Godland, Vol. 1: Hello, Cosmic!

Gødland #1

by Joe Casey, Tom Scioli

This is how it all began! The cosmic superhero epic is back and this collection is chock-full of all the "cosmic" you could ask for! Experience the glory of Commander Adam Archer, the enigmatic alien Maxim, the wacky Basil Cronus, the evil Discordia, the confusing Freidrich Nickelhead and that's just scratching the surface! If you want cosmic, we've got cosmic!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Science Fiction, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

Paperback

First published February 7, 2006

About the author

Librarian note: there is more than one author with this name

Joe Casey is an American comic book writer. He has worked on titles such as Wildcats 3.0, Uncanny X-Men, The Intimates, Adventures of Superman, and G.I. Joe: America's Elite among others. As part of the comics creator group Man of Action Studios, Casey is one of the creators of the animated series Ben 10.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Casey

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe Casey and Tom Scioli's homage to Jack Kirby, Jim Starlin etc. brings an update take on the big sweeping cosmic super hero science-fiction epic. I have to say upfront that I'm not much of fan of this sub-genre and that these first six issues of this series already had me asking, how did this get green-lit! 4 out of 12.

2017 read

[Glen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of comics in the Godland series, in the pseudo-Kirby cosmic sub-genre.

An astronaut given cosmic powers by aliens becomes a super hero and an ambassador for the aliens. His friends and family have mixed reaction to this. The super villains are totally against it.

Fun stuff. Too bad pseudo-Kirby stuff doesn't sell better.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big wild, cosmic stories that look and feel like vintage Kirby with some modern cultural references added.
Every character is larger than life and make you want an action figure of them ( Love the giant alien bulldog!) the stories are just pure big action with a little bit of philosophy and angst thrown in.

So many people try to be Kirby and fall flat. Godland is the rare comic that gets it and manages to tell it's own story why paying tribute to Kirby on every page. Amazing stuff.

[Kent Winward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just enough puns and social commentary to make it fun, although early 2000s is starting to feel dated. Damn, I'm getting old.

[Dan Trudeau · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I did. I love a Kirby homage, but I was expecting to have more fun reading this.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks Brian! I have been trying to get a copy for 5 1/2 years! So excited. Best comics score since The Killing Joke with the original coloring!

[B. DeJean · Rating 3 out of 5]

"G0dland" is an homage to Jack Kirby, with artwork that strives to emulate the unique look that Kirby produced in a story that has many similar touch points to other Kirby works, such as "Silver Star", "2001", "The New Gods", "Machine Man", and "Kamandi". Four years ago, Adam Archer was an astronaut who ended up being the only survivor of a mission to Mars. As he prepared to die on the red planet, he found a gigantic machine that acted as a doorway to some incredible aliens who trained Adam on how to obtain and control cosmic superpowers (which are never well defined). Now, he's the on-call superhero for the United States, with a support team consisting of his three younger sisters. Neena was in line to be an astronaut, but the program was shut down after Adam's expedition turned into an epic failure. Stella is a computer and technology expert who is the most dedicated to being on Adam's support team. Stacy is the free spirit with lots of piercings who bluntly tells Adam what's what. There are some strange villains and another superhero named Crashman who causes a big problem for Team Adam. That are pages that look like a poor, amateur attempt at copying Kirby, but there are also pages that seem very close to nailing the Kirby look. But the writing isn't very strong. The plot line seems to meander, weird things happen seemingly just to be weird, and Adam and his sisters aren't particularly interesting.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Godland by Casey and Scioli is a thinly veiled homage to classic Marvel sci-fi comics like The Silver Surfer, Warlock, Eternals or Captain Marvel (basically anything worked on by Jack Kirby or Jim Starlin), but it's pretty fun in its own right. The story follows Adam Archer, an astronaut turned superhero who gains his powers from a botched mission on Mars. Meeting an alien hivemind known as the "Cosmic Fetus Collective", Archer is imbued with cosmic levels of powers that turn him into a government work-for-hire superhero. Aided by his sisters who serve as his handlers, Archer takes on missions for the government. The story is populated by other superheroes making Godland seem like an alternate take on the Marvel Comics universe, but it does enough unique stuff to feel more homage than parody. Scioli adopts a very Kirby influenced aesthetic that works well, and Casey lightens up the script to be humorous and punchy, like a modernized and more abbreviated version of Stan Lee. This first volume is pretty fun, though nothing spectacular either. It's just as much a superhero comic as a sci-fi comic, which I did find disheartening since I was looking for something more of the latter. I'll probably give a couple more volumes a shot since this was an entertaining read for the most part.

[Brandie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Godland is said to be in the style of the famous Kirby. As I’m not a comic/superhero fan, I don’t fully comprehend the entirety of what that means. Just a basic scraping of the meaning. So, as an outsider looking in, it was very corny and over-the-top, which I think is what they were going for in this series. But it was lost on me. All the characters seemed to be stock superheroes and villains. A head in a jar villain? Really?! It was different that he was addicted to getting high and that was, at least from what I can tell from this issue, his motivation. So overall I felt, meh. I’m definitely not the intended audience.

[A J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure what I think of this one. Scioli’s art copies Jack Kirby’s style very well and made for an entertaining read while using Casey’s more meta writing style, but I don’t know if I’d pay money to read further volumes. A shame the library here doesn’t have it.

Favourite character was the giant alien dog <3

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun stuff, cosmic with a modern, sardonic wit. The characters are crazy-ass comic book characters in a good sense, visually and personally memorable, and Casey and Scioli really have fun with grandiose adventure, social satire (Discordia's trial) and personal conflicts.

[Arya Oveissi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read. Straight to the point, funny, full of action, and great art. I’d say this is closer to 3.5 stars

[Looney · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

[Joshua · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felt like a fun throw back to the style of Kirby, but the dialogue was shallow in a modern way.

[Finnegan Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and adventurous. Adam Archer is just the breath of fresh air I needed after reading all those depressing batman comics (sorry, Bruce). His lizard friend (I forget his name) is the perfect sidekick and is a great comic relief character to brighten the story up in more sombre parts of the comic. A fun read.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

On an ill-fated mission to Mars, Adam Archer met alien forces beyond our comprehension and became the next step in humanity's cosmic evolution! Now he has become humanity's first line of defence against both human and cosmic super-villainous threats.

Casey's said that with Godland he was trying to view Kirby as a genre unto himself, rather than just a singular creator. It's an interesting idea, and he definitely accomplished that while at the same time retaining his own voice. Recommended for fans of Casey and fans of Kirby, but if you don't like or aren't familiar with either of them, I don't think this would be the book for you.

[Wythe Marschall · Rating 4 out of 5]

My new favorite mainstream comic, the kind that makes me want all the goddamn trades, right now. Might be the super science that does it for me; might be the cosmic-power-bestowing fetus-gods.

But probably it's Basil Cronus, who is far and away the best-named villain since... well, since Cronus/SATVRNVS himself was cast as a foil to Zeus/IVPITER and his band of merry incoming war/sky gods.

Basil's addiction to alien brains is one of the great narrative engines in comics today--so much more interesting an obsession, a zahir, than money, fame, or political clout.

Read the comic, super scientists, and give Basil a piece of your mind, literally.

[Sonic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious post-modern take on a cosmic superhero a la Kirby and Lee. The art is a wonderful tribute to the style and imagination of Jack Kirby, who as I understand it really conceived most of the characters and stories during his collaboration with ego-maniac shyster Stan Lee, who would mostly just write cliched dialogue for the stories. In this book almost every line is a cliche and it is absolutely hilarious! With villains like Discordia, who gets her kicks as a sadist, and Basil Cronus whose skull floats in liquid in his jar like head, and who just wants to get super high, I found myself loving this book almost as much as the original Kirby/Lee work from which it derives.

[Spencer Dolloff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Godland is a pure, somewhat twisted tribute to Jack Kirby, the king of superhero comics. if you're not a fan or familiar with his work, this probably won't do much for you. In fact, you might be completely turned off. I rated it 5 stars because it captures the 10 yr old in me, while being intentionally hilarious. Very tongue-in-cheek, and winks at us Kirby fans constantly. The mere fact that the team of Casey and Scioli were able to capture the purity of Kirby(and Stan Lee to a lesser extent) is worth 5 stars.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up on recommendation from the guys at my comic book store. A totally crazy and mind-bending read about a guy who gets superpowers on Mars, encounters alien-giant-dog people, dukes it out with villains such as a floating skull in a jar looking to get high and a crazed dominatrix who gets off on suffering superheroes. Great art that blatantly (but lovingly) rips off Jack Kirby. I'll definitely be buying up more of this stuff -- it's pure fun!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read, but some of the characters are beyond annoying, especially the protagonist's sisters. The art was a bit hit or miss for me. Sometimes it was breathtaking, other times it was it was hideous. I haven't read any of Kirby's work so IDK if the terrible perceptive is something being rifted from his art, but it kept distracting me here. Overall an enjoyable book, and I'll definitely be reading more.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently o'ded on collections of Jack Kirby's The Fourth World, so this is just like reading more of the same, though with a satirical wit the classics lacked. Joe Casey has the larger-than-life quality of the storytelling down pat and I loved Basil Cronus, the bad guy who's only looking for the "ultimate high." Pretty good stuff and the art is a knockout.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cool, old school comic feel. Pretty cool retro style art. Cosmic scale plot without being overblown (see recent Green Lantern). However, I feel like this first volume was all set up for future volumes. And two of the three main character's sisters are really annoying.

I'll check out the next volume at least.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun! Sort of Jack Kirby reimagined for the new millennium. Casey and Scioli do an exceptional job of referencing the Master's work while making something distinctly their own. All the cosmic sparkle and mind-blowing concepts flying thick and fast are there. Definitely on board for more of this!

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yeah, this isn't the greatest graphic novel in the world, but I had such a great time with it, I'm giving it 5 stars! Godland is SO Stan Lee/Jack Kirby, but with a postmodern slant and lots of snarkiness. LOADS of fun!

[Tristan Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good origin to a world much in the vain of early Marvel comics, but with a outward discontent where they held a childish optimism. Not to mention a great panel for panel mimic of Kirby's classic art style, which lends a fun feel to this story's cosmic basis.

[Christopher Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gødland is the gold standard in Jack Kirby ripoff/tributes. And that's not at all as lame as, say, being the world's greatest Beatles cover band. This conceals some fairly sublime commentary on Kirbian metaphysics.

[Dan Oldermusicgeek · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Kirby, you'll live this. But if you're not a huge Kirby fan, then it just reads like more of the same Kirby with all the usual Kirby tropes. I thought it was fun and entertaining, but didn't have a mad desire to read the rest of the series.

[Sinasham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm obsessed with Jack Kirby at the moment and came across this Kirby homage at a comic mart last weekend. Now I wanna read 'em all.

[Damon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was cosmically bad.