Godzilla: Skate or Die

by Louie Joyce

Australian skater punks versus Varan and the King of the Monsters in this thrilling Godzilla miniseries! Four years ago, four best friends and die-hard skaters found the perfect location for a DIY skatepark. After months of hard work, they created the world’s sickest spot that they could enjoy for the rest of their lives… That is, until the ferocious Varan appeared in the middle of central Australia and started making a beeline for their beloved park. Why is Varan on a rampage? Why did Godzilla just appear off the coast? What does their beloved skate spot have to do with this? And most importantly…what are these punks willing to do to save it?

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics

128 pages, Paperback

Published April 29, 2025

Reviews

[RatGrrrl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.

When I first saw the title, Godzilla: Skate or Die, I was consumed with a need to imbibe this comic and I am so unbelievably happy to report it lived up to my unfathomable hype!

When their dream skatepark is threatened by being the arena in which Godzilla and Varan showdown, four Aussie teenage skaters of various kinds take the phrase, Skate or Die, to the most extreme, including infiltrating a top secret military base, trucking a magical meteor, and backing up the big guy.

It's as ridiculous and epic as it sounds and the artwork is a glorious attack on the senses with myriad style and effects.

I really had fun with this and bloody loved it!

[Phillip Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve really been enjoying the Godzilla comics that I’ve been able to check out, so I jumped at the chance to read Godzilla: Skate or Die from IDW Publishing.

A group of skaters built their own skatepark. Now, Varan has awakened and is terrorizing Australia. Godzilla heads to face Varan, and the estimated collision spot is, YOU GUESSED IT, the skatepark.

Can these skaters save Australia and their skatepark (mostly their skatepark) from destruction?

Thank you Netgalley and IDW Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This story was different and cool.

I was super pumped to read this, because I’ve really been digging all of the Godzilla books that I’ve read. I think I liked even more than they said “We’re putting this in a specific place in Australia.” and didn’t do a generic-looking place without even giving you a vague idea of where it was set.

Varan being shot into space was awesome.

The big battle between Godzilla and Varan ended with Godzilla shooting him… INTO SPACE. This was one of the coolest things that I have seen in these Godzilla comics.

I loved the Kaiju artwork, but I didn’t love the human artwork.

I thought the artwork for Godzilla and Varan was top notch. The colors, especially, were gorgeous. All of the coloring for the big fight spreads was fantastic.

With that said, something about the way the people were drawn in this book didn’t really work for me. That didn’t distract from the overall book though.

[Alex Sarll]

The quality on IDW's Godzilla comics may be deeply variable, but at least they're not samey, as witness this punky outing in which the King of Monsters makes landfall in Australia, Varan* appears in the desert, and their paths are set to converge on the disused steelworks where four skater kids have made their own unofficial skate park, the Coin Toss. So, evacuation orders be damned, obviously they need to have one last ride there to say goodbye, right? Joyce's art is busy, lurid, scratchy, sometimes outright incomprehensible, but it has the appropriate energy, recalling all the right stuff: Spider-Gwen at its early peak, Street Angel, Evan Dorkin. Is Skate Or Die on a par with the last Godzilla comic I read, Tom Scioli's Great Gatsby crossover? Obviously not, but then what is, and it's streets ahead of the one before that, the abysmal Here There Be Dragons. Probably it's even better if you know the first thing about skating, though then you might also be even more disappointed than I was that we never actually see Godzilla himself skating on a train or something (though there is one brief vision-glimpse of him doing what is apparently "a really sick heelflip indy").

*Not a kaiju I recognised; described, not unfairly, as "a bloody big goanna" by one passing Ozzie.

[Cuchillo Lope · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember hearing about this one and was instantly intrigued. I felt like it skewed a little more to middle/high school readers, but I’m always down to read anything Godzilla. One of the amazing things with IDW and their work on Godzilla is they have published so many fun and interesting takes on Godzilla. From pirates to skaters. Now some don’t hit, but I greatly appreciate the effort. Being a Godzilla fan who grew up in the absolute desert they was the 90s seeing all this is amazing. Kid me would be bouncing off the walls at all the different Godzilla stuff that is coming out. What is great is that if one thing doesn’t click with you, something else is coming out to give a shot.
This was a fun story of kids trying to save their skate park, which sounds silly in the context of a giant monster story, but it has a lot of charm and heart that makes you enjoy these kids risking life, limb, and wheel to accomplish this. It’s a fun time and a great own for younger people.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10

i don't like the aussie teen language but it's mostly just really obnoxious in issue #1 and then fizzles out afterward. i think the dialogue probably isn't realistic for a modern teen and sounds much more like what someone trying to sound young and "hip" might say. this is all to say i don't think the writing is particularly good, in both the dialogue and the story. with a name like Godzilla: Skate or Die i expect the author to have a ton of fun and make something absurdly great but this comic never really does that.

i'm also not a big fan of the art style. i don't hate it, though. it's just that some art styles may look cool and unique but over the course of 100 pages they become difficult to enjoy. i must say, though, that this miniseries can have some absolutely beautiful panels when the art does hit the right way with the right kind of scene. there's a few stunning godzilla panels in here.

[Geni101 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the review copy. The following opinions are my own.

5 stars

I love the strangeness of Godzilla skate or die! The concept, the narrative, the art... Everything feels transgressive - as if the very idea is a slap in the face to what you expect when you imagine a Godzilla comic. This is the kind of comic that I pray to heaven there are more of in a market saturated with sameness: IP owners letting new voices run (in this case, roll) wild with their characters, because you never know when new visions can become special things. In my opinion, this is a special comic.

Godzilla skate or die by Louie Joyce is a great triumph in my opinion. More of these, please!

[Christian Koller]

A pretty unique Godzilla take.

I really like the art style. The kaiju in particular are incredible to look at and well textured. It was hard to tell what was happening in a few panels though--besides the dream sequences and flashback pages, which are intentionally trippy.

I was never a skater kid, so much of the core group's bonds and premise was lost on me, but I'm sure there's an Australian skater out there for whom this story hits perfectly.

Varan is used as Godzilla's opposite for the story, and I don't think they could have picked a better kaiju for the art style (though they do tease what other kaiju could look like, and it's sick!). It might be my favorite Godzilla vs. Varan fights I've seen in official content yet.

Overall, it's a fun, poppy series that's worthwhile for the great visuals.

[Brenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this comic book, even as someone who is not wildly into kaiju mythos.

Overall the art is absolutely killer, the colors were great and the movement was fantastic. I loved more than anything that this was a distinct art-style that really fit the story that was being told. I unfortunately, did have some issues with reading some panels, due to the formatting, but it wasn't too big of an issue once the story really got going. Both the story and the characters were a lot of fun and I loved what skating represented to them and their backstories which were briefly and efficiently explored. Highly recommend this comic book.

(I received an advanced copy from netgalley)

[MC · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Loved this Graphic Novel!! I have loved Godzilla for years, and this take on Our favorite Kaiju added to the great legacy. I also loved the Skate Park atmosphere. This had a true Skate Rat Pack mentality. When you have each other's back. I can not express how much I loved this. NOW, Let's just talk about how the Art Style is just an element all its own. Godzilla's look is so distinctive and stylized that it makes these a must-have. I will be buying this Collection as soon it comes out for my Collection.

[Ben A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Godzilla: Skate or Die was a fun read that ultimately didn't do a lot for me, but I've really enjoyed that IDW has taken such care to give us multiple and unique takes on the Godzilla mythos. I did end up liking it much more than several other Godzilla stories I've read from the company. I'm really hoping that they continue to take chances, I'll keep reading.

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

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

I end a good portion of my spoken sentences with “man” so I’m biased. Skaters are sick, Godzilla is sick. This book is sick man.

The art is so kinetic, really awesome use of page spreads and layout- the art feels like graffiti, this kind of flow. Really fun read. Parents just don’t understand!

[Larakaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a ton of fun. High adrenaline, kaiju-clashing, radical skating fun!

[NerdyReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book. Whis they wouldn't have introduced a bully and mechs only to do nothing with them.

[Kai Charles(Fiction State Of Mind) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so fun! I love seeing Godzilla in unexpected story telling spaces.

[Willie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun Godzilla story for the 'Stranger Things' crowd.

[Sean Lees · Rating 4 out of 5]

Godzilla set in Port Kembla

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly and fun. Loved it.

[Jonathan Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

What lacks in the story is made up for in the art. Such a beautifully unique style for Godzilla and it works like a charm.