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Godzilla vs America #1-4
Godzilla Vs. America: Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles
Get ready for Godzilla wreaking havoc on different American cities in this graphic novel that has a story for every fan! Godzilla's destructive tour of America-all in one book! From Chicago to Boston to Los Angeles to Kansas City, the King of the Monsters is taking on the Land of the Free! Join a superstar team of comics creators for 16 incredible stories all set in these cities across the map! E pluribus-uh-oh. Collects the entire anthology series: Godzilla vs. America: Boston by Steve Orlando, Matt Emmons, Hanna Cha, Jesse Lonergan, and Hayden Sherman. Godzilla vs. America: Chicago by Mike Costa, Ryan Browne, Ezra C. Daniels, Tim Seeley, and Caroline Cash. Godzilla vs. America: Kansas City by Buster Moody, Freddie E. Williams II, Kyle Strahm, Baldemar Rivas, and Jake Smith. Godzilla vs. America: Los Angeles by Gabriel Hardman, Dave Baker, Jordan Morris, Nicole Goux, and J. Gonzo.
- GenresComicsGraphic Novels
200 pages, Paperback
Published April 7, 2026
About the author
Tim Seeley
1,709 books620 followersTim Seeley is a comic book artist and writer known for his work on books such as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, The Dark Elf Trilogy, Batman Eternal and Grayson. He is also the co-creator of the Image Comics titles Hack/Slash[1] and Revival, as well as the Dark Horse titles, ExSanguine and Sundowners. He lives in Chicago.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
June 11, 2026
The Big G attacks four major US cities in stories created by artists and writers who live there.
While the feature is Godzilla most tales center on the average citizens just trying to survive. A lot of humor but there are even some touching moments.
This book collects the four issues on Boston, LA, Chicago and Kansas City.
While the feature is Godzilla most tales center on the average citizens just trying to survive. A lot of humor but there are even some touching moments.
This book collects the four issues on Boston, LA, Chicago and Kansas City.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Not the Skyline – the Side Street
“Godzilla Vs. America” works because it knows the monster is less interesting than the routes, routines, and beloved municipal nuisances he interrupts
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | March 26th, 2026
A book like “Godzilla Vs. America: Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles” can fail in two very easy ways. It can run on franchise autopilot – roar, skyline, rubble, repeat. Or it can lapse into postcard-smashing tourism, the sort of comic that points eagerly at a landmark and then drops a tail on it. What saves this anthology is that it avoids both traps more often than not. It knows a city is not a postcard. It also knows Godzilla cannot keep performing the same trick in places people actually use. He has to hit not only buildings but lines, stations, theaters, newsrooms, prop shops, side streets, and the private route maps by which residents move through public space. The book’s best move is to make place part of the mechanism rather than the wallpaper.
That matters because the premise sounds like the kind of pitch people laugh at before someone actually makes it. Sixteen stories. Four cities. One franchise-worn monster. Many creators. A project like that can coast on recognition only briefly. Here is your train line. Here is your market. Here is the municipal nuisance you complain about all week and would defend to the death against outsiders. Wave while the old lizard leans on it. “Godzilla Vs. America” is much less lazy than that. It lets Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and Kansas City alter not just the scenery but the comic’s voice, pace, page habits, and sense of what a monster event even is. Godzilla stays put as an icon. The stories around him keep finding different uses for him.
Grouping the book by city is not filing. It is the method. Chicago develops one panel rhythm, Los Angeles another, Boston another, Kansas City another. The anthology is not content to say that cities have different vibes and leave it there. It shows that different places produce different comics – different sentence lengths, different reading speeds, different thresholds between panic and absurdity, different ideas of what a Godzilla story is for. That is the collection’s real wager, and the reason it feels much more alive than its packaging suggests.
Chicago proves the point quickly. “Godzilla Does Chicago” is all bluster, self-invention, football-bred humiliation, and municipal farce. Its Fan Man antihero, trying to redeem himself through Mechagodzilla and a catastrophic misunderstanding of heroism, turns the city into a stage for public self-abasement. Its pleasure is speed – swagger collapsing, almost instantly, into embarrassment. “Blue Line Sign” swerves hard the other way. Suddenly the monster story is locked to stop-by-stop rhythm and romantic superstition: a ride, an old crush, a private theory about signs, and then Godzilla forcing the issue. The Blue Line is not atmospheric garnish. It is the story’s skeleton. Platforms, tunnel-dark, delays, timing, exposure – the whole thing runs on public infrastructure before it can admit what it is. “Chi Godzilla” and “Godzilla Versus Chicago” veer again, toward neighborhood politics and sharper municipal satire. By the end of the section, the anthology has made its point: the interesting question is no longer what Godzilla destroys, but what kind of city-shaped comic springs up around him.
Los Angeles is the book’s strongest section because it most fully fuses local specificity, formal invention, and feeling. “Eye in the Sky” begins as a disaster comic and turns nervier: a story about local journalism, aerial witness, and the thinning glamour of simply being there. A reporter stranded on Godzilla while trying to stay on air is ridiculous, yes, but the story’s joke is wired into workaday dread. Catastrophe is one thing. Catastrophe narrated by someone who suspects his own profession is already being edged out is another. “The Big Break” looks slighter at first – studio-lot satire, career frustration, a tram full of tourists, one more person in Los Angeles trying to turn desperation into momentum – but it wins because it understands that the city’s artificiality is also a backlot machine. Trams, props, fakery, practiced charm, practical hustle: the whole apparatus of illusion becomes, under strain, a way of protecting people.
“How to Use the Los Angeles Metro to Survive a Godzilla Attack!” is the moment the anthology stops hinting and simply shows you how it works. By turning the comic into transit lecture, survival guide, civic complaint, and instruction manual, Dave Baker lets the page do the arguing. The joke is excellent – Los Angeles public transit, mocked for years, finally becoming the one sensible response to giant-monster attack – but the story does more than land a joke. It makes the route organize your eye. The comic does not simply say systems matter. It makes you move through one. “Godzil-LA,” with its prop-shop improvisation and maker energy, pushes the section toward an idea the anthology needs. In Los Angeles, artifice and solidarity are not opposites. The warehouse, the fabricated object, the assembled crew, the practical effect – all the things usually hired to fake danger – become tools for facing the real thing.
Boston is where the book briefly quits clowning and starts telling older, stranger stories out of the side of its mouth. “The Great Gorilla Whale” filters Godzilla through sailor’s yarn, maritime bluster, and antique exaggeration, letting the monster arrive first as folklore and only then as fact. “Godzilla Versus the Lobster That Attacked Boston” is the anthology’s most aggressively annotated piece, almost a comic made of footnotes, municipal trivia, taxonomic deadpan, and civic clutter. It ought to be exhausting. It is instead very funny, because it knows one form of local affection is over-cataloguing the place until affection curdles into mania. Then comes “Make Way for Mothra,” one of the book’s strongest tonal pivots. Its sparse text and open white space create a hush the anthology has otherwise used only in flashes. It greets the monster almost as guest, almost as fellow creature, and the effect is disarmingly gentle. “The Green Line” puts public service back underfoot. Its transit logic is less jokey than Chicago’s or Los Angeles’s. Here the line becomes a service ethic. When the story insists, in effect, that the line gets people where they need to go and that this is part of what a city is for, the book comes closest to its own nerve without getting sticky.
Kansas City is the loosest section, full of color, swagger, local flavor, and a cheerful refusal to apologize for itself. “Make a Mark” has the rush of graffiti bravado suddenly scaled up by Godzilla’s arrival. “Tornado Watch” goes stranger, folding monster action into weather-tech speculation, surveillance, and the sense that the city itself has become an atmospheric instrument. “Local Flavor” and “Lost in the Sauce” lean into business, food, virality, and regional weirdness. There is real snap here, but Kansas City is also where the anthology most clearly shows the seam between a sharp premise and the afterimage of a finished story. That is true here and elsewhere. A few pieces feel less like fully formed miniatures than like very good local bits dressed in excellent comics clothes. Inventiveness is abundant. Staying power is less evenly distributed.
That is the book’s main cost, and it deserves to be named plainly. “Godzilla Vs. America” is notably uneven. Not fatally so, but unmistakably. Some stories lock concept, page design, tone, and feeling into place. Others find a great setup, a sharp neighborhood joke, a memorable visual approach, and then stop just short of full dramatic bite. The anthology form gives the book its freedom and imposes its limits. The same multiplicity that keeps it lively also keeps a few stories from thickening. A city-specific angle can harden into shorthand. A local joke can remain just a local joke. A formal stunt can be easier to admire than to remember. The book’s weakness is not lack of invention. It is that invention sometimes arrives in forms too brief to gather enough pressure.
Still, the best stories do something more durable than a smart local gag. They make disaster speak in local idiom. They show that what becomes visible under strain is not abstraction but attachment: the line you ride, the ward someone powerful is willing to sacrifice, the theater worth protecting, the tram route, the market, the newsroom, the beloved municipal nuisance you do not realize you care about until the monster leans over it. That is why the book’s relevance never feels imported from elsewhere. It notices, without speechifying, that cities are lived through tracks, platforms, traffic choppers, and neighborhood places before they are admired as silhouettes. Those details are not garnish. They are the reason to drag Godzilla through these cities in the first place.
The writing will disappoint only if you insist on measuring sixteen different comics against one imaginary house voice. There is no single voice here, and that is the point. Chicago speaks in clipped sarcasm, stop-by-stop rhythm, comic overconfidence, and embarrassment. Los Angeles moves between newsroom urgency, brochure deadpan, and the warmth of collective making-do. Boston reaches for folklore, annotation, and near-lullaby spareness. Kansas City prefers louder slang, technical weirdness, and regional swagger. None of this adds up to language one quotes for independent lyric beauty. That is not the standard the book is using. Its verbal strength is tuning. The diction fits the city. The rhythm fits the page. The joke fits the social world. These are comics whose words sound inhabited. When the writing is strongest, it does not merely decorate the premise. It tells you what kind of public world you have entered.
The drawing is not there to service the idea. In the best stories, it is where the idea begins. It does not simply redraw Godzilla in different hands. It gives him different comic jobs. Through palette, framing, density, and page turn, he becomes disaster, punchline, folk creature, media object, transit obstacle, and civic stress test. That is why the anthology structure matters so much. It does not merely hold the material in place. It resets the terms. Before long, the reader stops asking whether this is a good Godzilla comic and starts asking what kind of story a city can make out of Godzilla’s arrival. At that point the collection stops feeling like a sampler and starts making a case.
The editors’ note arrives looking like backmatter housekeeping until it starts changing the book behind it. By tying the Los Angeles stories to the real fires that tore through the region in early 2025, it gives the anthology a late pressure point it had not fully named before. What had looked like licensed play starts to feel like attachment under strain. The book does not become solemn and overearnest overnight, nor should it. Its pleasures remain comic, visual, eccentric, and stubbornly local. But the note clarifies why those pleasures matter. Watching a monster attack your city is not only fun. It can also be a way of imagining how people improvise, shelter, reroute, help, and hold on.
My rating: 84/100, which translates to 4 stars on Goodreads – a warm, unswooning score for a book that is formally nimble, often inventive, and more emotionally alert than its premise first suggests, even if its anthology shape leaves a few pieces brighter than they are lasting.
What I admire most in “Godzilla Vs. America” is that it knows a city is rarely most itself at the spot tourists photograph. It is itself in the late train, the side street, the studio tram, the prop warehouse, the neighborhood business, the station where someone hesitates, the place a resident can navigate on muscle memory. When the monster arrives, those are the places feeling has caught on. The anthology understands that what people reach for first is not a skyline. It is the map already folded inside them.
“Godzilla Vs. America” works because it knows the monster is less interesting than the routes, routines, and beloved municipal nuisances he interrupts
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | March 26th, 2026
A book like “Godzilla Vs. America: Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles” can fail in two very easy ways. It can run on franchise autopilot – roar, skyline, rubble, repeat. Or it can lapse into postcard-smashing tourism, the sort of comic that points eagerly at a landmark and then drops a tail on it. What saves this anthology is that it avoids both traps more often than not. It knows a city is not a postcard. It also knows Godzilla cannot keep performing the same trick in places people actually use. He has to hit not only buildings but lines, stations, theaters, newsrooms, prop shops, side streets, and the private route maps by which residents move through public space. The book’s best move is to make place part of the mechanism rather than the wallpaper.
That matters because the premise sounds like the kind of pitch people laugh at before someone actually makes it. Sixteen stories. Four cities. One franchise-worn monster. Many creators. A project like that can coast on recognition only briefly. Here is your train line. Here is your market. Here is the municipal nuisance you complain about all week and would defend to the death against outsiders. Wave while the old lizard leans on it. “Godzilla Vs. America” is much less lazy than that. It lets Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and Kansas City alter not just the scenery but the comic’s voice, pace, page habits, and sense of what a monster event even is. Godzilla stays put as an icon. The stories around him keep finding different uses for him.
Grouping the book by city is not filing. It is the method. Chicago develops one panel rhythm, Los Angeles another, Boston another, Kansas City another. The anthology is not content to say that cities have different vibes and leave it there. It shows that different places produce different comics – different sentence lengths, different reading speeds, different thresholds between panic and absurdity, different ideas of what a Godzilla story is for. That is the collection’s real wager, and the reason it feels much more alive than its packaging suggests.
Chicago proves the point quickly. “Godzilla Does Chicago” is all bluster, self-invention, football-bred humiliation, and municipal farce. Its Fan Man antihero, trying to redeem himself through Mechagodzilla and a catastrophic misunderstanding of heroism, turns the city into a stage for public self-abasement. Its pleasure is speed – swagger collapsing, almost instantly, into embarrassment. “Blue Line Sign” swerves hard the other way. Suddenly the monster story is locked to stop-by-stop rhythm and romantic superstition: a ride, an old crush, a private theory about signs, and then Godzilla forcing the issue. The Blue Line is not atmospheric garnish. It is the story’s skeleton. Platforms, tunnel-dark, delays, timing, exposure – the whole thing runs on public infrastructure before it can admit what it is. “Chi Godzilla” and “Godzilla Versus Chicago” veer again, toward neighborhood politics and sharper municipal satire. By the end of the section, the anthology has made its point: the interesting question is no longer what Godzilla destroys, but what kind of city-shaped comic springs up around him.
Los Angeles is the book’s strongest section because it most fully fuses local specificity, formal invention, and feeling. “Eye in the Sky” begins as a disaster comic and turns nervier: a story about local journalism, aerial witness, and the thinning glamour of simply being there. A reporter stranded on Godzilla while trying to stay on air is ridiculous, yes, but the story’s joke is wired into workaday dread. Catastrophe is one thing. Catastrophe narrated by someone who suspects his own profession is already being edged out is another. “The Big Break” looks slighter at first – studio-lot satire, career frustration, a tram full of tourists, one more person in Los Angeles trying to turn desperation into momentum – but it wins because it understands that the city’s artificiality is also a backlot machine. Trams, props, fakery, practiced charm, practical hustle: the whole apparatus of illusion becomes, under strain, a way of protecting people.
“How to Use the Los Angeles Metro to Survive a Godzilla Attack!” is the moment the anthology stops hinting and simply shows you how it works. By turning the comic into transit lecture, survival guide, civic complaint, and instruction manual, Dave Baker lets the page do the arguing. The joke is excellent – Los Angeles public transit, mocked for years, finally becoming the one sensible response to giant-monster attack – but the story does more than land a joke. It makes the route organize your eye. The comic does not simply say systems matter. It makes you move through one. “Godzil-LA,” with its prop-shop improvisation and maker energy, pushes the section toward an idea the anthology needs. In Los Angeles, artifice and solidarity are not opposites. The warehouse, the fabricated object, the assembled crew, the practical effect – all the things usually hired to fake danger – become tools for facing the real thing.
Boston is where the book briefly quits clowning and starts telling older, stranger stories out of the side of its mouth. “The Great Gorilla Whale” filters Godzilla through sailor’s yarn, maritime bluster, and antique exaggeration, letting the monster arrive first as folklore and only then as fact. “Godzilla Versus the Lobster That Attacked Boston” is the anthology’s most aggressively annotated piece, almost a comic made of footnotes, municipal trivia, taxonomic deadpan, and civic clutter. It ought to be exhausting. It is instead very funny, because it knows one form of local affection is over-cataloguing the place until affection curdles into mania. Then comes “Make Way for Mothra,” one of the book’s strongest tonal pivots. Its sparse text and open white space create a hush the anthology has otherwise used only in flashes. It greets the monster almost as guest, almost as fellow creature, and the effect is disarmingly gentle. “The Green Line” puts public service back underfoot. Its transit logic is less jokey than Chicago’s or Los Angeles’s. Here the line becomes a service ethic. When the story insists, in effect, that the line gets people where they need to go and that this is part of what a city is for, the book comes closest to its own nerve without getting sticky.
Kansas City is the loosest section, full of color, swagger, local flavor, and a cheerful refusal to apologize for itself. “Make a Mark” has the rush of graffiti bravado suddenly scaled up by Godzilla’s arrival. “Tornado Watch” goes stranger, folding monster action into weather-tech speculation, surveillance, and the sense that the city itself has become an atmospheric instrument. “Local Flavor” and “Lost in the Sauce” lean into business, food, virality, and regional weirdness. There is real snap here, but Kansas City is also where the anthology most clearly shows the seam between a sharp premise and the afterimage of a finished story. That is true here and elsewhere. A few pieces feel less like fully formed miniatures than like very good local bits dressed in excellent comics clothes. Inventiveness is abundant. Staying power is less evenly distributed.
That is the book’s main cost, and it deserves to be named plainly. “Godzilla Vs. America” is notably uneven. Not fatally so, but unmistakably. Some stories lock concept, page design, tone, and feeling into place. Others find a great setup, a sharp neighborhood joke, a memorable visual approach, and then stop just short of full dramatic bite. The anthology form gives the book its freedom and imposes its limits. The same multiplicity that keeps it lively also keeps a few stories from thickening. A city-specific angle can harden into shorthand. A local joke can remain just a local joke. A formal stunt can be easier to admire than to remember. The book’s weakness is not lack of invention. It is that invention sometimes arrives in forms too brief to gather enough pressure.
Still, the best stories do something more durable than a smart local gag. They make disaster speak in local idiom. They show that what becomes visible under strain is not abstraction but attachment: the line you ride, the ward someone powerful is willing to sacrifice, the theater worth protecting, the tram route, the market, the newsroom, the beloved municipal nuisance you do not realize you care about until the monster leans over it. That is why the book’s relevance never feels imported from elsewhere. It notices, without speechifying, that cities are lived through tracks, platforms, traffic choppers, and neighborhood places before they are admired as silhouettes. Those details are not garnish. They are the reason to drag Godzilla through these cities in the first place.
The writing will disappoint only if you insist on measuring sixteen different comics against one imaginary house voice. There is no single voice here, and that is the point. Chicago speaks in clipped sarcasm, stop-by-stop rhythm, comic overconfidence, and embarrassment. Los Angeles moves between newsroom urgency, brochure deadpan, and the warmth of collective making-do. Boston reaches for folklore, annotation, and near-lullaby spareness. Kansas City prefers louder slang, technical weirdness, and regional swagger. None of this adds up to language one quotes for independent lyric beauty. That is not the standard the book is using. Its verbal strength is tuning. The diction fits the city. The rhythm fits the page. The joke fits the social world. These are comics whose words sound inhabited. When the writing is strongest, it does not merely decorate the premise. It tells you what kind of public world you have entered.
The drawing is not there to service the idea. In the best stories, it is where the idea begins. It does not simply redraw Godzilla in different hands. It gives him different comic jobs. Through palette, framing, density, and page turn, he becomes disaster, punchline, folk creature, media object, transit obstacle, and civic stress test. That is why the anthology structure matters so much. It does not merely hold the material in place. It resets the terms. Before long, the reader stops asking whether this is a good Godzilla comic and starts asking what kind of story a city can make out of Godzilla’s arrival. At that point the collection stops feeling like a sampler and starts making a case.
The editors’ note arrives looking like backmatter housekeeping until it starts changing the book behind it. By tying the Los Angeles stories to the real fires that tore through the region in early 2025, it gives the anthology a late pressure point it had not fully named before. What had looked like licensed play starts to feel like attachment under strain. The book does not become solemn and overearnest overnight, nor should it. Its pleasures remain comic, visual, eccentric, and stubbornly local. But the note clarifies why those pleasures matter. Watching a monster attack your city is not only fun. It can also be a way of imagining how people improvise, shelter, reroute, help, and hold on.
My rating: 84/100, which translates to 4 stars on Goodreads – a warm, unswooning score for a book that is formally nimble, often inventive, and more emotionally alert than its premise first suggests, even if its anthology shape leaves a few pieces brighter than they are lasting.
What I admire most in “Godzilla Vs. America” is that it knows a city is rarely most itself at the spot tourists photograph. It is itself in the late train, the side street, the studio tram, the prop warehouse, the neighborhood business, the station where someone hesitates, the place a resident can navigate on muscle memory. When the monster arrives, those are the places feeling has caught on. The anthology understands that what people reach for first is not a skyline. It is the map already folded inside them.
January 26, 2026
An anthology of short stories set in four major American cities that like any collection of stories has a wide range of quality, but it was really fun to see Godzilla in the United States and it was great to see the variety of story types.
Special Thanks to IDW Publishing and Netgalley for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.
Special Thanks to IDW Publishing and Netgalley for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
My thanks to NetGalley and IDW Publishing for an advance copy of this graphic novel that serves as a itinerary and artistic souvenir of a kaiju traveling across the good ole USA, with stories detailing the kaijus's encounters with the natives who live there, things destroyed along with fun facts and a little bit of history. But a lot of destruction.
I have been a reader of comics since a very young, younger than might have been healthy, but for that I blame my grandmother who got me started on them early. Big giant monsters I discovered myself, through help of channel eleven in New York City and their Monster Week movie series. After school, for what seemed like at least four times a year, channel 11 would have monster week, focusing on the King of all Monsters himself, Godzilla, along with friends, family, and lots of rubble. I never missed a week watching the same movies over and over, basking in warm nuclear fire of Godzilla, in awe at the destruction. And secretly wishing this wasn't happening in far away Japan, but in Connecticut. Schools destroyed, annoying fellow students eaten and swallowed, I had dreams of Godzilla of crushing my neighborhood, with Blue Öyster Cult blasting from my Sears era speakers. Leave it to comics to fulfill at least part of my dreams. Godzilla Vs. America: Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles is a collection of stories by various creatures including Angeles Tim Seeley, Caroline Cash, Gabriel Hardman, Dave Baker, Jesse Lonergan detailing the time the King of all Monsters took his show on the road, crushing big cities and even cities that one would think would never see a kaiju attack deep in the center of the U. S. A.
The book is a collection of stories from various writers and illustrators, from short length to a bit longer. All feature Godzilla or kaiju of some kind, and a lot of train references. Some stories deal with finding love as the city burns around them. Some feature deeds of daring like climbing on a kaiju's back in mid-attack. Characters have very bad days upon meeting the fire breathing lizard, others find a new appreciation for life upon surviving the encounter. A few stories tells tales about the city, one in particular I enjoyed telling a tale about the railway transportation system in Los Angeles, how it came to be and the efforts of big corporations to ruin it. The Boston stories are a very strong collection, with all of the stories hitting just right. Maybe its because Boston is close to my location, and I kind of hoped Godzilla might have swung by going up the New England corridor.
A collection with a lot of strong stories, and some that just didn't work with me. I liked the history, the citing of locations giving a stong sense of place, and the way one could tell the authors at least knew what they were referring to. I also like the LA story about the kaiju convention going on during a Godzilla attack. What I really enjoyed was the artwork as it was so varied and different. Action art, self-comic looking art, biographical layouts with Godzilla appearing. The artwork saved quite a few stories and did a lot of heavy lifting. Even in stories that seemed weak, watching Godzilla break things with an interesting artist illustrating things was a very, very good thing.
I can see more collections like this. Godzilla appearing in different places, interacting with famous sites and historical references. I think it would be a good thing. Especially if the art was as good. I really can't praise the artists enough. A fun book for fans, and for those who always wanted to sing "Oh No there goes, my hometown, go go Godzilla, yeah."
I have been a reader of comics since a very young, younger than might have been healthy, but for that I blame my grandmother who got me started on them early. Big giant monsters I discovered myself, through help of channel eleven in New York City and their Monster Week movie series. After school, for what seemed like at least four times a year, channel 11 would have monster week, focusing on the King of all Monsters himself, Godzilla, along with friends, family, and lots of rubble. I never missed a week watching the same movies over and over, basking in warm nuclear fire of Godzilla, in awe at the destruction. And secretly wishing this wasn't happening in far away Japan, but in Connecticut. Schools destroyed, annoying fellow students eaten and swallowed, I had dreams of Godzilla of crushing my neighborhood, with Blue Öyster Cult blasting from my Sears era speakers. Leave it to comics to fulfill at least part of my dreams. Godzilla Vs. America: Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles is a collection of stories by various creatures including Angeles Tim Seeley, Caroline Cash, Gabriel Hardman, Dave Baker, Jesse Lonergan detailing the time the King of all Monsters took his show on the road, crushing big cities and even cities that one would think would never see a kaiju attack deep in the center of the U. S. A.
The book is a collection of stories from various writers and illustrators, from short length to a bit longer. All feature Godzilla or kaiju of some kind, and a lot of train references. Some stories deal with finding love as the city burns around them. Some feature deeds of daring like climbing on a kaiju's back in mid-attack. Characters have very bad days upon meeting the fire breathing lizard, others find a new appreciation for life upon surviving the encounter. A few stories tells tales about the city, one in particular I enjoyed telling a tale about the railway transportation system in Los Angeles, how it came to be and the efforts of big corporations to ruin it. The Boston stories are a very strong collection, with all of the stories hitting just right. Maybe its because Boston is close to my location, and I kind of hoped Godzilla might have swung by going up the New England corridor.
A collection with a lot of strong stories, and some that just didn't work with me. I liked the history, the citing of locations giving a stong sense of place, and the way one could tell the authors at least knew what they were referring to. I also like the LA story about the kaiju convention going on during a Godzilla attack. What I really enjoyed was the artwork as it was so varied and different. Action art, self-comic looking art, biographical layouts with Godzilla appearing. The artwork saved quite a few stories and did a lot of heavy lifting. Even in stories that seemed weak, watching Godzilla break things with an interesting artist illustrating things was a very, very good thing.
I can see more collections like this. Godzilla appearing in different places, interacting with famous sites and historical references. I think it would be a good thing. Especially if the art was as good. I really can't praise the artists enough. A fun book for fans, and for those who always wanted to sing "Oh No there goes, my hometown, go go Godzilla, yeah."
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Big thanks to IDW Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to preview an advanced copy of their latest entry in the Godzilla Monsterverse titled Godzilla Vs. America: Chicago, Kansas City, and Los Angeles. It’s an interesting concept where the king of monsters ends up on American soil, specifically targeting the four cities in the title and encountering local landmarks, events, and foods in his visit. I previously read Godzilla Heist, which was a synthesis of Godzilla with crime/action genre, and Godzilla Legends—Mothra, which was a cool time travel story about Mothra. Godzilla Vs. America follows a similar trend in these editions where Godzilla is placed in a unique situation and environment, and the authors and artists imagine what it would be like for Godzilla to visit and/or terrorize American cities. Each city in the collection has 4 stories with different authors and artists highlighting well known (and sometimes not as well known) history, landmarks, events, traditions, and food related to these cities. Although the premise is interesting, the execution doesn’t always land. There are several standout stories, and Boston was my favorite collection of stories in the book. In particular, “The Great Gorilla Whale” stood out to me as the best story in the collection. It’s like a Moby Dick type story, but with an old sailor retelling his tale as the only survivor of an encounter with Godzilla. The artistry and the story have a kind of Tales from the Crypt old school EC Comics feel to it. I loved it. There’s also a really cool story about a mutant lobster that grew due to a thrown away science experiment. The giant lobster was great looking, especially as it wages war for Boston with Godzilla. There’s also a brief, but beautifully illustrated story about Mothra (“Make Way for Mothra”), and a final story about a subway line. Nearly all of the cities feature stories with other kaiju monsters and subways. The LA story about the subway (“How to Use the Los Angeles Metro to Survive a Godzilla Attack!”) was like a history lesson that presents the history of the LA transportation system and how the unknown LA subway system developed. Although it was informative, the colors were brown and white, so it wasn’t as visually appealing as some of the other stories. Maybe it was just the way it appeared on my iPad but the visuals didn’t have the same pop as some of the other stories. Similarly, I liked the story “The Big Break” and the artistry was good, but the color scheme featured bright yellows that didn’t work as well with my digital copy. Regardless, author Jordan Morris and artist Nicole Goux capture what life in LA can be like trying to struggle in the entertainment industry. Kansas City and Chicago were ok. The Kansas City stories featured a lot on barbecue and hot sauce, while Chicago had a lot of interesting landmarks and a fun shout-out to Svengoolie. I especially like “Chi Godzilla” which features a great twist of irony, again reminiscent of the EC Comics where cosmic justice is eventually served. This was a fun collection, but it left me wanting more, especially in the stories. I hope that there is a consideration to expand Godzilla’s visits to other cities, but I’d also like to see maybe a longer, central story where there’s more development of the characters or an understanding of how and why Godzilla ended up in that city.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect with this one when I requested th eArc from NetGalley, but it was Godzilla and I think we all know by now if it's Godzilla related I'm here for it. I can say that I absolutely didn't expect this to be a treasure trove of communities coming together to defeat or at the very least redirect the King of Monsters and right now I think this is a wonderful reminder that we are stronger together.
Some of these stories are simply silly; Freddie E. Williams II and Buster Moody bring us Godzilla vs Sauce Monsters (yes, you read that right) in Kansas City, some are absolutely heartwarming like The Green Line by Hayden Sherman, and (my personal favorite) J. Gonzo reminds us that our neighborhoods are worth fighting for, and that art is just as important as say being a rocket scientist. However, what many creators here did was to remind us that Godzilla is an inherently political story. Something I think until Godzilla Minus One many people had forgotten. So many of these stories focus on a POC character (s) simply stepping up and doing something when no one else will. In many of them their actions may seem small but in others they are huge literal city saving things that save thousands of lives and in so many cases it is because the hero of the story remembered that a city is nothing without it's communities. There is no way that IDW could have predicted that this reminder was needed now more than ever, however, given the current state of the country the timing of this publication could not have been more perfect.
I feel like this would resonate with both new and old fans of Godzilla because while Godzilla is certainly an important part of each story he is and is not the point of the stories. Plus, I think a lot of people will simply get a kick out of seeing how each of these creators decided their city would deal with this menace!
Since we have several creators contributing to this one the art varies wildly from one story to a next and I genuinely loved that. The art fit each story incredibly well and added to the overall feeling of the story. Eye in the Sky by Gabriel Hardman and Make Way for Mothra by Hanna Cha are perfect examples of this. Eye in the Sky is really a very serious kind of action story and the art reflects that perfectly; the lines are crisp, and the use of lightning and shadows to create tense atmosphere meshed so well with overall feeling of the story itself which was "OMFG DID THAT JUST HAPPEN!?" (That is an emotion, a very specific emotion). Where with Cha's art it is more whimsical which matches the impression that Boston's doors are open to everyone.
Compared to the other Godzilla stories that I have read I think I enjoyed this one the most. It was a ton of fun and I think it really demonstrates well, how to address political topics in not just comics but literature period. I also really loved the sense of community established here. Not every single story is like that, but enough that if someone asked me what the overall theme of the book is I would say community without batting an eye.
Of course, the real question here is whether or not I recommend this, and duh of course I do!
As always thanks to NetGalley and IDW for the eArc!
Some of these stories are simply silly; Freddie E. Williams II and Buster Moody bring us Godzilla vs Sauce Monsters (yes, you read that right) in Kansas City, some are absolutely heartwarming like The Green Line by Hayden Sherman, and (my personal favorite) J. Gonzo reminds us that our neighborhoods are worth fighting for, and that art is just as important as say being a rocket scientist. However, what many creators here did was to remind us that Godzilla is an inherently political story. Something I think until Godzilla Minus One many people had forgotten. So many of these stories focus on a POC character (s) simply stepping up and doing something when no one else will. In many of them their actions may seem small but in others they are huge literal city saving things that save thousands of lives and in so many cases it is because the hero of the story remembered that a city is nothing without it's communities. There is no way that IDW could have predicted that this reminder was needed now more than ever, however, given the current state of the country the timing of this publication could not have been more perfect.
I feel like this would resonate with both new and old fans of Godzilla because while Godzilla is certainly an important part of each story he is and is not the point of the stories. Plus, I think a lot of people will simply get a kick out of seeing how each of these creators decided their city would deal with this menace!
Since we have several creators contributing to this one the art varies wildly from one story to a next and I genuinely loved that. The art fit each story incredibly well and added to the overall feeling of the story. Eye in the Sky by Gabriel Hardman and Make Way for Mothra by Hanna Cha are perfect examples of this. Eye in the Sky is really a very serious kind of action story and the art reflects that perfectly; the lines are crisp, and the use of lightning and shadows to create tense atmosphere meshed so well with overall feeling of the story itself which was "OMFG DID THAT JUST HAPPEN!?" (That is an emotion, a very specific emotion). Where with Cha's art it is more whimsical which matches the impression that Boston's doors are open to everyone.
Compared to the other Godzilla stories that I have read I think I enjoyed this one the most. It was a ton of fun and I think it really demonstrates well, how to address political topics in not just comics but literature period. I also really loved the sense of community established here. Not every single story is like that, but enough that if someone asked me what the overall theme of the book is I would say community without batting an eye.
Of course, the real question here is whether or not I recommend this, and duh of course I do!
As always thanks to NetGalley and IDW for the eArc!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
🦖✨ Godzilla Vs. America is a kaiju-sized love letter to comics, cities, and chaos—an anthology that stomps across the country with style, satire, and spectacular destruction! From the glittering hills of Los Angeles to the historic streets of Boston, the King of the Monsters is on a coast-to-coast rampage, and every city gets its own flavor of mayhem. Whether it’s a film crew trying to outwit Godzilla in Hollywood, commuters navigating Chicago’s L train delays (now with added monster interference), or Bostonians realizing tea parties are the least of their worries, each story blends local charm with cinematic carnage.
💥 Los Angeles delivers blockbuster energy with Gabriel Hardman, Dave Baker, Jordan Morris, Nicole Goux, and J. Gonzo crafting stories that feel like kaiju meets Sunset Boulevard.
🏙️ Kansas City punches above its weight, proving that even the heartland isn’t safe when Buster Moody, Freddie E. Williams II, Kyle Strahm, Baldemar Rivas, and Jake Smith unleash monster madness in Missouri’s most comic-packed city.
🌬️ Chicago brings grit and humor, with Tim Seeley, Mike Costa, Ryan Browne, Ezra C. Daniels, and Caroline Cash turning sports stadiums and superhero dreams into Godzilla’s playground.
🫖 Boston goes full revolutionary with Hanna Cha, Jesse Lonergan, Steve Orlando, Hayden Sherman, and Matt Emmons leading a team that pits colonial spirit against colossal destruction.
And if you want it all in one glorious paperback? The April 7th edition collects all four cities into a monster-sized graphic novel—16 stories, one unstoppable kaiju, and a whole lot of creative firepower.
💬 Our Thoughts:
We are a Godzilla-loving household, so discovering this collection felt like striking gold. My six-year-old can name every monster Godzilla has ever fought, and sharing these stories together was such a joy. I loved seeing how each creator brought their own point of view to the chaos—every story felt fresh, clever, and full of personality. The variety of illustration styles added even more fun, giving each city its own visual flair. This has quickly become my son’s new favorite book. Perfect for your graphic-novel-loving kid and the grown-up reading beside them. Enjoy this adventure together.
📚 Verdict: A riotous, city-smashing celebration of local talent and legendary terror. Perfect for fans of comics, monster movies, and anyone who’s ever wondered what their hometown would look like under Godzilla’s foot.
💥 Los Angeles delivers blockbuster energy with Gabriel Hardman, Dave Baker, Jordan Morris, Nicole Goux, and J. Gonzo crafting stories that feel like kaiju meets Sunset Boulevard.
🏙️ Kansas City punches above its weight, proving that even the heartland isn’t safe when Buster Moody, Freddie E. Williams II, Kyle Strahm, Baldemar Rivas, and Jake Smith unleash monster madness in Missouri’s most comic-packed city.
🌬️ Chicago brings grit and humor, with Tim Seeley, Mike Costa, Ryan Browne, Ezra C. Daniels, and Caroline Cash turning sports stadiums and superhero dreams into Godzilla’s playground.
🫖 Boston goes full revolutionary with Hanna Cha, Jesse Lonergan, Steve Orlando, Hayden Sherman, and Matt Emmons leading a team that pits colonial spirit against colossal destruction.
And if you want it all in one glorious paperback? The April 7th edition collects all four cities into a monster-sized graphic novel—16 stories, one unstoppable kaiju, and a whole lot of creative firepower.
💬 Our Thoughts:
We are a Godzilla-loving household, so discovering this collection felt like striking gold. My six-year-old can name every monster Godzilla has ever fought, and sharing these stories together was such a joy. I loved seeing how each creator brought their own point of view to the chaos—every story felt fresh, clever, and full of personality. The variety of illustration styles added even more fun, giving each city its own visual flair. This has quickly become my son’s new favorite book. Perfect for your graphic-novel-loving kid and the grown-up reading beside them. Enjoy this adventure together.
📚 Verdict: A riotous, city-smashing celebration of local talent and legendary terror. Perfect for fans of comics, monster movies, and anyone who’s ever wondered what their hometown would look like under Godzilla’s foot.
June 1, 2026
3.75
Have you ever daydreamed about Godzilla attacking your city/town? That is basically what these series of stories are. Each city has small comics by different artists and writers of Godzilla in their city and I throughly enjoyed it. It felt like a love letter to each city. I loved that each city (minus Kansas City) had a story focused on the Metro (as a public transportation lover I really enjoyed it).
My favorite story from each story:
Chicago- 'Chi Godzilla' by Ezra Clayton Daniels, I loved the art and the story of developers trying to destroy neighborhoods and the community coming together to stop it. Loved it.
Los Angles- 'How to Use the Los Angles Metro' to Survive a Godzilla Attack! by Dave Baker, this was my favorite story of the entire book because it was a surprise history lesson about and love letter to the Los Angles Metro system. I loved this because I am a huge metro user and lover in the my city, so anything that encourages people to use their local public transportation is a win for me! I also know that they recently expanded the D line in LA, so this goes along with me learning about that. Unfortunately I think this is also the one that has the least amount of Godzilla in the plot out of all the stories.
Boston- it a tie between 'Godzilla Versus the Lobster that Attacked Boston' by Jesse Lonergan and 'The Green Line' by Hayden Sherman. The first one I liked because the unique story telling, how everything was told via footnotes, and how it was fun fact story about Boston? I liked the Green Line story because, again, public transportation and Godzilla has a kid? I actually really liked all of the Boston stories, the Great Gorilla Whale by Steve Orlando was really good as well!!!!
Kansas City- I think Kansas City has the weakest stories out of all of them but liked 'Local Flavor' by Kyle Strahm. Something I learned from all of these stories is that Kansas city is really known for it's Barbecue apparently?
Overall I really enjoyed this and hope they continue doing it the future (DO D.C PLEASE) and I will probably pick up a physical copy of this in the future (read it from the library, SUPPORT YOUR PUBLIC LIBRARY)
Have you ever daydreamed about Godzilla attacking your city/town? That is basically what these series of stories are. Each city has small comics by different artists and writers of Godzilla in their city and I throughly enjoyed it. It felt like a love letter to each city. I loved that each city (minus Kansas City) had a story focused on the Metro (as a public transportation lover I really enjoyed it).
My favorite story from each story:
Chicago- 'Chi Godzilla' by Ezra Clayton Daniels, I loved the art and the story of developers trying to destroy neighborhoods and the community coming together to stop it. Loved it.
Los Angles- 'How to Use the Los Angles Metro' to Survive a Godzilla Attack! by Dave Baker, this was my favorite story of the entire book because it was a surprise history lesson about and love letter to the Los Angles Metro system. I loved this because I am a huge metro user and lover in the my city, so anything that encourages people to use their local public transportation is a win for me! I also know that they recently expanded the D line in LA, so this goes along with me learning about that. Unfortunately I think this is also the one that has the least amount of Godzilla in the plot out of all the stories.
Boston- it a tie between 'Godzilla Versus the Lobster that Attacked Boston' by Jesse Lonergan and 'The Green Line' by Hayden Sherman. The first one I liked because the unique story telling, how everything was told via footnotes, and how it was fun fact story about Boston? I liked the Green Line story because, again, public transportation and Godzilla has a kid? I actually really liked all of the Boston stories, the Great Gorilla Whale by Steve Orlando was really good as well!!!!
Kansas City- I think Kansas City has the weakest stories out of all of them but liked 'Local Flavor' by Kyle Strahm. Something I learned from all of these stories is that Kansas city is really known for it's Barbecue apparently?
Overall I really enjoyed this and hope they continue doing it the future (DO D.C PLEASE) and I will probably pick up a physical copy of this in the future (read it from the library, SUPPORT YOUR PUBLIC LIBRARY)
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I love Godzilla comics. They’re so much fun. I remember hearing about the Godzilla vs. America series, and I loved that they were setting one in Kansas City. I knew that I needed to check it out then.
Thank you Netgalley and IDW Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
The best comic in the entire book came from Chicago. During an attack from Godzilla, a greedy alderman planned to lure the Kaiju to a poor area in hopes it would be destroyed. Developers were planning on seizing the land for themselves. Unfortunately for them, Godzilla was instead lured to the rich part of town where Godzilla destroyed homes with reckless abandon.
In Los Angeles, I really dug the local news station story. The reporter getting caught on Godzilla’s back was a great bit. I would love to see that in a live action story. That would be pretty sweet.
My favorite adventure from Boston was easily when Godzilla sought out and doing Baby Godzilla. Every single comic that I’ve read so far that brings in Baby Godzilla is cute as hell. Keep it up.
Finally, the fourth adventure takes us to Kansas City! It was cool seeing so many landmarks from my city, and one of the stories included the great Screenland Armour Theater! It’s rare to see KC landmarks in books, so this was a lot of fun for me personally.
Thank you Netgalley and IDW Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
The best comic in the entire book came from Chicago. During an attack from Godzilla, a greedy alderman planned to lure the Kaiju to a poor area in hopes it would be destroyed. Developers were planning on seizing the land for themselves. Unfortunately for them, Godzilla was instead lured to the rich part of town where Godzilla destroyed homes with reckless abandon.
In Los Angeles, I really dug the local news station story. The reporter getting caught on Godzilla’s back was a great bit. I would love to see that in a live action story. That would be pretty sweet.
My favorite adventure from Boston was easily when Godzilla sought out and doing Baby Godzilla. Every single comic that I’ve read so far that brings in Baby Godzilla is cute as hell. Keep it up.
Finally, the fourth adventure takes us to Kansas City! It was cool seeing so many landmarks from my city, and one of the stories included the great Screenland Armour Theater! It’s rare to see KC landmarks in books, so this was a lot of fun for me personally.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to NetGalley and IDW Publishing for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Content warnings provided by reviewers on Storygraph:
Graphic: Death, Violence, War
Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Blood
I have fond memories of watching the original Godzilla movies on TV growing up. I always wondered what would happen if he made his way to the United States, and now, with this anthology, we get several different interpretations.
There’s plenty of Godzilla mayhem in the stories. I’ll admit that I’m not as interested in a lot of speculative fantasy, but because it was Godzilla, I did enjoy seeing the big fella in major U.S. cities. The familiar skylines, the spectacle, the colossal creature of Godzilla, it all worked for me. It was definitely a little weird seeing the enormous creature in Chicago, for example, but yet, not so weird considering some of the destructive images we saw in that city in 2025.
I think my favorite story in the anthology is the Boston one but given my proximity to and my personal experiences in Chicago put that story a close second. I appreciated the different perspectives from the writers and illustrators of each story. They’re all pretty cool to look at and read, and would recommend this anthology to graphic novel fans.
Content warnings provided by reviewers on Storygraph:
Graphic: Death, Violence, War
Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Blood
I have fond memories of watching the original Godzilla movies on TV growing up. I always wondered what would happen if he made his way to the United States, and now, with this anthology, we get several different interpretations.
There’s plenty of Godzilla mayhem in the stories. I’ll admit that I’m not as interested in a lot of speculative fantasy, but because it was Godzilla, I did enjoy seeing the big fella in major U.S. cities. The familiar skylines, the spectacle, the colossal creature of Godzilla, it all worked for me. It was definitely a little weird seeing the enormous creature in Chicago, for example, but yet, not so weird considering some of the destructive images we saw in that city in 2025.
I think my favorite story in the anthology is the Boston one but given my proximity to and my personal experiences in Chicago put that story a close second. I appreciated the different perspectives from the writers and illustrators of each story. They’re all pretty cool to look at and read, and would recommend this anthology to graphic novel fans.
Review of advance copy
Four American Cities, four very different sections.
Chicago - 1) enjoyable in a silly way. 2) Godzilla takes a backseat to teen romance. 3) Godzilla takes a backseat to politicians screwing their constituents and neighbors. 4) Cute.
LA - ugh. 1) Let's make our protagonists a pair of news chopper-jockeys who impede the defense of the city by crashing into a military drone because they willfully ignored a no fly zone, and call them heroes for it. 2) lets focus on an 'aspiring actor' so Godzilla only shows up halfway through and isn't the star of his own story. Also the art is childish at best. 3) Like #2, Godzilla is sidetracked for a lecture on public transit, this time with even worse art. 4) When it's already bad, flaws that might be overlooked or forgiven are instead magnified. According to this brain surgeon of an author "ONLY IN LOS ANGELES" can someone become a rocket scientist. That's it. Only place. Absolute monopoly on Rocket Scientist training, LA has. It gets stupider from there.
Boston - Every tale is sappy, rah-rah Bean-eater Pride...so exactly what you expected in this collection. (The only good part of the collection)
Kansas City - Trash. Glorifying vandalism, then a pair of overlong sci-fi tales with bad techno-babble and worse art.
Chicago - 1) enjoyable in a silly way. 2) Godzilla takes a backseat to teen romance. 3) Godzilla takes a backseat to politicians screwing their constituents and neighbors. 4) Cute.
LA - ugh. 1) Let's make our protagonists a pair of news chopper-jockeys who impede the defense of the city by crashing into a military drone because they willfully ignored a no fly zone, and call them heroes for it. 2) lets focus on an 'aspiring actor' so Godzilla only shows up halfway through and isn't the star of his own story. Also the art is childish at best. 3) Like #2, Godzilla is sidetracked for a lecture on public transit, this time with even worse art. 4) When it's already bad, flaws that might be overlooked or forgiven are instead magnified. According to this brain surgeon of an author "ONLY IN LOS ANGELES" can someone become a rocket scientist. That's it. Only place. Absolute monopoly on Rocket Scientist training, LA has. It gets stupider from there.
Boston - Every tale is sappy, rah-rah Bean-eater Pride...so exactly what you expected in this collection. (The only good part of the collection)
Kansas City - Trash. Glorifying vandalism, then a pair of overlong sci-fi tales with bad techno-babble and worse art.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Godzilla in American cities would have caught my attention in any situation, but, as a Kansas City local, I couldn't resist. Each issue is a different story that does what a good Godzilla story should do by providing a mix of the catharsis of a giant lizard destroying the city with all too human stories. There's romance, bravery, and frustration in the face of slow moving and inefficient systems. The art varies in ways that help keep things interesting, and the different settings and communities provide a different flavor with each focus city in the series. Some stories are more enjoyable than others, but the appeals to humanity and quirks lean way more to the positive.
Kansas City is a weird and delightful addition to the logical coastal cities and huge population center that is Chicago. The various authors take good advantage of our weird architectural structures, barbecue culture, and the location of the river. (Shout out to the Planet Comic Con Easter egg.) Love that the city was given more than the standard fly over country treatment, and Godzilla had plenty of open air to roam.
I can't wait to get my hands on the physical copy.
Thanks to Netgalley and IDW Publishing for the ARC of this comic.
Kansas City is a weird and delightful addition to the logical coastal cities and huge population center that is Chicago. The various authors take good advantage of our weird architectural structures, barbecue culture, and the location of the river. (Shout out to the Planet Comic Con Easter egg.) Love that the city was given more than the standard fly over country treatment, and Godzilla had plenty of open air to roam.
I can't wait to get my hands on the physical copy.
Thanks to Netgalley and IDW Publishing for the ARC of this comic.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Four cities across America – four stories for each regarding Godzilla and the damage he causes, such as when someone unqualified to be HyperMechaGodzilla tries it on for size, or when he needs to be diverted to the right target across the city. This proved a very mixed bag – some entries are fine, and nicely just adjacent to the major stories, but some are really poor. Two stories for LA that were practically unreadable as digital review files were not promising much care – and neither really were the few that made no sense whatsoever.
On the flip side is a willingness to let the creators present their stories any which way they feel like, allowing us – say, through an eye-in-the-sky journalist ending up landing ON Godzilla - a very different view of the character. But for all of that there is yack about BBQ sauce, and some really silly submissions that a better editor would have thrown pronto. So broad is the success rate that in patches three and a half stars were seeming just too generous, but I'll settle for three and a touch more, for this sometimes-decent, often-playful collection. But if there's more to come, an improvement is both easy and much needed.
On the flip side is a willingness to let the creators present their stories any which way they feel like, allowing us – say, through an eye-in-the-sky journalist ending up landing ON Godzilla - a very different view of the character. But for all of that there is yack about BBQ sauce, and some really silly submissions that a better editor would have thrown pronto. So broad is the success rate that in patches three and a half stars were seeming just too generous, but I'll settle for three and a touch more, for this sometimes-decent, often-playful collection. But if there's more to come, an improvement is both easy and much needed.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Godzilla vs. America is a wildly creative and entertaining anthology that unleashes the King of the Monsters across the United States in a series of unique, artist-driven stories. Each segment showcases a different creative team, which keeps the tone fresh and visually dynamic while celebrating the chaos and spectacle that make Godzilla such an enduring icon.
The artwork is a major highlight — styles range from playful and cartoonish to gritty and cinematic — making every chapter feel like a new experience. The stories balance humor, destruction, and heartfelt moments, capturing both the awe and absurdity of a giant monster rampaging across familiar American landscapes.
While the variety is a strength, the shifting tones can feel slightly uneven, and a few stories end just as they start to build momentum. Still, the creativity and reverence for the character make this a must-read for kaiju fans and comic enthusiasts alike.
A fun, imaginative tribute to Godzilla that delivers spectacle, personality, and plenty of monster-sized mayhem.
The artwork is a major highlight — styles range from playful and cartoonish to gritty and cinematic — making every chapter feel like a new experience. The stories balance humor, destruction, and heartfelt moments, capturing both the awe and absurdity of a giant monster rampaging across familiar American landscapes.
While the variety is a strength, the shifting tones can feel slightly uneven, and a few stories end just as they start to build momentum. Still, the creativity and reverence for the character make this a must-read for kaiju fans and comic enthusiasts alike.
A fun, imaginative tribute to Godzilla that delivers spectacle, personality, and plenty of monster-sized mayhem.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
“It has something for everyone.” is usually a good thing to say. But not always for a graphic novel.
I have loved Godzilla movies since being a little kid in the 70s and teen in the 80s. Those old movies were so cheesy good. So, what could be better than reading “Godzilla vs America”? Well, a lot could be better, in my opinion.
The concept was good. The follow through? Not so much. Most of the stories were simplistic. But the issue is more about the artwork. Every chapter has its own artistic style. So, if you like what you are seeing in a chapter, don’t worry, you probably won’t like it in the next chapter because it is going to be completely different. If there was at least a bit of compatibility between the chapters, it might be tolerable. But I had to put on a neck brace because of the whiplash in the change in artwork styles. Not for me at all.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing an ARC for an unbiased review.
I have loved Godzilla movies since being a little kid in the 70s and teen in the 80s. Those old movies were so cheesy good. So, what could be better than reading “Godzilla vs America”? Well, a lot could be better, in my opinion.
The concept was good. The follow through? Not so much. Most of the stories were simplistic. But the issue is more about the artwork. Every chapter has its own artistic style. So, if you like what you are seeing in a chapter, don’t worry, you probably won’t like it in the next chapter because it is going to be completely different. If there was at least a bit of compatibility between the chapters, it might be tolerable. But I had to put on a neck brace because of the whiplash in the change in artwork styles. Not for me at all.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing an ARC for an unbiased review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you Netgalley, IDW Publishing, Tim Seeley, Caroline Cash, Gabriel Hardman, Dave Baker, Jesse Lonergan, et all., for the eARC copy of Godzilla v. America: Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles in exchange for an honest review.
I wasn't sure what to expect fully with this comic anthology. The last Godzilla comic I read was a wild ride, but incredibly fun. This one had good ground to it, but there were many parts that were hard to read on a device due to them being blurry. There were other parts that just felt a tad boring, and some where I did have fun reading. My favorite was definitely "The Great Gorilla Whale."
Overall, I do hope this comic finds it's audience because it was well done. It just wasn't for me personally.
I wasn't sure what to expect fully with this comic anthology. The last Godzilla comic I read was a wild ride, but incredibly fun. This one had good ground to it, but there were many parts that were hard to read on a device due to them being blurry. There were other parts that just felt a tad boring, and some where I did have fun reading. My favorite was definitely "The Great Gorilla Whale."
Overall, I do hope this comic finds it's audience because it was well done. It just wasn't for me personally.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
thank you IDW Publishing & Netgalley for an advanced copy of this graphic novel for an honest review before release.
in this book we are following different storylines that are in different parts of America involving Godzilla, I have been a fan of godzilla for decades and anything involving him I am interested in.
the stories we get are only a few pages long bit they are a fun read and having him on American soil is a nice change 👌... some stories I enjoyed more then others but of your a godzilla fan its worth picking up for a read.
in this book we are following different storylines that are in different parts of America involving Godzilla, I have been a fan of godzilla for decades and anything involving him I am interested in.
the stories we get are only a few pages long bit they are a fun read and having him on American soil is a nice change 👌... some stories I enjoyed more then others but of your a godzilla fan its worth picking up for a read.
February 1, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.
I was so excited for this one because my little family loves all things kaiju. This is a fun little series of stories with Godzilla popping up on various American cities. Each city gives the reader a feel for the place by bringing local businesses and things relying to the area into the story (for example the Boston section takes place partially at the Coolidge Theater). My only issue with this is that the stories are so short they almost feel like teasers for a longer experience. Overall - fun read but too short.
3.5 stars.
I was so excited for this one because my little family loves all things kaiju. This is a fun little series of stories with Godzilla popping up on various American cities. Each city gives the reader a feel for the place by bringing local businesses and things relying to the area into the story (for example the Boston section takes place partially at the Coolidge Theater). My only issue with this is that the stories are so short they almost feel like teasers for a longer experience. Overall - fun read but too short.
3.5 stars.
April 5, 2026
***ARC from NetGalley***
This graphic novel is a compilation of 4 issues already published, each based in a different U.S. city - Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, and Los Angeles. Within each city section, there are four different stories. They are told in varying voices and artistic styles. There is something for everyone. It is a wonderful way to discover new artists and storytellers.
The editors/creators of this particular series made the decision to set the stories in these different cities because stories are "better when personal." This is very true and if you are from any of these cities, you will see familiar places and more importantly, recognize the people represented in the story as your community.
This graphic novel is a compilation of 4 issues already published, each based in a different U.S. city - Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, and Los Angeles. Within each city section, there are four different stories. They are told in varying voices and artistic styles. There is something for everyone. It is a wonderful way to discover new artists and storytellers.
The editors/creators of this particular series made the decision to set the stories in these different cities because stories are "better when personal." This is very true and if you are from any of these cities, you will see familiar places and more importantly, recognize the people represented in the story as your community.
May 9, 2026
Collection of short stories about Godzilla attacks in the cities of the America. Most of the stories were not centered on Godzilla. Godzilla mostly just in the background and the stories unfolded around the attacks.
Simple and quick reading. So short yet almost all of them had solid ending.
I mostly liked the illustrations. But some of them were difficult to read, I think due to the words formatting.
Thank you to Tim Seeley, Caroline Cash, Gabriel Hardman, Dave Baker, Jesse Lonergan, IDW Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC.
Simple and quick reading. So short yet almost all of them had solid ending.
I mostly liked the illustrations. But some of them were difficult to read, I think due to the words formatting.
Thank you to Tim Seeley, Caroline Cash, Gabriel Hardman, Dave Baker, Jesse Lonergan, IDW Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC.
January 31, 2026
Thank you netgalley for this graphic novel i really enjoyed this one i liked that we had a bunch of mini stories basically with Godzilla being the star and causing chaos as a godzilla and king kong fan i definitely wanted to read this one and i liked that the artwork had that " old style " look to it reminds me of old godzilla so that had a cool feel to it and i really enjoyed all the stories in every spot but the artwork definitely was my favorite!
May 6, 2026
As someone who grew up in Massachusetts, I laughed out loud multiple times during the Boston issue. And there's nothing like a "Make Way for Ducklings" reference to warm my heart. The LA issue was fun but also surprisingly informative. Chicago made me laugh but I can't say I understood the jokes for Kansas City. Now, if Godzilla decided to slum it with a bargain bin Vinnie Jones, I'd get it...
May 17, 2026
I got each issue as they came out, all except for the final one, so when we got the trade in at work I borrowed a copy to finish it off.
It's a fun premise for an anthology, especially since locals worked on each issue and you get a nice spectrum of different art styles and stories being told. Which also means depending on your tastes it can be a very mixed bag, as anthologies usually are.
It's a fun premise for an anthology, especially since locals worked on each issue and you get a nice spectrum of different art styles and stories being told. Which also means depending on your tastes it can be a very mixed bag, as anthologies usually are.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Oooof what did I just read…😞 As a long time Godzilla fan these stories just didn’t do it for me. These were all over the place and just so ridiculous. These are short enough that it’s worth a try to see if they are your speed but I feel like actual Godzilla fans won’t much enjoy these.
April 19, 2026
Almost a Godzilla travel journal, this volume contains short stories of Godzilla’s visits to multiple American cities. The variety of art styles and narrators makes this an interesting and fast read.
May 18, 2026
Neat idea, OK execution. IDW got a bunch of creators from each of the cities in here to create short Godzilla stories set in their home cities. The problem is it's very difficult to create very interesting short Godzilla comics.
April 16, 2026
How about more cool monsters fighting and way less words
March 6, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of the collected volume!
As a longtime Godzilla fan, I've been keeping an eye on this and was so excited to get to read it. Each short story within this is zany and fun, and keeps the tone light even while Godzilla is destroying part of the city. There are so many fantastic art styles in this among the contributors, each of them really got to showcase their work. The stories in this are all pretty short, which is either a good or a bad thing depending on your perspective. I liked that none of them overstayed their welcome, but also wouldn't have minded spending a little more time with each author. I also would have loved seeing more of the other kaiju, but hey, it's not called "Godzilla Vs. America" for nothing, right?
Perfect for Godzilla fans, new or old, who are looking to see the big guy, just in something a little different.
As a longtime Godzilla fan, I've been keeping an eye on this and was so excited to get to read it. Each short story within this is zany and fun, and keeps the tone light even while Godzilla is destroying part of the city. There are so many fantastic art styles in this among the contributors, each of them really got to showcase their work. The stories in this are all pretty short, which is either a good or a bad thing depending on your perspective. I liked that none of them overstayed their welcome, but also wouldn't have minded spending a little more time with each author. I also would have loved seeing more of the other kaiju, but hey, it's not called "Godzilla Vs. America" for nothing, right?
Perfect for Godzilla fans, new or old, who are looking to see the big guy, just in something a little different.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I really liked this! Every chapter being a new story and new artist made it fun. I really liked Chapter 9 which was Godzilla appearing in 1888. I'm a sucker for historical fantasy after all.
I had some file issues which I reported to Netgalley (and hopefully they passed the feedback into the publisher) so I wasn't able to read approx half the book. What I could read, I liked a lot.
Thank you to all the writers and artists who contributed to creating this book! I'm sorry I wasn't able to read all of it.
I had some file issues which I reported to Netgalley (and hopefully they passed the feedback into the publisher) so I wasn't able to read approx half the book. What I could read, I liked a lot.
Thank you to all the writers and artists who contributed to creating this book! I'm sorry I wasn't able to read all of it.
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