Godzilla: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus (Godzilla

by Doug Moench, Herb Trimpe (artist), Tom Sutton (artist)

Collects Godzilla (1977) #1-24.

Godzilla, the towering scourge of Tokyo, rises from the depths in the United States - and the Marvel Universe! For two glorious years in the 1970s, Japan's greatest export was one of Marvel's biggest stars - marching across America and battling some of the best and brightest the House of Ideas had to offer, including the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the Champions, Nick Fury and the mechanized monster fighter, Red Ronin! Godzilla goes west, travels through time to battle Devil Dinosaur and hosts one of Spider-Man's most gratuitous guest-shots ever - but when Godzilla is shrunk down to miniature size, the terrible titan proves it can still be a tiny terror! Aliens, mutants, mad scientists and epic kaiju clashes with Godzilla's fellow towering titans - including Batragon and Yetrigar!

Genres: Comics, Fiction

440 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 2, 2024

About the author

Doug Moench, is an American comic book writer notable for his Batman work and as the creator of Black Mask, Moon Knight and Deathlok. Moench has worked for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics and many other smaller companies; he has written hundreds of issues of many different comics, and created dozens of characters, such as Moon Knight. In 1973, Moench became the de facto lead writer for the Marvel black-and-white magazine imprint Curtis Magazines. He contributed to the entire runs of Planet of the Apes, Rampaging Hulk (continuing on the title when it changed its name to The Hulk!) and Doc Savage, while also serving as a regular scribe for virtually every other Curtis title during the course of the imprint's existence. Moench is perhaps best known for his work on Batman, whose title he wrote from 1983–1986 and then again from 1992–1998. (He also wrote the companion title Detective Comics from 1983–1986.)

Moench is a frequent and longtime collaborator with comics artist Paul Gulacy. The pair are probably best known for their work on Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu, which they worked on together from 1974–1977. They also co-created Six from Sirius, Slash Maraud, and S.C.I. Spy, and have worked together on comics projects featuring Batman, Conan the Barbarian and James Bond.

Moench has frequently been paired with the artist and inker team of Kelley Jones and John Beatty on several Elseworlds Graphic Novels and a long run of the monthly Batman comic.

Reviews

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection and trip down memory lane. At one point, I actually owned most of the series (not sure what happened to it; probably had to sell it for some reason or another). The artwork is hit-and-miss for me. Because Marvel did not have the rights to other Toho characters, they had to create alternate monsters for Godzilla to fight. The "human" characters were fun - Dum-Dum Dugan was in the spotlight in this series leading the task force to "take care of the Godzilla problem." Sadly, twenty-four issues was not enough! It moved at a fast pace, and it had a strong element of humor in it (especially issues 16 & 17), and it held my interest throughout (moreso than some of what is being published by IDW these days).

Regarding the artwork being hit-and-miss for me: Other than the first helicarrier in the series, I enjoyed most of the SHIELD vehicles because of how "futuristic" they looked for their time. That first helicarrier - it reminded me of a fat beetle. The second helicarrier, Behemoth, was a little "off" for me as wellbecause its interior was hollow and large enough to hold Godzilla, which makes zero sense when you consider all of the different aerial vehicles this helicarrier also houses in conjunction with the crew quarters, supply holds, and engineering areas. I just could not see this vessel being appropriate for holding Godzilla and its complement of vehicles and weapons. Regarding Godzilla and the artwork - I would say most of the monsters were okay. Dark Horse probably has had the best Godzilla artwork, although some of IDW's recent stories have had solid artwork; the artwork involving Godzilla just isn't the best in this series. (I'll have to look at the artwork for the Shogun Warriors series, too - I could see Herb Trimpe being involved in that series as well, considering how similar the artwork is). The people, though - ugh! I swear, most of the time they look like they are gritting their teeth while grimacing, even when it seems like they are supposed to be smiling. It's pretty bad, hahahah!

Other than the artwork, I think there was one weakness for me that stood out strong. It started feeling like an Incredible Hulk story, except instead of the Hulk yelling, "Leave Hulk alone!" or "Hulk just wants to be left alone!", there is a teenage grandson named Rob who keeps yelling at the adults, "Leave Godzilla alone! He just wants to be left alone!" even though Godzilla has destroyed the Alaskan pipeline, parts of Seattle, WA, parts of San Francisco, CA, the Hoover Dam and Las Vegas, NV, Salt Lake City, UT, and a smidge of NYC. SLC, UT, is not entirely his fault - Godzilla was fighting some monsters from outer space in order to save the Earth, so that one is a bit of a pass. But he does cause a lot of destruction in these other places. Not only that, but Rob actually "drives" Godzilla into the interior of the United States instead of driving him out to sea (while in control of the Red Ronin robot), so the case could be made that Rob is partly responsible for the damage caused by Godzilla.

Rob almost ruined the book (series) for me, he was such an annoying character. I don't remember "liking him" when I was in my teens; I could see him reminding me of my younger brothers and not liking him as a result because of the way he behaved. It also bothered me there were no consequences for his behavior or poor choices and bad decisions. He caused a lot of problems, but there were no repercussions to his disobedience and insubordination. The authors could have had him remain the way he was, but there should have been consequences for what he did, for his open rebellion, especially when his actions caused serious repercussions down the road. I cannot quite decide if Rob is supposed to be "the voice of reason" or "the conscience of the book" because of how he is presented versus the adults. It is like he is supposed to be speaking from some kind of morally superior ground compared to the adults around him, and I do not think it works at all in these books (especially when Rob's actions lead to catastrophic results but he faces no consequences for his actions as the other characters explain away, excuse, or justify his actions - the damage he caused by his actions nullify the defense of "but he's just a child!" as he is a teenager and a rebellious one at that). The last line of the series is so stupid - "There will be no harsh words for young Rob Takiguchi this night . . . for he will not be alone . . . after all, he has led them." Whoop-de-doo! What has he led them in? How has he led them? It's like some kind of judgement being passed on the adults, and it fails miserably because this character made horrific mistakes that caused enormous damage and people to lose their lives, and he never learned anything due to not suffering any consequences for his actions, his behavior, his rebellious behavior. He really bugged me, hahahah!

It is funny to read this series because of the lack of satellite coverage. Or, the author never thought to provide SHIELD with orbiting spy satellites that could provide them with intel as to Godzilla's whereabouts when he was strolling through the U.S. of A. SHIELD is constantly losing track of Godzilla and having to send out aerial search parties to find him. I would think that a few spy satellites should have been able to do the trick. Plus, SHIELD has had space stations orbiting the Earth - why could not one of them have been used to aid in locating Godzilla? (Perhaps they were destroyed in other storylines?) In any case, that lack of overhead coverage really stood out to me this time around reading the series.

The humor is definitely Marvel at its finest (or worst) in the 70s. It made me chuckle (and even laugh) more than once. The cowboys attempting to wrangle Godzilla still made me laugh at the absurdity of it all these years later rereading those epic issues! I was also laughing at the name of the Behemoth's pilot - one Hugh Howard ("Howard Hughes", anyone?)! I did not know who "Howard Hughes" was when I first read this series, but it was definitely funny this time around. The base where they first take Godzilla to try and contain him also coincidentally has multiple "top secret nuclear missiles" stationed at the south end of the base in the open air for all the world to see (Russia did have spy satellites in orbit at this time) and just waiting for Godzilla to get free and attack them. Dum-Dum and the Thing getting into an insult contest was funny (especially their remarks about each other's names and taste in cigars), and I about fell out of my chair when I realized the Avengers were playing Monopoly waiting for some crisis to occur! The Empire State building surviving Thor and Godzilla shoving the structure back-and-forth was funny, and the Thing jumping into a tank full of sharks to save Godzilla was crazy to see; the humor was definitely strong in the last few issues (maybe it went a little too far into corniness, but at this point, did it matter? The run was going to be ending shortly).

Red Ronin was a cool introduction to Marvel, and it allowed Marvel the possibility of utilizing this creation later (sadly, Red Ronin would be destroyed in a later issue of the Fantastic Four). I loved how Stark Enterprises was involved in creating this cybernetic being. The security feature was something else, too. The cybernetic helmet was set up so that it would only recognize the pilot's brainwaves, ensuring that nobody else could control the giant robot. But what would happen if the pilot were incapacitated? Or, as in this case, somebody else hooks up to the piloting mechanism and their brainwaves are uploaded into Red Ronin's control matrix? One would have thought there would have been other backup plans in place. Too, Ronin's eye slits are open to the outside atmosphere, so the command module is not able to be pressurized, yet Rob is able to fly the giant robot at supersonic speeds. It was a cool robot, but not very functional in how it was built and utilized.

Some other things: This series introduced Dr. Demonicus. He and his monstrous creations would reappear in the Shogun Warriors series, and then he would reappear in the second West Coast Avengers series. Godzilla would reappear in a further mutated form in Iron Man volume 1 #193 and 194 (as would Dr. Demonicus and crew) and again in Thing #31. I remember seeing an image of Red Ronin's severed head in an issue as a child and thinking it was artwork for some kind of futuristic tank, hahahah! I didn't have most of the series until I was in my teens; I had some sporadic issues until my teens. It was cool to see Godzilla fighting what were probably T-Rexes when Reed Richards sent Godzilla back to the time of dinosaurs; Han Pym's shrinking gas had been used on him to shrink him down to about the size of a large rat, and then as the gas wore off, he grew in spurts until he reached his normal size. Jolly J. Jonah Jameson freaking out when he sees Godzilla looking into the Daily Bugle's window was hilarious, as was his response to Robbie telling Jonah that Peter wasn't at home to take Jonah's call to get pictures of the giant lizard (mutated dinosaur). I know I am bouncing around, but that one-page image of Godzilla flipping the US Navy warship off his back as he charges Red Ronin towards the end of issue #8 - WOW! Lotta luv for that image!

It really felt like that because Marvel's license was about to expire that Marvel went back to having its various super hero teams/characters reappear in the book. Devil Dinosaur and Moon-boy appear in two of the latter issues. The Champions appeared in issue #3, and it wasn't until issue #21 that the Fantastic Four appeared. The Avengers showed up in issue 23 and were there at the end with #24.

In terms of the fights between Godzilla and his non-human opponents, I would probably rank them in the following order:
1. Godzilla vs. the New York rat - that was crazy to read! It could probably have been "dragged out" a little longer, but it was still nuts to read a shrunken Godzilla fighting for his life against a rat just as big as he was (at the time).
2. Godzilla vs. Batragon - that was a cool fight, and it was reminiscent of the movie monster fights. I thought the artwork for Batragon was solid, and it was a solid fight between the two monsters.
3. Godzilla vs. the Beta-Beast - another cool fight. It was over pretty quick, but it set up the stage of for the next two issues in the series where Godzilla has to fight to save the Earth from an alien invasion (involving three giant monsters).
4. Godzilla vs. Devil Dinosaur - that was a crazy fight! It starts out pretty brutal between the two of them, but then Godzilla just starts slaying Devil Dinosaur! He is probably about to kill Devil Dinosaur when Moon-boy intervenes and convinces Godzilla to fight against an invading army. Because Moon-boy reminds Godzilla of Rob, Godzilla acquiesces to Moon-boy's pleas and fights with Devil Dinosaur against the invaders (human and dinosaurs alike). What is "amazing" is that Godzilla had just fought two other carnivores (I realize I called them "T-Rexes" above, but they are called "Chargers" in the comics and I don't know what species they really are) and killed them before fighting and nearly beating Devil Dinosaur! Not only that, but he then goes on to fight an army of dinosaurs (and their human controllers)!
5. Godzilla vs. the Isle of Living Demons - it's Godzilla vs. three of Dr. Demonicus's creations (the giant moth-monster kept attacking Dum-Dum's aircraft; otherwise, it could have been four-on-one). This fight probably could have been done in two issues to make it more exciting, but it was still an intense fight for Godzilla in this issue against his opponents.
6. Godzilla vs. the Mega-Monsters - was a mix of cool and disappointing, but it does cover two issues. Godzilla fights three alien monsters in order to save the Earth. Red Ronin tries to help Godzilla but is quickly dispatched (beheaded). Dum-Dum and Gabe fly aerial vehicles to aid Godzilla in the fight, but Godzilla still defeats his three monstrous foes. Krollar was cool - like a bizarre single-horned caterpillar on steroids that can burrow into the ground. After getting smacked around by Krollar, Godzilla blasts it with his laser breath and then pretty much stomps it into the ground. Triax was . . . it reminded me of a kind of flying triceratops (lacking the three horns but with rocket thrusters for feet) with two eyes that swung wide on either side of its head (like on wiggly antennae-tubes or something); it was like a giant flying battering ram, but it was brutal. As it was flying back around to ram into Godzilla again, Godzilla blew his fire breath into Triax's open mouth to burn out the creature's insides and kill it. Rhiahn was an interesting monster, and probably underutilized. Its head was saucer-shaped and split open into a giant teeth-filled mouth. Its tail could propel the monster through the air as well as function as a saw-like blade to cut through just about anything (which is how Red Ronin got himself decapitated). Godzilla saves Dum-Dum and then grabs the alien monster as it attacks, forcing Rhiahn to sever his own head with his tail. While it was a brutal fight, and a cool fight, I still liked the fight on Dr. Demonicus's island better. The artwork for Rhiahn was still pretty cool, though, and Triax was pretty decent as well.
7. Godzilla vs. the army of dinosaurs - this could have been a single issue all by itself! Maybe a "Double-sized Annual" or "Giant-Size Special Edition" or something! Godzilla and Devil Dinosaur against an army of carnivores! Oh, that would have been amazing! As it is, it is a disappointing batch of panels here and there, nothing coherent. The story bounces back-and-forth between the past and the present (1978 or 1979, that is), so the fight is cut painfully short and we do not get to see Godzilla trashing his opponents. While I would have loved to have seen Godzilla shoot up to his full size in the past and take out this entire army, Moon-boy resorts to guile in order to dispose of the invaders and thereby "stealing the win" from Godzilla (and Devil Dinosaur). It could have been amazing (especially with the right artwork; definitely somebody other than Herb Trimpe for that one!).
8. Godzilla vs. Yetrigar - it's Godzilla versus a mutated Sasquatch. Nothing much to write home about, and kind of disappointing. It gets a little interesting when Red Ronin joins the fight. Honestly, as I think about it, it is probably the artwork that ruined the fight for me. Otherwise, it was a brutal fight as Yetrigar was actually beating Godzilla until Red Ronin arrived. So, this should probably be up around 4 if not 3, but the artwork ruined it for me. The fight does take place over two issues, so there is that, but Yetrigar looked like a slimmed-down, badly drawn version of Chewbacca to me (not sure if that had to do with this series starting around the same time as Star Wars).
7. Godzilla vs. Red Ronin - maybe if Red Ronin were piloted by somebody other than Rob (Robert Takiguchi). This kid (teenager) is just so annoying!!!!! He doesn't know how to pilot Red Ronin in the first fight and really should not have been able to fight Godzilla to a standstill (so to speak). He gets involved in the fight with Yetrigar to try and save Godzilla while trying to prevent the two creatures from killing each other. He ends up having to kill Yetrigar to save both Godzilla's life and his own life. Then, he teams up with Godzilla again to fight the alien monsters and loses that fight. The fights between Godzilla and Red Ronin could have been better fights, and in my opinion should have been better, but they were not. Alas, alack. That is life.

It even has an issue which is quite sad as it involves a man who is destroying his life and marriage by continually going to Las Vegas and losing all of his money because he cannot accept the fact that his mother died three years ago. At one point, the man wins a crazy jackpot, but then the casino is destroyed between Godzilla and a wall of water from the now-destroyed Hoover Dam, and he ends up losing everything again. He fails to learn and accept reality, and it is so sad that his inability to accept reality has destroyed his life and marriage.

So, anyway. Those are some of my thoughts. The compilation is not without its faults and problems I know I was griping about Rob above, but perhaps they were trying to have his voice be the voice in some of the movies, about how Godzilla is a force of nature and needs to be understood, that it's not his fault he is what he is, but I think they needed a different voice for that perspective 'cuz of Rob's actions, but it could still work, I guess, because teenagers often do want to do "the right thing" but go about it in the wrong way, but I still enjoyed revisiting these early gems from my childhood. It was a lot of fun to read, and it brought to mind fond memories of the first time I read some of these issues back when they first came out. I am glad I bought this hardbound copy (of the Batragon-variant cover) and took the time to read it in celebration of Godzilla's 70th Anniversary. All Hail the Kind of Monsters! Whoot-whoot!

[Thomas J · Rating 5 out of 5]

The King of the Monsters is Super Fun

Godzilla the King of the Monsters was the star of 70's can Marvel Comics and it is a fun book. All 24 issues collected in glorious color mayhem and destruction . What is nice is that they show the deaths of people. The way we think that a giant dinosaur would reek through a city. The guest stars of the Marvel Universe is kept at a minimal, the Champions, Fantastic Four and the Avengers. The only regular humans is Dum Dum Dugan and S.H.I.E.L.D. trying to stop Godzilla. The two best stories is War of the Mega Monsters, where aliens using alien dinosaurs to conquer Earth, and The Great Godzilla Round Up, cowboys versus Godzilla. I was a GFan since I was a kid, so take my review with that coda.

[Kyle Pennekamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

A total blast.