Hot on the heels of the latest volume of Attack of the Kaiju (see my review here) comes Reign of the Titans, Vol. 1: Ragnarok … Now!, another terrific collection of giant monster stories. It makes me wonder: are we currently living in the golden age of daikaiju fiction?

Let’s hope so. This year alone we’ve seen a handful of memorable anthologies, plus excellent longer efforts from Dustin Dreyling (Primordial Soup: The Second Batch), Nora B. Peevy (Flesh-Eating Turtles!), Sam M. Phillips (Kaiju Chrysalis) and Neil Riebe (Kaiju Bites). Like they say: small steps build momentum, and momentum leads to success. 

As the anthology’s title suggests, the stories in Ragnarok … Now! are grim. They envision an apocalyptic future delivered by colossal creatures. Yet, contrary to the Norse legends, many of these monsters face no comeuppance from the cyclical nature of Ragnarok. According to a story by Kevin Heim, the kaiju-tachi are spawned completely outside the bounds of any myth cycles, so there are no gods to punish them.

That, of course, is bad news. With no tether to restrict them, the modern-day kaiju are nigh invincible. All we can do, says author Dustin Dreyling in a story called “Run,” is try to find a nanosecond of pleasure before collateral damage claims us. 

Still, the volume’s collected authors cannot resist tinkering with Norse mythology—and who could blame them? The first two stories even feature the Thunderer himself, Thor Odinson. 

“The Serpent and the Hammer” by Christofer Nigro and “The Thunder and the Lightning” by Matthew Dennion are dandy Thor adventures. But more interesting to me is how well the Marvel Comics version of Thor has seamlessly merged with the original Northern myths. I can’t think of another example where mythology and pop culture have integrated so smoothly. Both Nigro and Dennion seem inspired equally by Stan Lee and the Poetic Edda.

Even though all the stories in this collection foretell an inevitable future where giant monsters dominate humanity, one story stands out with great humor and unexpected élan. 

“Assault of the Powersaurs” by Cody Bratsch is sure to tickle the funny bone of anyone who watched the original Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers TV show from the 90s. 

In Bratsch’s imagined future, Earth is ravaged by war. The planet has become a barren space rock, but people are still fighting for territory. To that end, dinosaurs are resurrected and given bionic enhancements. “They contained the animalistic brutality of prehistoric monsters with futuristic combat technology.”

The Powersaurs form an awesome group of futuristic thunder lizards. They are Blastersaurus Rex, along with Nitroceratops, Protonsaurus and Terrordactyl. They’re dinosaurs to the core—stronger than before. Go, go Powersaurs!

[ Reign of the Titans, Vol. 1: Ragnarok … Now! / Edited by Christofer Nigro / First Printing: October 2025 / ISBN: 9798993398075 ]