Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #1 - 3

My favorite giant monster, hands down, is Godzilla, and I would be remiss if I didn't discuss the recent comic book series from IDW!  Here are my thoughts on issues #1 - 3, originally posted on the Monster Zero Forums.

Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #1 (March 2011)

 

 First thing's first: HOORAY! Best Birthday present in a LONG time! XD

I knew there would be multiple covers, but I found myself REALLY torn when I arrived at my local comic shop to find four different cover PLUS a custom cover of Goji smashing the store. I ultimately went with the awesome fold-around cover feature Goji, Mothra, Rodan, Kumonga, Ghidorah, and Anguirus and the Custom cover. All the better to support the store and the series!

First couple pages remind me of a late Showa film coupled with Goji's introduction in MvG, but twisted to show that this isn't going to be the kid-friendly Godzilla. Those kids didn't get eaten, but they'll be lucky to survive that fall!

The story moves along FAST. We have a TON of characters thrown at us in the first 10/11 pages: the kids (Isamu and Kameko, their father (the Fisherman), a Mother who watches her husband get killed trying to save an old woman, some sort of Cop/Soldier...except for the kids, none of them get much more than a page of spotlight, so the story just seems to be blazing by frantically. It actually gets the intensity of a daikaiju attack down, but ends up a very quick read. This climaxes with the JASDF launching jets to confront Godzilla (and the expected results).

FINALLY, the story slows down and provides some context. We're introduced to the Prime Minister and a General (in a control room that looks like something from G-Force HQ in the Heisei films). We're told that initial attack occurred on Niijima (one of the Izu Islands) and that they're as bewildered as the reader. The General immediately suggests the Nuclear option. Really? Granted, nowadays anything that survives an airstrike would probably scare the crap out of any 1st World military, but you're just going to go straight to nukes? Also, I'm fairly certain Japan doesn't have nukes IRL... Odd.

Nuke attack fails (LOL) and grants Goji his nuclear breath. Awesome! I like this, it seems a neat new twist on the old idea. Three hours later, Tokyo is being smashed, but unfortunately for only a two page spread. I hope we see more of Tokyo in Issue 2!

Finally, we cut to the White House where Obama is informed of what's happening. I have no issue with Obama being included - he's the US President and comic artists love that a comic geek is in the Oval Office - but, my problem is: it's taken over three HOURS for news of this to reach him? Hell, they imply CNN had already picked up the story and was running live coverage BEFORE he found out! What the hell has the CIA being doing all this time? There's been most of a day, or at least an afternoon, since this Issue started...WTH?

Overall: I'll give it a 3 out of 5. A nice start, but I hope the pacing slows down a bit in future issues and the actual story starts to become clearer. I know they don't intend any recurring characters, but I hope that at least pick somebody to focus on each issue - they've already introduced a good seven or so to work with, so hopefully we can get some spotlight on at least one of them.

- - -

Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #2 (April 2011)

Once again, Godzilla #2 had variant covers. I grabbed the Phil Hester (Godzilla alone in the rubble of Tokyo) version and the awesome (but ludicriously expensive) Matt Frank cover with Rodan.  Issue #2 opens with the Fisherman from last issue, the father of Isamu and Kameko (the children from the opening of Issue #1). He's evacuated from Niijima to Tokyo and quickly finds himself caught up in Godzilla's attack again. I'm glad they decided to stick with him, Issue #1 introduced a lot of characters but didn't give us much time to know any of them.

We switch to Moscow. Some kids are on a field trip to the museum and visiting the Tunguska exhibit when an earthquake hits. Do they even get earthquakes in Moscow? A kid, Mikhail, steals a stone from the exhibit and is evacuated, only to witness a flock of birds drop dead from the sky. Very apocalyptic!

Now in Mexico, some rancheros find a herd of dead cows - then Angurius bursts from the ground! Awesome! Not necessarily sure if this needed to be a two-page spread (I've watched enough Atop the Fourth Wall to be leery of them), but cool nonetheless.

We quickly check back in with the Fisherman, who seems to be making some sort of makeshift weapon from a cache of bombs he found, but it's only a brief two panel interlude 'cause we're then back in Moscow: Mikhail returns home, where his mother is watching the news. The Russian reporter and Mikhail's mom scoff at the claims of giant monsters running amok, despite video evidence. WTH? Is this skepticism for the sake of skepticism?  Anyways, Mikhail goes to his room (geez this kid has a lot of pets) and is amazed when the rock crumbles to reveal an egg...which immediately hatches a baby Rodan!  I can already predict some people are going to be pissed at this development, but I'd like to stress they only suggested that the egg came from the Tunguska meteor - they're kind of ambiguous about what caused the Tunguska event, so it could very well have been volcanic. Mikhail leaves for hockey practice, promising to feed his neighbor's cat to Rodan. Really, kid? What's wrong with you?

Back to Mexico, where Anguirus literally rolls onto the scene to start smashing a village! It quickly cuts to the Pentagon, where the President is being briefed on Godzilla and Anguirus' rampages. They discuss what to do, but the President is discouraged from offering humanitarian aid to Japan because the monsters are still rampaging.

Mikhail returns with the cat...only to find Rodan has grown HUGE (at least the size of a person) and eaten all his pets. They don't show it, but Rodan then eats the kid (he spits out the hockey stick), bursts through the roof, and flies off (ironically, the cat survives). Wait...Rodan attacks Moscow! LOL! It's a total homage to Destroy All Monsters! Awesome!

Back at the White House, the President is holding a press conference on the monster attacks. The scene actually brings up a really interesting question: what, realistically, should the government do about this? The President has decided to assemble the scientists, engineers, and military leaders to come up with a plan (basically, the strategy employed in GKOTM), but the journalists argue the military should be sent in now (the strategy most often seen in kaiju films). IMO, the scene actually introduces the debate rather well and doesn't treat either side as inherently wrong. Nicely done!

Cut to Texas, and a strawman conservative Texan governor is touting his border fence to a reporter when Anguirus smashes it. The governor is clearly a take that at Republicans, but I think they we're trying to play it for laughs. Interestingly, they finally name the President: Ogden. Although we all assumed the character actually was Obama, it seems he's really just lookalike stand-in, which is good because it gives them more wiggle room with the character.

Finally, back in Japan, Godzilla's rampage has stretched all the way to Yokohama now. The Fisherman, in a twist that I really should've picked up on sooner since it's now so obvious in retrospect, has used the bombs he found to turn himself into a suicide bomber. In a futile attempt to kill Godzilla, he throws himself off a skyscraper and blasts himself on Goji's nose. Wow, that was a sad ending...though, now I have to ask: what happened to this guy's family? Did he have a wife? Are Isamu and Kameko really dead (my money's on no, to make his death even more meaningless)?

Overall: I'm going to give this a 4 out of 5. Definitely an improvement over Issue #1! The pacing is much more relaxed and the story more focused, splitting itself into three plotlines roughly associated with the three monsters: the Fisherman and Godzilla in Japan; Mikhail and Rodan in Moscow; and Ogden and Anguirus in America. I get the feeling this issue is going to be much more typical of the series: multiple storylines centering on incidental characters and their (probably often fatal) run-ins with the monsters. I also suspect (and had his suspicion from the moment they said there'd be no main human cast) that Ogden is probably going to be one of the only recurring human characters - which, again, I kind of expected (he IS the US President, after all).

No real preview for next issue (the back cover has Godzilla fighting Rodan and Anguirus, but I doubt that's going to happen so soon). Personally, I'm excited! I very much like the direction this is going in now. ^_^

- - -

Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #3 (May 2011)

Since I was buying three other comic books, I decided to pick up only one copy of #3. I didn't care for Powell's cover or Hester's cover (though Hester's was cool), so I just stuck with Frank's awesome Anguirus cover. ^_^

Issue #3 opens in Cherbourg, France with two shadowy twin girls with somewhat menacing, vacant expressions. An unidentified man and woman discuss how they're problem children, but appear clueless as to how they're a problem since they are mute.  

The next page immediately cuts to the United Nations in New York City, where the Japanese scientist from Issue #1 officially names Godzilla, Rodan, and Anguirus. All three monsters look cool in the brief shots here, especially Rodan who now looks just like his '56 incarnation!

Page 3 cuts to San Antonio, Texas (although it looks like the countryside to me...maybe they meant Bexar County outside San Antonio? Anyway, we meet a couple of rednecks - Billy Ray and Bobby Ray - who've decided they're going to try to kill Anguirus themselves with nothing more than a hunting rifle and their pickup.

...Right.

Page 4, and we're back in France with the twins. (Geez, this issue is jumping around a lot!) A few kids are kicking around a soccer ball in the schoolyard and talking about Godzilla ("I hope the army kills it!" "I think he's cool!") when one accidentally kicks a ball at the girls. All of a sudden a monster bursts out of the ground and attacks him! Apparently it's all in his head, though, and the other kids gather around confused. I guess the Evil Twins can cause psychic hallucinations?

Now we cut to the Korean DMZ, where Godzilla comes ashore and marches across into North Korea. It's short, the comments by the guards are throwaway jokes, and I'm pretty much convinced it's only included 'cause someone realized they were going to have a whole issue where Goji didn't show up. ^_^()

After Godzilla's cameo, we're back in France. The kids are now playing on the beach and talking about what happened to kid earlier (Lucas), and have already guessed that the Evil Twins had something to do with it. They're there too, but aren't paying attention to the others: they've found a giant egg! Since the series so far has been following the order the monsters appeared, I'm going to assume this is Mothra's egg (as we've been theorizing for a while) and that the Evil Twins are a reinterpretation of the Shobijin. Not bad, but definitely intriguing! Also, we finally learn their names: Minette and Mallory.

And now... Lady Gaga?  O_o 

No, it's "Girly Yaya", a parody of the pop singer performing at the "Tunes TV Awards". Seems Girly Yaya is an extreme environmentalist and involved with a group called "Monster Equality and Living Standards", a PETA or Greenpeace-type group, and thinks the government should let Godzilla & co. wreak havoc. Psycho, much? ^_^() We're also introduced to Gochu, a Korean rapper, who accuses President Ogden of not caring about Asian people - a comment that gets under the President's skin when he hears it on his smartphone. Like Godzilla, Ogden's appearance is more cameo than anything else: just long enough to inform him that the US Military is still tracking the monsters, that UN is helping evacuate afflicted areas, and that the Evil Twins found the Egg in France.

Speaking of the Egg, we cut back to France where a crowd of onlookers has gathered around it. Suddenly, a swarm of locusts appears and descends on the people! Everyone panics, but one woman stops when she realizes that he insects are all dead - continuing the trend preceding the last three monsters (fish for Godzilla, cattle for Anguirus, and birds for Rodan).

Cut back to Texas for only one page: Billy Ray and Bobby Ray take on Anguirus. They get squashed. What was the point of this subplot?

Back to France! The military has finally arrived and, not taking any chances, they've wired the Egg to blow. Unfortunately for them, the Evil twins won't have that... Lady Gaga again? We cut to Times Square in New York City for three panels where Girly Yaya is leading a MEAL rally opposing the French government's decision to destroy the Egg. After that brief diversion, we get back to the action: Minette and Mallory sneak through the perimeter and telepathically take out the soldiers (they don't show it, but I assume it's through more psychic hallucinations). Then, the Egg hatches to reveal...BATTRA?!! O_O The writers have pulled a fast one on us!

Our comic ends on a tropical island, where an old man watching Battra hatch on TV turns to tell the REAL Shobijin - the foot-tall native girls just as we remember them - that "something has gone horribly wrong!"

Overall: I'm going to give this one a 3.5 out of 5. Not as good as Issue #2, mainly because the comic lets itself get bogged down with unnecessary stuff: as dumb as it may sound, Godzilla and Anguirus were entirely unnecessary here and their scenes should've been cut. If you needed one, then Godzilla's was okay (it establishes that he's North Korea now, at least), but the Anguirus/Billy Ray and Bobby Ray subplot is entirely pointless - it's two pages long, entirely out of context, and serves no purpose besides giving Anguirus some page time - pages that would've been better served, IMO, attempting to flesh out Girly Yaya and MEAL, who I think they're attempting to establish as antagonists/misguided villains.

The main story, though? That was great! They set up Minette and Mallory as creepy and credible villains, and the twist that they're Battra's twins is genius! It never occurred to me to give Battra his own set of twins, and it fits perfectly in with the "Evil Mothra" concept. I'm also ecstatic to see the actual Shobijin appear, albeit briefly, in the comic - I think this issue was probably overall very important in establishing more of the recurring characters (so, along with President Ogden, we now have Minette & Mallory, the Shobijin, and IMO Girly Yaya).

Definitely a good issue, just dragged down a bit by extra unneeded junk.

Well, I'm looking forward to next month!  Not only do we get Godzilla #4, but also a new miniseries, Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths #1!  ^_^