GODZILLA #7 Review


The GODZILLA Ongoing has passed the halfway point. It hasn’t been what I’d call ‘great.’ While it does feature a pretty impressive roster of monsters and an ‘incoming doom,’ it’s been pretty average with an alright main cast. In the last issue things started to look up with the arrival of Mothra and her Priestesses. They warned that the monsters weren’t the real threat. It’s the rise, not the fall. Mothra proved to be a very much needed character, cause she actually had personality, something lacking from the title monster. #6 was a step in the right direction, establishing a very cool plot, (SpaceGodzilla is bringing his pals) and the possibility of Mothra getting the monsters together. Unfortunately none of that good stuff is here, it’s almost as if #6 didn’t happen. While Godzilla is the focus finally, it ended being up mediocre and maybe the worst issue yet.

Here’s the official description from IDW:

It’s the day Boxer has been waiting for… the opportunity to avenge his daughter in a showdown with Godzilla. At the exact worst moment though, the government and their secret weapon step in to take matters into their own hands. You know what they say about “best laid plans…”

It starts out pretty cool, with Miss Asuka and the Dr. Pohl discussing their secret weapon. Then it cuts to Monster Island where we see that the monsters are getting riled up about something. The rest of the issue is Boxer’s attempt to destroy Godzilla. (They want to melt him in a volcano, I guess they never saw the 92 film.) I haven’t been too fond of Duane Swierczynski’s writing, by now it’s tiring to read about Boxer and his revenge mission. Claire seems un-phased, as if the vision Mothra gave her didn’t happen. A lot of the issue is spent on the Monster Kill crew as they wait and wait for Godzilla to appear. We see them play cards, we see Boxer ask Harrison if he has a girlfriend, we see Boxer and his ex talking about why they didn’t work, but do we care? I mean, it feels like the issue is just buying time. There were some parts I liked, such as when Ms. Asuka sees Godzilla and says “Wow, that’s really him” with the doctor replying “It. My dear. It.” It gives that guy character in that he seems to think of these beasts as just walking weapons. He doesn’t want to think of them as real beings.

Simon Gane really knows how to draw a kaiju. There’s a really impressive page with Godzilla emerging from the water. There’s also some nice up-and-close shots of G’s face, some really good detail. The humans look okay, albeit some rather off scenes. (Claire’s face looked really strange when Boxer was talking about why they didn’t work out.) The main cover is a pretty cool shot of Godzilla as Boxer is about to shoot him with a bazooka. Godzilla’s face may make him look more like a hero, but it’s still not a bad cover. The variant by Matt Frank is in his usual dynamic style, with Godzilla about to stomp on Boxer. There’s not much else to say, Rodan is nowhere to be seen, neither is Mothra or the Cosmos. In the end, only one thing was really accomplished, the use of the government’s ‘secret weapon.’ Oh and someone dies, but it’s hard to care considering the fact this character wasn’t really fleshed out at all in the previous six issues.

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Overall, I’m very sad to say instead of going forward in quality, it went backward. Issue #6 was a really good one, but #7 is like #5, it doesn’t feel like anything big happens. The stuff we want to see, (Mothra, the Cosmos, SpaceGodzilla) is not here, instead we have to watch a bunch of under-fleshed out characters try in vain to destroy Godzilla. I sincerely hope the next one will bring this series into what looks to be an exciting final act.

3/5

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