This image from Wonder Stories Quarterly (Summer 1940) reminds me a lot of Godzilla, and no it’s not just because it’s a big, green monster terrorizing some humans. Instead it’s exactly how the monster looks.
To me, he looks like a guy in a monster suit, not an actual monster.
If you know anything about Godzilla films — I’ve only learned a bit through osmosis, cuz I’ve got a friend who is a huge Godzilla nut — you’ll know that Godzilla is really just a regular guy in a bulky rubber suit.
For most of his existence, Godzilla was played by Haruo Nakajima. As an actor and stunt man, Nakajima played the Big G at least twelve times and was the wearer of several incarnations of the Godzilla suit.
Personally, I think most of the Godzilla suits look goofy. It looks like a trash bag with bug eyes to me. But that rumply look is designed that way for a reason, It hides seams, zippers and other revealling components as well as providing the monster with a non-human look. But still, Godzilla just isn’t all that scary
Luckily, the Godzilla design got a major makeover in the 1990s, which made him look a little better.
Now while I understand why Godzilla’s design is so clunky, there’s no excuse for the monster above. He looks like a green pineapple with legs. For the life of me I just can’t imagine why an artist would build a beast like that. His imagination is the limit, and this cycloptic emerald-skinned gorilla is the best he can do?
I expect better of my pulp artists.
Leave a Reply