The Book: The official continuation of the hit Netflix series from Titan Comics, set in the iconic Kong franchise, Return to Skull Island is a thrilling continuation.
Written by Simon Furman (Transformers) and illustrated by Christopher Jones (Young Justice, Teen Titans) – be amongst the explorers witnessing epic battles between monsters.
Return to Skull Island collects the thrilling official continuation comic of the hit Netflix Kong: Skull Island animated series, adapting the intense, monster-filled world.
The Review: This Graphic Novel addition jumps you straight into a narrative arc based on the Netflix animated series. This tells you two things immediately; (i) it’s big budget, and (ii) the story is unfolding from something that has already been. Lore on top of Lore in a lore layer-cake, but is it tasty still?
Let’s start with point (i): big names, writer Simon Furman and artist Christopher Jones, have been brought together to deliver the story telling. The story – is strong, but relies on knowing the mythos and having some familiarity with the animated series – of which more of that later. The artwork is split on the classic two step approach: the cover art, which is magnificent, created by Inhyuk Lee (who’s working with Marvel producing cover illustrations on some of their biggest properties, including Spider-Man, Black Panther, The Incredible Hulk, Wolverine, Venom, The Fantastic Four and The X-Men.), and the inside matter created by Christopher Jones. Jones works within the scope of the animated series: the art has its clean simple line approach, the inking is flat which is a specific style, and the detail is often lost in the panels, which is to be expected, and aligns with the drawing style of the original animated series. The panel design and overall page design is dynamic, and the lettering and interaction with the script is tight and well paced. The action scenes visually are well handled, with some great visual set pieces, and the artwork and colour ‘ink work’ pops off the page.
This though begs the question, should the artwork ape [sic] the animated series for continuity, or should it breathe and be more graphic novel in lineage? I want the latter but got the former, which opens up a further question; is this graphic novel created first and foremost for a small screen audience extending out a newly minted mythos, or a standalone graphic novel for comic fans? I understand the pressure completely but for me I’d prefer more of a “lean into the art form”, and less of the flat animated panel and character design. But overall this is so very well produced that it becomes one of personal preference, rather than a critique of quality.
The writing style is the knowing side-eye snark of the protagonist, a young man lost on an island that is hostile at every turn. A well worn lore and one that Skull Island has always predicated, from dinosaurs to unusual mythological beasts – and now, a series of monsters from the underworld, or more specifically the Hollow Earth that Kong rules dominion over. The characters are cut from the standard range of mercenaries and family, with good interplay between father and son throughout. We have an oversized “dog”, and a band of natives who protect and share the island world with Kong, but if you have seen any films or the animated series you know all that. There are also some flashbacks which are well handled and help reposition the story within the larger framework, too which helps both the poor of memory, and a first time reader to acclimatise.
Overall, I feel that the Return To Skull Island graphic novel is a great addition to the existing Netflix animated series. It carries over the stylistic and writing style, and builds a story and lore with new elemental monsters. Personally, the lack of jeopardy for the main characters and plot armour ensures survival, which we all understand [hello Marvels] but a little post Battlestar Galactica [reboot] or John Wick – damage and dirt, related to prior incidents, would help me feel the danger, yet everything remains squeaky clean throughout. An amusing comment about the original Netflix series trailer on YouTube sums this up; “The show was promising, but man do none of the main characters act like humans. All they do is quip. One guy’s dad literally dies and ten minutes later the guy is like “I’m ok, back to joking time.” So in one sense, the graphic novel continues the tradition, and I guess this is the new norm for enabling character arc and story progression to continue cross series and future publications.
The overall print design, and the covers gallery at the back is a great addition, and I would recommend this for the teenager/young adult market. Return To Skull Island knows its audience and plays to all those strengths and there is plenty of story to get your teeth into, and guess what, (rubbish spoiler alert), the story continues, in Escape from Skull Island, also from Titan.
And, according to our friendly Google talking humanoid (AI); “TV Show Status: As of February 2026, the animated series remains unrenewed for a second season on Netflix. Creator Brian Duffield confirmed in May 2024 that he was “awaiting the call” from Netflix, but there has been no official movement since.”
So fill your boots and enjoy the printed works, Netflix loss is a win for the printed graphic novel format. Score: CMYK 1, RGB 0.
Graham Baines
• Return to Skull Island is published in collection on 10th March 2026 | ISBN: 978-1787743915 | AmazonUK Affiliate Link | UKBookshop.org Affiliate Link |
• Escape from Skull Island #1, is in Local Comic Shops now, with #2 on sale from 2nd March | Buy it from Forbidden Planet (Affiliate Link)
Trapped on Skull Island, a desperate band of survivors struggles against the land’s relentless horrors while an ancient threat rises from below. But as chaos unfolds, flashbacks reveal Kong’s turbulent youth: his battles, losses, and the primal instincts that shaped him into the island’s sovereign.
Now, as hordes of monstrous beasts close in on the stranded humans, the most dangerous enemy of all regains strength to once more challenge Kong’s throne…
• Titan Comics is online at titan-comics.com
downthetubes received a copy of the graphic novel for the purposes of this review
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