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Twisted Kaiju Theater

Twisted Kaiju Theater or TKT is a photo-based comedic webcomic by Sean McGuinness created on August 11, 2000. McGuinness created Twisted Kaiju Theater when inspired by a humorous photo comic-strip appearing in ToyFare called Twisted Toyfare Theater (in which TKT has been mentioned twice over the years). Similar in concept, McGuinness poses and photographs figurines in his personal vinyl/action figure collection (most of which consist of Godzilla-based kaiju) in bizarre situations with added dialogue bubbles.

As one of the first and longest running photocomics ever produced, Twisted Kaiju Theater updates twice a week (with a frequent bonus updates), and has over 1,400 episodes. It is a BuzzComix Hall of Famer, achieving the number one position three months in a row, and has maintained a steady position in the top 10 of Top Web Comics for several years. Sean McGuinness has also been a guest of honor at I-CON in 2006 and 2007. On January 2007 and January 2008, Twisted Kaiju Theater was nominated for Outstanding Photographic Comic in the Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards.

Style

The art of TKT is done by juxtaposing digital photographs of vinyl/action figures (mostly kaiju) into backgrounds (primarily generated from photos) and photoshopping various effects. This style has alternately been called photocollage, photocomics or fumetti, and McGuinness shares these art techniques with "tutorials" on web photography and specific comic effects. Webcomics which utilize this style or similar techniques include Alien Loves Predator, Insecticomics, Perils of the Bold, and Nukeland Cinema

When the comic began, figures were posed against props and backgrounds, with word balloons added after photos were taken. As the comic progressed, more advanced techniques were used to improve the quality of the comic. The figures are now shot against a white background, then superimposed with Bluescreen technology over a different background such as a sprawling cityscape. Special effects like Dutch angles, explosions, motion blurs, and Wild Takes have also been added to give a more cinematic and dramatic look. While many of the figures are articulated, McGuinness must use photoshop techniques in order to bring many of the characters to life, such as the figurines for Shin-Goji and the Toxic Pirates, which have no articulation at all.

Plot

The webcomic is set in the fictional land mass known as Neo-Monster Island, populated by the various types of kaiju, mecha, bionicle, comic book and anime characters. The main cast consists of Shin-Goji and his friends the Toxic Pirates, who are loosely based on Sean McGuinness and his personal circle of friends, all portrayed by Super deformed (SD for short) figurines of Godzilla monsters. The remaining characters stem from a seemingly endless cast of figurines within McGuinness' collection, who make brief or recurring appearances.

The first few seasons revolved around random running gags and toilet humor, the most famous of which revolved around the source of lemon sours received in packaged figurine boxes, which are nothing more than the feces of King Ghidorah. As the comic progressed, longer and more provoking storylines took place, such as Legend of the Dark Mask, Epic and Legends. Most of the time the plots are vehicles to deliver political, social, racial or religious satire while involving one or two fight scenes. Storylines included countless invasions (such as a takeover by Yahoo!), a quest to reshoot a lost episode, and even a journey into Shin-Goji's urinary tract to destroy his kidney stones akin to Fantastic Voyage.

Due to Shin-Goji being inspired by Sean McGuinness, real life events which occur are sometimes reenacted in TKT, even having Shin-Goji being shown as the creator of Twisted Kaiju Theater, breaking the fourth wall. Comics such as these range from many different topics, such as playing video games or visiting comic conventions.

Characters

Toxic Pirates

Shin-Goji: Small, loud, opinionated, vulgar, and more often than not insensitive and politically incorrect, Shin-Goji somehow leads the uncharted land mass known as Neo-Monster Island. The webcomic focuses mostly on his antics and the trouble he gets himself into. He works at a popular copy and shipping shop.

The figure used is an SD Heisei Godzilla from the Super Collection set, and is also a representation of the author, McGuinness, inserting himself into the comic. Shin-Goji is of Irish descent because McGuinness also is. He does not make an appearance until the second season. Shin-Goji means, literally translated, "True Godzilla". McGuinness chose the name Goji, which is an affectionate, shortened name for Godzilla. The Shin part came from his love of the Street Fighter character Shin-Akuma.

Space Hojo: Space Hojo is Shin-Goji's long suffering roommate who does not show up until Season 3. Space Hojo prefers trickery and common sense to keep himself free from the chaos that surrounds him and is usually the result of Shin-Goji's foolishness. Due to a botched Lasik surgery, he was endowed with the ability to shoot laser beams from his eyes.

Space Hojo is characterized by an SD Space Godzilla figure due to its angry and disgruntled look, a trait McGuinness associates with Howard Williams, McGuinness' real life roommate whom Space Hojo is based on. As a result of Williams being African American and being represented by a Space Godzilla figure, the running theme is all Space Godzillas represent black people. Williams has a heavy influence into the development of the comic and many of the controversial strips involving race or racism have been co-written by Williams.

Grendel: Grendel is a friend of Shin-Goji and Space Hojo, he shows up around the end of Season 4. A member of the Stormtrooper 501st, he is only seen in his traditional armor and helmet. He serves as a bigger lecher than any of the other Toxic Pirates. As ex-military with a love of firepower, he associates with C-Ball very well.

The figure that represents him is an SD 1984 Godzilla from the Soushingeki set. The head was cut off and replaced with that of a stormtrooper along with armor. The model was created by real life Grendel, who also helps with some other custom figures, including the more recent Steel Pyramid.

MOGUERA Marius: MOGUERA Marius was originally represented by a High Grade MOGUERA figure in Season 4. To fit is with the short, super-deformed style of the other Toxic Pirates, he was later associated with an SD MOGUERA from the Soshingeki Collection.

Also a long-suffering victim of Shin-Goji's foolishness, he buries himself in his Taekwondo model painting. His speech is most often reminiscent of Twikki from Buck Rodgers.

C-Ball Sleazeball: C-Ball shows up in Season 6, and is the only married Toxic Pirate. He is the most sarcastic and dangerous of the Toxic Pirates.

He is represented by an SD Hedorah from the Soshingeki set (Though he has said he would rather be represented by a "chainsaw doggie"). Sometimes paranoid, and as a gun-nut, he gets along quite well with Grendel. His name comes from a nickname carried by the real-life C-Ball.

C-Ball has been documented as being able to secrete his own super glue (As mentioned in Epic IX). This ability came into play when C-Ball had to build Mazinger-Z for Shin.

Spidersense: Spidersense is called The Spirit Warrior, a God-loving man who rocks hard to Dokken. An oddity on the sometimes blasphemous island of Twisted Kaiju Theater, watching over Shin-Goji and the others and making sure they don't stray too far. He also plays HeroClix with the Toxic Pirate crew. His figure is a painted in the colors of Spider-Man.Thor: Thor is the resident manga artist of Neo-Monster Island, having a "special" store of rare artist's ink. Described as "The Manga Fanboy", the character of Thor is represented by a personified (Custom Virus SD), and the butt of many jokes involving the origins of his ink Thor's daughter makes an appearance as the same but smaller figurine. As a real life artist with published works in Antarctic Press and Radio Comix, Thor helped Twisted Kaiju Theater see actual publication. Son Goharotto: Son Goharotto (Son Go-san for short) is the creator of Saikyo Powaa, and is a moderator of the forums in Twisted Kaiju Theater. He is most remembered for his renditions of half-naked anthropomorphic babes and his temper. He fought Shin-Goji to a stand still when his "Vengeance Seal" was activated.

The Kaiju Girls

The Kaiju Girls (also known as K-Girls) are a gallery of females anthropomorphized after the various Toho kaiju. As opposed to some art sites where females are put into Godzilla costumes, McGuinness was the first to commission anthro art of Godzilla costumes. They started when McGuinness wanted to create a poster girl for the site, which was heavily male dominated. Anthro artist Danny Valentini drew the first girl using specifications from McGuinness. G.I.N.A. (Godzilla Inspired Naked Anthromorph, name by MOGUERA Marius) was drawn reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe's Playboy cover, based on the Godzilla 2000 suit. Soon after each Toho Godzilla monster was envisioned as a Kaiju Girl. There are now 75 or so Kaiju Girls including original creations and girls based on characters like Great Mazinger the more recent Cloverfield monster, as well as other genres, gathered from a series of different artists either by gift art or commission. The galleries are split up into the specific eras of Godzilla movies, as well as original creations, group shots and sprite based art. The galleries range from Rated G to NC-17 for adult situations and nudity.

The Kaiju Girls have been drawn into a few TKT episodes, and models were created by NToonz for other episodes. But when it comes to overall "continuity", any comics which depict them are not considered canon. There are a few fanfics dedicated to the Kaiju Girls — McGuinness ultimately decides if each is to be considered "official" to the overall mythos of the kaiju girls or not.

The site draws some controversy for the Kaiju Girls because of the unregulated adult situations, and from people who find the "furry" genre distasteful. After a conflict with some of the artists who submitted work to his site as gift art, he required all artists to include a disclaimer stating all fanworks sent to Neo-Monster Island/Twisted Kaiju Theater would be regarded as gifts unless otherwise specified, and K-Girls and other such characters would remain the intellectual property of their respective creators. Legal ownership of actual images is given to Shin-Goji/Sean McGuinness with the provision the creators would be consulted in the event of use beyond showcasing. Fanworks submitted by the artists and authors are be treated with utmost care and respect, and in return the creators agree they no longer possess sole interest in the managing of their creations.

Artists have started donating Kaiju Girl artwork more rapidly than McGuinness can upload to the site, to the point where Wednesdays are usually devoted to updating and cleaning up the Kaiju Girl archives.

Archive CDs

McGuinness sells archive CDs of his work at cost. Volume I is currently for sale and available on his website, containing the first 500 episodes, two CD exclusive cartoons, an exclusive G.I.N.A. picture by manga artist Thor Thorvaldson, and the complete Kaiju Girl archive as of March 17, 2006. Volume II was released in March 2007, and also features exclusive comics and Kaiju Girl artwork.

Availability and copyright

All strips are available free of charge from the website. McGuinness acknowledges the individual copyrights retained by the vinyl/action figures he personifies and the artists he showcases. McGuinness' work may fall under the fair use doctrine of the United States Copyright Act of 1976.