King Kong of Skull Island: Exodus

Both of these new books, Exodus and The Wall, absolutely captivated me. In 2018 I bought King Kong Of Skull Island, which was published in a very limited edition. It is beautifully designed with slipcase and oversize format, and because it is such a collectible item I read it only once and then put it behind glass, lest it get damaged somehow. But when I heard that it was finally being released as two soft cover books, Exodus and The Wall, I immediately grabbed a set so I could relive the excitement of Skull Island over and over again. The first book is Exodus. This volume exquisitely describes the exodus of an entire civilization! DeVito and Strickland take us diving into the backstory of humans and Kongs. As a huge Kong fan, it was a moment of enlightenment to read about the Tagatu people's origins and learn the complex relationships between the various cultures that form the Tagatu before they inhabited Skull Island. This book is loaded with intriguing characters such as the Penjaga, the Kai, the Zantu and many others. It even describes step by step, the building of the ships used for their journey- all the way down to diagrams and cut-aways! Most interesting to me are the enigmatic Zantu, a nomadic tribe that tacitly developed a symbiotic hunting relationship with the ancient race of Kongs, sometimes against a competing race of super-anthropoids called Thakus (while the root of the name Thakus might be an homage to Robert E. Howard, the creatures themselves are uniquely terrifying). I would love to see a detailed encounter between Kongs and Thakus on the screen one day! The story line of Exodus alone is enough to keep me revisiting the book, but the varied illustrations by DeVito send both this volume and The Wall rocketing to the top of my collection. After being so enthralled by Exodus, I thought I was prepared for The Wall... but this one transported me to dreamland. I was transfixed. Until now, there has never been a book describing how the Great Wall on Skull Island was built. This book tackles that mystery head on. The authors seem to know empirically what it takes to build a wall like this because every aspect of the description is plausible. It is absolutely fascinating. In the telling we get a detailed glimpse into an otherwise unvisitable land, even the revelation of the subterranean geological process that created the world of Skull Island. Along the way, Skull Island is vividly brought to life in gorgeous drawings that only a master illustrator of DeVito's caliber can accomplish. Throughout the books, Exodus and The Wall, there are numerous full colored illustrations painted in DeVito's easily recognizable harmonious color palette. In addition to the color plates there are dozens of sepia and black and white drawings of animals, plants, people, Kongs, insects, … all the flora and fauna of the island. As a recreational entomologist and artist myself, I have a real appreciation for DeVito's scientific understanding for biological body plans. He provides us a gift in the marriage between science and imagination. Every animal depicted is biologically plausible and intriguing. At the back of the books is the ultimate bonus – a sketchbook of notes and drawings by none other than Carl and Vincent Denham themselves! Mind blowing, extensive, and fascinating! This entirely new 2-part novel is not only a travelogue to the ultimate Kong destination, it is also the geography and biology textbook I've dreamed of since childhood! A MUST HAVE for anyone who has ever dreamed of adventure...especially a Kong fan!!

half of the book is a selected rehash of DeVito's Kong King of Skull Island, an old trick he used on his King King 'updated' novel. except the rehash completely contradicts the last book, like listening to a drunk tell a story twice or trying to watch star trek discovery. the second half fully contracts the Kong of Skull Island comic and makes the natives into rejects from a fantasy series, riding giant warthogs & fighting cavemen

I purchased this and another book, King Kong: Exodus at the same time. Even though they looked liked graphic novels, being a Kongophile I could not resist. Happily, they were no GN’s but straight forward novels in a large format with excellent illustrations. If you are a Kongophile (there is that word again), and have any inclination to read about one person’s imagined history of Skull Island’s backstory, I recommend these two books. They are not canon, to be certain, but interesting speculation. Well illustrated as well.

I loved it the best King Kong illustration and story I’ve ever seen!!!