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Godzilla: Rulers of the Earth (collected editions) #1-3
Godzilla: Complete Rulers of Earth Vol. 1
Giant monsters are appearing across the globe and leaving complete devastation in their wake. But who–or what–might be behind their attacks? It's up to Commander Steven Woods and his Counter-Kaiju Reaction forces to hold the monsters at bay, while young Lucy Casprell and her scientific research group, the Kaiju Watchers, attempt to find the truth behind the invasions. Collects the first 12 issues of the series.
283 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 15, 2020
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103 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 31, 2025
люди виглядають супер стрьомно, але кайдзю та бійки здебільшого круто. деякі сторінки як і обкладинка дуже гарні
а от історія прям дурня. слабко пов'язана, незацікавлююча і трохи ідіотська. в принципі коміксу про бійки кайдзю можна і пробачити, але все ж не вистачає
а от історія прям дурня. слабко пов'язана, незацікавлююча і трохи ідіотська. в принципі коміксу про бійки кайдзю можна і пробачити, але все ж не вистачає
April 7, 2021
So many monsters!!
January 13, 2021
This book's claim to fame is being the longest running Godzilla comic. I've read quite a few of them and seen the movies. Let me just say you feel all 280 pages of this book for every second of it. It's so painfully long.
I know what you're thinking: but the cover art is terrible, why even try to read this?
Because I live to punish myself. These comics look like they came out in the 90s comic bubble with that terrible art -- looks like comics for TV art. They came out in 2013. This is some low-quality junk. I can't believe IDW agreed to print it. I have a million clever insults here, but I'm sure you can imagine your own.
There is kaiju name drop after kaiju name drop. It's like they wanted to cram as many as possible in to really show you they know all about Godzilla lore. Like the inclusion of the obscure and not particularly cool Gezora. And the other aliens, just ugh who cares?
I don't like to just dump on a book if possible, so I will say that the artwork of kaijus are not terrible Mothra looks pretty stunning fighting Destroyah. (Maybe they were hired to do monster art and had no real experience with people?)
I know what you're thinking: but the cover art is terrible, why even try to read this?
Because I live to punish myself. These comics look like they came out in the 90s comic bubble with that terrible art -- looks like comics for TV art. They came out in 2013. This is some low-quality junk. I can't believe IDW agreed to print it. I have a million clever insults here, but I'm sure you can imagine your own.
There is kaiju name drop after kaiju name drop. It's like they wanted to cram as many as possible in to really show you they know all about Godzilla lore. Like the inclusion of the obscure and not particularly cool Gezora. And the other aliens, just ugh who cares?
I don't like to just dump on a book if possible, so I will say that the artwork of kaijus are not terrible Mothra looks pretty stunning fighting Destroyah. (Maybe they were hired to do monster art and had no real experience with people?)
November 2, 2022
Recommendation: A solid Godzilla story that manages to incorporate nearly every monster that has appeared in the Toho Godzilla films: very satisfying for Godzilla fans.
Critique: I can't stress too much how well-crafted this story is. Sure, it's bizarre and Byzantine, but that is a hallmark of the Godzilla movies. This fits right in. Interestingly, most Godzilla films have two discrete parts: the first part is a human story (which often involves criminals, gangsters, or aliens trying to take things over) and the second part where the action escalates (which is when Godzilla appears to combat the threat the humans can't handle). This book strays from that formula only slightly, as we follow the human story and the kaiju story simultaneously, rather than serially. While Godzilla and other monsters battle all over the world from the first page onward, the human organization Counter Kaiju Reaction (CKR) deals with budget, staffing, and intel problems. It's a really cool approach, interleaving the human and kaiju-scale stories from the beginning. The story is very cool, and while there's a huge amount of plot development, it's still better than some of the movies' plots, in terms of having less nonsense.
As Godzilla movies tend to do, this series, "The Rulers of Earth," ignores what has come before (the Showa, Heisei, and Milennium series of Godzilla) in order to create the universe of Godzilla again, with new reasons for why there are so many giant monsters on Earth. That said, this does draw on previous Godzilla films - ALL OF THEM - in order to create its cast list. Every monster that has appeared in the Toho Godzilla films is represented, though at least one (Hedorah) is only mentioned in passing.
The artwork of the monsters is really good. I also like how the writers and letterers have rendered each kaiju's movie sound effects - their cries - into onomatopoeia. If you know the sounds from the films, you will instantly recognize each sound as they are presented here. But the artwork of the people isn't great; given characters' proportions will vary wildly from frame to frame, though nearly always the head is too large for the body. The character designs are weak in that most of them don't have unique and distinguishing physical characteristics. It's something that early Marvel comics did really, really well: every character has a specific aspect to their appearance, which is good, because otherwise all the Marvel men looked alike and all the women looked alike. I feel that problem is even more pronounced here. At one point, the story has the character "Chavez" warn the character "Woods" about some danger. But even the artists got confused, because in the panel, "Woods" clearly calls "Chavez" by his own name, "Woods." This is funny, because Woods and Chavez are actually two of the most distinct male characters. The women nearly all look interchangeable. This problem is compounded by the fact that action that's happening in a given panel is often not clear, either. Did Godzilla just bite that monster, or is that monster stepping on Godzilla? It's hard to tell often enough that it diminished my enjoyment of these books.
Review: Here's a very loose plot summary. In part 1,
Critique: I can't stress too much how well-crafted this story is. Sure, it's bizarre and Byzantine, but that is a hallmark of the Godzilla movies. This fits right in. Interestingly, most Godzilla films have two discrete parts: the first part is a human story (which often involves criminals, gangsters, or aliens trying to take things over) and the second part where the action escalates (which is when Godzilla appears to combat the threat the humans can't handle). This book strays from that formula only slightly, as we follow the human story and the kaiju story simultaneously, rather than serially. While Godzilla and other monsters battle all over the world from the first page onward, the human organization Counter Kaiju Reaction (CKR) deals with budget, staffing, and intel problems. It's a really cool approach, interleaving the human and kaiju-scale stories from the beginning. The story is very cool, and while there's a huge amount of plot development, it's still better than some of the movies' plots, in terms of having less nonsense.
As Godzilla movies tend to do, this series, "The Rulers of Earth," ignores what has come before (the Showa, Heisei, and Milennium series of Godzilla) in order to create the universe of Godzilla again, with new reasons for why there are so many giant monsters on Earth. That said, this does draw on previous Godzilla films - ALL OF THEM - in order to create its cast list. Every monster that has appeared in the Toho Godzilla films is represented, though at least one (Hedorah) is only mentioned in passing.
The artwork of the monsters is really good. I also like how the writers and letterers have rendered each kaiju's movie sound effects - their cries - into onomatopoeia. If you know the sounds from the films, you will instantly recognize each sound as they are presented here. But the artwork of the people isn't great; given characters' proportions will vary wildly from frame to frame, though nearly always the head is too large for the body. The character designs are weak in that most of them don't have unique and distinguishing physical characteristics. It's something that early Marvel comics did really, really well: every character has a specific aspect to their appearance, which is good, because otherwise all the Marvel men looked alike and all the women looked alike. I feel that problem is even more pronounced here. At one point, the story has the character "Chavez" warn the character "Woods" about some danger. But even the artists got confused, because in the panel, "Woods" clearly calls "Chavez" by his own name, "Woods." This is funny, because Woods and Chavez are actually two of the most distinct male characters. The women nearly all look interchangeable. This problem is compounded by the fact that action that's happening in a given panel is often not clear, either. Did Godzilla just bite that monster, or is that monster stepping on Godzilla? It's hard to tell often enough that it diminished my enjoyment of these books.
Review: Here's a very loose plot summary. In part 1,
September 18, 2020
Two alien species battle against each other on who will dominate the earth and make it their new home world.
A team of scientists and the military join up along with the assistance of a very well know giant fire breathing lizard.
What's great is that practically all of the giant monsters from the Kaiju film (even the one from the Roland Emmirich film) are here and battling each other.
What's bad is that the story is mediocre and the story is only being held together and the only real thing saving it is probably the love of Godzilla and fans of the "Japanese Giant Monster" films.
The art work from both artists are pretty good when it comes to drawing the monsters but the art on the human characters is not consistent.
I do have to admit there is a "cool factor" seeing all of these monsters that I haven't seen since I was a kid.
A team of scientists and the military join up along with the assistance of a very well know giant fire breathing lizard.
What's great is that practically all of the giant monsters from the Kaiju film (even the one from the Roland Emmirich film) are here and battling each other.
What's bad is that the story is mediocre and the story is only being held together and the only real thing saving it is probably the love of Godzilla and fans of the "Japanese Giant Monster" films.
The art work from both artists are pretty good when it comes to drawing the monsters but the art on the human characters is not consistent.
I do have to admit there is a "cool factor" seeing all of these monsters that I haven't seen since I was a kid.
July 12, 2021
It was nice to see some of the monsters they usually don’t get a whole Lotta coverage and the artwork was nice but the story I don’t know I just really didn’t care for much all in all I guess it’s kind of hard to see a monster battle in just a few panels.
September 6, 2020
Picked up as a palate cleanser after one of those "elevated" graphic novels.
So what do want or expect from a Godzilla comic? Well, I guess splash pages featuring awesome kaiju fights. And this definitely delivers on that.
But of course Godzilla is fundamentally unknowable, and so you need some humans to carry the story. And such humans exist in this comic, but they are not compelling or realistic in any way, and so the stakes are never that high because I don't care if any of these characters live or die. There weren't even annoying ones you could hope would get stepped on.
I believe it's possible to produce a comic that delivers a decent story AND awesome kaiju battles, but this ain't it.
So what do want or expect from a Godzilla comic? Well, I guess splash pages featuring awesome kaiju fights. And this definitely delivers on that.
But of course Godzilla is fundamentally unknowable, and so you need some humans to carry the story. And such humans exist in this comic, but they are not compelling or realistic in any way, and so the stakes are never that high because I don't care if any of these characters live or die. There weren't even annoying ones you could hope would get stepped on.
I believe it's possible to produce a comic that delivers a decent story AND awesome kaiju battles, but this ain't it.
August 11, 2017
I averaged 2 stars for story and 4 stars for art and got a 3 star rating. You get to see pretty much every Toho Kaiju at some point in the story, but the story is not great. Aliens want to take over Earth as their new home and are using mind-controlled kaiju to do it. If you've seen Godzilla: Final Wars or Destroy All Monsters, you've already seen the same basic plot. The characters are pretty one dimensional and uninteresting. Pretty to look at, but not much substance.
August 14, 2020
Everything I wanted was in this book. Monster fights, cheap melodrama, ridiculous weaponry, aliens. Chris Mowry has given Godzilla nerds like me a blast of a book. It was dumb and ridiculous and I loved every moment of it.
April 1, 2024
The positives: Good campy fun. Extremely well illustrated moments of action. Giant monster fights
The negatives: Shallow characters, some being introduced just to simply exist. Interesting mythology overshadowed by glaring inconsistencies
The negatives: Shallow characters, some being introduced just to simply exist. Interesting mythology overshadowed by glaring inconsistencies
July 8, 2025
Godzilla forever
Mr. Mowry did a fantastic job telling great stories. Artwork is wonderful. This book, like so many others about Godzilla, does a great job advancing his story. The read is fast and worth it. Give it a read, you won't be disappointed.
Mr. Mowry did a fantastic job telling great stories. Artwork is wonderful. This book, like so many others about Godzilla, does a great job advancing his story. The read is fast and worth it. Give it a read, you won't be disappointed.
September 28, 2021
This book is just bad. Its confusing, the art is bad, the story never gets going.
August 3, 2022
Five stars for all the monster cameos and artwork and one star for the storyline, equals out to three. Worth it for Godzilla nerds.
Read
October 1, 2022Jet <3
January 19, 2024
They're ALL here!
This series packs in all of the Kaiju that we want to see more of; Titanosaurus, Baragon, Manda, Baragon, Biollante, Jet Jaguar, King Caesar, Destroyah, etc. The art is quite good and makes it very fun to read through.
This series packs in all of the Kaiju that we want to see more of; Titanosaurus, Baragon, Manda, Baragon, Biollante, Jet Jaguar, King Caesar, Destroyah, etc. The art is quite good and makes it very fun to read through.
August 7, 2020
This is a great sweeping epic. There are tons of monster in this. In fact I discovered a few I wasn’t familiar with, which is always fun. Jet Jaguar plays the roll of supporting hero with Godzilla. I don’t want to go too much into the story but it’s very entertaining and has a few characters from a previous Godzilla series in it. You don’t have to read the previous series to read this one just a fun Easter Egg.
April 4, 2021
GREAT BOOK
I bought this book on kindle and it was AMAZING I’m gonna buy vol. 2! I highly recommend this book for Godzilla fans! It has SO much action and SO many creatures like Varan, Rodan, Gigan, Manda, kumanga, Mothra, Baragon, Destroyah, king ceaser, Sanda, Gaira, MechaGodzilla, Orga, Jet Jaguar, Gezora, Titanasauras, Megalon, Moguera and Godzilla! so GET THIS BOOK!!!!!!
I bought this book on kindle and it was AMAZING I’m gonna buy vol. 2! I highly recommend this book for Godzilla fans! It has SO much action and SO many creatures like Varan, Rodan, Gigan, Manda, kumanga, Mothra, Baragon, Destroyah, king ceaser, Sanda, Gaira, MechaGodzilla, Orga, Jet Jaguar, Gezora, Titanasauras, Megalon, Moguera and Godzilla! so GET THIS BOOK!!!!!!
August 9, 2016
This one started so well, a five star beginning, but then staggered to a three star ending. The art was a little confusing at times, making it hard to interpret some of the fight scenes. That said, it was great fun to see all the old movie monsters in an epic confrontation in one story.
January 24, 2022
I love Godzilla and it's cool that Mowry went to the deep bench of monsters in this collection but he's done no favors by Frank and Zornow's art. The fight scenes are as incomprehensible as a Transformers movie and could have really benefitted from more narration.
June 20, 2020
When it comes to Godzilla fiction you cant get better than this.
December 13, 2020
As always an excellent read
Love love my Godzilla hope the comics such as these continue even after the WB destroys the Monsterverse franchise. Good comics and good job as always
Love love my Godzilla hope the comics such as these continue even after the WB destroys the Monsterverse franchise. Good comics and good job as always
March 29, 2023
Solid
A really good collection plenty of kaiju fighting I'd recommend if you want to see a all out brawl :)
A really good collection plenty of kaiju fighting I'd recommend if you want to see a all out brawl :)
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews