IDW's GODZILLA General Discussion

[Poe Ghostal]

I think one thing that would be nice to see is a tad bit of experimentation with using the monster's perspective rather than the humans'. I don't want thought bubbles or third-person-omniscient yellow boxes or anything, but seeing the monsters in action on their own occasionally would be nice. One thing IDW has struggled with (except in some of the Legends issues) is giving the monsters any sense of character. It's something Dark Horse and even Marvel tried to do, with varying degrees of success.

And while it might be a bit of a challenge with Godzilla, I can see this happening with a "good" monster...maybe even some rudimentary (non-telepathic) communication with humanity? Sanda strikes me as a good candidate...humanity could sort of befriend/recruit a kaiju like Sanda in its war on the more destructive monsters.

I'm sure that won't be everyone's cup of tea, but what I'd really enjoy seeing is an expansion of the Toho "mythos" so to speak - some exploration of the monsters' origins, some growth of their character, a mystery to solve - anything other than focusing entirely on human military running around tracking and fighting the monsters, which has been the MO since the Marvel days with SHIELD.

I suppose Toho is keeping a tight leash on the kind of stories IDW can tell, though. Though some of the Legends issues would seem to dispute that (particularly the Titanosaurus one, with Miki and Mugal).

[GreenAiden555]

I think one thing that would be nice to see is a tad bit of experimentation with using the monster's perspective rather than the humans'. I don't want thought bubbles or third-person-omniscient yellow boxes or anything, but seeing the monsters in action on their own occasionally would be nice. One thing IDW has struggled with (except in some of the Legends issues) is giving the monsters any sense of character. It's something Dark Horse and even Marvel tried to do, with varying degrees of success.

And while it might be a bit of a challenge with Godzilla, I can see this happening with a "good" monster...maybe even some rudimentary (non-telepathic) communication with humanity? Sanda strikes me as a good candidate...humanity could sort of befriend/recruit a kaiju like Sanda in its war on the more destructive monsters.

I'm sure that won't be everyone's cup of tea, but what I'd really enjoy seeing is an expansion of the Toho "mythos" so to speak - some exploration of the monsters' origins, some growth of their character, a mystery to solve - anything other than focusing entirely on human military running around tracking and fighting the monsters, which has been the MO since the Marvel days with SHIELD.

I suppose Toho is keeping a tight leash on the kind of stories IDW can tell, though. Though some of the Legends issues would seem to dispute that (particularly the Titanosaurus one, with Miki and Mugal).

In regards to the communication, I remember reading on the IDW boards they tried to do something similar in Gangsters with Godzilla and the main bad guy (I haven't touched Gangsters since issue #5 came out), and Toho said nono.

Only two variants for this one, right? I hope so.

[Gorosaurus Rex]

Um...I actually do want a good human cast for this. Monsters need to be strong as well, but what Kingdom of Monsters really failed at was having a coherent human story to follow. Not saying we need to have all talking and no monsters, but I seriously have grown tired of monster books that focus only on monsters punching each other and little else. It could be fun for a bit, but seriously that's not something I would wanna tune in for every mont.

[kaiju115]

I'm really excited about this new ongoing series that will be out in May. So far I like the whole idea of having a monster bounty hunter as the main human character. For the art, Gane I think did a good job on Legends #2, I mean Rodan looked like Rodan, whereas in KOM he looked more like something from Pokemon. So hopefully in May this new series will be more like what KOM should have been.

[Megaton17]

Issue 2 cover by Matt Frank:

http://kaijusamurai.deviantart.com/art/ ... -290646902

[Poe Ghostal]

Um...I actually do want a good human cast for this. Monsters need to be strong as well, but what Kingdom of Monsters really failed at was having a coherent human story to follow. Not saying we need to have all talking and no monsters, but I seriously have grown tired of monster books that focus only on monsters punching each other and little else. It could be fun for a bit, but seriously that's not something I would wanna tune in for every mont.

I definitely wasn't suggesting all-monster, all-the-time. A human cast (a good one, rather) and story are essential. But what I would like is some monster-perspective scenes that are actually mildly compelling, not just smashing crap. I don't feel like I've seen that in any of the IDW issues, except perhaps in Legends.

That said, a miniseries featuring a silent story about Godzilla a la Robert Bakker's Raptor Red or Stephen R. Bissette's Tyrant would be, in my opinion, great (if well written, of course).

[Tyler]

I've been loving the monster covers Art Adams' been doing for IDW. I think he's a genius. Legendary should give him a call. His designs just have that "movie ready" look to me.

Matt Frank also does a good modern Godzilla. It's got a Heisei/Millennium look to it while maintaining features that go all the way back to the original (ears, eyebrows, etc).

[Rody]

Issue 2 cover by Matt Frank:

http://kaijusamurai.deviantart.com/art/ ... -290646902

Very nice. Simple, but impressive.

[ZillaMaster91]

I like the simplicity of the cover. It let's us know what we need to know without it spiraling chaotically all over the place like the Jeff Zornow covers for KOM - Boxer our main character against the mightiest of threats, Godzilla. Simple, sweet, and evokes Godzilla's power.

[Svitska Donkun]

Why are these Godzilla comic books never about Godzilla? He's the hero character whether he does some bad things or not. I don;t know how I feel about some lame bounty hunter getting thrashed by Godzilla issue after issue, because you would never want him to win. And if the bounty hunter did win, all Hell would break lose amongst the fans. The character is completely nonsensical. And how come Godzilla always has to be the "ultimate threat"? How about making Spacegodzilla, or Destoroyah, or Desighidorah the ultimate threat and have the comic focus on Godzilla trying to defeat it? You know, make Godzilla a character NOT an obstacle, like friggin' Bob Cornow said he wanted in the interview with TK. I'm getting sick of these books treating Godzilla like an obstacle. Legends did it RIGHT. Do that, but put it all in one continuity. G-Force and the Psychic Squad work best in these kinds of books because they work with Godzilla as often as they try to stop him from destroying cities. They never kill him, all they want to do is study him and make sure he doesn't stumble into cities. It's more regulation than out to destroy. That way, you can root for everyone equally. Now, when I buy these books, I have to sit through a main character I'm waiting for Godzilla to just skreeonk kill. God,these books are uncreative, narrow, and silly. I could write better books. I could write infinitely better books. I'd probably go with a world setting similar to what was seen in GL # 3 and mix in elements of G-force, such as GL#1 and GL#4. Then expand and create one long massive storyline, and try not to focus on Godzilla every issue. And when a famous enemy appears, like Gigan, or Hedorah, that should like, be a 3 issue mini-arch at least.

[Kaijusamurai]

Firstly, thanks guys for the kind words on my G #2 cover I'm actually working on fixing Boxer's pose right now so expect that later tonight!

Now, on to the other topic -

Why are these Godzilla comic books never about Godzilla? He's the hero character whether he does some bad things or not. I don;t know how I feel about some lame bounty hunter getting thrashed by Godzilla issue after issue, because you would never want him to win. And if the bounty hunter did win, all Hell would break lose amongst the fans. The character is completely nonsensical. And how come Godzilla always has to be the "ultimate threat"? How about making Spacegodzilla, or Destoroyah, or Desighidorah the ultimate threat and have the comic focus on Godzilla trying to defeat it? You know, make Godzilla a character NOT an obstacle, like friggin' Bob Cornow said he wanted in the interview with TK. I'm getting sick of these books treating Godzilla like an obstacle. Legends did it RIGHT. Do that, but put it all in one continuity. G-Force and the Psychic Squad work best in these kinds of books because they work with Godzilla as often as they try to stop him from destroying cities. They never kill him, all they want to do is study him and make sure he doesn't stumble into cities. It's more regulation than out to destroy. That way, you can root for everyone equally. Now, when I buy these books, I have to sit through a main character I'm waiting for Godzilla to just skreeonk kill. God,these books are uncreative, narrow, and silly. I could write better books. I could write infinitely better books. I'd probably go with a world setting similar to what was seen in GL # 3 and mix in elements of G-force, such as GL#1 and GL#4. Then expand and create one long massive storyline, and try not to focus on Godzilla every issue. And when a famous enemy appears, like Gigan, or Hedorah, that should like, be a 3 issue mini-arch at least.

Svitska -
You have to understand, Toho's current stance is that Godzilla isn't the "hero." At best he's the anti-hero - a large gun that, if your lucky, gets pointed in the direction of a (slightly) bigger threat.
You also seem to be passing judgement on a story that you haven't read yet or really even know what it's about. Based on the preliminary story elements that I've read, this will be the story that will unite more of the fandom than just about any of the Godzilla comics previously. It may even satisfy you

Oh yeah, and "friggin' Bob Curnow"? Bobby is absolutely dedicated to making these books as good as can be. All I can ask if for you to give this new book a chance, especially since you haven't even read it yet.

EDIT - A few hours later - I do appreciate that you liked Legends as much as you did. But these comics as a whole are an opportunity to tell a variety of stories. If we try to please everyone, with every story, we please no one.

[Captain Aktion]

^That, Mr. Frank, is one big smoking gun you just laid down on the table. Thanks for that.

P.S. The cover's looking good, dig the layout; it says more than it looks like at first.

[Blackout286]

Why are these Godzilla comic books never about Godzilla? He's the hero character whether he does some bad things or not. I don;t know how I feel about some lame bounty hunter getting thrashed by Godzilla issue after issue, because you would never want him to win. And if the bounty hunter did win, all Hell would break lose amongst the fans. The character is completely nonsensical. And how come Godzilla always has to be the "ultimate threat"? How about making Spacegodzilla, or Destoroyah, or Desighidorah the ultimate threat and have the comic focus on Godzilla trying to defeat it? You know, make Godzilla a character NOT an obstacle, like friggin' Bob Cornow said he wanted in the interview with TK. I'm getting sick of these books treating Godzilla like an obstacle. Legends did it RIGHT. Do that, but put it all in one continuity. G-Force and the Psychic Squad work best in these kinds of books because they work with Godzilla as often as they try to stop him from destroying cities. They never kill him, all they want to do is study him and make sure he doesn't stumble into cities. It's more regulation than out to destroy. That way, you can root for everyone equally. Now, when I buy these books, I have to sit through a main character I'm waiting for Godzilla to just skreeonk kill. God,these books are uncreative, narrow, and silly. I could write better books. I could write infinitely better books. I'd probably go with a world setting similar to what was seen in GL # 3 and mix in elements of G-force, such as GL#1 and GL#4. Then expand and create one long massive storyline, and try not to focus on Godzilla every issue. And when a famous enemy appears, like Gigan, or Hedorah, that should like, be a 3 issue mini-arch at least.

I don't think Hell would break loose, I think you might be over-exaggerating there. Besides that, if a human won against Godzilla (But Godzilla still lives in the end, I say this because I know Toho won't let Godzilla die within a U.S comic ) then fans aren't gonna rage everywhere since we've seen events like that happen before within the films. Only how some fans will become disappointed is if the whole thing is handled poorly.

Also, if Godzilla were to be the main character, there wouldn't be much to actually write about. Sure, there could be some narration here and there, and see how he views the world (As if that hasn't been touched down on before), and see him lock into different match-ups.
But that's about it. I can't really comment on the uncreative, narrow and silly part, I don't know what this arc will bring to the table yet. So my hands are tied on that one. Same with the comment about the main character being lame. But if you have the spare time, write an arc and let us read it.

As for Godzilla being an obstacle, I don't completely see the problem. Godzilla has been an obstacle before, and his characteristic of being a force of nature has always been established along with it just fine.

[GreenAiden555]

Bazinga.

Well put, well put.

I have both covers add to my pull list~~~~~! May should be good.

[Bentley]

Looking foward to this. I wish they published this comics on France just to buy them easily instead of sending them to the states and recovering at a friend's place. I just saw some Boom comics around my comicbook store, so I'm hoping some editor picks Godzilla's franchise.

Highly doubtful but really hoping

[Svitska Donkun]

Svitska -
You have to understand, Toho's current stance is that Godzilla isn't the "hero." At best he's the anti-hero - a large gun that, if your lucky, gets pointed in the direction of a (slightly) bigger threat.
You also seem to be passing judgement on a story that you haven't read yet or really even know what it's about. Based on the preliminary story elements that I've read, this will be the story that will unite more of the fandom than just about any of the Godzilla comics previously. It may even satisfy you

Oh yeah, and "friggin' Bob Curnow"? Bobby is absolutely dedicated to making these books as good as can be. All I can ask if for you to give this new book a chance, especially since you haven't even read it yet.

EDIT - A few hours later - I do appreciate that you liked Legends as much as you did. But these comics as a whole are an opportunity to tell a variety of stories. If we try to please everyone, with every story, we please no one.

A hero doesn't have to be benevolent. Sure you can use the term anti-hero, but he's still a hero. He's a hero in the same way Hulk is, at the very least. Yeah, he's destructive and chaotic, but he's also the planet's last line of defense. And even if you want him to be completely bat-shit evil, at least characterize him. GMK characterized him. These books have failed to do that, and characterizing your monster cast is important, and this is something Curnow explicitly said he would attempt, and has in so far failed completely. Given the complete disappointment and bizarre mis-mosh the KOM comics were, I have difficulty trusting anything anyone says from the development team of the comics. Its like if Roland Emmerich said he;d do anothe rGodzilla film, but do it right. How trusting would you be? As far as being satisfied, I already was with the spectacular Legends cycle, but it was bittersweet, given that its now over, and it offered up 3 really awesome plot lines I will never see a conclusion to. I want that as a continuing comic. Just bridge the gaps a bit, and make it one cohesive universe, and you still have that opportunity to tell many unique stories. KOM was devoted to telling one story that could be barely called one, that wasn't really planned ahead, or seemingly at all, and handled virtually all the characters and monsters, and world, wrong.

With all due respect, unifying the fanbase is an extreme claim to make, and unless the development team from KOM hasn't been removed, I don't see that happening.

[Kaijusamurai]

A hero doesn't have to be benevolent. Sure you can use the term anti-hero, but he's still a hero. He's a hero in the same way Hulk is, at the very least. Yeah, he's destructive and chaotic, but he's also the planet's last line of defense. And even if you want him to be completely bat-shit evil, at least characterize him. GMK characterized him. These books have failed to do that, and characterizing your monster cast is important, and this is something Curnow explicitly said he would attempt, and has in so far failed completely. Given the complete disappointment and bizarre mis-mosh the KOM comics were, I have difficulty trusting anything anyone says from the development team of the comics. Its like if Roland Emmerich said he;d do anothe rGodzilla film, but do it right. How trusting would you be? As far as being satisfied, I already was with the spectacular Legends cycle, but it was bittersweet, given that its now over, and it offered up 3 really awesome plot lines I will never see a conclusion to. I want that as a continuing comic. Just bridge the gaps a bit, and make it one cohesive universe, and you still have that opportunity to tell many unique stories. KOM was devoted to telling one story that could be barely called one, that wasn't really planned ahead, or seemingly at all, and handled virtually all the characters and monsters, and world, wrong.

With all due respect, unifying the fanbase is an extreme claim to make, and unless the development team from KOM hasn't been removed, I don't see that happening.

Firstly, I didn't say it was going to unify the entire fanbase in the history of forever with gumdrops and rainbows and crap, I said it would "unite more of the fandom" than the previous comics, meaning that, based on what I've read, it plays to what fans are hoping for/expecting. Based on everything you've been saying/talking about, it'll be right up your alley!

Again, I can only hope you'll give me the benefit of the doubt here, even though I'm "from the development team of the comics," so I guess I'm not all that trustworthy

Secondly, Bobby actually wasn't involved in the development of KOM. He was in charge of mini-series, namely GnG and Legends. So you have him to thank for Legends being as great as it was, since the whole thing was his idea in the first place.

Again, just give the first new issue a try. If you don't like it, whatev's.

[ebirahsmeg1]

From the CT board:

Matt Frank's cover for Issue 2 of the new series.

[tymon]

^Ah, there's my beloved G2K/Heisei hybrid (like my avatar) again! Epic cover.

[Gorosaurus Rex]

I agree. That's my personal favorite Godzilla design.

Again, I really don't see why people are crying foul about having a strong human cast in a Godzilla comic. Personally, I'd love it. The lack of this, plus the issues in pacing, were my major problems with the previous comic.