After what has seemed like forever, Rulers of Earth returns with its eighth installment. The description promises big things, does it deliver? Somewhat, but I can’t help but feel just a bit disappointed.

Here’s the official description from IDW:

The biggest monster fight to grace the comic book page hits in this climactic issue!

Lucy and Woods converge on the site of an epic monster brawl as the aliens launch a last ditch effort to rule the Earth!

Let me say this first: this is a good comic. There was nothing inherently bad about it. But, sadly some aspects are disappointing. For one thing, it doesn’t really deliver the “biggest monster fight to grace the comic book page.” The fight between Godzilla and Biollante is very good, but far from the ‘biggest.’ This issue seems to be made out to be a big climatic showdown. The RI variant exemplifies that by having all the monsters around Biollante. Sadly, six of those characters don’t appear. It’s a comic furthering the story and with a solid fight. Again, nothing wrong with that, but it is a bit disappointing when looking at the RI and description.

Chris Mowry furthers the story nicely enough. For awhile the ‘Cryog’ seemed to be the antagonists while the underwater Devonians played second fiddle, so it’s good to see the latter taking some control. I really like the dialogue between the Devonian and Cryog leaders. I still can’t get into Steven Woods’ sarcastic personality. His jokes, (“Guess that’s one way to break the ice!breaks the ice!”) while not terrible just don’t fit him. Lucy appears, but sadly doesn’t get to do much. But obviously the biggest thing is the comic debut of the Godzilla clone plant monster, Biollante. Her fight with G is definitely solid and actually one of the most brutal the comics has seen, I don’t think we’ve ever seen G cry out in agony like that. Sadly, instead of being a big boss, she ends being like a one-shot tough obstacle to get through.

Matt Frank’s art like always is a lot of fun to see. There’s an utterly fantastic panel spread of Biollante towering over Godzilla, one of the best scenes from any G comic. Beyond that, you know what to expect. The final page had some very nice detail. The main cover is pretty darn awesome. If it looks familar, then good. It’s a homage to this famous Justice League International comic. It’s extremely clever and plain cool to look at, a must-have in any collection. The RI by Jeff Zornow is great in its own right too. The detail is incredible and Biollante looks fantastic. It’s a really cool ‘Destroy All Monsters‘ like piece. It’s a shame we didn’t get that within the story.

Overall, Issue #8 is solid. The fight between Godzilla and Biollante is really fun despite the rather anti-climatic ending to it. The Devonians have become petty good antagonists for the book. Sadly it isn’t the ‘big’ issue the description would have you believe. Jet Jaguar at least has some fun scenes, despite what people might say I think he’s a great addition to the story. So while not the best issue, it’s still a good read.

3.5/5

Daniel is the guy for everything Godzilla related at Unleash the Fanboy. Besides the Big G himself, his favorite monster is Rodan and you can follow him on Twitter:@Destroyer_199