 |
Title |
| Godzilla Kingdom
of Monsters #4 |
| Author(s) |
| Eric Powell
and Tracy Marsh |
| Pencils:
Phil Hester |
Inks:
Bruce McCorkindale |
| Language:
English |
Release:
2011 |
| Publisher:
IDW Publishing |
Pages:
32 |
| Colors:
Ronda Pattison |
Cover:
Eric Powell |
| |
|
| Monster
Appearances: |
Aliens,
SDF, & Misc Appearances: |
| Godzilla,
Anguirus, Battra |
- |
|
| Comments |
 |
Anthony
Romero |
 |
|
|
After
two solid issues, the Kingdom of Monsters series slips,
if ever so slightly. The fourth issue is still better
than its meager start, but feels like its missing
something compared with the last two publications.
The odd part is that this is actually the first issue
containing a monster battle too. Rather than making
the kaiju battle the focus, though, the human characterization
kicks into high gear, producing mixed results of its
own.
In terms of story, the book follows recently returned
solider Steven Woods, who is coping with life back
as a civilian. His return to society is short lived
as Godzilla and Anguirus both begin to head to Los
Angeles, set to converge and meet. Called back into
duty, Steven tries to evacuate as the two monsters
fight each other. Meanwhile, the twin girls Minette
and Mallorie enjoy free reign over Paris thanks to
Battra.
Four issues in, this comic, oddly enough, has the
most character development of the entire series so
far in the form of Steven Woods. The problem is that
the character isn't executed very well, though. His
overall view point is that society is complacent,
quick to take interest in celebrity gossip to drown
out the horrors happening. Its a powerful, and frankly
true view point in society today. The problem is that
authors have no subtlety in addressing it. Not only
does Steven monologue and spell it out, but there
is one over the top example after the next to try
and drive the point home. It makes the reader feel
like they are being talked down to, and frankly removes
any punch or meaning to what might have been a more
compelling angle. As for the girls Minette and Mallorie,
who return from the last issue, they trade in their
spooky, horror-like quietness for being more talkative
while they enjoy stealing stuff from a mostly vacant
Paris. Overall, it makes the two easier to read story
segments about them, but at the same time feels like
the wind was taken out of the sails as they were far
more interesting and memorable before.
For the monsters of this issue, Godzilla returns to
the focus point after being downplayed in the past
few issues. It builds up nicely to the conflict between
him and Anguirus, which deserves a tip of the hat
for producing three issues before jumping into doing
a "payout" monster fight. The bout starts
off nice with some double page folds, although the
issue abruptly ends while the monsters are still fighting.
In terms of Battra, she blasts a tank toward the start
of the issue and... doesn't do much else. Despite
getting a fair bit of page time, her appearance here
feels more like an effort to make sure we don't forget
about her for later on. Sadly, the cliffhanger from
the last issue, which showed the Shobijin, isn't even
touched on at all.
As for the art, Phil Hester gives an uneven performance,
although generally a more positive than negative one.
The book has a couple of really nice shots, such as
the first two page spread of Godzilla and Anguirus
squaring off, but tends to feel rushed in parts. The
human sequences are generally pretty solid; however,
Godzilla, especially towards the end, is given less
and less detail which makes the battle scene far less
impressive than it could have been.
The covers are good this time again. Eric Powell gives
a nice cover of Godzilla with the Hollywood sign burning
in the background, which is the only true to source
cover. Matt Frank gives a great one of Mothra, although
feels premature given that Mothra hasn't appeared
yet or is even mentioned in this issue. The Jeff Zornow
is probably the greatest of the lot this go around,
as his Mothra contains an amazing amount of detail
and he also crafts an interesting situation. However,
Godzilla's head is once again looking a little off.
Overall, its better than the first issue, but a notable
step behind the last two. Unlike Godzilla
Kingdom of Monsters #3, where I couldn't wait
to follow up on the cliffhanger, this issue has me
apathetic for the next, even with the promise of more
of the Godzilla and Anguirus fight. Hopefully the
Battra storyline picks up a bit in the next issue,
on top of showing more Los Angeles, to give a more
complete feeling experience. |
| Variant Covers |
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