Best of Godzilla, Vol. 2

by Duane Swierczynski, Chris Mowry (illustrator), Simon Gane (illustrator)

All the best monster stories that can fit in one book, with features on Destoroyah, Gigan, Mechagodzilla, and SpaceGodzilla! Find out why Godzilla is the undisputed King of the Monsters with these specially picked comic issues from series such as History’s Greatest Monster, Rulers of Earth, The Half-Century War, Kingdom of Monsters, Godzilla Legends, Cataclysm, Gangsters & Goliaths, Godzilla In Hell, and Rage Across Time! By a variety of talented writers and artists such as Duane Swierczynski, Jeremy Robinson, James Stokoe, Chris Mowry, Matt Frank, Simon Gane, Jeff Zornow, Jay Fotos, and more!

Genres: Comics, Science Fiction, Action, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Fantasy

384 pages, Paperback

Published October 29, 2024

About the author

Duane Swierczynski is an American crime writer who has written a number of non-fiction books, novels and also writes for comic books.

Reviews

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting compilation. I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked it up. It's not that it doesn't focus on Godzilla, but it's more his adversaries, so to speak. Or, some of his "greatest hits" with four of his greatest adversaries. It took me a bit longer to read than I thought it would, but it still held my interest from start to finish. The artwork was hit-and-miss for me throughout; I enjoyed most of the artwork, but not necessarily all of it.

The different human characters in the story were interesting; the authors did a good job presenting the human perspective of Godzilla and Co. stomping around while also doing a nice job of portraying what could be the monsters' thoughts, emotions, and intentions through facial features (expressions?) and body language. Some of the stories had more humor in them than others, but that was okay. How funny would it truly be to have giant monsters trashing a city or brawling across the countryside and laying waste to the land?

The story involving Godzilla being the reason the Mongol fleet was destroyed was an interesting take on a historical event. It was interesting because I have always understood Godzilla was supposed to have been created as a result of the nuclear tests in the original movie; apparently I was wrong (despite "later" Godzilla movies implying he was mutated from the nuclear tests in the Pacific into the beast he is now). In any case, it was a fun story to read - that initial "monster" reminded me of a cross between the Hydra and Ghidorah, and Godzilla just crushed it! I liked the two warriors having to work together to save the nation; they were hilarious but made a great team when not trying to kill each other.

I still "hate" the whole "Godzilla Goes To Hell" storyline, so I wasn't a big fan of that chapter of that storyline being in this compilation. It's just a stupid story to me, but as much as I hate to admit, I did chuckle this time at the remnants of the wannabe "angelic" and "demonic" survivors just standing there and looking lost and forlorn. I missed that the first time I read that story in a different compilation (it included all of the issues in that storyline).

I assume the "big storylines" are not related to each other? It seems like some of the monsters are killed more than once throughout this compilation, so there seems to be no continuity between the different storylines. I guess if I ever find all of the issues for each narrative, I will find that out, hahahah.

One thing about this compilation - it has made me want to read the entire storylines of at least two of the stories from which the issues were chosen for this compilation. Godzilla: Rulers of the Earth, Godzilla: The Half Century War, and Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters. Part of this is because I want to find out what happened to the aliens who are messing with the humans and that underwater race, hahahah! I think they were taken out, but I'd like to read the whole story instead of pieces of it.

While I was not a big fan of all of the art in this compilation, I enjoyed most of it. And most of what is in this compilation is better than the artwork in Marvel's run from the late 1970s. So there is that; Godzilla in these issues looks more like the character/monster in the movies than Marvel's rendition of Godzilla ever did. Overall, it was a fun compilation to read, and I am glad that I read it.