Godzilla: Cataclysm #1 – Review

By: Cullen Bunn (writer), David Wachter (artist)

The Story: Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. But they all agree that it will end.

The Review: Though you wouldn’t know it at first glance, IDW’s Godzilla: Rulers of Earth is a direct sequel to its previous two Godzilla series. Particularly of late, I’ve been impressed by how that series’ writer Chris Mowry has handled the continuity, but when you’re dealing with giant monsters, it’s kind of rough knowing that nothing can change that a future series doesn’t have the option to change back. It’s a problem that most comics featuring long running characters face, but perhaps that’s why Godzilla: Cataclysm has such an innate energy about it.

Set twenty years after an all out monster invasion, Cataclysm introduces us to a world devastated by kaiju. Survivors live in shanty towns, hunting wildlife wandering through the ruins of “the world that was”. The whole thing is impressively atmospheric.

Cullen Bunn does an admirable job of giving us a taste of the monster action we came for through flashbacks, though I imagine that some readers will be disappointed with the long wait for a present day kaiju appearance. More important this issue is the human cast. Though the characterization they’re given is hardly conclusive, the attention paid to Arata and Shiori seems to imply that Bunn intends to tackle the frequent problems of human overexposure and irrelevance head on. They could become beloved figures, but for now I’m happy to see that the series has a way to give a human perspective on the age of monsters without propping up its characters like some kind of straw man observer. Of course the character who steals the show is Arata’s grandfather.

Though he appears limitedly, the unnamed old man is the one character who we get to know this issue. Clearly the same writer who gave us the beautiful, if wordy, Magneto, Bunn crafts an impressive monologue for the issue, one that immediately demonstrates the almost mystical power of the kaiju and the degree to which they dwarf human buildings, bodies, and pride. It’s a well written and intelligent way to open the series, but I hope that Bunn has some more original ideas to introduce or it may grow stale.

While the tone and characterization are resonant, it does feel like other elements were sacrificed for them. The world Bunn presents seems a little confused. Despite twenty years of silence and the claim that most people don’t even believe in kaiju any longer, Tokyo remains a ruin. It’s fun to see the gritty post-apocalyptic aesthetic applied to the daikaiju genre, but it doesn’t entirely make sense, nor does it seem the most interesting choice. At the risk of editorializing, I’d be much more interested to see how different parts of the world have dealt with the Cataclysm and the varying ways they’ve rebuilt.

Another problem is the pace. The book changes focus roughly every five pages and, while it benefits from the slow burn approach it takes, not all of these sections mesh with that decision. Particularly during action scenes it becomes apparent how significantly and unevenly decompressed this issue can be. In comics, time and space are one and the same and you only get so much.

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 #9 – Review

By: Chris Mowry (writer), Jeff Zornow (art), Priscilla Tramontano (colors)

The Story: This is but one of the legends of which the people speak…

The Review: There’s nothing particularly meaningful about a giant lizard, nor anything especially profound about destroying a city in effigy, but while not every Godzilla story aspires to the seriousness of the original film, any great daikaiju story needs to speak to something. There has to be a purpose for the destruction, metatextually or literally. That’s what this issue provides Rulers of the Earth.

A major problem of this series has been a certain aimlessness about it. Godzilla, Rodan, Varan, and their kin have largely been reactive forces, with the story driven by the Cryog and their master plan. Now, with the Cryog gone, the series turns its eye to the nature of earth’s kaiju.

The revelations in this issue are another great shot in the arm for a series that has already been improving, and have the potential to really give fans what they want, however I do have worries about the pacing of the story. RotE was originally approved for only twelve issues, meaning that if things are still holding to the original plan we’re three fourths of the way through this series. I’m not sure that we have enough time to explore the ramifications of these events.

Godzilla: Rulers of the Earth #3 – Review

By: Chris Mowry (writer), Matt Frank & Jeff Zornow (artists), Priscilla Tramontano

The Story: A decisive comeback in the drawn-out war between man and seafood.

The Review: The Godzilla franchise has played host to a wide array of alien life over the years. Whether it was superstitious Simeons or treacherous Xillians, Earth’s kaiju have found many opportunities to come to their planet’s defense and just as many to be controlled by hostile invaders. This time, however, Chris Mowry is trying something a little different. As monsters rise from the ocean depths, the CKR find that a new race of aliens has designs on earth.

In a rather drastic shift from last month, the third issue of Rulers of the Earth is actually overwritten. The caption boxes seem to hold the worst of it, from out-of-place introductions, to needlessly dramatic musings, to headings as strange as, “Miles from the CKR facility…minutes from a disaster” this one has it all. Perhaps Mowry wanted to stretch his legs after a largely silent issue last month, but whatever the reason he’s overcorrected.

The dialogue isn’t bad, but it’s lacking in efficiency. Cluttered panels frequently find themselves giving information that either will or should appear in the art. Aside from this, however, the worst that can be said is that Mowry doesn’t always take an opportunity to develop hs characters when it presents himself.