Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #12 – Review

By: Chris Mowry (writer), Matt Frank (art), Mostafa Moussa (ink assists), Priscilla Tramontano (colors)

The Story: Freakin’ Jet Jaguar, man…

The Review: Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #12 was originally this series’ capstone issue and, though its popularity has bought it a longer lifespan, it’s clear that this was always intended as a big moment.

With Gezora in retreat, the Devonian forces are on their back foot. Godzilla has their monsters on the run and the armies of humanity have discovered their lair thanks to a defector. Unfortunately the ancient sea-dwellers are unwilling to go down without a fight, releasing a clutch of Destoroyah crustaceans to deal with the humans.

Over the last year, RoE has struggled to balance its desire to craft a new alien invasion story with the satisfying simplicity of daikaiju brawling. It may not be perfect, but this is probably the best fusion of the two yet. With battles raging on two fronts, there’s certainly enough action to keep readers satisfied. It helps that Matt Frank is delivering some of his clearest fight choreography of the series. Godzilla is clever without reaching the superhero levels of the Showa movies, bestial without becoming as villainous as in the Heisei movies, and sturdy without the stiffness of the Millennium series.

Frank also does some great things with Manda and Titanosaurus, teaming them up to provide the somewhat outdated kaiju with a second wind. Though Titanosaurus is the primary combatant, making him – her? – a rather nice foil for our own aquatic dinosaur, Frank does some excellent work with Manda. The Final Wars design looks particularly great as drawn by Frank and the serpentine kaiju adds a great deal to the compositions of the book.

Godzilla: Rulers of the Earth #8 – Review

By: Chris Mowry (writer), Matt Frank (art), Priscilla Tramontano (colors)

The Story: Without being too trite or too loose-lipped, big things are coming, for all of us.

The Review: Last month’s issue finally provided a crystallized example of this series’ structure while demonstrating Chris Mowry’s talent for tying the desperate threads of Godzilla’s universe together and highlighting the value of this continuity. It was a big job, but it got done. Now we open with Gigan and Orga defeated and Woods and Chavez trapped aboard an alien ship that’s under attack by Jet Jaguar.

The issue gets off to a promising start, but within a few pages, Mowry throws us an outstanding curveball. While the series has been generally improving over the course of its run, it’s been largely episodic. The revelation in this issue was just the kind of big cinematic moment that the series needed and heralds a definite shift within the story. Especially in a franchise where the studio was cranking out a new variation on the formula every year, playing with expectations is an essential element of a great Godzilla story, and Mowry does so wonderfully. Though there are still some lingering questions, Mowry delivers some of his best plotting and dialogue in this sequence and, as long as he addresses them eventually, I think the script is actually stronger for their omission.

Before we can even catch our breath, Godzilla arrives, only to find himself in the shadow of one of my favorite kaiju. Yes, seemingly not content with the veritable zoo of daikaiju they’ve already utilized, Mowry and Frank introduce Biollante into the RotE world.

Godzilla: Rulers of the Earth #7 – Review

By: Chris Mowry (writer), Matt Frank and Jeff Zornow (art), Mostafa Moussa (ink assists), Priscilla Tamontano (colors)

The Story: Godzilla and Jaguar: Punch! Punch! Punch!

The Review: Though the loss of two monsters may have superficially lowered the stakes, the tension has really ramped up this issue. Picking up immediately from where the last issue left off, issue #7 sees a new take on a classic battle as Godzilla and Jet Jaguar take on Gigan.

Jet Jaguar, for those of you without a taste for MST3K or simple masochism, is an Ultraman-style super robot from what is widely considered the worst entry in Godzilla’s 28 film history. He was child-friendly cheese from the moment of his inception and, I admit, the mere sight of him at the end of last issue made me wonder where things were headed. Nonetheless, Chris Mowry not only successfully delivers a Jet Jaguar-centric issue, but does it with an entirely straight face.

Though there are still some rather simplistic lines, Mowry’s writing hovers just below the best of the series and finds great success in the effort to portray the kaiju as characters rather than ‘just’ natural disasters. Jet Jaguar’s goofy smile does a lot to help in this regard, but it’s impressive how emotive Matt Frank makes his unmoving mask of a faceplate. Likewise, Godzilla, perhaps more than in any other issue, possesses clear thoughts and desires, even as he retains his animalistic quality.