[Kamen Rider Die]

Hey, gang. It’s my birthday today, and what I really want is for you to read one of my favorite comic series. I’ll even give you the first one for free, a thing that is not suspicious at all!



“Welcome to Kaijumax, where the worst of the worst monsters are safely locked away from the human world, whether they be villains, anti-heroes, eco-parables, or nuclear metaphors. Electrogor is ripped away from his family and struggles to determine whom to trust, which gangs to avoid, and when to take on the big man to show you aren't to be trifled with. Also: the nation of Mecha!”

Zander Cannon’s Kaijumax is my favorite ongoing comic series, and it’s one I think the folks who come to the TokuNation boards would find a lot in. It’s colorful but dark; deep but funny; sad but entertaining; and serious but aware of its inherent ridiculousness. It’s also very familiar with toku tropes, specifically those of the Ultra variety. There are a billion different Japanese entertainment references, though, with looks in at Godzilla films, Sentai teams, Voltrons, and tons more. (The current storyline in Season Five has a plot involving a murder trial for a mobster, all done up in Pokemon references.)

It’s also 100% Not For Kids, something it slaps on the back of every cover. While the pop culture references and cartoony style add levity, this is a story that touches on recidivism, racial profiling, the school-to-prison pipeline, drug addiction, murder and everything else you’d expect to see in a story set on a prison island. It is using these kaiju and toku trappings to tell a story about something serious, and it treats its characters as more than punchlines or references. It’s one of the smartest comics I’ve ever read, and one that looks for humanity in some of the most inhuman forms.

Anyway, I love it, I think you’d really like it, and I’m hoping to treat you to a digital copy of the first issue. Just PM me an email address if you’re interested, and I’ll get you a copy of Kaijumax Season One #1 as a gift through Comixology.

(NOTES: You’ll need to create a free Comixology account to redeem it. I wanted to send out codes that'd be easy to redeem, but Comixology doesn't do those anymore, I guess. I don't know if these gift emails will work outside the US, but I'm willing to try. At worst, I'll PayPal anyone outside the US the equivalent amount and they can buy their own copy.)

This offer is good through midnight on November 21st, Central Standard Time/Chicago time. I’m not going to be checking my PMs constantly (I’m definitely going to bed in a few minutes), but anyone who asks for a code before then, I promise to send one.

Let me know if I can get you started on one of my favorite comics!