In the wake of Godzilla vs. Kong's behemoth box office, IDW Publishing has pitted the King of the Monsters against other famous kaiju in Godzilla Rivals. First, he fought Hedorah, the Smog Monster, over the skies of New York, before battling the silk-worm deity Mothra off the coast of Japan. Next up is the three-headed, golden, gravity beam-blasting King Ghidorah in a comic that marks the writing debut of artist Adam Gorham.

Rather than copying Legendary Entertainment's take on the franchise, Godzilla Rivals has employed designs inspired by the characters' history, giving upcoming talent the chance to offer their tribute to the popular culture icons. The series' most recent one-shot was written by video game designer, novelist and comic writer Mary Kenney, who has worked on Insomniac Games' Spider-Man: Miles Morales and the hotly-anticipated Wolverine. For the next issue, IDW are handing over both scripting and art duties to first-time writer Gorham.

Related: Godzilla vs Kong Proves Ghidorah Is Godzilla's Greatest Enemy

Gorham announced on Twitter that he would make his writing debut with Godzilla Rivals: Vs. King Ghidorah, which will have a cover by E.J. Su and be released in December. As teased at the end of the latest issue, Gorham's writing debut will also feature the return of the Xiliens, who have yet to appear in any English-language adaptation of the franchise. The Xiliens are an emotionless, technologically-advanced alien species from Planet X, who attempted to invade Earth to resolve their native planet's water scarcity crisis in Invasion of Astro-Monster. Claiming that they needed to 'borrow' Godzilla and Rodan to battle with Ghidorah, who was previously exiled into space by Godzilla and his allies, the Xiliens secretly exerted control over the kaiju to force humanity to surrender the planet's resources.

Godzilla Rivals

Gorham has worked as both an interior and cover artist for a wide range of publishing, including The Blue Flame for Vault Comics, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for IDW and Rocket for Marvel. With versatile experience in the industry, his recent contributions to Immortal Hulk proves that he has what it takes when it comes to depicting exaggerated proportions and dynamic action — but who will be victorious in his battle of the Titans?

King Ghidorah was created by Tomoyuki Tanaka as an archenemy for Godzilla, drawing inspiration from both Japanese and Greek Mythology. He first appeared in 1964's Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, and has recently become a prominent figure in the MonsterVerse series. Following a post-credit tease in Kong: Skull Island, Ghidorah stood head-to-head(s) with Godzilla and Mothra in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which ended with his apparent demise. In the 2021 sequel, however, the telepathic powers of Ghidorah's severed head were used to interface with Mechagodzilla, through which his consciousness eventually takes control to battle again with his arch-nemesis. It remains to be seen whether Adam Gorham will draw inspiration from Hollywood's latest adaptation, or whether his take will go in a completely new direction. Either way, Godzilla Rivals: Vs. King Ghidorah is sure to offer readers a sublime spectacle of super-sized proportions when it is released on December 22.

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Source: Adam Gorham