| Written by Mike Ford, this comic covers the IDW Godzilla issues from Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #1 through Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #12. The comic is like a trip down memory lane for the past few years and has interesting reprinted art inside... but just can't shake off the shackles of feeling like a cash grab.
The publication opens with a one page forward by writer Chris Mowry. Chris did the story for Godzilla Legends #4 and the current Rulers of Earth run. This is the highlight of the comic, as it's a joy to read Chris' reaction and efforts to have IDW get the license. Kind of a shame they didn't try to do that for the other writers involved. It would have been nice to hear reflections from Eric Powell and Duane Swierczynski as well to give the issue a bit more meat.
What follows are small, broadly informative pieces written on each series by Mike Ford. I say broadly informative as most of the detail included could have been written by anyone who has read the comics themselves. Very little behind the scenes info is given, despite the cover's claim. While I do appreciate Mike's enthusiasm for Godzilla: The Half-Century War, because one has to admit its an amazing body of work, the contents in general for all the comic runs read like solicits. In fact, this feels like a small chapter on IDW from a larger Godzilla book, rather than a stand alone piece.
In terms of the cover, it features great artwork by Matt Frank. It features Godzilla firing his atomic ray as he destroys Wondercon below... or at least that's what the original cover was depicting when it was used as an alternate for Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #1. Sadly this comic doesn't even feature an original cover, as that seems like bare minimum effort that would have been expected. What is used looks great though, and one of the more dynamic solo-monster covers by artist Matt Frank.
Overall, I can't think of a reason to purchase this. The forward by Chris Mowry is a solid read, but that's one page of 29. It doesn't really provide enough details to fill in gaps, for fans looking to use this to jump into IDW's run currently by getting backstory. It also doesn't offer behind the scenes info to make it worthwhile to people who have kept up with all the comics and no original art. Bottom line is that it's a jack of all trades, master of none, and better left skipped since it retails for $3.99 and isn't anywhere near the value of a normal comic from the publisher. |
