Sonic X Godzilla Is The Wildest Crossover Yet - Here's Your First Look

From Charles Barkley to the Justice League, Godzilla has let loose his atomic flames in many comic books over the years. But for his next crossover, the King of the Monsters is headed to Moebius for a showdown with none other than Sonic the Hedgehog. GameSpot can exclusively reveal the first look at Sonic the Hedgehog X Godzilla, a new five-issue mini-series pitting Sega's speedster against the apex titan. The images below also tease the arrival of the ultimate lifeform, Shadow the Hedgehog, who'll appear from the second issue onwards.

"When the King of the Monsters and other iconic kaiju mysteriously arrive in the Blue Blur's world, the brilliant and evil Dr. Eggman will try to harness the power of the kaiju for his own nefarious goals. Only Sonic and his amazing allies--including Amy, Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow--will be able to stand in the villain's way and try to send the giant monsters back to their own world," the official synopsis for the series reads.

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Written by Nick Marino, illustrated by Jack Lawrence, and colored by Reggie Graham, Sonic the Hedgehog X Godzilla will also see several other kaiju appear, including icons like Mothra and MechaGodzilla. The first issue doesn't waste any time in revealing the titans, as an ordinary day thwarting Dr. Eggman's latest scheme is quickly upended by the arrival of the skyscraper-sized threats.

"My narrative goal with the opening of Sonic x Godzilla? Take a regular day in the life of the Blue Blur and absolutely smash it to pieces! I'm so thrilled for everyone to get their first look at Jack and Reggie's vision for Station Square," Marino said. "My plan was to keep the panel counts low on these early pages to showcase the city's scope and let it breathe. Diving full bore into intricate architecture and huge action, Jack's art went beyond my greatest expectations. Then Reggie came in and added so much life to everything with an incredible color palette full of unnatural disaster!"

Lawrence added that Sonic x Godzilla gave him the chance to approach an IP that had long been on his wishlist. "Godzilla is, I think, the last IP on my career bucket list. I'd planned on putting some samples together to get some Godzilla work, when IDW approached me asking if I wanted to draw Sonic x Godzilla,' Lawrence said.

"Of course, I jumped at the chance. Monsters are probably my favorite thing to draw, but I've rarely had the opportunity in recent years. Now here I am drawing the actual King of the Monsters raining destruction down on Sonic's world and absolutely loving every stomp, roar, and blast of atomic breath. Working with Nick has been an absolute joy, and as for the colors, I only had one person in mind and requested Reggie if he was available. Thankfully for all of us, he was. I'm so incredibly excited for people to see this bright, vibrant symphony of destruction."

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Graham's colors bring the action to life in vivid fashion, and the colorist revealed how he sought to find a balance between the vibrant world of Sonic and the gritty destruction that Kaiju movies are known for.

"Initially, I was only signed up to color the first cover for Jack, but the editors were so happy with the outcome that they asked if I could color the full mini-series as well! It was an immediate yes," Graham said. "I've never worked on Godzilla stuff before, so I tried to find a balance between the cartoony Sonic folks and the gritty kaiju. I looked up ideas from video games the monsters had been in to get an idea of what color scheme would make them pop against the background. I ended up with desaturated purples in the background so that not only would the main cast and Godzilla stand out, but the grey of Mechagodzilla and Eggman's Egg Mobile wouldn't blend into a normally grey cityscape."

The first issue of Sonic x Godzilla releases on July 15, and preorders are now live.

Godzilla crossover comics

Godzilla has taken on both the DC and Marvel universes, faced off against the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and has even met literary characters like Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, and Jay Gatsby in Godzilla's Monsterpiece Theatre. If that sounds like some good reading, you can grab all of these crossovers in trade paperback form right now.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The IDW Collection

Looking to catch up on Sonic the Hedgehog comics? IDW's current Sonic series has been a treat, as each issue has been a colorful blast of fun. The best option for diving in is to grab the hardcover editions, as each one collects three of the standard trade paperback releases--around 12 issues in total--and publishes them in an oversized format.

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