There are a lot of Godzilla comic books out there. To state
that IDW is responsible for some of the best, is stating the obvious. Saying
that, I have never bought a Godzilla comic book. Well, unless you count the
series that Marvel did decades ago.
Now, I have decided to jump in with both feet in this new
series, Godzilla, Rulers Of The Earth.
Man, I’m glad I did.
I knew it was a good idea when I saw a preview of the
artwork that Matt Frank did for issue one. That and the Gigan cover hooked me
from the start.
The basic premise is that there is a team of Kaiju
specialists in Hawaii
when what appears to be Godzilla attacks the island. We are also given a primer
in giant monsters and a sub plot with what appears to be aliens. The big reveal
at the end is that it is not Godzilla, but Zilla.
I know, what is a Zilla?
It’s the Godzilla from that Matthew Broderick movie. You know
the giant iguana? Yeah, it’s him, or her. Whatever.
Anyway, the real Godzilla shows up at the end and looks none
too happy about this usurper to the throne.
That was issue one and it is such a great setup for the
series. We get a few hints at sub plots; get introductions to the human aspect
of the story. We get Gigan fighting a huge spider and the beginnings of that
fight we all wanted to see.
Zilla VS Godzilla.
This might be the perfect Kaiju comic.
To make sure we know that Issue Two starts right at the
fight. And it is spectacular!
All Kaiju movies have those epic battle sequences. The
reason that we sit through the character development. And this is done in a way
that makes it feel so cinematic. We get a little character development, but not
so much that it interferes with the Zilla/Godzilla throwdown.
Part of me wonders if I might want to go back and revisit
older incarnations of Godzilla comic books, but this one has set the bar so
high I think I might be disappointed.
I think I’ll just stick with…
GODZILLA, RULERS OF THE EARTH!
By the one, one thing I would change; monthly instead of bi
monthly, but that might just be me being greedy.