GODZILLA: Rulers of Earth #9 Review


King Caesar takes on Megalon in this blast from the past story! Does it live up to its interesting premise? Well, it might not exactly be what you’re expecting. It’s a good comic, but if you’re expecting all those never-before-appeared-monsters to do things, you will be disappointed.

Here’s the official description from IDW:

Before Godzilla was king, there was another! King Caesar makes his comic book debut in a tale set thousands of years in Earth’s past, in a battle that sets the stage for today’s world of monsters.

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This is one of those cases where it feels like the story was changed to fit what’s happening currently. Since this book was pushed only to 12 issues, it seems the content of this story was re-worked to fit with what was happening currently. A story taking place in the past seemed like a really cool idea. Plus, the match of King Caesar against Megalon was a great concept, because when you really think about it, it’s a little hard deciding who would actually win! Not only that, but Gorosaurus, Megaguirus, Kamoeba and finally Baragon would be making their comic debuts. Sadly, that area disappoints greatly. And the fight between King Ceaser and Megalon, while solid, wasn’t as much as a focal point as it should have been.

Chris Mowry nicely crafts a narrated issue. The Shobijin after an absence from the comics make their return. Like the movies, they have a very poetic way of speaking, Mowry does a nice job with that. The opening actually picks off where the previous issue left off. Titanosaurus, Gezora, and Manda are about to demolish the ship when Godzilla arrives.The fight was fun, though admittedly disappointing that Gezora didn’t really do much. Even more disappointing is that Titanosaurus is sent in retreat after one atomic blast. Lucy is back in the spotlight. She doesn’t do much besides listening to the tale. Though I do have to question how she didn’t seem to know who the Shobijin were after they were on TV all over the world in the previous Ongoing.

The tale the Shobijin tell is the most interesting part of the comic. Both King Caesar and Megalon get a nice amount of hype. These two in their film appearances weren’t very impressive, so it’s nice to see them with props. Sadly, if you’re expecting anything from Baragon, Gorosaurus, or Megaguirus, you will be disappointed. Sure, Gorosaurus gets a nice kangaroo kick, but beyond that nothing much else. Baragon is the biggest culprit. After his ‘appearance’ in the final issue of the last Ongoing, fans wondered when we’d actually see him in action. Sadly, he does nothing. Hopefully he’ll get to appear in the present day, along with the others.

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Jeff Zornow takes over art duties from Matt Frank on this one. It’s definitely good, there are some great pieces with the King Caesar/Megalon fight. The thing however is that Zornow’s art is much like Matt Frank’s, only with less dynamics and monster expressions. I love his covers, but his interiors don’t quite match up. He can draw a really a cool GMK Baragon though. The main cover by Zornow features Megalon and King Caesar going at it, a very impressive piece. (It’s very similar to his Rodan vs. Varan cover.) The RI variant by Frank is a pretty cool piece. Lucy however doesn’t look quite as good as the dynamic monsters. But nonetheless it’s a nice cover to have.

Overall, Rulers of Earth #9 is a solid issue. It sadly isn’t the standout story from the past you’re probably expecting. The ‘new’ monsters don’t really do anything, but the King Caesar/Megalon fight was handled pretty well. While not the best issue, it’s another solid one furthering the story. And it was nice to finally see Infant Island in its entirety in comic format.

3.5/5

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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 

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