The King of the Monsters is going back to his roots as Toho announced it will bring the world another Godzilla movie in 2023.

Toho is synonymous with giant monster movies, but none are as famous as Godzilla. While Warner Bros. has the American market corner with the big-budget ‘Zilla franchise, Toho reminded everyone how to make a kaiju flick in 2016.

Many fans have since credited Shin Godzilla as being superior to all the WB films, so the announcement will be welcome news around the globe.

Very little is known about the upcoming film, but Toho has released some interesting poster art. Takashi Yamazaki is poised to direct, and that’s basically all anyone officially knows. After the huge success of Shin Godzilla, fans will have high expectations for the as-yet-unnamed film. Will it be a sequel to Shin? We can only hope.  I have been waiting six years to see the King of the Monsters’ final transformation into all those creepy smaller Godzillas. 

The new movie announcement will certainly embolden the kaiju fans, and that excitement could spill over to the secondary market. Granted, this won’t hit prices in the same way as a new addition to the MCU. But it could give your Godzilla keys a worthwhile boost. To be honest, it’s also a great excuse to talk about the greatest kaiju of all time (sorry, King Kong) and his impact on mainstream comics collecting. 

GODZILLA VS. MEGALON (1976)

Being a Japanese original, it’s no surprise that Godzilla has been appearing in mangas since the 1954’s Monster Godzilla. While his manga origins is fairly cut and dry, tracking down his first U.S. comic can be tricky. 

Technically, he appeared in the first panel of Life with Archie #41 in 1965, battling Mothra in an unnamed cameo. Then in 1972, there were movie stills of Godzilla versus King Kong featured in Monster Madness #2. Four years later, he would get his first actual comic story, which is an important addition to any collection. As part of a movie promotion, theaters gave away copies of Godzilla vs. Megalon, which was just four pages of kaiju action published by Cinema Shares International. Being a free comic, these are hard to find, especially in higher grades. If you’re lucky enough to have one, I advise getting it slabbed for preservation purposes. 

The highest grade ever sold was a 9.6, which sold for $80 in 2015. Three years afterward, a 9.2 sold for $300; inflation will definitely come into play the next time we see one trade hands. 

GODZILLA #1 (1977)

In 1977, Marvel Comics got its hands on the Godzilla publishing rights, at least in the United States. Maybe he didn’t exactly look like the giant lizard we’d all come to know and love from those horrible-yet-spectacular ‘60s Toho movies, but he was officially part of Marvel canon at that point. He would go on to face the Champions and the Avengers in some of the craziest fantasy matchups ever conceived. 

Prices for the 9.8 have held steady in the $500-$600 range for the past year. For the past 30 days, it’s averaged $538, but the most recent sale was for $560 on November 1.

THEY SAY HE’S GOT TO GO

From inspiring a Blue Oyster Cult song to being the poster child for cheap ‘60s special effects all the way to building the world of kaijus that audiences adore to this day, Godzilla is an international sci-fi icon. Everyone knows the classic roar even if they’d never seen one of his movies. Each generation continues to be in awe of Godzilla, and next year’s movie will be far from his last appearance. That’s why investing in his key issues will always be sound advice.

Are you excited about the new Godzilla movie? Let us know in the comments!

*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.