Godzilla (53/54) - Novel Series by Mark Cerasini (1996-1998)

In the late 90s, Godzilla got his own fiction book series written by Mark Cerasini and published by Random House. Before you ask — nope! — I haven't read them. But despite their every-growing value on the secondary market, I continue to hold onto my set, in large part due to the great cover art by Bob Eggleton. 

Mark Cerasini wrote five Godzilla novels, however only the first four were published. These include Godzilla Returns (1996):

Godzilla 2000 (1997), which anticipated the title of the first film in the Millennium series:

Godzilla at World's End (1988):

And Godzilla vs The Robot Monsters (1998):

The planned 5th book in the series, Godzilla and the Lost Continent, was scheduled for November 1998, but never published. According to Wikipedia, Cerasini gave an interview explaining that the failure of the 1998 U.S. film killed the book series. A brief excerpt was included in the back of Godzilla vs The Robot Monsters.

And here's the Eggleton painting for the cover of Godzilla and the Lost Continent, which hints at the big G burning up, Destoroyah-style!

We're in the final month of I Am 54, but hang in there as we wind down our celebration of the 70th anniversaries of I Am Legend, Godzilla, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Check back next week for the final item from my Godzilla collection in this series!