Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons

Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons #1

by Frank Tieri, Inaki Miranda (artist)

In the 1500s, a ship of seafaring navigators run afoul of a lost world where there is only one king, the King of the Monsters! Before humanity had successfully traveled the entire globe, it was believed that monsters ruled the oceans just beyond the horizon. “Here there be dragons…” was written on maps to denote the areas people dared not go.That is, until Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the seas, visiting foreign lands and collecting treasure. That’s what history tells us, at least, but history does not have the full tale. Monsters did lurk yonder, living on an island that still doesn’t appear on any map, and among them was the king of them all…Godzilla! From Frank Tieri and Inaki Miranda, the incredible team behind Old Lady Harley, comes a Godzilla adventure like no other. Collects the five-issue series.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Fiction, Pirates, Science Fiction, Adventure

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 9, 2024

Reviews

[Bon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy release day!

Thanks to IDW Publishing for a copy of this to review! Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons hits shelves next week, April 9th.

I haven't consumed any written Godzilla content and figured I should start. This was a fantastic story to begin with, playing with the "edge of the map" dangers of the age of exploration [read: colonization etc.] and the major fears of sea monsters and voyages gone astray. Much like the new Godzilla v. Kong movie, this story has Godzilla and other monsters living off the edge of the map, akin to the hollow earth concept in those newer movies.

Much like the olden days, it's not just armadas and navies running into Godzilla and other Kaiju - it's pirates! How fun is that? So there was a lot of fun nautical content, lots of ship art for my nerdy inner nautical history fan, as well as a fun epistolary aspect, as a captive pirate tells the navy about Godzilla. Of course there was a bittt of lag for me whenever Godzilla wasn't on-page, but that's how this story works.

The palette for this was absolutely gorgeous, with vivid, saturated colors, and every page was a work of art. The blue in oceanic and water scenes, the purples of Godzilla, the fiery reds and oranges when the pirates incur Godzilla's wrath.

I had a lot of fun with this, and there's more coming, I hear!

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s not good, it’s not bad, it’s Godzilla! Readers who get that distinction are in for a real treat with the fast paced over-the-top monster extravaganza. Set in the 16th century, “Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons” presents a very different take on the Age of Discovery as Francis Drake discovers Monster Island and more importantly its inhabitants. The resulting monster infused chaos is brilliant and hard core Kaiju fans will not be disappointed.

Expect, a fate for the Spanish Armada that is not in any history book, a cameo from a redheaded monarch, anachronistic portrayals of explosives, the best bad pirate dialogue since your last trip to Long Jon Silver’s, a Kaiju death cult and lots and lots of highly kinetic monster mashing.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, IDW publishing for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[doowopapocalypse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Arc from NetGalley.

I felt pretty quickly this was going to be a matter of, if not good than fun. Unfortunately it is also not that much fun. There’s a lot of exposition. Also a kaiju cult?

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A typical comic version of the Godzilla theme, this time including swashbuckling pirates!

If you've seen any of the Godzilla movies, it's basically the same bottom line every time. Monster strikes, the battle ensues and chaos reigns. At minimum, this title is fun for flipping through on the ipad to check out the artwork. Is it anything spectacular? No. It's pretty standard.

[Martin Maenza · Rating 3 out of 5]

IDW Publishing provided an early galley for review.

I grew up on Godzilla movies being shown on a local syndicated channel on Saturday afternoons. Something about a giant monster wrecking havoc on humanity appealed to me. His popularity has not diminished since those days; my grown son raved about the recent Godzilla Minus One film from 2023. So, why not present a story where the giant lizard encounters historical explorers from the 1500's?

The artwork by Miranda is gorgeous, with colors by Eva de la Cruz that give it even more vibrancy. Tieri's story has the right mix of swashbuckling pirates and giant kaiju to bring back the childhood excitement and imagination in every reader. Clearly, the creative team are very much fans of this franchise as they draw deep into the catalog and lore to craft this rousing tale.

I also appreciated the inclusion of the variant covers. There were several nice pieces in the bunch.

[Michael J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually approach any new Godzilla comics series with caution. How different can they be? Normally, it's just Godzilla fighting some new monster. However, I picked this one up based on the strength of the creative team and was rewarded for my support.
Frank Tieri is a strong writer, especially with crime comics, and does a bang-up job here by setting this Godzilla saga into the midst of the Caribbean pirate days and incorporating some alternative history regarding Sir Francis Drake, who terrorized the ships of the Spaniards. He has this adventure of Drake and crew looking for a treasure on Godzilla's Monster Island narrated by a captured pirate, who is suspected of spinning a yarn in order to draw attention and avoid the hangman's noose. There's even a kaiju-worshipping cult minimally involved in the story, perhaps setting the stage for a second story arc.
The art by the always amazing Inaki Miranda is among some of his best, gloriously enhanced by the color work of Eva de la Cruz. Anytime I see that team on art chores, I"ll be purchasing that book. Whether he visualizing ships in sea battles or two monster fighting it out, the images are vivid and imaginative. The emergence of Godzilla's head from ocean waters, surprising Drake's ship and crew in Issue #1 is a classic. Very entertaining.

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was SO MUCH FUN!!! Absolutely off the walls idea that ended up working so damn well! Very hard to mix kaiju with swashbuckling pirate action but it was done masterfully here. The story itself was very entertaining, and the art was honestly incredible! Definitely read this! After 70 years it's hard to bring anything new into this franchise and have it work well but this is it.

[Jasher Drake · Rating 3 out of 5]

godzilla fits so well into a pirate tale! love the inclusion of so many sea-based kaiju like ebirah and oodako but found all the secret society conspiracy stuff a bit lame. great visuals and cool monster fight though.

shout out to my ancestor sir francis. 🫡

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writer Frank Tieri manages to drain all of the fun out of what should have been a slam-dunk premise.

[Richard Propes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only a couple days after the Godzilla film series picked up its first Academy Award ever, I stumbled across the opportunity to check out Frank Tieri's "Godzilla: Here there Be Dragons."

This is part of a five-issue graphic novel collection written by Tieri with illustrations by Inaki Miranda.

The story is relatively simple and straightforward.

In the 1500s, a ship of seafaring navigators run afoul of a lost world where there is only one king - the King of the Monsters. The book is set in the time when humanity had yet to travel the entire globe and monsters were believed to rule the oceans. "Here There Be Dragons" would be written on maps as an indicator of where man dare not go.

The book weaves together pirate tales, Monster Island, foreign lands, and even political intrigue in telling its tale. Godzilla is here, of course, in a story starting with the soon to be executed Mr. Hull, a pirate being interrogated within the British Territory of 1556. Promising facts unknown for some rum and trying to buy more time alive, Hull escapes into a fantastical tale of one of history's most famous pirate captain, Kaiju, and Monster Island.

One could argue that Hull himself is the focus of this story,though Godzilla is still wildly present and vividly realized as are other monsters. Miranda's imagery, in particular, is really remarkable here and graphic novel lovers along with Godzilla lovers would do well to pick up this series.

This sci-fi/fantasy is targeted toward middle-graders and that feels about right. However, I'd imagine that any fans of Godzilla and/or Kaiju will find much to enjoy here.

While I'm not quite a Godzilla devotee, I enjoyed this offering greatly and will no doubt check out future efforts by Tieri and Miranda.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good, great twist on a classic. We all know Godzilla was the sort of cultural response to the atomic bomb and that feeling of incomprehensible destruction. Art is one of the greatest responses to tragedy.

Now, Godzilla is almost a mascot for environmental protection and earth as a living being and it makes sense the kaiju would all have been around for hundreds of years. This story puts Godzilla against a crew of pirates in pursuit of booty- the conspiracy of the kaiju worshippers was the only part I didn’t love BUT if we get more historical Godzilla encounters I’m all in!

[Robin Pelletier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel combines two epic things: Godzilla and pirates. It also contains a sliver of history. I really liked that this was a hangman's tale: a pirate tells the tale right before he's about to be executed. I loved the old comic style used. It totally has old school Godzilla vibes.

If you like pirates and Godzilla, this is the graphic novel for you!

[Nicky Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Godzilla fights pirates. Does that sound good to you? If so, read this. It's exactly what it sounds like. Godzilla, the big nuclear dinosaur living in the center of the earth, comes out and just WRECKS pirates. I mean, Godzilla totally decimates today's modern Navy. Of course, he owns the pirates. They go to Monster Island and see some guys there, too. If you're a Godzilla fan (be ye child or manchild), you'll like this one because Godzilla smashes pirate ships. Thanks, IDW Comics + Netgalley, for the ARC.

[Jack Phoenix · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a simple gimmick and a tight yarn, this may not be the perfect GODZILLA story, but it’s close.

[BC Howard · Rating 1 out of 5]

At first, I really dug the concept. Godzilla and pirates. That's the kind of story I'd come up with if I dumped out my toy chest and pitted my Godzilla action figure against my pirate Playmobils; these kind of wacky story concepts are the lifeblood of B movies and pulp novels, but only if they have a level of passion to their execution.

Issue 1 starts off with a pirate named Hull (yeah, real inspired name there) about to be sent to the gallows by the British Navy. To save his neck, Hull regales the tale of Antonio Botafoc aka Fire Fart (again, inspired name for a pirate) who buried his treasure on Monster Island. Reading that, I was like, "Oh cool! This series is going to be about Hull leading the British Navy to Monster Island. It'll be like Treasure Island meets Skull Island!"

Except Hull's narration continues on about how he was part of a crew led by Sir Francis Drake, an English privateer that hears about Botafoc and Monster Island and decides to take the treasure in the Queen's name. But wait, how did Drake learn all this and how to get to Monster Island? Godzilla's from Japan, no duh; surely, it'd make sense that Drake met a Japanese sailor or perhaps a sailor that's been there and heard tales of the Jolly Green Lizard.

Nope. Drake just meets a random white dude who, conveniently, has a doubloon with Godzilla engraved on it. Without knowing who this sailor is, not even a name, Sir Drake learns everything he needs to know about Botafoc's treasure and how to get to Monster Island. Drake takes all this info to Queen Elizabeth herself and, without hesitation, she grants him a crew and ship.

If you're reading this and thinking, "Wow, this all seems rather convenient", oh just you wait. It gets worse.

There is some promise of things picking up at the end of issue one, where after escaping a surprise attack from the Spanish Navy, Sir Drake and his crew reach Monster Island only to receive a warm welcome from none other than Godzilla himself. The opening pages of Issue 2 let's illustrator, Inaki Miranda, and colorist, Eva de la Cruz, flex their illustrative muscles. Godzilla lays waste to the Spanish navy in the most epic way possible, the kind of large scale carnage you'd want to see from a giant monster movie.

Sadly, this is a book where it seems the art team are shouldering most of the burden, because the story is weak. It's 90% Hull's narration, broken up by scenes of him in the interrogation room doing back-and-forth dialogue with his captors. Said dialogue is forgettable, and at other times eyerolling, like when one of the said captors threatens to cut off Hull's testicles and feed them to him (I'm sorry, who is this comic for again?). There is no dialogue exchange between Sir Drake and his crew, no scenes where we get a feel for the type of man he is, what his relationship to his crew is, if these people get along or hate each other; there is no character development. I would like to have seen some for the secondary villain, Cortez Blanco, who is sympathetic because Sir Drake inadvertently killed his family while raiding Spanish ships. I would have liked to see how that blood feud plays out, what Blanco would say to Drake, and if maybe Drake would take responsibility for his actions. But nope, none of that.

There are two additional members of Drake's crew, beside Hull, who are featured in many scenes: a black man and Southeast Asian woman. I would have liked to have gotten to know them and how they found themselves as part of Drake's crew, but I don't even get names.

Again, all we get is Hull's narration, which is flat and straightforward. It reads like I'm being summarized a grand story rather than told one, because being told would involve absorbing me into each scene. Instead, it's up to Miranda and the rest of the art crew to keep you entertained. And they really go all out with detailed pirate designs, with kaiju designs ranging from giant sea turtles to bats to members of Godzilla's rogues gallery. I particularly like the inclusion of Ebirah and Oodako, a giant lobster and octopus respectively, because it matches the nautical themes of the comic. That's about as much effort as writer, Frank Tieri, puts into the series. I'm not saying he is a lazy writer by default, but his execution of "Here There Be Dragons" certainly is. He seems to be operating on the same mindset as those who criticize the Godzilla movies being boring because of the fact that they tend to focus on the human characters, not just giant monster fights. I hate that mentality because it shows a lack of imagination, not realizing that if a story is mostly action, it gets boring real quick. And don't you dare bring up Fury Road or Furiosa. George Miller operates on a different wavelength than us puny mortals.

If you want further prove of the writing's laziness, look no further than the world-building. Remember I mentioned earlier how Sir Drake conveniently meets a random sailor who knows where Monster Island is? Well, conveniently, so does Hull. Throughout his narration, he knows Godzilla by name, knows Monster Island by name, he knows all of the Kaiju by name, he even knows the fucking term Kaiju. Now, the comic makes it clear the Kaiju are relatively unknown in this world. So how the fuck does Hull know everything? Well, when he and the crew get to Monster Island they conveniently find a temple where they learn everything: the names of the Kaiju, their origins. Godzilla's name is even carved on a wall, in English.

Ya see what I mean? LAZY!!! There could've been a more creative way for the pirates to learn about Godzilla. They didn't even have to learn about his name or the Kaiju's true nature. These are pirates, they have their own mythology about sea monsters. Why not add that to the narrative? Or how sailors from other cultures might name and interpret these titanic beings? But, again, that would take effort, something Tieri put next to nothing in.

Actually, he did introduce one idea, and it's really dumb. Somewhere in the middle of the story, it's revealed there is a secret organization called The Sons of Giants (no really). They're basically a Kaiju Illuminati. Shady, powerful cult types. They have agents within governments all over the world, and their goal is to keep the existence of Kaiju secret They even wear masks in the shape of Kaiju, like it's Eyes Wide Shut but for dorks who don't have sex.

Why do the Sons of Giants want to keep the Kaiju secret? It's never explained. What does the inclusion of this organization add to the story? Nothing, except for a twist that, unless you were born with a pickled brain, you'll see coming for miles. Apparently, this secret organization becomes more relevant in the sequel comic (the fact this sold well enough to greenlight a sequel is beyond me), but no, I will not be reading it. It's a dumb idea, okay? It's basically just Monarch from the Monsterverse except for Qanon-types. Why have a secret organization at all? I just wanna read a comic about pirates and Godzilla, man. Focus on the crew and their misadventures, not this Daily Wire-ass shit.

You might be reading this review and think I'm being harsh. After all, it's just a Godzilla comic. The whole point is to be fun. And to that, I say fun takes effort. Just like more serious writing, it takes time sitting down and thinking about the story you're telling and the characters and ideas you want to throw in there, how they'll organically play off of one another, how you will keep the reader entertained without boring them or treating them as stupid. Little me playing with his Playmobils and Godzilla figures put effort into the stories I came up with. When you don't put effort into your story, you end up with swill that's like eating a bag of chips. It might fill you up, but you won't remember it, and it won't feel satisfying in the long run. All the great B movies took effort to make. They were passion projects taken seriously by those who made them. Without that passion, we never would've gotten a "Killer Klowns From Outer Space". We never would've gotten a "Toxic Avenger". It would've all just be the same forgettable crap that washes up on the shore of Amazon Prime each day. "Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons" could've gone down as one of the greats. Instead, it's a comic that merely exists.

Oh yeah, and it might've ripped off from a lesser known Kaiju comic. So, I'm effectively bumping this down from a 2 to a 1 star, because fuck plagiarism. If I could, I'd have given this comic 0 stars for that sin alone.

Here's the thread I learned about the plagiarism, btw: https://www.reddit.com/r/GODZILLA/com...

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher IDW Publishing for an advance copy of this graphic novel featuring the King of All Kaiju in one of his earliest and destructive adventures.

Godzilla has been many things over his long career. Destroyer of Tokyo, more than once. Foe and later ally of the ape known as King Kong. Last defense against an invading alien attack force. And Uncle of one Gadzooky. In this new adventure Godzilla acts not only as a giant watch-kaiju for a grand treasure against marauding pirates, but as the God for a secret society, who works against the religious and monarchies of the 1500's for a reason only known to them. Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons is written by Frank Tieri, illustrated by Inaki Miranda and colored by Eva de la Cruz, and features Godzilla in one of his earliest adventures, a time of pirates and exploration, when the world was a far darker and more conspiracy ridden then most people knew.

Our story starts with a pirate trying to avoid the gallows. For a bottle of rum, he will share a tale with a Captain and a guard, a tale that will keep him free of the noose, and maybe free of prison all together. The pirate tells of a grand raid and a haul of treasure from a wealthy Bishop, one that lead to pursuit past the known world, and unto an island that only dragons knew about. Sir Francis Drake, hearing rumors of an island at the end of the world, with a lot of gold, asks the Queen of England a boon. Drake will lead a ship, the Golden Hind on a cruise of exploration, gain knowledge of the world, and also the missing treasure. Once asea, Drake begins to steal from the Spanish, and a great fleet, an Armada is sent after him. A storm separates them at sea, and when the weather calms, Drake sees an island, Monster Island. However the Armada has also escaped the storm, and begins to close. Suddenly up from the depths, thirty stories high breathing fire, with his head in the sky, is Godzilla. And the adventure truly begins.

A different kind of kaiju story one that deals with what was known about kaiju in the past, with the added flavor of pirates, boat battles, conspiracies and alternate history. The story is well ok. There are a few holes, a lot of passing over of information. I'm not sure if they mean that the Armada deployed here is the same as what was to attack England, but this are little quibbles. The whole point of the story is Godzilla destroying stuff. And a lot of stuff is destroyed. Plus kaiju battles kaiju, and the secret society that worships Godzilla is interesting. And something that can be followed up on. A Cthulu cult of Kaiju if one will. The art is very good, the ships, castles, pirates, and people all are rendered well. Godzilla is modern Godzilla, bigger of head, blaster of larger flame. A story fans of Godzilla should enjoy.

[Christopher Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s time once again to dive into the world of Kaiju with IDW Publishing’s newest Godzilla title, Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons. This new title brings writer Frank Tieri (Wolverine, Space: Punisher, Gotham Underground), and artist Inaki Miranda (We Live, The Chase, Fairest) for a swashbuckling tale filled with pirates, kaiju, and a Kaiju Cult?!

This tale finds us traveling back to the 1500s. It’s a world full of mystery and high-sea adventure in which there is only one ruler, the King of Kaiju, Godzilla! Before humanity successfully traveled the globe, many believed that the ocean was ruled by monsters beyond the eye could see. An Ominous Warning was written on maps, to denote the areas where people dared not to go read “Here there be dragons..” that is until Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the seas, visiting foreign lands and collecting treasure. That was what history tells of Drake, but history doesn’t know how the rest of his story goes, until now.

Godzilla Here There Be Dragons collects the five-issue series, and the story is straightforward enough for new readers to follow. Tieri gives readers a story that connects pirate tales about foreign lands, and a mysterious monster island, with a hint of political intrigue. The main focus is Hull, a pirate who was set to be executed in British territory in the late 1500s. He tried to avoid his execution by telling a tale out of this world, even featuring the King of Kaiju himself and Monster Island.

Even though the focus is on Godzilla and other monsters, it plays up to a conspiracy theory of how history is documented and how the Kaiju played a role in it, which included secret cults to worship them. The book does well in meshing together the pirate tales and Godzilla lore pretty well. It was one of the things that made the book stand out above most Godzilla titles.

The other thing that made this book work so well was the artwork. Miranda caught how fierce and frightening Godzilla and the Kaiju were perfectly. Colorist Eva De La Cruz’s (Fables, Fairest, We Live) color work in this series was a perfect fit with Inaki’s illustrations in this book, whether it was fighting among the humans or the kaiju, Miranda and De La Cruz were the perfect artistic team for a Fantasy/Sci-Fi story.

[Hannah Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is there a more epic combination than Godzilla and pirates? What about Godzilla, pirates, a monster island, and a secret society involving the Queen of England herself? Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons is a conspiracy-filled story that will keep you reading cover to cover.

Told as a hangman’s confession by a desperate pirate, Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons is a story where you’re never quite sure of the truth. The pirate relaying the tale is the epitome of an unreliable narrator, and no one else seems to believe him. A story involving the Queen, Sir Francis Drake, a secret society, a monster island, and the Spanish armada? Surely, he’s lying. Right?

The story in Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons is fast-paced and fun. If you enjoy historical action romps, this is perfect. Many monstrous creatures show up (Godzilla is not the only one!), which makes each issue in the volume exciting. I enjoyed the bits of historical context, though they were, admittedly, few and far between.

Art:

The art in Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons is larger than life. The proportions of the monsters and humans were perfect, and I loved the coloring throughout the series. The colors perfectly match the dank and dark pirate theme. The lush monster island is bold and green, especially compared to the pirate’s dark cell. I loved the sailing maps in the volume, which made Godzilla almost feel like a secret pirate logbook.

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed my time with Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons. This is perfect for you if you like Pirates of the Caribbean, King Kong, or Godzilla. However, this is also for you if you enjoy the historical secret societies of Assassin’s Creed or the Francis Drake bits in Uncharted.

Thanks to IDW for providing me with an advanced review copy. All the above thoughts are my own.

[jcw3-john · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a Godzilla vs pirates story. That automatically attracted me to it - even if the execution was shaky, I had a good time, and I'll be reading the sequels.

Everything to do with the kaiju is phenomenal - some real dopamine rush stuff - every scene with Godzilla is great. Unfortunately, the comic relies on a frankly distracting and lame framing device, of a 16th century Jack Sparrow expy recounting the tale of his journey on Monster Island to his initially skeptical British captors.

Wasn't a fan of that - Drake vs Blanco was surprisingly fun, but the draw of this stuff, the kaiju stuff, wound up being a lot more fun than the attempts at the period piece stuff, especially given that this was chock-full of anachronisms (16th century pirates using DYNAMITE to corral a kaiju, using the words 'government' and 'conspiracy. Wikizilla has a whole section on how this doesn't really line up with Francis Drake's life).

I know it's going to sound ridiculous for me to harp on historical accuracy in a giant monster comic, but I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for the writers to check this stuff - it's possible to have fun action-figure bashing kaiju fights with gore and guts and ALSO check your work to make sure it matches the era. It's not even that hard! This was written in the 2020s, most of this stuff is one or two books and a quick Google search away.

Probably only something I'd recommend to kaiju fans - but it is a satisfying kaiju story, just wrapped in some distracting faux-pirate stuff that doesn't work very well

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been rather uber-critical of recent (Past 20 years) comics. I find this above most. There is a very good story included. The conspiracy theory angle is as much a part of our wonderings of history as that documented. I just wish this volume had better explored the ideas, intertwining the conspiracy with the drive of the book. I'm just very glad the angle was presented and included in the tale.

The plotting is wonky with far too much real estate dedicated to interior prison scenes and too much silly fighting of monsters. Structuring the story via the Queen and Drake to the prisoner to the monster would've worked better.

The critique of the artwork is about the same as I've written of other recent comics. The style is Lladro where Armani was needed. A grittier style was essential to give the book the weight it needed. Full sets of teeth and perfect nails are impossible of any working pirate back then.

There are a series of historical inaccuracies begging why use historical figures at all to avoid the trap? Example was mention of mutinies, which rarely occurred. The Media presents such silliness which makes little sense when cooped on a finite area of a ship. Democracy reigned with ships' crew to keep all alive.

Still an admirable effort to present the story. The ability to read this prior to publication is due to access via NetGalley.com

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 7 out of ten points.

[Timothy Grubbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolutely ridiculous, but you don’t read Godzilla comics because you want high art…

Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons by Frank Tieri is an Alberta history story about a world where a veteran sailor shares his tale of a trip to a mysterious island his witnessing of several “great monsters”.

Set in 1556, Henry Hull is the last survivor of an old expedition which involved sir Francis Drake and a legendary dragon of the oceans named Godzilla (not quality explanation is given for why he knows its name but just ignore it).

Mixing privateers and kaiju, this comic details a trip to the mysterious Monster Island and encounters with various large monsters (and sea turtles), as well as warnings of the human cults that once worshiped (and still follow) the great Kaiju.

Surprisingly, the writer even takes advantage of other elements of the Kaiju world, not just the “big names” with appearances by Hedorah, Odako, and Ebirah, the horror of the deep.

If you like swashbuckling, cannons being fired at Kaiju, and drunken pirate storytelling then giving this a try is something that wouldn’t be horrible to do…

[Helena Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️: 3.5 / 5

Publication Date: April 9, 2024

I want to thank IDW Publishing and Net Galley for allowing me to get an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The first collection does a great job of hooking you into the story and establishing the setting of this Godzilla tale.

One of the coolest aspects of this story, is GODZILLA AND PIRATES. Is it cheesy? Absolutely, but I’m into it. The art is beautiful especially with regards to monster island. There’s a monster fight, of course.

As for my reservations, the ending felt oddly out of place. Along with how one comic would go into the next wasn’t smooth and felt like a page was missing to assist in the transition. The human characters felt pretty flat.

Overall I mostly enjoyed this collection of comics. I’d never delved into Godzilla media outside or the movies and this was a fun time for sure. I wish the ending had been better but I would still recommend this for a quick read.

Would recommend for those who are fans of
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Godzilla
- Conspiracies

[Ben A · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was in middle school, I really enjoyed history, learning about explorers and I was incredibly fascinated with Sir Francis Drake in particular. Of course, the other side of my personality was a love for cheesy Godzilla movies. Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons merges these two together for an incredibly enjoyable tale that left me wanting much, much more. I enjoyed how much this felt like those classic Godzilla movies I loved so much, with the wacky human storyline alongside the monsters. I really hope that we get another tale that explores the world of Elizabethan Kaiju in more detail. I would pick the sequel up in a heartbeat. I've read a lot of the IDW Godzilla books and will be counting this one among my favorites.

Special Thanks to IDW Publishing and Netgalley for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.

[Noriboo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical Fiction meets Kaiju.
The story takes place in the 1500s, where a pirate regales the story of how he and his fellow crew mates ended up on Monster Island and lived to tell the tale.

I have pondered the question of how humanity has dealt with the kaiju problem during the past millenia. Especially without the advantage of modern technology that has been introduced to the lore in recent years. And how was the knowledge about these the huge monsters able to be kept hidden?
This story explores those questions.
I enjoyed reading it. Something felt of, while the pirate is telling his story, and by the last pages, it's revealed why.

I believe that people who enjoy Kaiju stories will also enjoy this graphic novel, as will people who enjoy historical monster hunting fiction.

•••

I received a free ARC through Netgalley. My opinions are my own.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pirate who looks like Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow has found himself in prison and awaiting the gallows in London, England. He believes his once chance is to share a story he knows from the journey's of Sir Francis Drake, a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I. This certainly captures the attention of many of her high ranking officials. This novel collects the tale of this pirate, which includes ending up with Francis at Monster Island, where Godzilla dwells.

I thought this was a fun and interesting read. It collects the volumes of what was a 5-book series to tell the story. In some ways, it reminded me a lot of Marvel 1602, which was a collection of stories that placed many of Marvel's most well-known heroes in a similar time frame. This was a fun look at Kaiju if they had been present at this point in history.

[Justin Reedmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the wake of the Sir Francis Drake expeditions a scoundrel pirate named Huff weaves a tall tale of revenge, treasure, conspiracy, cults and kaiju to his jailors in effort to save his neck from the gallows. It's as good a premise as any to drops everyone's favorite atomic lizard into the 1500s to torch and armada of ships.

The human story of pirates & conspiracy is fun, the dialogue sharp, a good page turner. The kaiju battles, pretty standard fair. The art is, unfortunately, a bit of a mixed bag. Humans, ships and landscape (generally) are fairly well rendered, but the monsters feel inconstant in quality & scale from one panel to another. Considering the title of the book, this is a bit unfortunate.

All in all, a fun read, but not a must have in kaiju canon.

*ARC provided by NetGalley & the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

[Norman Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

2024 Eisner Award finalist - Best Limited Series, Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team (Inaki Miranda)

This is an alternate history version of Godzilla and his pals on Monster Island--what if they existed in the 16th Century and were found by the English and Spanish seafarers of the time? It's a great premise, and the parts featuring Godzilla in battle with Oodoko (giant octopus), Ebirah (giant lobster), and others are excellent. The story gets bogged down by the framing story where one of the only survivors recounts his tale in front of Queen Elizabeth's representatives. Also, some of the portrayals of the seamen/pirates seems a bit stereotyped, more like a bad movie than real life. Inaki Miranda's artwork is superb, especially with the battle scenes and realistic renditions of the period ships and clothing.

[Richard Pulfer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun little mini-series which melds kaiju and historical privateers into a fun little package. The story follows Sir Francis Drake and a crew of pirates as they stumble onto buried pressure - of course located on Monster Island - which leads into several run-in's with Godzilla along with a few other familiar faces.

The art is great, but I also really liked the attention to detail, melding together history with kaiju into a fun little story with plenty of twists and turns - and even one gut-punch of an ending no less. The only issue is that most of the story is told through flashbacks, which unfortunately serves to lessen the immediacy of the story. Still, it was quite a lot of fun, and with another volume on the way, I'll definitely be checking it out.

[Alex Sarll]

Sir Francis Drake taking the Golden Hind to Monster Island while circumnavigating the world, and running into its enormous inhabitants? Cool. The sailors using dynamite? Not cool. Pulling stunts like that, and this is far from the only example, then trying to get clever with "We pirates... don't actually really do that" after a reference to walking the plank, made two centuries before anyone ever referred to walking the plank? About as cool as Rishi Sunak. On the other hand, if there's one thing funnier than the real fate of the 'invincible' Spanish Armada, it might be seeing them get kaijued to fuck.

(Netgalley ARC)

[Evelyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a rather disjointed tale of the search conducted by Sir Francis Drake for a pirate’s treasure on behalf of Queen Elizabeth under the guise of circumnavigating the world. The search takes him to monster island populated by Godzilla and other monsters.

The story is rather disjointed with a lot of disconnects, and historical inaccuracies that can’t be justified even if one suspends beliefs. The artwork is unexceptional. There are a lot of loose ends in the story. The final twist comes out of left field, and makes no sense.

This is a quick read for anyone who wants to vegetate, and not be challenged intellectually. It rates 1.5 stars.