IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

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mikelcho
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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by mikelcho »

Off-topic for a minute, could someone please do something for me?

Could someone please go to the Wikipedia article "Godzilla (comics)" and change the entry in the IDW Publishing subsection of the Collected editions section for Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors - Rise Up! to say "..., collects Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors #1-5,..." instead of "..., original graphic novel,..."?

UPDATE: Never mind, I did it. Hope no one deletes it.
Last edited by mikelcho on Wed Nov 30, 2022 1:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by Shenanigans »

Godzilla Rivals: Vs. Gigan was pretty solid. I'll try to keep it a bit shorter here since sometimes I ramble on too much to myself, but the issue was simple enough.

I went into the issue hoping for a good one-on-one battle between Godzilla and Gigan, as the latter is quite often paired up with other alien monsters in every movie and indeed, these comics. Well, they certainly delivered on that front, given the issue was mostly one big fight. It was a pretty good one too, with Gigan really kicking some major ass at times with his various weaponry and tactics, though I also appreciated seeing such a mobile, athletic Godzilla (it was nice seeing the 2004 design utilized too). As said before, I positively adore the Nebulans' redesign with their leader looking like Invader Zim. ;) They were long in dire need of an updating in that regard.

The tone was wildly inconsistent at times. The whole approach with the Nebulans' base of operations being a video game company was a brilliant "modernization" of their original movie's story with their amusement park, and the issue was at its best when it reveled in the overall campiness of that concept, striking me as something of a "modern Showa" story... which is what made the 9/11 angle so jarring, like LSD said. It wasn't bad per say, just a little ham-fisted attempt at adding depth to its characters. Still, we've had worse in these comics.

The art was decently solid. Some panels definitely strike me as a little sloppy in the sense that the artist was rushing to meet deadlines, but nothing terrible. Most of the truly "off" panels are the result of the artist trying to play with perspective a bit too much. But with the knowledge that this is their very first job as an interior artist, I'm actually pretty impressed; that transition from working on a cover to working on a 40 page comic must be tough.
Spoiler:
I also love the absolute brutality of Godzilla in this issue. Ripping Gigan's arm off and stabbing him in the neck with his own claw was ice-cold in and of itself, but then to go and start ripping other pieces off of his corpse after effectively crushing his skull was something else...

...So yeah I like Sadist-zilla. :twisted:
'Twas fun enough. Though, as much as I've been enjoying these, I must admit I am hoping future issues of this series can really "wow" me in a way that none of the Rivals issues really have thus far. Vs. Hedorah came the closest to that (though Vs. Ghidorah has grown on me significantly after my initial response).
Last edited by Shenanigans on Wed Nov 30, 2022 4:40 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by LSD Jellyfish »

I agree that the update for the Nebulans was excellent, and that's what I was reffering to when I mentioned the Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) homage. However, I would've liked to see more of countless people around the world playing MMOs and fighting games that they've developed, to connect everything a little more. It sort of felt like there was just one guy playing videogames in his room, rather than a world controlled by videogames. It also does follow a similar format to the movie: human characters realize something is suspcious with something seemingly innocous, sever control between the Nebulans and Gigan, and allow Godzilla for a victory. There was also an easy miss to just make Nancy work for the Hexapod corp, sort of similar how the failing mangaka in Godzilla vs. Gigan is originally working for the Nebulans as well. And one of the final scenes, with the fighting characters, made me wish we saw more of the game the boy is playing mimmicking the fight with Gigan. That's just my wishes however, and it's a one-shot so it can't take the time to develop too much.

I was also surprised that there was only one real Nebulan character (there were two female (?) ones as well). Note the discrepency between the Greyish Hooded Nebulan we got, and the concept art of the Nebulans with a more direct human mimicry+a wide assortment of weapons. Another casualty of whatever was going on behind the scenes?

I hestitate criticizing the 9/11 angle on the off chance that the story was based on the creative staff's personal experience. As someone who grew up in NYC during 9/11, I understand that the trauma of losing loved ones, and the shock surrounding the incident revberates to this day. But as I said, it feels like a tonal discrepency, when there's Gigan (one of Godzilla's whackier foes, and bug people).

In rgeards to the art, as I said, there's a couple of panels where things look great, both humans, monsters, and bug people.

In terms of "Wow Factor", I agree, it's not particularly high-concept or complex. Compared to the wild full-blown Earth Vs. Xilliens war in issue 3 and alien colliseums, the atmosphere and creation of issue 4, and pretty much all the wildness of ROE, Godzilla in Hell, and Godzilla Rage Across time, it's true that this felt like the most standard issue we've got in a while. Still, it did a good job at making a standard concept interesting. All of the battle took place in a Bay, and utilized everything around it in interesting ways. Also, it had zero fanservice, so it didn't feel as wild as it could've been, but it also feels the most laser-focused.

Certain Rivals issues haven't really focused on monster action, which is fine. However, I felt this, and issue 3 with KG, did the best job at providing an interesting fight and living up to the series expectations. I've liked all the Rivals issues personally, but 4 didn't really feel like just Battra vs. Godzilla. This really felt like "Gigan vs. Godzilla". Apt timing too: November really was Ggian's month, and I'm glad the GFW design got a chance to shine, and not be outdone by the Gigan Rex and Gfes Gigan suit.
Spirit Ghidorah 2010 wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2023 4:54 pm Anno-san pleasures me more than Yamasaki-san.

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by Shenanigans »

LSD Jellyfish wrote: Wed Nov 30, 2022 6:53 pm Still, it did a good job at making a standard concept interesting. All of the battle took place in a Bay, and utilized everything around it in interesting ways. Also, it had zero fanservice, so it didn't feel as wild as it could've been, but it also feels the most laser-focused.

Certain Rivals issues haven't really focused on monster action, which is fine. However, I felt this, and issue 3 with KG, did the best job at providing an interesting fight and living up to the series expectations. I've liked all the Rivals issues personally, but 4 didn't really feel like just Battra vs. Godzilla. This really felt like "Gigan vs. Godzilla". Apt timing too: November really was Ggian's month, and I'm glad the GFW design got a chance to shine, and not be outdone by the Gigan Rex and Gfes Gigan suit.
Agree with a lot of your points, especially these. That's one thing I particularly liked about this issue in particular - that Gigan really felt like the major focus of it. Some of the characters of the past issues arguably could've been replaced with others with little changes to the story, or didn't really get the spotlight as much as a monster-of-the-week-anthology series like this could provide (which was also very much the case with a couple issues of Legends), but this issue really felt like Gigan's issue - he was very much the star here. Which he definitely deserved, especially in his 2004 design which has only been used in ROE up until now; he's one of the most unique Godzilla foes.

Anyways, yet another bizarre piece to the puzzle - Christian Gonzalez, who was credited for the strange concept art at the end that had literally nothing to do with the issue since it featured a completely different Godzilla design, confirms that he didn't even draw it.

https://twitter.com/seaguns_art/status/ ... 9229353984

Gonzalez did, however, draw that Nebulan redesign concept art that's been going around. I expected it to be included in the end since they've added an extra page or two with some of these Rivals issues. As neat as this concept is I figured the final issue's design might be a little different, which is what happens when you have a cover artist providing concept art for an interior artist. I like both, though there's something more streamlined and cartoony about the final design that I particularly love, especially how expressive the look is. Great takes either way.

Image

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by LSD Jellyfish »

Issue 3 of All Hail the King, was decent. With this issue, unforunately more than halfway through now, the pace thankfully increased. Ghidorah got released very early on in the issue, and for the most part, I really liked the portrayal. The way Ghidorah looks is very muscular, fierce, and intimidating, sort of a cross between the GMK and KOTM incarnation. I like the return of Ghidorah just flying from random city to random city (although I wish we got just a little more than just England) and popping away. It's very reminicent of how he was in GTTHM.

The fight with Ghidorah was decent too. All the art looks good, and is relatively interesting. However, similar to the Gabra skirmishes, you sort of have to imagine the "inbetween" between the action. For example, Godzilla charges up his beam and hits Ghidorah, and the next panel they are suddenly underwater. You have to imagine that Godzilla blasted Ghidorah into the water and followed him. That's fine in comics, and the fight for a first skirmish was decently exciting, but it's something I noticed. Cedric's commentary on the fight is a little humurous, "No one likes a biter", and I like the references to the fact that Ghidorah is explicitly stronger than Biollante. It also does a decent job at showing Ghidorah is being controlled, so I have to wonder if he'll be more destructive and dangerous as a rabid space-fairing creature.

Also, I liked the locale of Enoshima Island. I went there this summer:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enoshima

It was refreshing to see a real-world, and slightly off the beaten path locale, even if it's a bit touristy. I also like the visual of Ghidorah's body slamming into the small island.

In regards to the Xilliens, they continue to be enjoyable. Cedric and co are fine. They return to the Meetoob vlog framing, but I still think this is handled better than the first time around. It's a little more clear that while possibly relatable with kids, Cedric is being a little nasty towards Karen. I also like the idea of their silly band being named "Ghidorah", only to have to change it thanks to the name clearly being a problem.

As an aside, I'd like to mention a slightly interesting note that Nicolas Driscoll brought up in his review of issue 1, that I read right before reading this:
Before moving on to the Xiliens, I want to mention I just appreciate that the kids are illustrated effectively as kids. They look young, they are playful, they wear baggy clothes. They aren’t sexualized but are still drawn in an appealing manner. Living in Japan and having been grossed out numerous times by Japanese sexy preteen characters, it just feels NICE to have a decent set of child designs in this Godzilla comic.
-Nicolas Driscoll

Nicolas Discoll is absolutely right that a lot of Japanese media, especially that which is targeted at young boys, can be oversexualized. While this might seem like a weird tangent, it framed my reading of this issue going in to it. I wish I saw more destruction and a little more peril going into these things (more cities destroyed, characters put in more immediate danger), but that's my adult mind working. In the same way that this series doesn't sexualize things, it's not interested in being graphic with wanton destruction, which I think is acceptable for it's demographics. It manges to have fun monster action and destruction, without having some of the violence or implied massive casualties in other series/movies. Maybe some people will want that, but I accept that maybe that's why we don't see too much destruction (even a jet blow up): it's just not what it's going for. The other thing I thought of, is how rare children (plural!) are in kaiju films and media. Sure we have our Ichiro's and Gamera kids, but it's rare to see a group of kids acting together without adults in this type of media. That's another thing it's going for and makes it unique. That's another strength of it too.

Overall a decent issue. My only real complaint is pacing. I feel like a lot of other series have done a far better job at mixing up the action and getting through the plot a little quicker. However, when viewed as it is and what it's trying to achieve, I like it a lot.

My only hope is that King Ceaser gets established pretty quickly next issue, and that we get more action and a big fight.
Spirit Ghidorah 2010 wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2023 4:54 pm Anno-san pleasures me more than Yamasaki-san.

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by Shenanigans »

Not a whole lot of discussion in these threads these days so I'll keep it brief - All Hail the King #3 was definitely a step up from the previous issue, so I liked it well enough, though the series as a whole still struggles to pack a punch, so to speak.

As LSD said, pacing picked up which is a plus, though I also agree that where they focus that limited time is questionable. Lots of little moments to love, like the ongoing mini-rivalry between Commander Z and Nomura, and the classic "dragon vs. wyvern" debate (which I do not believe has ever been brought up in a Godzilla story before). And I'm glad Ghidorah got a lot of focus here and woke up quickly (in a gorgeous 2-page spread as well), which was a concern I had previously. The destruction of random cities, while only briefly shown, ups the stakes quite a bit.

The first battle here was alright. Even though Ghidorah is specifically described as being tougher than Biollante, I feel like the Biollante fights had a bit more, I don't know, energy to them? Maybe I'm misremembering. Like LSD said, sometimes you lose a sense of the "motion" of the action, most obvious when the battle was suddenly underwater (and I know they only have so many pages to work with). But it wasn't bad, and they did a solid job showing how evenly-matched the two are. Also wanted to give a shout-out to the way Ghidorah's wings are drawn, they're shaped very similarly to Showa Ghidorah. In fact, Ghidorah's whole design here works incredibly well; I initially took it as just a slightly-altered Heisei design, but its got a bit more to it than that to make it stand out.

Artwork is very consistent as always, Schoening continues to excel with the humans/aliens with that cartoony style. But I also wanted to give props to how expressive the monsters were at times too; Ghidorah looked demonic when under alien control, and I also loved the looks of exhaustion both kaiju had at the end of their battle.

Solid third issue. Xilien scenes remain the stand out every time IMO; Agent Dragon is my fav. Wasn't as disappointed with Ghidorah as I anticipated, though I'm still weary of these weaker Ghidorahs. I am a wee bit concerned about King Caesar; figured he would've been at least shown dormant by now, but then again, I suppose the next issue will likely focus on waking him up and setting up the final battle.

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by JesstrK »

Shenanigans wrote: Wed Dec 07, 2022 5:37 pm though I'm still weary of these weaker Ghidorahs.
I’m with you on that. It seems like once again he’s being presented as a slightly above mid-tier threat that Godzilla can more or less handle on his own. At this point, I say either use Ghidorah GTTHM or DAM style as a massive threat that forces everyone to unite or don’t use him at all. On the other hand, at least we got a Ghidorah that can actually fight Godzilla under water this time.
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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by Shenanigans »

Full cover for the trade of Rivals: Volume 1 has been revealed... and it has Gigan on it despite him not being in the first batch.

Image

Can't help but find that amusing. Artist EJ Su said he did it over a year ago, which is why Gigan is there; Matt Frank's Japanese cover, which was presumably done much more recently, actually has the right monsters on it. A little surprised they evidently never tried to fix this one.

I sincerely hope that all of Rivals many, many release issues are behind them. Thankfully, it seems like the next batch of non-Godzilla duels is already fairing much better, with a much more consistent release schedule - and noticeably more frequent at that with an issue every couple months. Whether or not they're able to maintain that schedule, well, only time will tell, but so far everything seems to be in order far better than what the first five issues have been through. I do hope they keep this series going for the foreseeable future too beyond Biollante vs. Destoroyah; there are quite literally endless possibilities with a series like this.

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by Mac Daddy MM »

I'd love to see an actual comic do Godzilla vs. Sanda/Gaira. I know they crossed paths for an issue in RoE, but man I'd love to see it fully fleshed out with a 1970's-ish plot and Godzilla design. Besides obvious stuff like Rodan vs. Megaguirus and SpaceGodzilla vs. Destoroyah, I'd also love to see a Mothra/Battra vs. Gigan in prehistoric times (nod to GFW's backstory), Showa MG vs. M.O.G.U.E.R.A., and virtually any issue that can highlight JJ, Megalon and King Caesar. Hell, I'd even be up for a Gorosaurus vs. Cretacious King Ghidorah (or DesGhidorah).


Quote of the Year:
plasmabeam wrote: Tue Dec 05, 2023 3:03 am Hear me out on this. What if Godzilla is actually Suko’s father? In GvK when Godzilla defeated Kong and they were roaring at each other, what if Godzilla inseminated Kong at that moment and that’s why they were screaming?

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by darthzilla99 »

Shenanigans wrote: Wed Dec 07, 2022 5:37 pm Not a whole lot of discussion in these threads these days so I'll keep it brief - All Hail the King #3 was definitely a step up from the previous issue, so I liked it well enough, though the series as a whole still struggles to pack a punch, so to speak.

As LSD said, pacing picked up which is a plus, though I also agree that where they focus that limited time is questionable. Lots of little moments to love, like the ongoing mini-rivalry between Commander Z and Nomura, and the classic "dragon vs. wyvern" debate (which I do not believe has ever been brought up in a Godzilla story before). And I'm glad Ghidorah got a lot of focus here and woke up quickly (in a gorgeous 2-page spread as well), which was a concern I had previously. The destruction of random cities, while only briefly shown, ups the stakes quite a bit.

The first battle here was alright. Even though Ghidorah is specifically described as being tougher than Biollante, I feel like the Biollante fights had a bit more, I don't know, energy to them? Maybe I'm misremembering. Like LSD said, sometimes you lose a sense of the "motion" of the action, most obvious when the battle was suddenly underwater (and I know they only have so many pages to work with). But it wasn't bad, and they did a solid job showing how evenly-matched the two are. Also wanted to give a shout-out to the way Ghidorah's wings are drawn, they're shaped very similarly to Showa Ghidorah. In fact, Ghidorah's whole design here works incredibly well; I initially took it as just a slightly-altered Heisei design, but its got a bit more to it than that to make it stand out.

Artwork is very consistent as always, Schoening continues to excel with the humans/aliens with that cartoony style. But I also wanted to give props to how expressive the monsters were at times too; Ghidorah looked demonic when under alien control, and I also loved the looks of exhaustion both kaiju had at the end of their battle.

Solid third issue. Xilien scenes remain the stand out every time IMO; Agent Dragon is my fav. Wasn't as disappointed with Ghidorah as I anticipated, though I'm still weary of these weaker Ghidorahs. I am a wee bit concerned about King Caesar; figured he would've been at least shown dormant by now, but then again, I suppose the next issue will likely focus on waking him up and setting up the final battle.
Spoiler:
Maybe this is wishful thinking on my part, but I think there is going to be a three way battle at first. Keep in mind the plotline has been focusing on Cedric being jealous and rude to Karen. Karen is connected to King Caesar while Cedric is connected to Godzilla. I'm thinking the rivalry between Karen and Cedric is going to cause Godzilla and King Caesar to butt-heads and then the climax is that Cedric and Karen reconcile, which then those feelings will transfer to Godzilla and King Caesar, who will then team up to beat King Ghidorah.

My guess is that half of issue 4 will be waking up King Caesar, then ends with a brief skirmish between Godzilla and King Caesar and then Ghidorah sucker punches both of them. Issue 5 will have Cedric and Karen reconcile and even transfer their thoughts to Godzilla and King Caesar, who both reluctantly decide to join forces against Ghidorah
GVK: TNE is a modern day 70s Showa Godzilla movie. Being a massive budget modern blockbuster CGI film instead of traditional 70s tokusatsu techniques doesn't change that. Fight me.

Anguirus and Godzilla being friends in the Showa series is cannon. Deal with it.

Monsterverse is not similar to either MCU nor Bayformers just because all three are big budget CGI blockbuster franchises.

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by daveblackeye15 »

Started catching up. Read the Ghidorah one, yeah that was really good. I love designs of Godzilla and Ghidorah in that one. Really not a lot of beam uses and weird Ghidorah's is blue. But yeah wish it was a little longer because i love the melee between the two. Not to mention weird red-hearted powered up Godzilla.

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by ebirahsmeg1 »

Nothing earth-shattering, but coming March 15th from IDW:

Image

The monster from outer space, King Ghidorah, lands in this special one-shot reprint showcasing some of the greatest King Ghidorah stories that have ever smashed through our comics. These one hundred beautiful pages were written and rendered by a variety of superstar scribes and artists, including James Stokoe, Eric Powell, Ibrahim Moustafa, Joshua Hale Fialkov, and many more. This special collection is sure to show kaiju fans everywhere why King Ghidorah is one of Godzilla's greatest foes!"
GIANT CONDOR!!!!!!!! :shock:

"Someone kick me, kick me hard! We're stupid." - Corn on the cob eatin' Hippie (Godzilla vs Gigan)

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by LSD Jellyfish »

If I had to guess:

Godzilla Oblivion Issue 2
Godzilla in Hell 4
Godzilla Half Century War 5
Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters Issue 8 or 10
Spirit Ghidorah 2010 wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2023 4:54 pm Anno-san pleasures me more than Yamasaki-san.

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by ebirahsmeg1 »

Apologies if this has already been posted else where....Rodan vs Ebirah Cover C Incentive Jahnoy Lindsay Variant Cover. I definitely like this better than the Cover B variant by Brenda Chi, which looks like something found in a cheap coloring book:

Image
Last edited by ebirahsmeg1 on Thu Jan 05, 2023 1:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
GIANT CONDOR!!!!!!!! :shock:

"Someone kick me, kick me hard! We're stupid." - Corn on the cob eatin' Hippie (Godzilla vs Gigan)

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by Shenanigans »

Image

Its happening again! Two comics on one day!

Next Wednesday will see the release of Godzilla: Monsters And Protectors All Hail The King #4 and Godzilla Rivals: Rodan vs. Ebirah. Personally excited for both, the former mostly to see Caesar again (criminally underrated kaiju, though I REALLY wish he popped up sooner in this comic since his time is now limited to two issues - I do hope they wake him up pretty quickly in this one and not at the very end), and Rivals of course because it sounds like its going to be pure chaos.

These Rivals comics have been solid so far but in some ways have felt a bit "restrained" with the majority sharing their names with films already (though I'll admit they've all presented very original stories and none have come close to recreating a film's plot thankfully); regardless, this issue looks to be a wild ride. Most of these Rivals comics have also only featured two kaiju (one being Godzilla), so I'm particularly curious to see what Mechagodzilla does and if we'll finally get a three-way battle again. (We might get two this week!)

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by daveblackeye15 »

So excited for Rodan/Ebirah such an odd pair up but I'm for it.

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by LSD Jellyfish »

I'm in a rush right now, but Ebirah vs. Rodan might be the best Godzilla comic in a long time. I mean that in a sincere way. Art is excellent and action is easy to follow, lots of great monster action and cameos, and all around a good/decent human conflict and cast. This one-shot feels overly ambitious, and very easily could've been a miniseries. I'll write a full review later, but I think the ending will shock a lot of people.
Spoiler:
BABY GODZILLA
Spirit Ghidorah 2010 wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2023 4:54 pm Anno-san pleasures me more than Yamasaki-san.

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by ebirahsmeg1 »

Just read this as well...Very mixed bag for me. Not terrible, but about on par with vs Battra.

Things I liked:

- Philip Johnson's artwork was very nice. Definitely wouldn't mind seeing him work on a future G comic.

- Glad to see the GFW Rodan, which we haven't seen very much in these books. Additionally....
Spoiler:
It seems TOHO is letting IDW play around a bit with the kaiju in terms of abilities, as Rodan has his fire beam normally associated with Heisei/Fire Rodan.
- Ebirah looks great, and provides proof that older tooth and claw kaiju can indeed make for very entertaining rivals/foils in these comics. I would love to see the likes of Gorosaurus, Varan, Baragon, Manda, etc. also appear in this series as some point against a supposedly more powerful kaiju for some intriguing pairings and match ups.

- The space elevator was both the best (and at times worst unfortunately) part of the story and provided a different, unique setting for a kaiju story.

- The ending has a nice surprise.

The bad/"meh"

- The battle between Rodan and Ebirah, while having its moments, was rather disappointing and underwhelming overall.
Spoiler:
They basically spend the entire time falling down the space elevator while just exchanging a few occasional blows here and there. They often just bump into each more often than actually fighting.
- The action in general in the space elevator got a bit redundant after awhile, negating whatever tension there was supposed to be.

- The main character was a bit too preachy/sanctimonious at times, and her actions at the end to supposedly save the day were rather lame.
Spoiler:
She basically sings to Biollante's vines, because she did so while studying plants when she was younger....um....yeah....ok. :roll: :|
- Too many plot ideas and concepts that, while interesting, could never manage to really "shake hands", so the story itself was uneven and all over the place.

Again, it was ok (I'll take it any day over whatever IDW is trying to accomplish with Monsters & Protectors/Hail to the King), but definitely not in the league of vs Hedorah or vs King Ghidorah in this series.
GIANT CONDOR!!!!!!!! :shock:

"Someone kick me, kick me hard! We're stupid." - Corn on the cob eatin' Hippie (Godzilla vs Gigan)

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by LSD Jellyfish »

Godzilla Rivals Issue 6: Rodan vs Ebirah was excellent. After having the time to take it all in, I stand by with saying that this is one of the best IDW comics we've had in a long time, maybe surpassing my enjoyment of Godzilla Rivals 3 Vs. King Ghidorah.

To begin with, the comic has some great world building. With such little time, we learn and understand a lot about the world, Parasol, and the monsters and people that exist in this specific continuity. I love the very valid reason that they are doing experimentation that wouldn't be legal on earth, and I love that little scene where you see some of the experiments, including that strange rat with the graboid tale! (Deutolis is real!?!?). There's other details there that didn't need to be included, like the stipulation that Kiryu could only be outside and used for a short period, otherwise Godzilla would emerge and destroy everything. That didn't need to be there, but it was a nice call back, and added to the stakes of it all. It also provided a justifiable reason why that wasn't plan one to fix the problem. I like the reasons given that Biollante, Ebirah, and Rodan are all up there in the Parasol too.

Next I want to discuss monsters. Ebirah and Rodan are great here. One thing that's brought up, is Ebirah's defensive capabilities. I've never seen this brought up in any other media, but it's logical to assume right? Lobsters have hard shells. Ebirah is a weird mutant lobster shrimp monster. Giving Ebirah a hard carapace is really nice little boost. Ebirah does take a solid beating from Rodan too, and seems to get out mostly unscathed.

Rodan was a hybrid of the Heisei and GFW incarnations. While it features the leg guards and is more visibly physically built like the GFW version, it has the Heisei head crest. It's sort of the best of both worlds; a nice physically bulky Rodan that would be able to fire off beams.

So now to address the fight/action
Spoiler:
I think it's easy to say Ebirah won, or at least did better overall. Ebirah dragged Rodan down the elevator, ripped apart his wings (ouch!), and proceeded to clobber him. While Rodan got a few hits in here and there, and may have won if it was able to fire his beam off, Ebirah slammed him against the shaft of the elevator and proceeded to choke him. At the end of the comic, Rodan is completely ko'd while Ebirah is conscious enough (probably due to his shell), to get out of the conflict mostly unscathed. This might actually be the first victory for Ebirah in any media, and I'm all for it. Before everyone comes at me about Rodan not getting to fire off his beam, or that it was in a strange environment, I agree there's a lot of special circumstances here. But in my eyes, a win-is a win.

Next, I'm sure people would have liked a more natural fight, taking place in the water, or in the air. But really, that's the problem: both monsters really aren't a match for each other in their respective environments, and have no reason to fight if they weren't in such a predicament to each other. The whole space elevator and free-fall thing is really just an elaborate and clever way to get the two to fight. If this was in the ocean, Ebirah would just drag a pretty much powerless Rodan to the bottom and kill him. Likewise, if this was on land, Rodan could pretty easily leave at any moment and could just spam Ebirha with beams, or pick him up and drop him. This got them close and personal in a fantastic way.

I think I can understand the issue not devoting more time to Rodan and Ebirah, but I honestly think it was just enough. Sure it could've gone on a bit more but I feel satisfied, and what came after was interesting. Really the first half of the issue was devoted to Rodan and Ebirah, while the second half was an incredibly unique series of events devoted to solving the problem. Part one is a fight, part 2 is fixing a cataclysmic monster event.

While the fight sort of ends, we get a sequence of actions that still are entertaining: Mothra silk used to wrap up and slow the monsters down, followed by Biollante vines used to capture them. Rodan's beam goes off, causing the cocoon to burst open, but Rodan is knocked unconscious and they are slowed down. This allows Kiryu to epically jump up, unwrap the monsters to a suitable position, despite Ebirah fighting back, and land epically.

The "second fight" of Rodan and Ebirah cobbled together, against Mothra silk, biollante Vines, and Kiryu (who is very clearly about to go berserk) is such a unique spectacle. It's the type of originality I hope future films have, and it's the one thing the IDW comics really succeed at sometimes (a comparable moment being when JJ pilots Kiryu in ROE to beat Destoroyah). And IMO, they wonderfully included Godzilla in this issue without taking anything away from the other monsters.

And for the record, I don't think the singing to Biollante thing is bizarre at all: this franchise has a lot of SINGING to monsters to draw attention/awaken them, the Heisei series had a weird motif with plants, telepathy and singing, and Biollante is known to wail, sing, and sort of have this humanish vibe to it. There's scientific pseudoscience, and maybe some real science, about how singing to plants makes them grow. It's a great detail and an excellent way to involve the humans in an action sequence and go for an action shot.

I guess my one big complaint at the end, which isn't even a bad thing, is Baby Godzilla's inclusion. So the Dr. was evil? Who was controlling her? I didn't recognize that, unless it's maybe a Space Amoeba? I don't recall any other aliens making eyes glow like that. This feels like a cliff-hanger which will sadly never get resolved. Actually, I'm hoping we get a follow-up to this someday. Glad to finally see Baby Godzilla/a Godzilla offspring, but we need more!

I think for everything I've stated, you can see why I love this issue. It's high-concept, unique, and features a lot of great monster action that blends together perfectly.
Last edited by LSD Jellyfish on Wed Jan 11, 2023 3:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Spirit Ghidorah 2010 wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2023 4:54 pm Anno-san pleasures me more than Yamasaki-san.

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Re: IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

Post by Shenanigans »

I will have more to contribute to the subject of Rivals tomorrow when I read it later, but for now I've read Monsters & Protectors - All Hail the King! #4. I still have a couple things to do today on top of seeing Shin Ultraman tonight, so I'll try to be brief:

The pacing of this comic has been an issue, and this issue certainly highlights that. Some elements feel repetitive and the overall issue, while it does undeniably do a decent job setting up the finale, admittedly has little going for it beyond that setup. The Xiliens kind of fade into the background a little here, surprisingly - as do all the kaiju, no action here - and they're really dragging out Karen's mysterious kaiju connection instead of spilling the beans. I wanted to know more about how she has a connection to King Caesar and dive into her family's apparent history with him, but they've spent all 4 issues merely teasing the connection in the first place rather than discussing it. Mysteries are all well and good, but after a while you want payoff to all the teasing.
Spoiler:
Poor Caesar only appears for a single panel here, which was my worst fear... I was hoping this series would let him shine as a major player, not the last-second savior for half an issue, but alas.
Even though all parties are on a collision course, it does feel like a lot to go down in just one issue. Looking at the series as a whole, I'm getting the feeling they intend on doing a third installment down the road (the presence of the Xiliens in particular - I'll bet anything on another cliffhanger ending involving them, maybe unleashing a new monster like Gigan?). Either way, I'll admit I still enjoy the series. Still has enough going for it - the humor works well enough, the characters are silly, the art is wonderful and consistent. So basically, I go back-and-forth on this series and its predecessor an awful lot, depends on my mood apparently. :lol:

But anyways, I want to discuss the Easter Eggs a bit! For a series that features far, far fewer monsters than any other comic series, Monsters & Protectors also continues to feature some of the most deep-cut references I've seen in any of these comics outside of Rulers of Earth, which is certainly saying something.
Spoiler:
Pictures of Maguma and Daigoro of all kaiju appear in the background... I don't recognize who Maguma is fighting on his poster though. Of course, most of the monster's face is cut off. Manda maybe?

Also, I think we've seen some in-universe kaiju toys within comics before. But this is the first instance I can recall of a toy being based on a specific, real-world toy, as the Hedorah plush is literally this -

Image

I thought that was neat.

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