Tokusatsu and kaiju fans have been eating well the last few years. Whether it’s the on big screen (Godzilla Minus One, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire), the small screen (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Gamera –Rebirth-), or comics (Radiant Black, BOOM! Studios’ Power Rangers titles), they have plenty of stories and other content to enjoy. But the heavy hitters aren’t the only ones churning out material; the indie sphere has much to offer, too. Enter James Santana and TokUSA Studios, a new comic publisher based out of Long Island, New York, and their first project, The World of Nebulon, a preview book showcasing several of their flagship characters, which is now on Kickstarter.
The World of Nebulon is aptly named because its four short stories/excerpts give readers a taste of the burgeoning universe Santana, co-writer Hunter van Lierop, artist Gaspar Flores, and colorist Carmine “CJ” Billotto are creating. The characters featured in this book include, most prominently, Nebulon, a Super Sentai/Kamen Rider-inspired henshin hero; Kaiju Man, a Hulk-like young man who can transform into, well, a kaiju; and Masura, a Mothra-inspired magical girl with a mysterious past. Not only do readers get glimpses of their powers and personalities, but they also get hints of this futuristic, semi-postapocalyptic world that was conquered by aliens called the Garlex. Their invasion not only altered Earth’s geography but humanity’s genetic code. It’s a volatile place with monsters and secret organizations, so it’s no wonder it needs heroes.
The first story, “Friend of Foe,” is an action-packed crossover between Nebulon and Kaiju Man. It drops the reader into the story where a hooded young man wanders into a city being attacked by a Garlexian monster. When he arrives, he sees Kaiju Man and, in true Stan Lee style, mistakes him for the creature attacking the city before they team up to stop the true threat. It showcases both characters well and even has splash pages for their respective transformations that mirror each other. The reader sees Nebulon speaking with the alien being, Ma’at, although it is only implied that the two of them have bonded a la Ultraman. (Santana has said Marvel’s Venom was an inspiration for the characters). Nebulon initiates his transformation by removing an eyepatch to reveal a glowing purple eye, which is a cool effect. Kaiju Man’s transformation is undermined slightly by a lack of scale, which is an issue Santana himself admits to. Flores’ art is manga-inspired what with its “silent” onomatopoeia and character designs (including a little girl who looks eerily similar to Anya from Spy x Family), but it definitely looks more like WebToons than a “professional” comic, especially in this first chapter. Your mileage may vary with that.
The next story, “Project K: Welcome to the Family,” features a crossover between Kaiju Man and Masura. In this one, which is narrated by a government agent recording a log for easy exposition, villains are injecting animals and one human with a substance that mutates them into kaiju. It usually kills humans, but this time, he, too, becomes a monster. Once again, the heroes’ powers and personalities are shown naturally with the impulsive Masura annoying the more tempered Kaiju Man. The action, dialogue, and worldbuilding remain solid. The most surprising part was instead of destroying the monster-of-the-week while Kaiju Man has him in a headlock, Masura pulls a Wonder Woman by reasoning with him so that he calms down and reverts back to human. This subversion is appreciated. There’s also a fun Easter egg where old classic comic books can be glimpsed in Masura’s satchel, including Amazing Fantasy #15 (which featured the first appearance of Spider-Man). Unfortunately, scaling on Kaiju Man remains inconsistent and is complicated by him not getting nearly as large in this story. In the first, he was the size of Godzilla, while here he’s closer to 20-25 feet. The substance used to mutate the monsters is called “Kaiju Fuel,” and if that didn’t already sound like the name of an energy drink, most characters nickname it “G-Fuel.” Was the creative team unaware that is an existing energy drink? Regardless, it’s a fun little story.
The next two tales are excerpts of what will eventually be full issues, starting with “Nebulon: Knight of Justice.” The cover is an homage to the iconic helmet covers produced by BOOM! Studios for their Power Ranger line, which should make this popular with PR fans. As for the story itself, there’s no superhero action, and it instead focuses on developing the characters of Jono (aka Nebulon) and his brother, Davis. They explore an abandoned, rundown scientific facility until they stumble upon a being frozen in a tube in a nice splash page. (I can’t give away all the spoilers. Ha!) The dialogue gives some insights into the characters and world while also building some intrigue with Davis cryptically referring to someone telling him what to expect in the place. Flores’ art is in black and white in this segment, and honestly, it might look better without the color. Jono comes perilously close to breaking the fourth wall by declaring this is the part where he has “time to talk to myself.” This portion more than the others feels like a manga since it only has a smattering of color here and there. There’s another classic comic Easter egg with the story starting with Jono reading Uncanny X-Men #135, which is the iconic Dark Phoenix cover by John Byrne. It’s here where the reader will learn that these stories are presented out of chronological order, which may be jarring, but given that this is a preview book, that shouldn’t matter much.
Finally, there is “Project K Origins: Masura,” an excerpt that does exactly that: tell the backstory for the mysterious magical girl. The first page especially reminds me of Naruto with Masura growing up in a rural Asian community. It establishes quickly that she knows precious little about herself and her life before just a few years prior. She then sets out on her “heroine’s journey” by going to Hong Kong, where we learn she has the potentially overpowered ability to learn and speak any language. She also, in true anime girl fashion, loves food. It really highlights her personality in only a few short pages. Flores, who also wrote the story, has arguably his best art in this segment because it is accentuated by Billotto’s best coloring work in the entire book. It leaves the reader wanting more.
If you’d like to learn more about TokUSA and The World of Nebulon, I recently interviewed James Santana, which can be seen in the video below. The audio version of it can be heard on the feeds for all three of my podcasts, The Monster Island Film Vault, Henshin Men, and The Power Trip. He goes into great detail about how and why he started his studio and created these characters. He and I also reveal a pair of projects I hope to write for TokUSA, fulfilling my bucket list dream of writing a comic book.
You can support The World of Nebulon on Kickstarter now through May 1 at 9AM EST!
