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Essential Godzilla, Vol. 1
"You have your fear, which might become reality. And you have Godzilla, which IS reality." -From Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956) And what a reality it was! For two years, Japan's greatest export was one of Marvel's biggest stars, and the King of the Monsters upheld his title against some of the best and worst the House of Ideas had to offer - including the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and Nick Fury and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.! Godzilla shrinks, goes West, travels through time and hosts one of Spider-Man's monst gratuitous guest-shots ever! Plus: aliens, mutants, mad Scientists and almost a dozen MORE giant monsters! It's so big, you can't miss it! Collects Godzilla #1-24.
432 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1979
11 people are currently reading
205 people want to read
About the author
Doug Moench
2,069 books121 followersDoug 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
March 30, 2021
The King of the Monsters hits comics with a BANG! Marvel did a great job of making Godzilla into a superhero-ish character. nice art and stories make this a fun read. Recommended
October 1, 2025
Super Fun read
March 26, 2021
oh man this kicked soo much ass!!! This book had all kinds of crazy shit in it. Godzilla vs Bigfoot, Godzilla in a cattle caper, Godzilla in vegas... it's too bad this will never get reprinted in color.
May 7, 2024
This was so incredibly fun! Cheesy 70s Marvel is endlessly enjoyable.
May 26, 2025
I reread this compilation due to having recently finished watching the Shōwa era movies as well as the recent Godzilla Vs. Marvel comics that have been released with some of the variant covers that delightfully homaging covers from this series. Overall, I still really enjoyed the series. I know it has its issues, but it is still a fun read. The character development is good for this series - I don't know how much it carried over into other titles for characters like Dum-Dum and Gabe, so it is hard to say how "lasting" any kind of character development would have been.
I enjoyed the creativity in having to come up with new monsters for Godzilla to fight; I thought the creators did a reasonably good job of what they came up with and why. I don't know that every monster had to be killed - Godzilla could have driven one off or something , but I can also see monsters being killed as well because of the threat they posed if they escaped (which is kinda funny, considering how many super villains survive what appears to be their demise and coming back "later" due to some backdoor the heroes did not know about, at a time when writers would reveal the backdoor and explain how it worked an issue or two later). I also read the studio did not wants teams of heroes getting regularly beaten by Godzilla, which is why the series went in the direction it did. I think in this case, it would have been understandable as only Thor and Hercules really had any experience taking on such foes far larger than themselves. In any case, it was fun seeing Godzilla in the settings so far outside his element in these stories (i.e. - the deserts of Nevada followed by the terrain of Montana on into the jungle of NYC).
Batragon is the best created foe in the series, followed by the Beta-Beast, in my opinion. Batragon's "siblings" were equally fun, and after seeing what Demonicus cooked up in the Shogun Warrior series, it could have been wild had he been a "recurring villain" coming up with monstrous creations to oppose Godzilla in revenge for what Godzilla did to his island base in issues 4-5. I would have loved to have seen Godzilla's battle with the bird-like creature that had the armored tail covered in an issue in the series; it was a cool standalone image in issue #2 as Doctor Takiguchi is sharing what is known about Godzilla to S.H.I.E.L.D. Or maybe an issue that tried to tell a story completely from Godzilla's perspective (which is done sporadically throughout the series, to be honest). But what brought this to mind is the beginning of issue 12 . Those were interesting moments in the stories because of the changes in perspective. So much more could have been done, but money got in the way, sadly!
Even after having read it last year, it is still a fun series to read. I have enjoyed the homage covers as well. Vs. the Fantastic Four being an homage to issue 21 where Godzilla is fighting Devil-Dinosaur and the tagline on the cover reads Godzilla Battles the Raging Might of a Giant-sized Thing! instead of Devil Dinosaur in the Doom Trip!. It is also a fun homage to the first issue of the Fantastic Four with Reed, Sue, and Johnny in the air around the two tussling titans in the middle of NYC. Vs. the Hulk is an homage of issue #10 with the tagline of Here Comes the Incredible Hulk The Strongest One There Is! instead of Here Comes Yetrigar The Biggest Big Foot of them all! with what looks like military personnel of some kind below them instead of the tourists in the original issue. The cover for Godzilla Vs. Spider-Man is a fun homage to issue #16. Both have the tagline of Jaws of Fear, and Spider-Man takes the place of the cowboy who lassoed Godzilla being thrown from the Big G's head while Robbie, Jameson, and Venom watch from the top of a building (mirroring the cowpokes on the side of the cliff). Vs. the X-Men has the tagline of To Challenge the Mutants instead of To Challenge the Champions and is a fun homage to issue #3. Godzilla looks a little angrier on the X-Men cover, and Phoenix is in a more dynamic pose than Black Widow (who appears to be in need of saving, although perhaps she tripped before that cover was created, hahahah!). It will be fun to see what covers are used as an homage in Godzilla Vs. the Avengers and Godzilla Vs. Thor.
I enjoyed the creativity in having to come up with new monsters for Godzilla to fight; I thought the creators did a reasonably good job of what they came up with and why. I don't know that every monster had to be killed - Godzilla could have driven one off or something , but I can also see monsters being killed as well because of the threat they posed if they escaped (which is kinda funny, considering how many super villains survive what appears to be their demise and coming back "later" due to some backdoor the heroes did not know about, at a time when writers would reveal the backdoor and explain how it worked an issue or two later). I also read the studio did not wants teams of heroes getting regularly beaten by Godzilla, which is why the series went in the direction it did. I think in this case, it would have been understandable as only Thor and Hercules really had any experience taking on such foes far larger than themselves. In any case, it was fun seeing Godzilla in the settings so far outside his element in these stories (i.e. - the deserts of Nevada followed by the terrain of Montana on into the jungle of NYC).
Batragon is the best created foe in the series, followed by the Beta-Beast, in my opinion. Batragon's "siblings" were equally fun, and after seeing what Demonicus cooked up in the Shogun Warrior series, it could have been wild had he been a "recurring villain" coming up with monstrous creations to oppose Godzilla in revenge for what Godzilla did to his island base in issues 4-5. I would have loved to have seen Godzilla's battle with the bird-like creature that had the armored tail covered in an issue in the series; it was a cool standalone image in issue #2 as Doctor Takiguchi is sharing what is known about Godzilla to S.H.I.E.L.D. Or maybe an issue that tried to tell a story completely from Godzilla's perspective (which is done sporadically throughout the series, to be honest). But what brought this to mind is the beginning of issue 12 . Those were interesting moments in the stories because of the changes in perspective. So much more could have been done, but money got in the way, sadly!
Even after having read it last year, it is still a fun series to read. I have enjoyed the homage covers as well. Vs. the Fantastic Four being an homage to issue 21 where Godzilla is fighting Devil-Dinosaur and the tagline on the cover reads Godzilla Battles the Raging Might of a Giant-sized Thing! instead of Devil Dinosaur in the Doom Trip!. It is also a fun homage to the first issue of the Fantastic Four with Reed, Sue, and Johnny in the air around the two tussling titans in the middle of NYC. Vs. the Hulk is an homage of issue #10 with the tagline of Here Comes the Incredible Hulk The Strongest One There Is! instead of Here Comes Yetrigar The Biggest Big Foot of them all! with what looks like military personnel of some kind below them instead of the tourists in the original issue. The cover for Godzilla Vs. Spider-Man is a fun homage to issue #16. Both have the tagline of Jaws of Fear, and Spider-Man takes the place of the cowboy who lassoed Godzilla being thrown from the Big G's head while Robbie, Jameson, and Venom watch from the top of a building (mirroring the cowpokes on the side of the cliff). Vs. the X-Men has the tagline of To Challenge the Mutants instead of To Challenge the Champions and is a fun homage to issue #3. Godzilla looks a little angrier on the X-Men cover, and Phoenix is in a more dynamic pose than Black Widow (who appears to be in need of saving, although perhaps she tripped before that cover was created, hahahah!). It will be fun to see what covers are used as an homage in Godzilla Vs. the Avengers and Godzilla Vs. Thor.
June 5, 2022
A fun read. Godzilla is moved into the marvel universe and allowed to stomp his way across the USA. Most stories read like a Godzilla movie, just replacing the Japanese army with the agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. and no surprise to anyone, they got their butts kicked just as badly.
The new monsters were hit or miss. I liked the giant Bigfoot, Red Ronin, but the aliens seemed pretty generic.
The best issues were the ones where they played around with the Godzilla formula and took chances. Godzilla vs the cowboys, teaming up with Devil Dinosaur and getting shrunk down to five inches tall and getting in a fight with a sewer rat were all bizarre and entertaining.
Bit of a letdown when Godzilla trashed Seattle as it was obvious the artist had done almost no research, besides getting a postcard of the space needle.
Any flaws in the series are more than made up for by the big brawl in New York that finishes off the series. A fanboy's fantasy come true!
and you can't tell me that the scene where Hercules manages to topple Godzilla isn't cool, as well as beautifully drawn.
The new monsters were hit or miss. I liked the giant Bigfoot, Red Ronin, but the aliens seemed pretty generic.
The best issues were the ones where they played around with the Godzilla formula and took chances. Godzilla vs the cowboys, teaming up with Devil Dinosaur and getting shrunk down to five inches tall and getting in a fight with a sewer rat were all bizarre and entertaining.
Bit of a letdown when Godzilla trashed Seattle as it was obvious the artist had done almost no research, besides getting a postcard of the space needle.
Any flaws in the series are more than made up for by the big brawl in New York that finishes off the series. A fanboy's fantasy come true!
and you can't tell me that the scene where Hercules manages to topple Godzilla isn't cool, as well as beautifully drawn.
March 6, 2017
In Godzilla King of the monsters, Godzilla is first treated as the enemy to the world but then later on he becomes more of a hero saving everyone from aliens and other monsters. The main conflict is that the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D are chasing Godzilla around the world and trying to stop him from destroying cites. Will the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D find a way to defeat Godzilla? I really like this comic book I like everything about it, the story, the action, and even the drama with the human characters where good. The only thing I didn't like about it is that theirs one part of the comic book that feels less existing compared to everything else that's happen in the story. I don't think theirs anything in the comic book that mite offend anybody. I love how crazy this comic book gets, one minute he fights super heroes then the next minute he goes to outer space fighting aliens. When ever I read this comic book I feel like riding the weirdest but funnest roller coaster I ever ridden on.
December 12, 2020
Tra il 1977 e il 1979, per due anni e 24 albi mensili, la Marvel acquistò la licenza dalla Toho per un fumetto sul Re dei Mostri. Moench ai testi, e quasi sempre, Herb Trimpe ai disegni. Assistito alle chine da varia gente, princilamente Kida e Green. Questo vuol dire che la parte grafica nel complesso è scarsa, quasi sufficiente al massimo. Non a caso l'unico episodio disegnato da Sutton risulta quello disegnato meglio.
Di cosa si tratta: della scorreria di Gojira negli USA, partendo dalle Aleutine per scendere in California a Los Angeles, passare a Las Vegas, quindi al Gran Canyon del Colorado, poi Salt Lake City e quindi per terminare in New York city.
Il protagonista è sì il mostro verde della Toho, ma ovviamente la maggior parte delle vignette riguarda la reazione dei co-protagonisti della serie. Partiamo dagli agenti dello SHIELD Dum Dum Dugan e Gabe Jones, incaricati di gestire il problema Godzilla. Ci mettono truppe volanti, un helicarrier appositamente costruito, il Behemoth, pilotato da un certo Hugh Howards disegnato come un Tony Stark con la pipa e chiaramente un omaggio al miliardario e pilota americano con nome e cognome invertiti. C'è Jimmy Woo, più impegnato a sedurre la giapponesina assistente del professore nipponico esperto di Godzilla di turno. C'è anche il dodicenne nipote di tale professore, un ragazzino egoista arrogante combinaguai ed estremamente antipatico, che ruba il robot Red Ronin, costruito dal nonno, per aiutare Godzilla, e fa solo un sacco di guai. Il Re dei Mostri affronta lo SHIELD, poi i Campioni, quindi Red Ronin, poi una specie di gigantesco antropoide chiamato Yetrigar (chiaro riferimento a Gojira vs King-Kong) quindi, rimpicciolito grazie alle particelle Pym, finisce addirittura per fare a cazzotti con l'ex sergente Dugan, per poi fuggire, grande come un ratto, nelle fogne di Manhattan. Finisce nel museo di storia naturale iniziando a riguadagnare le dimensioni originali, ma grazie ai Fantastici Quattro e alla piattaforma temporale di Destino finisce a lottare contro e al fianco di Devil Dinosaur. Infine ritorna, si scontra con i Vendicatori e poi, infuriando per il porto di New York, con tutti contemporaneamente.
Infine il minchietta dodicenne convince Godzilla a lasciare la città e allontanarsi dall'umanità, e il titanico gorilla-balena se ne và. Segno chiaro che i diritti per il fumetto erano scaduti.
Nel complesso è un fumetto che va preso molto per il lato comico, demenziale ed anche spesso ironico che Doug Moench ha voluto donargli, e come tale fornisce qualche ora di sorrisi e qualche risata, a volte sguaiata, come quando Dum Dum fa a pugni con Godzilla.
Però non va oltre le due stelle.
Di cosa si tratta: della scorreria di Gojira negli USA, partendo dalle Aleutine per scendere in California a Los Angeles, passare a Las Vegas, quindi al Gran Canyon del Colorado, poi Salt Lake City e quindi per terminare in New York city.
Il protagonista è sì il mostro verde della Toho, ma ovviamente la maggior parte delle vignette riguarda la reazione dei co-protagonisti della serie. Partiamo dagli agenti dello SHIELD Dum Dum Dugan e Gabe Jones, incaricati di gestire il problema Godzilla. Ci mettono truppe volanti, un helicarrier appositamente costruito, il Behemoth, pilotato da un certo Hugh Howards disegnato come un Tony Stark con la pipa e chiaramente un omaggio al miliardario e pilota americano con nome e cognome invertiti. C'è Jimmy Woo, più impegnato a sedurre la giapponesina assistente del professore nipponico esperto di Godzilla di turno. C'è anche il dodicenne nipote di tale professore, un ragazzino egoista arrogante combinaguai ed estremamente antipatico, che ruba il robot Red Ronin, costruito dal nonno, per aiutare Godzilla, e fa solo un sacco di guai. Il Re dei Mostri affronta lo SHIELD, poi i Campioni, quindi Red Ronin, poi una specie di gigantesco antropoide chiamato Yetrigar (chiaro riferimento a Gojira vs King-Kong) quindi, rimpicciolito grazie alle particelle Pym, finisce addirittura per fare a cazzotti con l'ex sergente Dugan, per poi fuggire, grande come un ratto, nelle fogne di Manhattan. Finisce nel museo di storia naturale iniziando a riguadagnare le dimensioni originali, ma grazie ai Fantastici Quattro e alla piattaforma temporale di Destino finisce a lottare contro e al fianco di Devil Dinosaur. Infine ritorna, si scontra con i Vendicatori e poi, infuriando per il porto di New York, con tutti contemporaneamente.
Infine il minchietta dodicenne convince Godzilla a lasciare la città e allontanarsi dall'umanità, e il titanico gorilla-balena se ne và. Segno chiaro che i diritti per il fumetto erano scaduti.
Nel complesso è un fumetto che va preso molto per il lato comico, demenziale ed anche spesso ironico che Doug Moench ha voluto donargli, e come tale fornisce qualche ora di sorrisi e qualche risata, a volte sguaiata, come quando Dum Dum fa a pugni con Godzilla.
Però non va oltre le due stelle.
April 21, 2019
Marvel's take on Big-G; lots of fun, though I wish it were color and omnibus quality.
Collected the originals as a kiddo on their first run in the 70s while thrilling to Godzilla's exploits on Saturday afternoon creature feature movie replays on TV. Loved all things big-G and still do! Currently out of print and only available from 3rd party or the auction site, this was a fun collection of somewhat uneven stories as Godzilla romps across the Marvel Universe pursued by Dum Dum Dugan on orders from Nick Fury. There were no other Toho kaiju licensed so we get a menagerie of B-listers like Batagron, Yetrigar, Red Ronin (a sad stand in for the wonderous Jet Jaguar, laugh). One of the better arcs though was Godzilla's battles with the Megamonsters sent to conquer the earth, I always liked the giant saucer headed monster Rhiahn and thought it was a pretty origial creation. Artist for these was Herb Trimpe, a third rate Kirby wannabe who I never cared for, but the inkers saved him a bit. Also, unfortunately, the Essential brand (cheapo newsprint plus black and white only) is the only way to get a collection of these stories if you don't want to bring the originals out of your mylar. I have to knock a star off for that, I tend to collect omnibuses these days and have gotten spoiled by the high quality reprints and page stock.
Collected the originals as a kiddo on their first run in the 70s while thrilling to Godzilla's exploits on Saturday afternoon creature feature movie replays on TV. Loved all things big-G and still do! Currently out of print and only available from 3rd party or the auction site, this was a fun collection of somewhat uneven stories as Godzilla romps across the Marvel Universe pursued by Dum Dum Dugan on orders from Nick Fury. There were no other Toho kaiju licensed so we get a menagerie of B-listers like Batagron, Yetrigar, Red Ronin (a sad stand in for the wonderous Jet Jaguar, laugh). One of the better arcs though was Godzilla's battles with the Megamonsters sent to conquer the earth, I always liked the giant saucer headed monster Rhiahn and thought it was a pretty origial creation. Artist for these was Herb Trimpe, a third rate Kirby wannabe who I never cared for, but the inkers saved him a bit. Also, unfortunately, the Essential brand (cheapo newsprint plus black and white only) is the only way to get a collection of these stories if you don't want to bring the originals out of your mylar. I have to knock a star off for that, I tend to collect omnibuses these days and have gotten spoiled by the high quality reprints and page stock.
November 4, 2024
Five stars in my heart! Godzilla was the first comic I ever collected and all these years later I still have all 24 issues safely tucked away in my house so was thrilled to see this omnibus published.
The high highs are exactly what I want most from a corny, bronze age comic highlighted by the beautiful strangeness of issues 15 & 16 as Godzilla somehow, plausibly thwarts a cattle rustling operation. The reason this series really works for me is that it really is a Marvel comic, fully integrated into the MU. This series could easily be considered a Dum Dum Dugan ongoing series and a celebration of workplace smoking as Dugan and the goofy dude piloting the SHIELD helicarier puff away at pipes and cigars behind the controls. In its own way, this series is also a road trip comic as Godzilla emerges off the coast of Alaska in issue 1 and leaves America the same way in New York 24 issues later.
The high highs are exactly what I want most from a corny, bronze age comic highlighted by the beautiful strangeness of issues 15 & 16 as Godzilla somehow, plausibly thwarts a cattle rustling operation. The reason this series really works for me is that it really is a Marvel comic, fully integrated into the MU. This series could easily be considered a Dum Dum Dugan ongoing series and a celebration of workplace smoking as Dugan and the goofy dude piloting the SHIELD helicarier puff away at pipes and cigars behind the controls. In its own way, this series is also a road trip comic as Godzilla emerges off the coast of Alaska in issue 1 and leaves America the same way in New York 24 issues later.
November 8, 2024
This collects issues 1-24 of the original Marvel series and it gives what you want from a Godzilla series: A giant monster bashing other monsters and knocking down buildings - only with the added bonus of having Godzilla fighting the Marvel heroes. It's full of wonderful bronze era drama. The main opponent of the titular monster is a SHIELD taskforce led by Dum Dum Dugan, but Godzilla also fights The Champions, The Fantastic Four, Hank Pym, Devil Dinosaur and Moonboy, and the Avenger.
The only drawback is the the insistence of the writer to make sure we understand Godzilla is not a villain. Two of the characters, one an annoying boy who bursts into tears every other issue, are constantly giving speeches in favor of Godzilla and how he isn't acting out of malice. But that kind of falls flat when in the next panel he is tearing apart Golden Gate Bridge or knock holes in Hoover Dam. At that point motivation isn't really a factor.
The only drawback is the the insistence of the writer to make sure we understand Godzilla is not a villain. Two of the characters, one an annoying boy who bursts into tears every other issue, are constantly giving speeches in favor of Godzilla and how he isn't acting out of malice. But that kind of falls flat when in the next panel he is tearing apart Golden Gate Bridge or knock holes in Hoover Dam. At that point motivation isn't really a factor.
March 25, 2025
I love Godzilla movies. Where the early era films where Kaiju are a metaphor or the dangers of atomic power or the later totally nuts campy movies of the 70s to the 90s... to the various reboots and revamps of the 2000s to present. (Well, apart from the first American remake.) And I love the weirdness of Marvel's Bronze Age comics. It was pulling itself away from some of the sillier aspects of the 1960s comics... but not quite yet into the grim and gritty every second that we got in the mid to late 80s and 90s.
Bringing those two worlds together... was SURPRISINGLY good. The only thing keeping this trade from getting four stars is the fact that a fews of the series have a certain 'what the hell did I just read' factor going for it. (The two issue storyline that was sort of an homage to 'The Beast of Hollow Mountain' and 'In The Valley of The Gwangi'
Bringing those two worlds together... was SURPRISINGLY good. The only thing keeping this trade from getting four stars is the fact that a fews of the series have a certain 'what the hell did I just read' factor going for it. (The two issue storyline that was sort of an homage to 'The Beast of Hollow Mountain' and 'In The Valley of The Gwangi'
February 16, 2021
If only it were in color.
This was a really good series, bringing Godzilla into the Marvel Universe.
Substituting the Showa era JDF is S.H.I.E.L.D., and Dum-Dum Dugan is lovably irrasciable.
While lacking the ability to use any other Toho creatures, Doug Moench and company were able to craft some interesting kaiju styled monsters, and an enduring menace in Doctor Demonicus.
Red Ronin is a worrhy addition: I always wished we could have had Shogun Warriors cross over into this series.
In all, an excellent reproduction, hindered only by it’s lack of colour.
This was a really good series, bringing Godzilla into the Marvel Universe.
Substituting the Showa era JDF is S.H.I.E.L.D., and Dum-Dum Dugan is lovably irrasciable.
While lacking the ability to use any other Toho creatures, Doug Moench and company were able to craft some interesting kaiju styled monsters, and an enduring menace in Doctor Demonicus.
Red Ronin is a worrhy addition: I always wished we could have had Shogun Warriors cross over into this series.
In all, an excellent reproduction, hindered only by it’s lack of colour.
March 21, 2025
How did any of the Shield guys keep their jobs? Their constant incompetence is ridiculous. Dugan yells and insults everyone, Woo is too busy putting the moves on, “little” Rob has free run of a top secret vessel. It’s insane. Blowing up cities, crippling a multi-millionaire heli -carrier MULTIPLE times. And the New York sequence, “I came back to the carrier because it was getting dark and I was afraid of muggers!!! This is a shield agent saying that!
April 20, 2019
Though the idea of Godzilla being in the Marvel Universe is an interesting idea, the execution is a bit lacking and the design is wanting.
June 19, 2025
Worth the time and money for the encounter between J. Jonah Jameson and Godzilla alone.
May 7, 2014
We Godzilla fans are crossing our fingers and keeping our hopes high that the imminent release of the Warner Bros./Legendary reimagining of the King of the Monsters will actually do him justice...unlike a certain American movie from 1998 that had a giant iguana with a Jay Leno chin, cough! I've followed the Big G most all of my life, and watching him keeps the kid in me alive. What young'un WOULDN'T love the idea of an unstoppable, skyscraper-sized, fire-breathin' dinosaur fighting other, impossibly huge beasts as he reminds Humanity that they're not at the top of the food chain anymore and should behave themselves. Or he'll step on them! Yep, seeing Godzilla as a giant superhero is pure, cheesy fun, but with adulthood I've also respected those who want to take the monster seriously, and with more than a healthy dose of fear. That's what we're being promised in Gareth Edward's film, which was given the full approval of Toho, and I'm more than ready!
Feeling that anticipation and finding out this book was on Goodreads, I can't help but offer my own two cents for Marvel's collected Godzilla comics, which I first read while I was in grade school in the 70's. (Yeah, I'm old. Shut up.) The concept was as simple as you can imagine, to bring Toho's legendary monster into the universe of the House of Ideas! The King of the Monsters in this series, as written by Doug Moench, is much like another big green machine, Marvel's incredible Hulk. Godzilla is a tremendously powerful force capable of destroying entire cities without even trying, but he isn't a monster full of evil intent...he's simply going where he wants to and would rather humans left him alone. What if, with a wayward step, you accidentally destroyed an ant hill? Think of that when you think of Godzilla, a creature so huge we're beneath his notice and concerns...and when the King invades America, the powers that be know that one way or the other, destruction will ensue and a defense must be raised! Uh-huh. As any true Godzilla fan knows, that's MUCH easier said than done!
That defense comes in the form of Marvel's super-spy organization, S.H.I.E.L.D.; with Nick Fury unavailable, it's up to agents Dum-Dum Dugan, Jimmy Woo and Gabe Jones to lead the charge and stop Godzilla from stomping across the U.S. However, like the Japanese military, S.H.I.E.L.D. gets their butts handed to them as the King treats them like the annoyances they are. Dum-Dum becomes a virtual Captain Ahab as he dogs the Big G across America, from west coast to east! Along the way Godzilla clashes with superheroes like the Champions, the Fantastic Four and the mighty Avengers, the evil Doctor Demonicus and his monstrous creations, a super-sized Yeti named Yetrigar, a giant robot named Red Ronin -- piloted by a pre-teen kid! -- and he serves to be Earth's last hope against an invasion of monsters from another planet. Cities like Seattle, San Francisco, Las Vegas and finally New York City are visited, and of course he leaves his huge footprints on them. He even goes back in time to meet Marvel's first superheroes, Jack Kirby's Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy (proof positive that the Seventies were a high point for kitsch!), but I won't spoil how!
Every issue tells the story with surprising seriousness; well, it played things as straight as most of the King's movies, anyway! Moench wisely focused on Godzilla as much as the huge supporting human cast...however, it's regrettably telegraphed from early in the story that Rob, the kid who seems to be the monster's biggest fan, will have a huge role in the scheme of things. Unfortunately, the kid can get both obsessive and kind of annoying, especially when he tries to help Godzilla in spite of the adults! The story can get ridiculous, too...try to picture the monster shrunk to human size wearing a trenchcoat and hat...yes, believe it or not, that happens. Early in the series, Herb Trimpe's art is truly awesome, but got more and more streamlined with each issue (he probably simplified his style to meet monthly deadlines) until it reached the point where the Big G at the start of the series and the one in the last issue hardly looked alike! It's not perfect or consistent in quality, and it definitely has its fair share of cheese, but fans young and old should enjoy this one of a kind collection of Godzilla's adventures in a world of comic book superheroes!
Feeling that anticipation and finding out this book was on Goodreads, I can't help but offer my own two cents for Marvel's collected Godzilla comics, which I first read while I was in grade school in the 70's. (Yeah, I'm old. Shut up.) The concept was as simple as you can imagine, to bring Toho's legendary monster into the universe of the House of Ideas! The King of the Monsters in this series, as written by Doug Moench, is much like another big green machine, Marvel's incredible Hulk. Godzilla is a tremendously powerful force capable of destroying entire cities without even trying, but he isn't a monster full of evil intent...he's simply going where he wants to and would rather humans left him alone. What if, with a wayward step, you accidentally destroyed an ant hill? Think of that when you think of Godzilla, a creature so huge we're beneath his notice and concerns...and when the King invades America, the powers that be know that one way or the other, destruction will ensue and a defense must be raised! Uh-huh. As any true Godzilla fan knows, that's MUCH easier said than done!
That defense comes in the form of Marvel's super-spy organization, S.H.I.E.L.D.; with Nick Fury unavailable, it's up to agents Dum-Dum Dugan, Jimmy Woo and Gabe Jones to lead the charge and stop Godzilla from stomping across the U.S. However, like the Japanese military, S.H.I.E.L.D. gets their butts handed to them as the King treats them like the annoyances they are. Dum-Dum becomes a virtual Captain Ahab as he dogs the Big G across America, from west coast to east! Along the way Godzilla clashes with superheroes like the Champions, the Fantastic Four and the mighty Avengers, the evil Doctor Demonicus and his monstrous creations, a super-sized Yeti named Yetrigar, a giant robot named Red Ronin -- piloted by a pre-teen kid! -- and he serves to be Earth's last hope against an invasion of monsters from another planet. Cities like Seattle, San Francisco, Las Vegas and finally New York City are visited, and of course he leaves his huge footprints on them. He even goes back in time to meet Marvel's first superheroes, Jack Kirby's Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy (proof positive that the Seventies were a high point for kitsch!), but I won't spoil how!
Every issue tells the story with surprising seriousness; well, it played things as straight as most of the King's movies, anyway! Moench wisely focused on Godzilla as much as the huge supporting human cast...however, it's regrettably telegraphed from early in the story that Rob, the kid who seems to be the monster's biggest fan, will have a huge role in the scheme of things. Unfortunately, the kid can get both obsessive and kind of annoying, especially when he tries to help Godzilla in spite of the adults! The story can get ridiculous, too...try to picture the monster shrunk to human size wearing a trenchcoat and hat...yes, believe it or not, that happens. Early in the series, Herb Trimpe's art is truly awesome, but got more and more streamlined with each issue (he probably simplified his style to meet monthly deadlines) until it reached the point where the Big G at the start of the series and the one in the last issue hardly looked alike! It's not perfect or consistent in quality, and it definitely has its fair share of cheese, but fans young and old should enjoy this one of a kind collection of Godzilla's adventures in a world of comic book superheroes!
September 18, 2025
Great compilation of Godzilla beating stuff up. Some of the dialog in these is a bit eye rolly/ cringy but i guess its older comic dialog, you get what you get here. The art work is beyond good.
24 full color issues of Godzilla cant ask for more. Also as a nice note, these are all very different opponents for Godzilla than the original movies. Adds nice variety .
24 full color issues of Godzilla cant ask for more. Also as a nice note, these are all very different opponents for Godzilla than the original movies. Adds nice variety .
May 14, 2014
Conceptually, the book is not terrible, but in practice its kind of cheesy and slow. Godzilla is obviously a strong villain/dangerous persona, being all big and belligerent, blowing up buildings. And there are a lot of cameos from Marvel heavyweights, such as a constant presence from S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. There's even a bizarre time travel one-shot with Devil Dinosaur.
And the art is excellent. Jim Mooney inks/draws as great as he always does, Tom Sutton is great but only did two issues, and Herb Trimpe used that Hulk penciller guy magic on Godzilla.
The issue is in the writing. Doug Moench, whose most prolific genre is the heavy handed horror genre ("Tomb of Dracula", "Werewolf By Night", etc.) can't escape that pretentious over writing from things like Vincent Price's audio on "Thriller" (TOTALLY RELATED). So you get so many text boxes like "this is Godzilla. He can destroy buildings, but even he is susceptible to a voice of kindness". Stuff like that all the time. It's terrible to read.
And it infects everything else. A lot of stories seem like, you know, publishable stories, but in fact they are so predictable and linear. Like a storyline about Godzilla tangling with some corrupt cattle wranglers. Despite being Godzilla, he never acts without some kind of human rationale, and the cattle wranglers deal with him safely and without being stepped on.
A lot of stories work like this. Apparently Moench was worried about making the stories all end in a set pattern, but as a result the threats to Godzilla/everyone else seem really mild and not actually affecting anything and some vague metaphor for human society.
Character development is worse. Every character repeats their dialogue pattern constantly. Dum Dum Dugan of S.H.I.E.L.D. constantly says things like "ah, isn't this a terrible development", or "Get that kid out of here", or "you messed the whole thing up, I oughta....". The aforemented "that kid" is the grandson of a Japanese scientist, who ends up being the only person who Godzilla trusts. He should be a sympathetic character, but he only says things like "you don't understand, you can't attack Godzilla" (he says that like 20 times), and all his lines and thought bubbles are about how he's the one who has to save Godzilla. It makes him seem like a crazy/whiny kid.
And even with those annoying characters, characters like S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jimmy Woo and his romance with the Japanese scientist's daughter get swept under the rug, they rarely get screen time with no character arc. I think Moench thought the cast would maintain the excitement and the audience just needs Godzilla to be scary for TWO YEARS of publication straight, but characters need to be interesting/fleshed out anywhere/anytime.
1 out of 5 stars is rough, but consider the greatness Marvel was publishing at the time (most of which had mediocre cameos here). Spider-Man, Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, even down the line to Marvel Two-In-One, Spider-Woman, Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, etc. OK, I'm sort of showing off, but still, Marvel has a high standard, and this movie character tie-in seems like an afterthought!
And the art is excellent. Jim Mooney inks/draws as great as he always does, Tom Sutton is great but only did two issues, and Herb Trimpe used that Hulk penciller guy magic on Godzilla.
The issue is in the writing. Doug Moench, whose most prolific genre is the heavy handed horror genre ("Tomb of Dracula", "Werewolf By Night", etc.) can't escape that pretentious over writing from things like Vincent Price's audio on "Thriller" (TOTALLY RELATED). So you get so many text boxes like "this is Godzilla. He can destroy buildings, but even he is susceptible to a voice of kindness". Stuff like that all the time. It's terrible to read.
And it infects everything else. A lot of stories seem like, you know, publishable stories, but in fact they are so predictable and linear. Like a storyline about Godzilla tangling with some corrupt cattle wranglers. Despite being Godzilla, he never acts without some kind of human rationale, and the cattle wranglers deal with him safely and without being stepped on.
A lot of stories work like this. Apparently Moench was worried about making the stories all end in a set pattern, but as a result the threats to Godzilla/everyone else seem really mild and not actually affecting anything and some vague metaphor for human society.
Character development is worse. Every character repeats their dialogue pattern constantly. Dum Dum Dugan of S.H.I.E.L.D. constantly says things like "ah, isn't this a terrible development", or "Get that kid out of here", or "you messed the whole thing up, I oughta....". The aforemented "that kid" is the grandson of a Japanese scientist, who ends up being the only person who Godzilla trusts. He should be a sympathetic character, but he only says things like "you don't understand, you can't attack Godzilla" (he says that like 20 times), and all his lines and thought bubbles are about how he's the one who has to save Godzilla. It makes him seem like a crazy/whiny kid.
And even with those annoying characters, characters like S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jimmy Woo and his romance with the Japanese scientist's daughter get swept under the rug, they rarely get screen time with no character arc. I think Moench thought the cast would maintain the excitement and the audience just needs Godzilla to be scary for TWO YEARS of publication straight, but characters need to be interesting/fleshed out anywhere/anytime.
1 out of 5 stars is rough, but consider the greatness Marvel was publishing at the time (most of which had mediocre cameos here). Spider-Man, Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, even down the line to Marvel Two-In-One, Spider-Woman, Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, etc. OK, I'm sort of showing off, but still, Marvel has a high standard, and this movie character tie-in seems like an afterthought!
April 20, 2008
The first series of Godzilla films ended in 1975 (with Terror of Mechagodzilla) and the second began in 1984 with the Godzilla remake. This Marvel series fits neatly into the gap, being published between 1977 and 1979.
The story itself was ever so slightly dull, for me; the main interest comes from the unusual decision to integrate Godzilla into the Marvel Universe. (Imagine if Marvel had done the same thing with Star Wars? They did it with Doctor Who, though not to the same extent as this.) There are no dimension-hopping hijinks here - Godzilla has always been part of the Marvel Universe, and the heroes are vaguely aware of his existence, but until now he has confined his activities to Japan.
Unfortunately, though, given the opportunities available, for most of the comic's run the only sign that this is the Marvel universe comes from the presence of Nick Fury's supporting cast, who chase Godzilla around in a helicarrier, filling in for similiar monster hunters in the original films.
That's a shame. For example, the most interesting part of the comic comes when Ant-Man's shrinking gas is used to shrink Godzilla down to the size of a rat (this sequence seemed interestingly prescient of Masashi Tanaka's Gon, a fierce little dinosaur). (It beggars belief that SHIELD don't destroy him at that point, while they have the chance.)
The Avengers and Fantastic Four turn up for an ineffective brawl towards the end, but I would have liked to have seen more of the ways in which existing in the Marvel universe would have affected Godzilla.
Professor X could have taken us on a trip inside Godzilla's psyche. We could have seen Namor's reaction to Godzilla swimming through his territory. Godzilla could have gone to the Savage Land.
Maybe Doug Moench made the right decision for the time, avoiding such gimmicks on the whole and just telling a straightforward Godzilla story (especially since no movies were being made at the time), but it doesn't really give us what we want to see now!
Still, it's a decent, if undemanding, read. It was obviously pitched at a very young audience, but it's still worth the time of any Godzilla fan.
The story itself was ever so slightly dull, for me; the main interest comes from the unusual decision to integrate Godzilla into the Marvel Universe. (Imagine if Marvel had done the same thing with Star Wars? They did it with Doctor Who, though not to the same extent as this.) There are no dimension-hopping hijinks here - Godzilla has always been part of the Marvel Universe, and the heroes are vaguely aware of his existence, but until now he has confined his activities to Japan.
Unfortunately, though, given the opportunities available, for most of the comic's run the only sign that this is the Marvel universe comes from the presence of Nick Fury's supporting cast, who chase Godzilla around in a helicarrier, filling in for similiar monster hunters in the original films.
That's a shame. For example, the most interesting part of the comic comes when Ant-Man's shrinking gas is used to shrink Godzilla down to the size of a rat (this sequence seemed interestingly prescient of Masashi Tanaka's Gon, a fierce little dinosaur). (It beggars belief that SHIELD don't destroy him at that point, while they have the chance.)
The Avengers and Fantastic Four turn up for an ineffective brawl towards the end, but I would have liked to have seen more of the ways in which existing in the Marvel universe would have affected Godzilla.
Professor X could have taken us on a trip inside Godzilla's psyche. We could have seen Namor's reaction to Godzilla swimming through his territory. Godzilla could have gone to the Savage Land.
Maybe Doug Moench made the right decision for the time, avoiding such gimmicks on the whole and just telling a straightforward Godzilla story (especially since no movies were being made at the time), but it doesn't really give us what we want to see now!
Still, it's a decent, if undemanding, read. It was obviously pitched at a very young audience, but it's still worth the time of any Godzilla fan.
February 24, 2015
In 1977, Godzilla joined the Marvel Universe and not as a separate spinoff but in the main 616 Universe. Godzilla makes landfall in Alaska and begins a swath of devastation through Seattle and San Francisco before turning inland towards Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.
The first twelve issues chronicling these adventures are okay. Its what you'd expect of any Godzilla story except S.H.I.E.L.D. is the government authority taking charge with Nick Fury handing the Godzilla affair to Dum Dum Dugan after the first Issue or so. There's a Japanese scientist and a boy named Rob who is annoying squirt who insists Godzilla is really not bad even as lives and home are destroyed.
The big problem with the first half is that except for S.H.I.E.L.D. it doesn't feel like Marvel story at all with the exception of the Champions (an obscure superhero group that was a precursor of the West Coast Avengers.) The second half is far more interesting with Issues 13 and 14 involving Godzilla taking on cattle rustlers. Only Marvel would think Godzilla would make a good Western.
S.H.I.E.L.D. then gets shrinking gas from Hank Pym and shrink Godzilla to miniature and take him to New York and then a pint sized Godzilla escapes. What follows includes several issues featuring the Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom's time machine sending Godzilla to the stoneage, the Avengers including a battle between Thor and Godzilla over the Empire State building, and a three panel guest appearance by Spider-man.Also J Jonah Jameson reacting to Godzilla.
The book is a rarity and while the quality in the beginning is mixed, the second half easily lived up to the expectations I had for the series.
The first twelve issues chronicling these adventures are okay. Its what you'd expect of any Godzilla story except S.H.I.E.L.D. is the government authority taking charge with Nick Fury handing the Godzilla affair to Dum Dum Dugan after the first Issue or so. There's a Japanese scientist and a boy named Rob who is annoying squirt who insists Godzilla is really not bad even as lives and home are destroyed.
The big problem with the first half is that except for S.H.I.E.L.D. it doesn't feel like Marvel story at all with the exception of the Champions (an obscure superhero group that was a precursor of the West Coast Avengers.) The second half is far more interesting with Issues 13 and 14 involving Godzilla taking on cattle rustlers. Only Marvel would think Godzilla would make a good Western.
S.H.I.E.L.D. then gets shrinking gas from Hank Pym and shrink Godzilla to miniature and take him to New York and then a pint sized Godzilla escapes. What follows includes several issues featuring the Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom's time machine sending Godzilla to the stoneage, the Avengers including a battle between Thor and Godzilla over the Empire State building, and a three panel guest appearance by Spider-man.Also J Jonah Jameson reacting to Godzilla.
The book is a rarity and while the quality in the beginning is mixed, the second half easily lived up to the expectations I had for the series.
November 2, 2008
This was an amazingly fun, and bizarre, book, collecting the two years' worth of Godzilla comics that Marvel published in the 1970s. The series starts with Godzilla arriving in Alaska and tearing his usual swath of destruction down the Pacific coast before being halted by SHIELD (the Strategic Hazard Intervention and Enforcement Law Division) and a pre-teen boy piloting a giant robot. After that it seems like they weren't too sure of what to do with the character, but the series contiued for another fourteen issues, and featured Godzilla battling everything from superheroes to cattle rustlers, as well as changing in size and travelling through time. I think it reached its zenith (although some may regard it as a nadir) in one scene where a four-foot tall, trenchcoat-clad Godzilla fights off muggers on the mean streets of New York.
Another amazing thing about this book is something I've seen in other Marvel books of the same era, which is a blending of different levels of fiction. As a result, when Godzilla strikes, people say they know it's Godzilla because they've seen Godzilla movies (which are not mentioned as documentaries). Similarly, when The Thing (a rival of the Hulk) shows up, he mentions watching the Hulk TV show. So we have fictional characters talking about the real presentations of other fictional characters, who are to them real. It's a neat trick: I'll have to make sure to to steal it sometime :o)
Another amazing thing about this book is something I've seen in other Marvel books of the same era, which is a blending of different levels of fiction. As a result, when Godzilla strikes, people say they know it's Godzilla because they've seen Godzilla movies (which are not mentioned as documentaries). Similarly, when The Thing (a rival of the Hulk) shows up, he mentions watching the Hulk TV show. So we have fictional characters talking about the real presentations of other fictional characters, who are to them real. It's a neat trick: I'll have to make sure to to steal it sometime :o)
February 8, 2009
Okay, I feel as though I have to defend my rating of five stars on this book; it's a weird pick.
This is a great book, if only for the shear wackyness of the stories. First off, you have Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D, The Champions, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers fighting against Godzilla throughout the course of the book. You also get a twelve-year-old boy piloting a giant robot called Red Ronin (I love alliteration!), Godzilla destroying Las Vegas and a certain crazy gambler's chances, a fight with a super sized Yeti, cattle rustlers attempting to rope the King of All Monsters, and Godzilla being blasted by Reed Richard's shrink ray, which eventually leads to him fighting a sewer rat. The stories are full of nonsensical elements, but its easy to follow.
My favorite part of this book finds Godzilla shrunk to the size of a human, and befriending a young boy (the same one who controlled Red Ronin). In order to help Godzilla escape the clutches of S.H.i.E.L.D, the boy disguises Godzilla by covering him up with a trench coat and fedora as they walk the streets of New York!
The art looks like a typical comic from the late 70's, and Godzilla's design looks more like a generic Marvel dinosaur with plates on its back than the rubber-suited star of Japanese cinema, but none of this is really that important to the overall package. The charm of the comic, and this reprinted collected edition, is the out and out weirdness of it all!
This is a great book, if only for the shear wackyness of the stories. First off, you have Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D, The Champions, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers fighting against Godzilla throughout the course of the book. You also get a twelve-year-old boy piloting a giant robot called Red Ronin (I love alliteration!), Godzilla destroying Las Vegas and a certain crazy gambler's chances, a fight with a super sized Yeti, cattle rustlers attempting to rope the King of All Monsters, and Godzilla being blasted by Reed Richard's shrink ray, which eventually leads to him fighting a sewer rat. The stories are full of nonsensical elements, but its easy to follow.
My favorite part of this book finds Godzilla shrunk to the size of a human, and befriending a young boy (the same one who controlled Red Ronin). In order to help Godzilla escape the clutches of S.H.i.E.L.D, the boy disguises Godzilla by covering him up with a trench coat and fedora as they walk the streets of New York!
The art looks like a typical comic from the late 70's, and Godzilla's design looks more like a generic Marvel dinosaur with plates on its back than the rubber-suited star of Japanese cinema, but none of this is really that important to the overall package. The charm of the comic, and this reprinted collected edition, is the out and out weirdness of it all!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 7, 2009
Not a bad value for a $5 impulse purchase (24 issues of the Marvel "Godzilla" comic from the 1970s, in B&W rather than color); it's perhaps not quite as much fun as sticking Godzilla into the middle of the Marvel Universe perhaps should have been - he never gets to fight Fing Fang Foom, for example, and they don't dig out the crazy Kirby creations from the days when Marvel really specialized in monster comics.
It does, however, feature a couple issues worth of Godzilla going back in time to meet Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy, which is certainly worth the $5 I spent (rather than the $20 marked on the cover). If I were a kid who knew about Godzilla and the Fantastic Four back then, I probably would have loved it, even if characters did tend to do really frighteningly stupid things in old comics.
It does, however, feature a couple issues worth of Godzilla going back in time to meet Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy, which is certainly worth the $5 I spent (rather than the $20 marked on the cover). If I were a kid who knew about Godzilla and the Fantastic Four back then, I probably would have loved it, even if characters did tend to do really frighteningly stupid things in old comics.
August 14, 2007
This one was a big surprise. I really expected it to mediocre tie-in crapola, but it's not. The plotting is clever, the dialogue isn't quite as over-the-top as the rest of the Jr Stan's over at 1970s Marvel usually wrote, and the non-Godzilla characters are 3D and important to the story. Herb Trimpe's pencils get a little lazy in places, but he brings the heat on the splashes. I can't believe it myself, but I fully recommend this collection. This is a great example of what is so awesome about Marvel's Essentials series. This comics would have never seen the light of day again if there wasn't a cheap b&w comics market.
January 19, 2011
This is nothing more and nothing less than cheesy Bronze Age Marvel goodness. I know the plots are preposterous and the dialogue overblown, but the art is dynamic and definitely worth looking at, and besides: it's just so darn fun! I mean, look at it this way: Godzilla vs. The Fantastic Four? Godzilla vs. Devil Dinosaur? Godzilla vs. Dastardly Cowboys? Godzilla AND Devil Dinosaur vs. Angry Cavemen? You won't hear me complaining about hokey dialogue when you have a Pym-particle-miniaturized six-inch-tall Godzilla fighting a sewer rat. That is GOLD. Definitely worth looking through once, at least, if you care even a little about Marvel Comics or Godzilla.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2013
What happens when you have a capable writer who has to write a comic about a mute lizard? What happens when a hack artist gets assigned a comic based on a (then) not-particularly hot foreign property that is largely ridiculed by adults? You get Marvel's disastrous run of Godzilla comics...and they suck, hard.
Can you even imagine if Darrow could get his hands on this character as an artist? Or what about if Grant Morrison took us on a trip into the minds of a Mothra, or a Mechagodzilla?
People who like Godzilla will look down on this lackluster effort.
Can you even imagine if Darrow could get his hands on this character as an artist? Or what about if Grant Morrison took us on a trip into the minds of a Mothra, or a Mechagodzilla?
People who like Godzilla will look down on this lackluster effort.
February 16, 2014
It must be said I thought the comics contained in this essential would ne lousy, but was rather good and just goes to show what can be achieved when a regular artist and writer are allowed to develop a comic book. Although it must be said there were some plot lines that were ridiculous such as this 100's foot tall lizard that had already decimated Tokyo, came as a complete surprise to the Americans(!), and how Godzilla was so hard to track across the mid western plains, but all in all I rather enjoyed the nonsense.
June 23, 2014
A fun collection of Marvel's strange in-universe take on Godzilla.
The majority of the collection features SHEILD and an increasingly annoyed Dum Dum Dugan following the big G as he knocks things over but we get some giant robot fun and one stand out issue in Vegas that is almost Vertigo-esque.
As fun as the stories are, the terrible binding in the Marvel Essential editions make the collection itself very hard to recommend. Mine had become detached from the binding after only a couple of reads.
The majority of the collection features SHEILD and an increasingly annoyed Dum Dum Dugan following the big G as he knocks things over but we get some giant robot fun and one stand out issue in Vegas that is almost Vertigo-esque.
As fun as the stories are, the terrible binding in the Marvel Essential editions make the collection itself very hard to recommend. Mine had become detached from the binding after only a couple of reads.
May 26, 2016
What do you get when Marvel and Toho are mixed together? A trippy journey akin to eating giant hallucinatory mushrooms, that's what! Bizarre LSD Toho monsters from test tubes and space, mixed with the Marvel satirical superhero wit, and a large dose of Mel Brooks type humor and pop references. For instance:
Read the rest of the review on my blog, and don't forget to listen to my relaxing, dulcet compositions as you read!
Read the rest of the review on my blog, and don't forget to listen to my relaxing, dulcet compositions as you read!
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