Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #14 – Review

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

The Story: See that, it cuts straight through ice, steel, even tough monster hide! Usually you’d have to pay DARPA’s entire budget for a Mechagodzilla of this quality but Showa Mechagodzilla can be yours to own for the low, low price of Russia.

The Review: With its first year completed, Godzilla: Rulers of Earth has jumped straight into its next story arc. As Godzilla and Anguirus both reappear, the Russian government has been approached by a private contractor who believes it holds the answer to national security in the age of titans: a brand new Mechagodzilla.

After the Americans created the Heisei Mechagodzilla in Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters and private enterprise brought us Kiryu in the Godzilla ongoing, it’s been a bit of a surprise to see the original Showa-era Mechagodzilla over these past two issues. Despite the charm of the design, the original Mechagodzilla is clearly a product of its time. It’s hard to take it seriously after seeing the sleek updates in action. Thankfully Chris Mowry comes up with an inventive and rather brilliant way to introduce the first iteration of Godzilla’s bionic doppelgänger.

If there’s one thing that the Showa Mechagodzilla had in its movies, it’s ordinance. If you’ve watched either of the mechanical saurian’s film outings you probably remember the lengthy montages of its various lasers and missiles firing. Mowry brings that same sense of overwhelming firepower to this issue. At times it can feel a little didactic to have Mechagodzilla’s capabilities outlined so brazenly, but it makes sense in story and gives us an impressive one-sided battle.

So Mowry’s given us a giant monster fight scene.

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 #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.