First Manga Appearance of Godzilla, Certified by CGC, Towers in Heritage Sale

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Towering above the auction is a Science Adventure Picture Story Godzilla #nn graded CGC 3.5 (lot 91114). Published by Shueisha in 1954, this is the first manga appearance of Godzilla, a huge sea monster awakened and empowered by nuclear radiation. This example is the only CGC-certified copy of this rare manga book in any grade!

Godzilla first emerged on the big screen in 1954 with Ishirō Honda's film “Gojira.” This groundbreaking Japanese film, produced by Toho Co., Ltd., was a response to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the Lucky Dragon 5 nuclear testing incident. Godzilla quickly became a cultural icon, appearing in numerous Japanese films, where he battled a host of monstrous adversaries, often shifting from a villain to a more heroic figure.

The franchise expanded globally, leading to multiple American adaptations, including the 1998 film “Godzilla,” and Legendary Pictures' Monsterverse series that started with “Godzilla” in 2014, and built up to pit the Tokyo titan against the iconic King Kong in the epic 2021 showdown in “Godzilla vs. Kong.”

In 2023, Toho released “Godzilla Minus One,” a film that returns to the franchise's roots with a more somber and reflective tone. The film won the Academy Award in 2024 for Best Visual Effects.

Godzilla's presence extended beyond the silver screen into various media, including comic books. Following the monster’s first manga appearance in this book, his introduction to US comics came through Marvel Comics in the 1970s with a series titled “Godzilla, King of the Monsters.” Later, Dark Horse Comics and IDW Publishing produced their own Godzilla series, exploring new narratives and pitting him against both classic and original kaiju.

For more CGC-certified comics from this Heritage sale on June 23, check out this article!

CGC in search of a Manga master!

CGC is seeking to hire a top manga expert to lead a new service dedicated to the professional authentication, grading and encapsulation of manga. The introduction of CGC’s new manga grading service follows CGC’s highly successful launches of CGC Video Games™ in 2022 and CGC Home Video™ in 2023. CGC is continuing to expand its services to meet demand for professional authentication and grading across collectibles categories and the globe. For more about this opportunity, click here!

About CGC

Since revolutionizing comic book grading in 2000, CGC has grown to include certification services for a vast variety of pop culture collectibles. These divisions include CGC Cards, CGC Video Games and CGC Home Video. CGC Cards provides expert card grading for TCGs, sports cards and non-sports cards. CGC Video Games is dedicated to video game grading for the most popular consoles, including Nintendo, Sega, Atari, PlayStation and more. The newest division of CGC, CGC Home Video, provides expert VHS grading in addition to other types of home media.