Second issue of 2014, and one of the most kaiju filled yet. For better or worse, the issue is a much longer read than any of the Godzilla comics from IDW Publishing to date. This is on account of a lengthy back story given for the four groups of kaiju who reside on Earth. Its an okay read, but not as engaging as past issues while Jeff Zornow, who takes over from series regular Matt Frank, does an okay job with the art.

The plot starts off with the end of Godzilla Rulers of Earth #8 as Titanosaurus, Gezora and Manda are attacking the naval fleet that assembled for the battle with Biollante. The battle separates kaiju enthusiast Lucy Casprell from her group, as she is washed away in the surf. Godzilla arrives and defeats all three monsters, protecting the ships. Following the attack, a recovery operation is underway to save as many lives from the battle as possible. However, Lucy is not found... as she has washed up on Infant Island. Approached by the Shobijin, they explain to her the balance on Earth for the four groups of kaiju, which Lucy translates as elements: Land, Water, Sky and Fire. They also mention how the Earth is currently out of balance, which Lucy deduces to be because of the space monsters.

Story wise, this is one of the longest reads in the series so far. The Shobijin give a LOT of back story. Some of this is placed against the back drop of Gorosaurus and Megaguirus fighting, while most of it is explained while Megalon, on behalf of Earth, is battling King Caesar, on behalf of humanity. Seeing the ancient battle with the two monsters was great, but can't say I was a fan overall of the back story execution. It does give the comic a chance, though, to throw out an almost dizzying amount of kaiju. In all, 16 monsters appear while wall art hints at Zilla, Ganimes, Kamacuras and Kumonga as well.

In terms of the art, Jeff Zornow takes over and does a good to okay effort on this issue. On the plus side, he draws a great King Caesar and Megalon that helps sell their conflict which does take a majority of the issue. On the downside, the other kaiju are uneven in execution. Megaguirus, for example, looks like it has a beard although this is partially because of the coloring by Priscilla Tramontano. Kameobas also looks off in general, and overall experience is up and down. Still, as a whole, the art definitely does more right than wrong and is enjoyable.

As for the covers, the issue has two which are both stellar, although the main cover is the clear winner. Done by Jeff Zornow, the primary cover has King Caesar attacking Megalon on top of an ancient ship. Its a great action pose and a very eye catching cover. The alternate is done by Matt Frank and has a face-off approach with King Caesar and Megalon staring each other down while Baragon fights Kameobas and Gorosaurus fights Megaguirus. The detail on this cover isn't quite as tight, but is visually appealing.

Overall, this issue gets saddled down with a lot of back story which feels like it could have been condensed a little. The King Caesar and Megalon bout is great, but otherwise there isn't much to sell this issue on except it name drops the majority of the characters that IDW has licensed from Toho.