GODZILLA #2 Review

The second installment in IDW's new ongoing Godzilla series is here. If it's one comic I look forward to, it's this. After not seeing these guys since 2007 in the game Godzilla Unleashed, it's great to see them back in media with new stories. The first issue was a pretty solid start, not great or outstanding, but good enough. It featured our favorite monsters and not a bad main character focus. Issue #2 is the same. Not fantastic, but still a fun little issue with lots of monster destruction.

Here's the official description from Image:

Boxer is ready to settle the score with Godzilla, and assembles his "Monster Kill Crew," a group of highly-trained weirdos, each with their own private grudge against the kaiju. As we get to know these mercenaries the team stocks up on all the equipment they'll need to take down their first bounty—ANGUIRUS!

One of my main problems with this series is the monsters. You can swap out any of them with any monster and it still wouldn't matter. They all have the same character, which is no character. Aguirus, Rodan, Kumonga, and Godzilla are all acting the same and doing the same things. It's like they're all being controlled in Final Wars. (Who knows...that could actually be true.) With that said, it is nice to see Kumonga taking some spotlight in this series. It feels like a scene from a film when he destroys a US border patrol car. The monster destruction is pretty satisfying. The first shot with Godzilla plowing through some buildings was admittedly awesome. Anguirus takes more of center stage here, it's great to see him doing some heavy damage. 

My other problem with this series is the monster bounty hunter angle. C'mon, you know they can't really do anything to these monsters, I know that, and even writer Duane Swierczynski appears to know that, as Anguirus easily clobbers them. This monster bounty hunter angle is pretty much pointless. Boxer is a gruff main character, generic, and lacking the likable exterior that Steven Woods had from Kingdom of Monsters. I'm not saying he's a bad focus, but there's nothing particularly interesting about him. The most fun parts of dialogue is the bickering between him and a Claire, a person he recruited for the cause. (Who happens to be his ex wife.) 

The art is pretty good. While it obviously isn't very detailed, it succeeds in making the monsters look movie accurate and their destruction fun to look at. As stated in the previous review, Godzilla is in his Heisei incarnation, it looks great. Anguirus is actually the best drawn of all them, matching his lovable and slightly fearsome Showa self nearly perfect. Kumonga looks good, and Rodan in his brief shot looks fine. (Again, it appears Rodan is getting the shaft sadly.) The first cover showcases Godzilla underwater, (which doesn't happen at all in the comic, go figure) and is a very nice and different piece. Cover B by Matt Frank features a closeup of Godzilla's head (reminiscent from 2000 Millennium) and Boxer. Dynamic and just awesome. The RI features a wonderful looking Anguirus drawn by the always amazing Jeff Zornow.

Overall, a pretty fun second issue. But, the series is lacking a 'punch.' This issue featured a lot of great monster destruction, but that's it. Boxer and his monster hunters *attempt* to do something to Anguirus, while the reader is left laughing because they know these guys won't be able to do a single thing against him. GODZILLA #2 all Godzilla fans should and most likely will pick up, but this series so far is lacking in the 'great' department.

7/10

Monster of the Week: Kumonga (Showa)

Kumonga is the giant spider that hails from Sollgel Island. Like Kamacuras, Kumonga was once a little thing before mutating into this giant beast of a monster thanks to a failed government weather experiment. See, after all these years you finally realize that spiders are sinister creatures. If you give them higher intelligence, they become extremely sinister creatures. Kumonga was a feared name in Sollgel Island. Unlike Kamacuras, there was really no way to drive this thing away. Kumonga is one that sleeps a lot in his underground cavern, he only pops up every once in awhile to get some food. Sadly, due to unfortunate events, he was awakened unexpectedly. That's where the later events of Son of Godzilla take place.

It was one fateful day when Minya hatched. Sadly for him, he got beat up a lot that very day when Godzilla wasn't around. When Minya decided to go for an afternoon walk, he happened to run into a Kamacuras. The insect seeing Minya as easy prey quickly went to play around and torture the little guy. While he was backing up in fear, he banged into a few rocks. Those rocks would change everything that day. They fell into Kumonga's valley. They had disturbed the giant spider's sleep. Goro and Riko happened to be in the area, they were witness to the rise of Kumonga. They quickly ran away, but was stopped by Kumonga's unbelievably sticky webs. You see, Kumonga is the biggest spammer of all time. He will constantly use his webs. They are pretty much unbreakable except for one thing....fire. Goro happened to have a match, which burned the webs. Kumonga manged to trap the two into a very thin area. He could barely make them out has he attempted to claw and web them. Thanks to Goro's genius mind, they managed to allude the giant spider by climbing up. They had escaped, but the giant spider wasn't far behind...

Kumonga is one that holds a grudge. He will go after you until the ends of the earth. It wasn't long after that he knew the two had escaped. To everyone's horror, he had followed them to the cave where all the crew was staying and webbed the entrance shut! With his sword like claw, he attempted to grab anyone he could. But, he had then sensed a new prey: Minya. The poor little guy was off again, wandering around when he happened to run into Kumonga. The Son of Godzilla really did try to fight as he begged for mercy while getting webbed to the ground. Kumonga was then going to get his first kill when a Kamacuras showed up. You see, unlike Gimantis over there, Kumonga is a deadly, sadistic creature. Kamacuras is nothing other than a bully. When push comes to shove, they high-tail of there. Quick. This time was no exception. I'm going to say that Kumonga had most likely killed a bunch of Kamacurases in the past. Once this one saw the giant spider, he wanted to get the heck out of there. But Kumonga couldn't have that. As Kamacuras attempted to fly away, Kumonga webbed the preying mantis to the ground. As it tried to fly away pitifully, the webbing kept it down. You can see the horror on the insect's face, he knew he was about to die a painful death. You see that as he made a sound for mercy. But Kumonga is as merciless as they come, just driving his poison stinger into Kamacuras, scaring the living daylights out of Minya. After the demise of Kamacuras, the giant spider turned his attention back to a petrified Minya. The little guy was screaming and calling for his dad. Kumonga is one of the most sadistic monsters ever, he knew that Minya was really scared, he had then taunted him with his stinger, bringing it out and bringing it in. This guy must get a kick out of hearing his opponents beg for mercy. Good thing for Minya was that Godzilla had arrived. Kumonga had not realized it until he was hit in the head with a rock, knocking him over. However, he was quick to get up and started spamming his webbing. The amazing part is that the webbing can actually withstand against an atomic blast. When the two are put against each other, the webbing wins. Godzilla is not one to just give up to webbing, after a good blast of atomic blast to the head, Kumonga re-thought his situation and started to head back. He wasn't prepared for a fight where his opponent could actually fight back, he had never met someone like that. Godzilla on the other hand wasn't going to let Kumonga go anywhere. He followed him and shot a blast of atomic radiation to get the giant spider back at attention. At this point Kumonga knew that this guy wasn't going to leave him alone...until he had killed G of course.

This is where the real battle begins. Kumonga started, you guessed it, spamming his web, which eventually knocked down Godzilla. Minya really tried to help by shooting a blast of atomic radiation at the web, but to no avail. This is where Kumonga started to go after Minya again. This guy just loves torturing really scared souls. Godzilla, even having been tied to the ground shot two blasts of atomic radiation, which downed Kumonga, or so they thought. You see, not only is Kumonga a sadistic monster, he's also an extremely cunning one. He doesn't blindly attack his opponent, he makes plans on the fly. Godzilla had suspected something, but he wasn't expecting his right eye to be stung by Kumonga's stinger. The spider knew his plan would work and quickly flipped himself over to watch the King of Monsters revel in pain. Of course, they both hadn't expected the weather to start snowing. Believe it or not, Kumonga has insane strength. Godzilla had decided it was time to take down the spider by force. However, Kumonga had stood himself up to meet the challenge and tackled G to the ground. Godzilla was trapped with his right eye not working, he was practically defeated. Kumonga was on top of him, reveling in his victory. What he hadn't expected was a powerful blast of atomic radiation from Minya. He was sent flying off G. Of course, he wasn't defeated yet. From afar, he shot his web while G had gotten up and shot his atomic radiation for a web/beam war. Kumonga's web won out, and he presided to finish off a weakened Godzilla. The latter managed to get a good blast in, which halted the spider in his tracks. At this time, Godzilla and Minya combined their atomic blasts, which finally defeated Kumonga. The two then went into hibernation as the cold raged on...

But Kumonga was somehow preserved by the snow and lived peacefully with Godzilla and a bunch of other monsters who came to live on 'Monster Island.' Godzilla and Kumonga had made a pact of some sort, they were no longer enemies. Case in point with the great battle against King Ghidorah when all the monsters were transported to an island dubbed 'Monster Land.' Here Kumonga aided Mothra with his webbing. To this day, the giant spider lives in peace with the other monsters. Kumonga is a great monster. A cunning and sadistic villain, he almost killed Godzilla after all. In the end, Kumonga is also a smart monster. In a world where monsters are hated, it's best to have allies, as he and other monsters live on Monster Land.

GODZILLA #1 Review

If you asked me what was my most anticipated thing this year, I would have said THE AVENGERS....or not. I've been waiting for GODZILLA #1. After the realization that Kingdom of Monsters would be ending, I thought that was it for G's comic career. For awhile it was in limbo, until we got word from IDW that they would be doing a brand new, 'fresh' series. While it's in the same continuity as Kingdom of Monsters, their words for it are 'soft reboot.' Whatever you want to call it, GODZILLA is a new start for the big lizard. Kingdom of Monsters was a very mixed series, as you know if you've followed my coverage of it in the past. In the end, it was a fun story that brought back all my favorite characters from hibernation. With the film seemingly in development hell, I have the comic to look forward to. Like with Kingdom of Monsters #1, I wasn't overly impressed with this issue. By no means bad, but it's lacking the punch I was expecting.

Here's the official description IDW themselves:

Godzilla is back... in an all-new ongoing series! Duane Swierczynski and Simon Gane launch this ultimate action-movie blockbuster, ushering in a new era of monster battles. Ex-special forces tough-guy Boxer is a man with a grudge and vows to end the terror of Godzilla, no matter what. He assembles a top notch team to take down monster-sized threats... at $7 billion a bounty. What starts as a vendetta could become a lucrative business for Boxer... if he can live past day one!

The very first two pages were so amazing. It's shows the TOHO logo and then on the other page it shows Godzilla in Japanese writing. Just looking at those two things made me feel like a kid on Christmas morning. I then turned to the next page to find Kumonga crashing a wedding. Gotta give props to that, no wedding had ever been crashed before in G history. It's good to see unique concepts such as that. Then we are given scenes with Rodan and Battra attacking cities with the tagline: "The giant monsters are rising once again." So yes, this is a direct followup to Kingdom of Monsters, there's nothing being ignored here. First off, I like that they're giving back to the fans. Kumonga had a one panel appearance in the whole Kingdom of Monsters series, so it's good to him here. It wasn't really explained how Godzilla, Rodan, and Battra had thawed out. Not a true big deal, I guess it makes sense for new readers. This series looks to be just a tad bit more character driven than Kingdom of Monsters.

For some reason, I don't like the narration boxes. They ruin the mood and atmosphere. Our main character is Boxer, kind of a slight opposite to Steven Woods from Kingdom of Monsters. While definitely not a bad focus, I think he could have been established better. He doesn't have that likable exterior Steven had when he first appeared. I must give props to the fact about a plot twist I didn't see coming. Let's just say that this series looks to keep the no holds-barred dark tone of Kingdom of Monsters. Characters die when you least expect it, as seen here. Writing isn't particularly strong. Not as bad as some of the cringe worthy writing from some of the earlier issues of Kingdom of Monsters, but nothing too great either. I'm not really sure where this bounty hunter angle is going to go, it's totally unnecessary. What the heck are they going to do to any of these monsters?

The art is in mixed territory. While slightly better than Victor Santos from Kingdom of Monsters, the humans look way too sketchy. However, the monsters, namely Godzilla, look great. G is in his complete Heisei look here, some great panels with him. (The double page spread is fantastic.) It even rivals Arthur Adams's work with G back in the Dark Horse days. In Rodan's brief panel appearance, he actually looks like Rodan instead of Gyaos. I hope he actually looks impressive in this series. Kumonga looks like Kumonga rather than just a giant brown spider. I would have preferred the eyes to have more of a purple look, but it's a minor thing. There are three covers this time around. Cover A is a wraparound featuring a stylized GMK Godzilla, very dynamic. Cover B shows G's foot with a puddle showcasing him, great perspective. The variant cover shows Boxer standing in front of Godzilla, the perspective here is fantastic. Really good covers. Regarding the monsters, sadly once again they're portrayed as walking events. I want to see some personality displayed in these guys, we've only seen that in Gangsters and Goliaths and Legends.

Overall, not the awesome start I was hoping for. It's still not a bad beginning, just like with Kingdom of Monsters #1. It may seem like a continuation of the whole 'monsters appearing and attacking' thing, but I have faith that as the issues go on, we'll be getting some pleasant surprises. I'm happy to see these characters back in media, I'll be reading further.

7/10.

Son of Godzilla Review

It's very interesting took at the evolution of these films. Like, if you watch the original 54 film, this light-hearted film would appear to be the complete opposite of that. Gojira was a moody, depressing film. Son of Godzilla is a light-hearted adventure about the King of the Monsters teaching his son Minya the ropes of being a Godzilla. It's interesting how a series evolves over time. Son of Godzilla is a 1967 film famous for one thing: the first appearance of the infamous Minya, who would go one to appear in three more films. Son of Godzilla is a different kind of Godzilla film, even for the Showa era. It has a lot of heart, and deepens Godzilla's character.

Official description from Sony TriStar:

On an uninhabited island, United Nations scientists experiment with changing the climate, cooling desert temperatures to provide more fertile land for growing crops. Unfortunately, the experiment takes an accidental tragic turn when a radioactive burst emits a thunderstorm of fire. Huge native praying mantises suddenly grow to 160 feet, tearing the island apartuntil they uncover a monstrous-sized egg. The egg hatches and the shocked scientists are confronted by a baby Godzilla. The infant's screams bring his father to the rescue and now the original Godzilla and his son want revenge. What will it take to stop them?

This film is a lot less cheesy than it sounds. Sure, it has some silly moments, (Minya tripping over a rock, him tripping on Godzilla's tail, him tripping....) but has a pretty interesting story. As you read in the description, it's about a bunch of people conducting an experiment that will 'change mankind.' Sogell Island is inhabited by a bunch of giant praying mantises known as Kamacuras. (Dubbed Gimantis in the American version.) Also inhabiting is the giant spider known as Kumonga. (Dubbed Spiega in the American version.) So as you can see, we have giant insects this time around. (Give me them over a lobster anyday.) First of all, the setting is drastically different than most G films, it takes place completely on Sogell Island. So no buildings getting blown up this time. We also get something you never thought you'd see in a giant monster film.....Godzilla being a father and 'training' his son. More on that soon, but let's talk about the cast.

The main character would be a news journalist in the form of Goro Maki. A bit too over-the-top at beginning. (I'm not going anywhere! *Then sits down with his arms crossed.*) As the film goes on, he proves to be an interesting focus, which is good, cause he's surrouded by a bunch of dull and uninteresting characters. Dr. Kusumi proves to be a ggod leader, but the rest of his men are just one-shots. Only one of them gets some development, he goes insane, which would have been interesting if handled better. The focus is also on an inslander girl in the form Riko Matsumiya. Definitely one of the better characters in the story, she felt the most 'real.' The humans in this film are just really mixed. They aren't as sleep-inducxing as some of the Heisei films, but pale, and I mean pale to a lot of the Showa flicks. (Monster Zero puts this film to shame in that aspect.)

One of the infamous things about this film is the Godzilla suit. It's pretty ugly, right? It could possibly be the worst Godzilla suit ever. That aside, we get to see G acting as a parent, which is worth the watch in itself. Seriously, the Godzilla movies are the only things you'll find monsters with such deep character. You'll be having good laughs watching G train Minya. (He threatens to slap him if he doesn't attempt to shoot a blast of atomic radiation.) But don't think G's gone soft, he still fights with everything. (Love the scene where he keeps slamming Kamacurus to the ground.) Minya is one ugly looking thing, I personally don't see much of a resemblance between him and G, looks more like a frog. It's cute....but man, it's also one ugly-looking suit. Let's talk Kamacurus. Now this may be hard to believe, but films were actually done back then without CGI at all. (Imagine that!) So it's just props/practical effects here for the inscent. And my goodness, it looks fantastic. The prop looks extremely realistic, not bad for a film from over 40 years ago. Then there's the final boss, giant spider Kumonga. Once again, the prop is excellent, one of the best props I've ever seen. There's a very nice build-up to the final battle with it. Think it's just an over-sized spider? Think again, this thing is a sadistic beast, as seen when he shows Minya his stinger before he goes to completely poison him. Godzilla and Minya both look pretty ugly, but both Kamacurus and Kumonga are fantastic.

The soundtrack is different and more light in tone. It fits the mood, but isn't too spectacular. The opening theme with Godzilla, and the battle with Kumonga had some nice tunes, but the soundtrack isn't THAT great. I think the film would have been better if there were more scenes with the monsters. Now I would usually say that, but the film does feel like it drags on sometimes. When you don't have a city as a backdrop, you need really engaging characters, but this film doesn't have too much if that. The monster scenes, however, are really entertaining and just plain fun. They're colorful and just a blast to watch. Godzilla's entrance to save Minya was great, who doesn't love seeing G beating the heck out of these insects? I think the final battle could have been longer, but it was still well-done. Very different than a lot of the final battles in these films. The part where Godzilla and Kumonga wrestle to the ground was a pretty awesome sight to behold. Also one must mention the ending, it's one of the most emotional ending I've ever seen, not just in Godzilla films, ALL films.

Overall, Son of Godzilla is an underrated film in many ways. It had a 'different' story, plus very colorful monsters. The human characters needed a bit working however. It was also great to see Godzilla get character development of being a father to Minya, some really great (and humorous) moments here. The fights are fun, and the effects are great. (Well, Godzilla and Minya aren't exactly the best though.) Son of Godzilla is a fun little gem, it will always be known as the first film to feature Minya, but it's a lot more than that.

7/10.

Godzilla: Legends #5 Review

The Godzilla Legends are over. I'm very disappointed to see it go, as many other fans are. Destoroyah vs. Anguirus? Mechagodzilla vs. Hedorah?! Good stuff, such good stuff. I'm surprised this wasn't going to be an ongoing with different tales every issue. But ah well, so here we are today with Legends #5. Being the final Godzilla comic until May, I was expecting something good. After the bombastic and action-packed Legends #4, I was expecting something of a compelling story with this one. The result is a bit uneven.

Official description from IDW:

The final Legend is here! Does Godzilla have a weakness? The government wants to know, and in order to get the necessary data, tissue samples must be taken from the great beast. The only way to get these samples? TO CLIMB GODZILLA! Renowned, retired adventurer Bryson Allworth is called in. Is he up to the herculean task? When another monster shows up to tumble, the task is only gonna get tougher! Don't miss this special final issue to LEGENDS!

I've come to realize that the 'featuring' kaiju is not the 'starring' kaiju. Case in point here. Giant spider Kumonga appears, but Godzilla is the full focus. It's a bit of an interesting retrospective in this issue. The plot is a homage to the classic Dark Horse issue, Godzilla King of the Monsters #14. Pretty crazy in concept, eh? Climbing Godzilla after all. The main human character is an extreme adventurer in the form of Allworth. A fun focus, if a bit unrealistic at times. Some of the writing is really strong, it's as I said, at times a bit of a retrospective on Godzilla's character. Godzilla looks and appears to be his Heisei counterpart. In fact, it appears that all the majority of the Legends take place in the Heisei timeline. It was also great to see the underrated Kumonga in action. Ever since his brief one-page stint in Kingdom of Monsters. The portrayal was great, this spider needs more on page appearances in the future.

The art is a huge miss. Godzilla's first page appearance is borderline awful. I believe the art was trying to convey a sense of being retro, but it ultimately came out un-detailed and not very good. There are, however, some fantastic shots. Godzilla's head-shot at the end was utterly fantastic. The two covers this time around are, once again, fantastic. The main features a really well-drawn Kumonga while the second one features a very early version of Godzilla holding the legs of Kumonga. Of course, the best part was the fantastic, albeit short confrontation with Kumonga. It's interesting, I like how they pair up different incarnation against incarnation, it's fantasy matches in the making. The battle is nice and fluid, just needed to be longer. There's also some really interesting perspectives on Godzilla's destruction, you'll have to read the issue to understand.

Overall, not a bad issue of the Godzilla Legends. Not exactly a 'great' way to end it however. With a better lead character and better art, it could have been fantastic. Still, it's an interesting story. This is one issue I can even see non-fans enjoying. It's a bit of a retrospective on Godzilla's character, it's really interesting. Plus we get a pretty fantastic fight between Godzilla and Kumonga. I was disappointed at how little screen time the latter got, but it's something. I'm sad to see Legends go, I hope the next mini-series will surpass it.

7/10.