Interview: Writer Sophie Campbell on 'Mothra: Queen of the Monsters'

Sophie Campbell is no stranger to monsters, mutants, and magic. Having concluded a seminal run on IDW Publishing's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the writer and artist is now working to make her mark on Mothra on March 5 in Mothra: Queen of the Monsters #1, written by Campbell and illustrated by artist Matt Frank. In anticipation of the 5-issue limited series pitting twins against a dark future where Mothra has been defeated by new kaiju Antra, we reached out to Campbell to learn more about their take on Toho’s fan-favorite “Queen of the Monsters”.

Godzilla.com: Congratulations on “Queen on the Monsters”. What made Mothra the right kaiju for you and this story?

Sophie Campbell: Thank you! The Mothra project originally started because I was working on a Godzilla pitch and was having some trouble with it, so at one point I suggested to the editor "What if I came up with a Mothra story instead?" I love Godzilla of course but there's more unexplored territory with Mothra. I could do something really new with her that had never been done before, there was more wiggle room with her, so to speak. I'm a big fan of the Rebirth of Mothra movies and the idea of doing something like that with a similar vibe got me really excited. I kind of transferred a bunch of the ideas from my Godzilla pitch over to the Mothra pitch and it all started clicking and falling into place.

Godzilla.com: Tell us all about the new kaiju Antra. What is it? How did you come up with it? Did you design it? The fandom must know!

Sophie Campbell: The main reason behind Antra was that I love ants, haha. We bounced around ideas for other antagonists like Battra or Ghidorah but ultimately it felt right to create a totally new monster, and obviously it had to be an ant and obviously her name had to follow the same naming convention as Mothra; she's an ant so Ant + ra!

I did a bunch of initial concept sketches for Antra but none of them clicked until Matt did his own take on it. He has a way of giving things a grandeur that I struggle with, and he really nailed it. Antra's design is about equal parts me and Matt. She is our baby.

Godzilla.com: Do you remember when and how you became a Godzilla fan? What hooked you? Was it the movies, comics, toys?

Sophie Campbell: I remember seeing Mothra vs Godzilla (1964) when I was little and I didn't "get it" at the time, maybe I was too young, I don't know, but I also had a couple Godzilla toys (I specifically remember an Imperial Godzilla that I would play with alongside He-Man/She-Ra toys) and I think that's what mostly planted the seed for me.

I didn't seriously get into kaiju stuff until years later when I saw Godzilla 2000 in the theater when I was 19 and was able to find the Heisei stuff on VHS, not to mention I was old enough to be able to buy things on my own off eBay ,which led me into collecting the toys.

Godzilla.com: As the writer and cover artist for this series, you get to illustrate a number of subjects from your story. What’s your favorite Toho monster to draw — in this series, or in general?

Sophie Campbell: Megaguirus, hands down. She only appears on one cover I'm doing, unfortunately, but she's still my fave and I've done a bunch of fanart of her over the years. She's one of my top five monsters.

Godzilla.com: Your social channels feature a stellar sofubi collection. What draws you to soft vinyl figures, and what’s your Godzilla and Toho sofubi collection like these days?

Sophie Campbell: Thanks! My house is filled with monsters! I love all sorts of toys and figures but sofubi is my main love. There's something beautiful and genuine about that style and that manufacturing process compared to other styles of toys or mass-produced figures.

I love the quality of the vinyl that's typically used, I love the colors, I love the more stylized approach to the monsters whether well-known like Godzilla or the sculptor's own original characters, I love the personal hand-made feel these toys have, and I love the community around it, too. I love it so much that I've even gotten to sculpt a few of my own sofubi toys made in Tokyo, a dream come true!

My Toho sofubi collection is pretty good but sometimes it can be tough because damn they can get expensive, haha. The crown jewels of my collection are a few blank/unpainted glow-in-the-dark Megaguirus figures by M1go which are super rare, I refuse to admit how much I paid for them!

On the less expensive side I've been loving the Godzilla figures that sculptor Anraku Ansaku has been putting out through Medicom lately, his Godzilla '99 figure is a masterpiece. His Shin Godzilla is incredible too but it's soooo expensive on the aftermarket so I haven't gotten one yet. Now if only he'd also do a Megaguirus figure...

Mothra: Queen of the Monsters #1 arrives on March 5. Fans can pre-order through their local comic shop to make sure they get their copy.