IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

[Shenanigans]

Forgot to mention that "Best of Mothra" came out recently. For anyone interested, these are the issues:



Solid selection of issues for new readers I suppose. Rage Across Time #3 could've been a good one too. Plus Rivals but those are too long.

I like seeing that History's Greatest/History's Greatest Monster subtitle pop up when they refer to the 2012-2013 ongoing series; seems like they've been retroactively pushing for that to be the new title for that comic. Definitely a better title than... Godzilla.

[kaijukurt]

Forgot to mention that "Best of Mothra" came out recently. For anyone interested, these are the issues:



Solid selection of issues for new readers I suppose. Rage Across Time #3 could've been a good one too. Plus Rivals but those are too long.

I like seeing that History's Greatest/History's Greatest Monster subtitle pop up when they refer to the 2012-2013 ongoing series; seems like they've been retroactively pushing for that to be the new title for that comic. Definitely a better title than... Godzilla.

The entire G&G mini plays out like a Mothra film too, except for the monster mash finale.

Speaking of History's Greatest Monster, I find it interesting how Simon Gane's Godzilla is the one used in the recent FYE products.

[Legion1979]

Am I the only one who thinks "History's Greatest Monster" is an unbelievably stupid title? That's the kind of phrasing you see people use when referring to people like Hilter. It's a strange, off-putting term to use to describe Godzilla. Every time I see it I think, "....really?"

Added in 1 minute 44 seconds:

Speaking of History's Greatest Monster, I find it interesting how Simon Gane's Godzilla is the one used in the recent FYE products.

No more interesting than Mezco taking Bob Eggleton comic art and using it for their Hedorah set. They (Toho) seem be doing that a lot lately.

[mikelcho]

Forgot to mention that "Best of Mothra" came out recently. For anyone interested, these are the issues:



Solid selection of issues for new readers I suppose. Rage Across Time #3 could've been a good one too. Plus Rivals but those are too long.

I like seeing that History's Greatest/History's Greatest Monster subtitle pop up when they refer to the 2012-2013 ongoing series; seems like they've been retroactively pushing for that to be the new title for that comic. Definitely a better title than... Godzilla.

What about the other title that was used for it, namely, Godzilla (Ongoing)? Also, they forgot the word "Monster" in that title.

[Shenanigans]

"History's Greatest Monster" is a really solid title in my book. Still better than... "Godzilla". Only individual you can get that moniker confused with is Jimmy Carter. I think it works pretty well, its fresh.

Speaking of History's Greatest Monster, I find it interesting how Simon Gane's Godzilla is the one used in the recent FYE products.

Various IDW comic images have been used for apparel and merchandising for a few years now. IIRC come comic panels/covers have even been used in the video game Godzilla: Battle Line. To my awareness none of it ever acknowledges the IDW comics they are from either, but I guess all those images end up under Toho's ownership anyways for use on whatever they want to slap it on.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Am I the only one who thinks "History's Greatest Monster" is an unbelievably stupid title? That's the kind of phrasing you see people use when referring to people like Hilter. It's a strange, off-putting term to use to describe Godzilla. Every time I see it I think, "....really?"

I never thought about that, but now that you've brought it up, it's crazy how vague the title is/how different emotional responses can be extrapolated based on individiual interpretation of "greatest" and "monster".

IE: put "History's greatest monster" next to Showa Godzilla, and it's clear greatest means a positive thing, maybe strongest.

Swap out the image for GMK Goji, and you've got a ruthless villain, akin to what you mentioned with hitler.

Anyways, Legion have you read any of the IDW comics? I've never really thought they're compareable to the films, but I've always enjoyed them for what they are and have been a big supporter of them throughout the years.

[Shenanigans]

Reminder! Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors – All Hail the King #2 is out tomorrow!

Preview available here - and guess who's back! Was not expecting a recurring role from that dude.

https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2022/11/ ... he-king-2/

Credits page also features Ghidorah attacking dinosaurs; wonder if we can expect any prehistoric kaiju cameos. Gorosaurus? Or even better - Godzillasaurus? Not holding my breath, but I've always enjoyed prehistoric kaiju scenes (ROE, Rage Across Time, and of course the movies like ROM III). Still betting on a Mothra appearance for that flashback, per my previous theory.

On another note - last week the artist of Rivals: Biollante vs. Destoroyah shared a small preview of the upcoming issue.



https://twitter.com/andthankyou/status/ ... 2988029952

I dig the simplistic art style. Cute! Also in that tweet - Biollante zombies?!?!

[StardustGenius]

I love that art yo! Reminds me a bit of Shantae and Way Forward Studio's art in general. I love it!

[daveblackeye15]

He almost looks cuddly in that art style!

[LSD Jellyfish]

Destoroyah looks fun. To be honest, I could see Biollante working more in that artists style. Curious to see what they do! The "Biollante-Zombie" man is cool. Maybe Zombie Biollante men versus the smaller forms of Destoroyah?

I'm looking forward to reading issue 2 of All Hail the King when I get home today. I just pre-ordered it (I buy them digitally using an American account).

I wonder if

Spoiler:

Gabara is getting stronger due to Godzilla's fear of Ghidorah. That's what it looks like and it's a cool idea. Just wish the sole spotlight is on Gabara but who knows.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Issue 2 was good. On one hand, I'm a little dissapointed that the Gabara dream fight didn't last longer. I'm worried, and wondering, if there will be a satisfying explanation to his inclusion, or at the very least a final victory blow". Presumably, Ghidorah will appear next issue, so maybe if we're lucky we'll finally get a lot of monster action. Likewise, I'm a little dissapointed we didn't see more of ghidorah in the past; that one panel of him and the dinosaurs was cool, and I wish we saw more of it. Still, I appreciate the "egg"/meteor origin, and I'm glad for once Ghidorah actually has a LITTLE backstory. I shouldn't be surprised by less fanservice, and I think it's a good idea to view this as it's own thing, rather than a strict replacement for ROE/other ongoing series.

That being siad, I'm continuing to enjoy all the original characters and ideas. I'm really liking the Xilliens, and the "Dream-Shifter". It also feels like they're doing a good job at explaining past occurances; the group had the dream about the Evil Godzilla because at that point Godzilla viewed humanity as a threat to the Earth. I like the scene with Nomura (?) and the Xilliens, even though for some reason I thought Nomura WAS a Xillien. Still cool. I also like the inner mythos of the series of King Shisa being a "protector" just like Mothra. It fits, and they do a good job at also not easily lumping the characters together.

I'm looking forward to issue 3. They've earned just a few pages of solely focusing on the monster action.

[Shenanigans]

I'll admit I wasn't as into issue #2 as I was the first issue. Much like the original series, it feels like they drag stuff out a bit too much. Everything in this issue probably could've been condensed into half the time, give or take. The fact that Ghidorah isn't even awake yet is a tad concerning; hopefully that happens right out of the gate in the next issue because I don't want him getting lost in the shuffle.

Xiliens remain the highlight, I love this series' interpretation of them, art and writing. Also happy to see Nomura return for continuity's sake; the first issue made me think he might not be coming back. I do hope they explain a little behind why he's working with the Xiliens, though at the same time I suppose we don't need too much explanation since we know full-well that billionaires will do anything to control as much of the world as possible. Cedric and Karen's little one-sided rivalry is a bit amusing too, I look forward to Cedric's inevitable humbling. I also rather like that Ghidorah is just as alien to the Xiliens as humanity for once; almost every other depiction of their relationship has them already aware and in control of Ghidorah, so this is kind of fresh to see them learning about him for the first time. I feel like they won't be able to control him.

Slower issue, but tis the pacing of this series. I do hope next issue really ramps things up.

[kaijukurt]

Issue 2 was definitely more on set-up rather than action, but it’s still nicely done set-up.

Also, the next Godzilla Rivals solicitation is out!

GODZILLA RIVALS MOTHRA VS TITANOSAURUS CVR A TBD (MR)
IDW PUBLISHING
DEC221398
(W) Blue Dellaquanti (A) Wind, Ferio (CA) TBD
A Mothra cocoon has washed ashore near a big city, and a team of kaiju specialists has been deployed to study it. The team of scientists has discovered that the kaiju of the world may have a way of telepathically communicating with each other as a way to mark their individual stomping grounds, and have brought along an experimental device that they hope will detect this field of telepathic energy so that they can tune it to Mothra's frequency and chart its migration patterns in the future. When they activate the device, however, they are shocked to discover that there are two sources of these telepathic waves-the cocoon and a kaiju beneath the ocean, Titanosaurus. Detecting an intruder on its turf, Titanosaurus surfaces and closes in on the cocoon, leveling anything in its way. The scientists scramble to transport the cocoon out of range in the hopes that it will pacify Titanosaurus and keep the cocoon from hatching early.
In Shops: Mar 08, 2023
SRP: 7.99

Looks like Titanosaurus will be the focus of the action rather than a classic monster brawl, seems like Godzilla Legends 2.0 to me! Nice to see kaiju interact in more ways than just fighting.

Some past art pieces by Fério Wind if you want an idea about how the issue might look like: I can’t wait!

[LSD Jellyfish]

That premise seems a little simple, and it would be very easy to swap out Titanosaurus with Godzilla. Still, that's exciting. I'll be glad if the focus is on Titanosaurus, and I'm hoping we get some good scenes of destruction. A Mothra vs. Titanosaurus fight will be interesting because both use their wings/fins to blow the enemy back as their main method of fighting. It's easy to forget, but Titanosaurus also is really good at jumping, at least in TOMG.

I'm excited to see Titanosaurus because despite having a large early presence in the IDW comics I've always felt he's been super shafted. Legends 4 was barely about him, and only had him in like 4 pages, while he was sort of demoted to mook/random monster in Godzilla HGM, and ROE. We never really got a story about him so I'm curious.

[Shenanigans]

Covers!







Saw that last one on Tumblr a week or two ago; I thought it might've been for this comic but the artist did not say anything. Interestingly, no Godzilla on any covers; I wonder what kind of role he'll have in these new Rivals books, if any at all. Frankly I wouldn't mind if he sat these ones out entirely (save perhaps the quick one or two-panel cameo, as its always strange when Godzilla himself is completely absent from a Godzilla comic).

Anyways, premise of this one is neat; always down for stories that involve characters studying and trying to understand the kaiju rather than simply reacting to their existence. I was actually kind of hoping to see something along the lines of Titanosaurus being mind-controlled by aliens and going on a rampage, only to be pacified by Mothra after a fight and freed. Might feel somewhat repetitive given the character in question, but I would like to see more Godzilla stories acknowledge and emphasize the naturally peaceful nature of Titanosaurus as described in Terror of Mechagodzilla that often goes ignored; a number of comics and games treat him as naturally aggressive while his film indicates that he was only like that under alien control.

Not a big deal of course, its always good to see them do something different from the films. I am quite pleased to see Titano in the spotlight again, its been much too long since he's gotten any kind of focus.

[LSD Jellyfish]

First time in a while that all three covers are fantastic. Funnily enough, they're all very similar in terms of what is on display, so you get a really good idea of what the artists style is. The first one has a fantastic closeup and angel of Titanosaurus, with Mothra above him which is super dynamic. The second cover is fantastic, but Mothra certainly looks way more insecty/like the fly. Titanosaurus looks a little more muscular, and monsotorous, and I like the detailing/pose of his headridge fins. 3rd is the most abstract, with a blank background, but the colors are so beautiful and contrast nicely.

Amazing covers that (presumably) represent the comic well and show off both title monsters very nicely.

[Shenanigans]

At long last, Gamer Gigan is finally upon us. After suffering the longest delay in Godzilla's comic history at over half a year, Rivals: Vs. Gigan is now being released tomorrow. I was starting to think we'd miss Gigan's 50th.



https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2022/11/ ... -vs-gigan/

Already they're referencing the fact that this Gigan has been "rebuilt" and "upgraded" from a previous form, just like ROE and Godzilla: Unleashed; I think its neat how they keep introducing Millennium Gigan that way across various stories. And I still love that Nebulan alien redesign.

Also I notice that the artist is different from the one who was initially announced. Perhaps that caused some of the immense delay?

[Mr. Yellow]

Wonder if we will see any of the Pipeworks kaiju in these comics.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Also I notice that the artist is different from the one who was initially announced. Perhaps that caused some of the immense delay?

Just out of curiousity, I looked up the new artist, and on their twitter, they said that they were "cutting close to the deadline", but indicated they would be finishing on time.

https://twitter.com/SidVenBlu/status/15 ... gr%5Etweet

For something that's 6 months delayed, I wouldn't consider that "finishing on time", unless there was some behind the scenes problems, and this artist was only recently hired. Worthing noting the aritst is mainly a cover artist, and this is the first time they're doing interior penciling. Based on what I've seen in the preview, I think everything looks fine enough, though Gigan looks a little lanky in that flash page.

I wouldn't bother speculating the change, or what happened. Could be some mundane dispute or something personal.

[LSD Jellyfish]

So, I enjoyed this, and I'll provide a more detailed review later, but it has good action, and I appreciate the homages to fighting games and even the original Godzilla vs. Gigan film. It's filled with awesome moments. It also has some really inconsistent art, and some things that make me really interested in the behind the scenes. Some of the art looks really good (I like the Gotcha Page) but some of the stuff with Godzilla looks really freaky. Also, Godzilla is very cat like. The 9/11 and sibling angle might be strange for some, but I think it works as a human story, and I like how it intertwines with the Godzilla plot.

But really, what was going on behind the scenes? The preview made it seem like this would be about an MMO, but instead it's fighting games. That would be why they'd set it in 2008 right? To capitalize on WOW? But then not utilize that at all? On top of that, there's really weird generic concept art labeled "behind the story" that has nothing to do with the issue. I get the impression that some serious behind the scenes issues occurred.

Overall I liked it, and it was a fun action-packed romp that was easy to follow. I'll write up a more in-depth review later once I have a chance to read it over and sit on it in my mind.