Virtually indestructible! He rules both land and sea! The most powerful creature to ever walk the face of the Earth! Your Major Spoilers review of Godzilla 70th Anniversary #1 from IDW Publishing awaits!

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GODZILLA 70TH ANNIVERSARY

Writer: Dan Didio/Danny Lore/Matt Frank/Donny Winter/E.J. Su/Adam Gorham/Casey Gilly/Michael W. Conrad/Natasha Alterici
Artist: Joelle Jones/Sebastian Piriz/Matt Frank/E.J. Su/Adam Gorham/Liana Kangas/Gege Schall/Natasha Alterici
Colorist: Marco Lesko/Adam Guzowski/Brittany Peer
Letterer: Maki Takarada/Rus Wooton
Editor: Jake Williams/Jamie S. Rich/David Mariotte
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $9.99
Release Date: May 15, 2024

Previously in Godzilla 70th Anniversary: From the American Old West to modern Tokyo and beyond, this collection features stories of the King of the Monsters fighting with its allies like Mothra, against old enemies like the terrible Mechagodzilla, and reshaping the lives of all who fall in its path!

UP FROM THE DEPTHS!

The monster known as Godzilla is a force of nature, more than just a kaiju. James Stokoe’s opening story shows us a Godzilla through the eyes of the men who have to clean up his messes, with a touch of black comedy, while Didio and Jones show us a Godzilla who serves as a guardrail against evil for a woman on the edge of making a terrible decision. Lore and Piriz use the parallels of a monster fight and the petty squabbles of two criminals in the devastated city below, while Matt Frank’s manga-inspired story shows us the King of Monsters through the compassionate eyes of a child. Jet Jaguar appears in E.J. Su’s clever chapter, while both Gorham, and Gilly and Kangas show Godzilla as a metaphor for different brands of human suffering. Gilly and Kangas also bring in Mothra and her fairies in a very clever way, which makes me very happy. Conrad’s story of birth, death, and obsession is perhaps my favorite in the book, and the best-drawn of a very beautiful series of tales, while we wrap up with Natasha Alterici explaining who the REAL monsters are.

AN ENJOYABLE MIX OF STORIES AND PERSPECTIVES

First off, this is a great book, one whose biggest drawback is the ten-dollar price point. Each of the stories has a clear and unique take on Godzilla that honors the history of the heroic dino-something, avoiding a number of Western monster-movie tropes in the process. That ends up being the book’s biggest selling point, as it honors a uniquely Japanese character and supporting cast in a way that feels both respectful and appropriate. As someone who feels like US Godzilla films keep missing the point by making him bigger and the explosions more devastating, it’s nice to see the 1954 design in full effect throughout this book. Granted, that might be an issue in the licensing of the character, but my point still stands. All the art teams in these pages deliver impressive visuals, many of which draw upon the visual language of manga and traditional Japanese art in ways that I find really appealing.

BOTTOM LINE: SKREEEE-OOOOOONNNK!

In short, Godzilla 70th Anniversary does what I hoped it would by honoring not just the character, but what that character represents in a greater context, while giving the necessary fanservice (HEDORAH! MECHAGODZILLA! JET JAGUAR!) in a way that is both motivated and controlled, earning 4 out of 5 stars overall. There’s a lot of entertainment to be had here, which makes me interested in seeing IDW’s other Godzilla properties in the hopes that they’re going to be this well done.

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