Readers get their first trip into the inter-dimensional mini-series Godzilla Oblivion this month. Joshua Hale Fialkov, best known for his work on I, Vampire and The Bunker, sends the story's main characters through a portal where they find a world ruled by Godzilla. In terms of execution, the first issue is okay with a story that's a decent introduction piece; however, the art by Brian Churilla, who has done work on titles like the comic run for Big Trouble In Little China, feels like an odd fit for the title.

In terms of plot, the comic opens on a group of scientists led by doctor Eli Talbert who have just finished work on a machine able to open a dimensional portal. No sooner is their work complete that the project's backer, Ms. Yamada , arrives demanding it be activated, not wanting to wait for testing. Despite reservations from the scientists, the machine is turned on and a portal generated. Eli Talbert, Ms. Yamada and three of her armed guards walk through the portal to the other side. Once in the other dimension, the group encounters a post apocalyptic world ruled by kaiju and that various resistance teams are struggling to survive in.

The issue's story is somewhat self aware. Doctor Talbert even pokes fun at having seen this "movie before" where scientists have to activate a device without proper testing and horrible things happen. Despite this tongue and cheek introduction, the rest of the comic is more serious in tone. It presents the events with a straight face, especially after one of Yamada's men meet a horrible fate. It's too soon to make a judgement on how the mini-series might fare. This issue does spend a good deal of its time setting up what the rest of the series will likely encompass, and ends on a cliffhanger.

Despite the straight faced nature of the story, the art is anything but. For this comic Brian Churilla gives a very comedic take to the proceedings which doesn't really gel with the story. More often than not I wasn't impressed by the artwork, although there are some panels that are very well done. The first page, other than Ridley who looks too cartoony, is good and well structured. The intro to Rodan, who looks incredible under Churilla's hand, is also a great moment in the comic thanks to the artwork. Unfortunately these tend to be exceptions. Kiryu, for example, looks downright goofy in this issue. A lot of the human characters, especially in shots with multiple characters, look silly as well... and inconsistent too. Their appearances change pretty heavily depending on how much detail Churilla placed into that particular drawing. Sometimes they look great while other times they look totally different, like a comedic drawing found in a Mad magazine.

As for the covers for this issue, there are a lot to choose from with four in total. The main one is done by interior artist Churilla. It's a solid cover, using three color tones to represent Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan and offers a striking piece that is simple yet very visually appealing. The subscription bonus cover is done by James Stokoe, artist and writer on the amazing Godzilla: The Half-Century War series, which showcases a Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002) era Godzilla fighting off four Mothra larvae. Like all of Stokoe's work, the cover is very rich in detail and it's easy to get lost in. The only downside is that Godzilla looks to be holding one of the larva in a slightly awkward manner where it seems like his hands wouldn't be big enough to do that. Next up is a retailer incentive cover by Agustín Graham Nakamura that shows Godzilla, powering his atomic ray, marching at head level through a city. It's a flawless cover that really draws your attention thanks to the nice range of colors due to the red smoke below Godzilla and the detail placed in Godzilla's face. The final cover is another one by Churilla and features a Godzilla 2000: Millennium (1999) era Godzilla against a purple city background. It's appealing, although feels a bit too simple and a step down from the others available. Of the four covers, the first three are all solid but I would have to tip my hat to the Nakamura as the one to seek.

Overall, this issue is an okay start to this new series. It does a pretty good job setting the scene for the rest of the series, and now the later issues just have to hit it home. Hopefully, though, the art improves on those later issues, as it was a bit distracting at times in this first issue.