GODZILLA: RULERS OF EARTH #24 - REACTION THREAD

[Greyshot151]

....I said a page back to drop this incessant back and forth. To Mr. X and Antovald, ENOUGH! You both have differing opinions, this I think everyone gets, but when it comes to backing up their points LSD and Mr. X you two have at least done this. Antolvald, I can't say the same for your comments. To some notes I do agree with you, but the way you present the information is just sparking pain. So I'm giving you a warning, again.

[Mr. X]

You both have differing opinions, this I think everyone gets, but when it comes to backing up their points LSD and Mr. X you two have at least done this. Antolvald, I can't say the same for your comments. To some notes I do agree with you, but the way you present the information is just sparking pain. So I'm giving you a warning, again.

This is all I've been trying to say this entire time. He's not wrong, but, since he can't provide any backup to his claims and has yet to come up with a compelling argument in his favor (and flat-out ignoring facts, like how sales are on our side here)...

Hopefully this will either drop now, or we could get some legitimate evidence from the opposing side...

EDIT: Oh.

[LSD Jellyfish]

@Titanogoji:
Here's why I think they can pull off the giant monster fights in I believe around 48 pages and still have an epilogue.
Throughout the series a lot of the fights have been around 6-8 pages. There's been a lot of smaller fights (like Gorosaurus vs the Trilopods, and Baragon vs Kiryu) that have been 4 pages. You can easily devote anywhere from 6-10 pages of Godzilla vs the hybrids. Because it is solely Godzilla fighting them for now and we are aware there's many hybrids none of the hybrids need any special introduction. Let's say the ending result is Godzilla overwhelmed, okay.

After that there can be like four or so pages to some exposition. There can be some panels of Gigan fighting the fleet, Woods and Chavez blasting away trilopods, Jet Jaguar fighting the Goji pod, and let's say Mougera and Kiryu landing. The next two pages can be devoted to Lucy and gang releasing the monsters.

Okay so now maybe we are up to 18 pages. We still have 30 to go and already a lot has been covered.

So once the monsters have been released we can have a huge brawl between the monsters and their hybrids. Since there's so many panels obviously I don't expect an entire fight between each monster and hybrid to be six pages but I can expect a lot of panels to be devoted to many different monsters. All of the monsters at this point have gotten some sort of introduction so it's easy to just through them in and give them little moments to shine. Let's say all of that takes six pages and I'll explain a little later how you can condense a lot of action into that.

Now we are up to the big turning point, 24 pages, the ending of a normal comic. The emperor is about to kill Rhizon because Gigan destroyed a lot of shit in space. Lucy and gang walk in and there's a possibility Rhizon helps Lucy defeat the emperor. A possibility, I don't know. Emperor laughs and the big mother trilopod is released.
Obviously it's huge and important so it probably deserves a two page spread.
Our page counter is 30 now, 18 to go.
Godzilla and maybe some other monsters rush the Motherpod and are wiped out, let's say that takes 3 pages. The monsters all work together and regroup and fight the mother pod. While that goes on Woods and Lucy do something to aid Godzilla. Let's say that's two pages. 13 to go.

10 pages can be devoted to the big final battle! That's actually a lot space wise and already we've had tons of monster action.

3 pages left for exposition between Woods, Shoujibin Lucy(1 page for that). Next page is Rhizon returning to space, the monsters crawling back to monster island. Final page: Godzilla underwater and a shot of monster island with tons of monsters.

You may be saying that it's hard to condense so much action into so many pages like that. You're right but MF and JZ are completely capable. In issue 5, issue 9, issue 17, Zornow showed he could jam a lot of action into smaller panels and scenes. Matt Frank has done the same with the fight with MKG, and Destroyah.
Monsters like Kiryu, King Caeser and Gaira and Sanda and Jet Jaguar will be given more of a focus during the fights while other monsters, like let's say Zilla or Manda will probably only have a panel or two.

TLDR: So long as Matt Frank and Zornow make a lot of smaller panels on certain pages and don't waste space like they did in issue 22 it's easily possible for them to fit everything in and have a big climactic battle that's very satisfying.

[mikenes]

This series is supposed to finish with the next issue and that issue being lengthier, right? I don't know about you guys, but it feels like the ending might be rushed. Think about it, the last page of the comic showed a whole bunch of new enemies come forth. Ok, I know that somehow we're gonna get a Destroy All Monsters scene having all the real ones fighting it out with all the Triolpods, but I think that in order to give everyone a fair amount of "screen time" there needs to be plenty of room for it. I just hope that it does it justice. I would love it if they were to continue with a follow-up series for it.

[Mr. X]

This series is supposed to finish with the next issue and that issue being lengthier, right?

Correct. Next issue's 40 pages instead of 20.

There are bound to be some monsters, if not most of them, that will end up with little screen/panel time. I just hope they're freed fairly early on - maybe have Godzilla and the mechs battle the hybrids for a bit before the monsters are freed and the Queen is revealed.

[GodzillavsGamera]

I will honestly be really disappointed if Zilla doesn't appear in the last issue.

[GigaBowserG]

I will honestly be really disappointed if Zilla doesn't appear in the last issue.

Almost positive he will. He was meant to get in on some earlier action, but it didn't make the cut. They've been meaning to bring him back, though. At the very least, he's on both final issue covers

[mikenes]

This series is supposed to finish with the next issue and that issue being lengthier, right?

Correct. Next issue's 40 pages instead of 20.

There are bound to be some monsters, if not most of them, that will end up with little screen/panel time. I just hope they're freed fairly early on - maybe have Godzilla and the mechs battle the hybrids for a bit before the monsters are freed and the Queen is revealed.

Oh, cool, double the length. It sounds promising. I sure hope that they have some new series planned. I think that they made money with this one, right?

I figure that some monsters will get minimal exposure, but considering how many evil copies are fighting, It's gonna be a treat to see all of them fighting. The Space Godzilla copy is formidable.

[LSD Jellyfish]

IDW's site lists it as 48 pages, not 40!

[mikenes]

Hey, that's even better. But wouldn't that extra 8 pages be advertisements?

[LSD Jellyfish]

Hey, that's even better. But wouldn't that extra 8 pages be advertisements?

Hmmm, I'm actually not sure if the pages counted are advertisements. If so my explanation before is horribly off

[Mr. X]

I will honestly be really disappointed if Zilla doesn't appear in the last issue.

I'm certain that he will. The covers would suggest it.

The covers are always done in advance, and changes are made to the story in the meantime, hence why covers for this story arc have been off (ex: Zilla on the cover to #21). However, these wraparounds were only recently finished (well, the backsides) alongside the interiors of the issue. I doubt they'd throw in all those kaiju if they knew they weren't going to make an appearance, even if ends up being nothing more than a small cameo. I'm sure that they'll all be there

Oh, cool, double the length. It sounds promising. I sure hope that they have some new series planned. I think that they made money with this one, right?

Sales weren't high but they were consistent, that's why we got all the way up to 25 issues.

However, right now they aren't too comfortable starting another main series. They're sticking to minis for the time being. I'd like to see them start a brand new maxiseries that isn't connected to any previous story.

Hey, that's even better. But wouldn't that extra 8 pages be advertisements?

Hmmm, I'm actually not sure if the pages counted are advertisements. If so my explanation before is horribly off

Unfortunately it does, there are only 20 pages of the actual comic in these books. I really wish they wouldn't count ads.

[mikenes]

Ok, that's what I figured. I'm happy with what we've gotten and I am hoping that we get a continuation story to this. It would be cool if they were to create new monsters for Godzilla to fight like they Trilopods. Maybe as the buildup for the new movies continues we'll see something cool?

[LSD Jellyfish]

I could easily see them doing a miniseries with Godzilla and a classic monster like Rodan to fight some new monster. That'd be cool. I kind of still wish that we could see some more action for some of the older monsters though. Who knows Godzilla in Hell could easily have a new monster.

But now at the end I can see why a lot of stuff had to be cut (Kumonga vs Battra, more backstory on Space G, and Zilla on monster island). Matt, Zornow and Mowry must have a stressful time fitting everything together and it must be really depressing when something they look forward to has to get cut for time.

[daveblackeye15]

So wait is #24 actually out or not? I went to two comic book stores in town and neither seem to have it. Okay I admit I should have asked the folks working there if they knew anything or not.

[B34sT]

It is definitely out. I download it digitally so I can't confirm it is out in stores but I believe I have seen others get floppies.

[daveblackeye15]

Oh well I'll try again next week. On the bright side it seems Amazon is taking order for that larger Half Century War trade.

[darthzilla99]

Yeah, because none Godzilla fans can enjoy a story thats been going all over the place. Monsters reduced to just monsters that don't have any character. No real human development, or even good villains. Just a quick read, and not much else. Yeah that's why this series is dropping sells more, and more. Nobody is supporting this comic anymore.

I know I should let this go but I feel like addressing it because it actually supports the series and is one of the better parts of the series. Many monsters in the series were given tons of personality. In fact the statement in bold couldn't be further from the truth. Id say some of the monsters were even given way more personality than most of the humans. Off the top of my head I remember lots of moments where Godzilla and other monsters were given personality and characters.
Here we go:
-Issue 4: After the fight with Destroyah one of Mothra's babies is about to chomp on Godzilla's tail. Godzilla gives that larva a glare like,"Don't you dare" and Mothra gets a really shocked look on it's face. It was really funny.
-Issue 5: Sanda looking at Lucy in wonder as she looks back at him in wonder.
-Issue 6+7: Jet Jaguar triumphantly returning! He gives thumbs up and even helps Godzilla to his feet! What a great guy!
-Issue 9: The entirety of King Ceaser fighting megalon. He's motivated by protecting people but winds up doing a lot of harm.
-Issue 10: The best part is that you hate two of the monsters that are given a lot of characterization. Both Gaira and Sand are given great moments fighting each other and working together. For instance Sanda doesn't want Gaira to hurt humans but helps him fight Godzilla. Gaira, a badass takes on Godzilla but is obviously overwhelmed. He's saved by his brother and clearly has a look of resentment on his face.
-Issue 16: Angruius leaps in and tears up a MG. He gets his revenge and looks oh so satisfied. After the fight both he and Godzilla let out a triumphant roar. In the very next issue both Angruius and Godzilla share a nice moment where they look at each other before going back into the ocean.

-Issue 20: there's a great moment where Godzillas eye opens when the first trilopod transforms. He's clearly scared and it's a great detail.

-Issue 22: Spacegodzilla has a clear chance to kill Godzilla but doesn't because its too underhanded for even him, he appreciates Godzillas help and knows the trilopods are the bigger threat.

And as far as Godzilla goes I'll say he's possibly given more character than most of the Godzilla movies save for maybe GTTHM, SOG, and a few others.
He's clearly prideful and proud of his power and always looking for a fight against strong opponents. He won't back down. He doesn't mind monsters helping him out so long as the monsters helping him aren't a challenge to his pride because they're obvious weaker (Angurius and Mothra). However, if a monster helps him, like Jet Jaguar (who actually may be one of the few things in the series capable of kicking Godzilla's ass) then he can't just let them walk away which is why he instigates a fight with JJ after they defeat Gigan together. He's shown to have fear multiple times in the series based on facial expressions. He has a clear disdain for humans and doesn't care if he destroys shit but at the same time he recognizes that they don't really lose a threat to him and is more concerned about beating other monsters and aliens to prove his strength.

I could go on and on but so many of the monsters are given so much character without ANY dialogue. Just another example of you pulling things out of your ass. Keep in mind I wrote all of those out without looking at the issues so it's clear the comics have been memorable.

Oh, and i understand that everyone makes mistakes, and everything doesn't need a explanation. Still doesn't help with this case. There's, so many things that just happene with no explanation, and it happens frequently. No real continuity that could have been easy to connect if they paid attention to the universe that IDW has created. If you can even call it that. This series isn't good for new readers wanting to know the Godzilla series, or even read for a good story.

You're butthurt that a third series connected to a legitimately horrible comic and an okay comic both by different writers and artists have some continuity errors? Jesus I don't know how to reply to that gold. The second statement is ridiculous because it can be applied to all comics. It's difficult for new readers to randomly go out and pick up the latest issue of Batman because obviously they're jumping in in the middle of the story. It's a common problem of comics in general and nothing specific about GROE.

And actually even that's wrong. You can read a few of the issues like issue 5 and get a complete story that wraps itself up. Issue 5 has characters, great monster action and a self contained story. Later issues are similar with a self contained story about the past where King Caeser fought Megalon and the age of monsters.

Sorry I am late, but I really love this post you made and wanted to comment. I disagree with your thoughts on Spacegodzilla. I took him more as he hates help and only accepts when he has no other choice. When they get freed, he wanted to kill his trilopod clone and not want Godzilla to take the kill. I also took it as when he sees that he wants to kill Godzilla but has no time before the other trilopods come (and seeing first hand how powerful the trilopods are), he leaves Godzilla to die. I saw his roar before he leaves as him saying to Godzilla 'See you in hell!'

Also to add to Godzilla's personality, I love when he meets Jet Jaguar. Godzilla has never met anyone who tried to use pacifistic methods first and did not want to fight. You could see JJ was trying to tell Godzilla 'I am not your enemy' and refused to strike Godzilla at first until you saw JJ was like 'Okay, you give me no choice.' It's obvious Godzilla does not know how to handle peaceful gestures, it's a foreign concept and he does what he only knows. Also, he has shown gratitude (he showed to mothra) and even small traces of deductive work (when he saw the battleship wreckage before being ambushed by Destroyah).

And I have enjoyed Rulers of Earth immensely. I was wondering though for the stuff that was cut, on Spacegodzilla's backstory, was it cut because of Toho or time? If the later, could the writers tell us what the story was going to be? Thanks.

Also, with JJ having that anchor as a weapon, was that an added attack or did he get it from a random boat to use like Gybse Danger using the tanker as a weapon? Thanks.

[LSD Jellyfish]

^Thank you, and no it's fine to disagree with me. I actually hadn't thought of the dynamic where SG is upset because he didn't get to finish his clone.

I think that shows the series is doing well. When you can debate on a characters actions and reasons for doing things it shows that there is characterization that can be interpretted.

As far as SpaceGodzillas backstory well originally in KOM/HGM he never got one to begin with. I heard that TOHO wouldn't allow back stories that took ideas from the original movies (like they can't say Spacegodzilla was created from Godzilla cells floating in space). However, thanks to promotional solicitations with plot summaries it seems Space Godzillas ROE comeback originally involved the Government (forget which one if specified) had some expirements with energy that brought SpaceGodzilla back. Not sure if it was a resurection of sorts or simply drawing Spacegodzilla back in for energy.

[antovald20]

^ Space Godzilla has absolutely no back story whatsoever. He appeared one day, and that's it. Toho doesn't allow any origin stories for any of there monsters. Except for

Created by aliens
Machines created by humans
and my favorite. ... giant monsters always existed.

That's it.