HONOR A TRUE HERO! Jet Jaguar - PUNCH PUNCH PUNCH! by Masato Shimon)

The Martian Monsters (Monster Zero March by Neil Norman & His Cosmic Orchestra)

Kemlasulla’s Theme (The Twist by Hank Ballard)

Kaiju Sanctuary (Time of the Titans by Benjamin Bartlett)

Invasion of Typhon Island (The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny by Lemon Demon)

The Battle for Typhon Island (Rivers in the Desert by Lyn)

Pathogen’s Theme 2 (The Beast by Shirou Sagisu)

Hyper Mode (The Genesis: Uplifting Verse by Shoji Meguro)

Home Is a Monster Land (Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell)

[tyrantisterror]

Are Tyrantis, Tyranta, the Terror, Dioblosaurus and/or their ancestors proto-dragons due to the fact that they can breathe fire, similar to how Nastadyne and Bobo have human features, or is that just Yamaneon mutation?

Dragons in my little mythos are evolved from monitor lizards, while Tyrantis, Diablosaurus, and any other fire-breathing retrosaur kaiju are, like all retrosaurs, pseudosuchian archosaurs, so the fact that these two different groups can breath fire is not a result of an evolutionary link.

[tyrantisterror]

Hey Tyrantis Terror, if you could take any unknown Kaiju from old Kaiju movies which would you bring back into the spot light?

I want more Gorgo movies.