GODZILLA: Cataclysm #3 Review

Cataclysm enters its third issue. How well does this atmospheric story continue? Let’s take a look.

Here’s the official description from IDW:

Hiroshi’s tribe debates how to best avert the wraith of the rising monster, unaware that they may have already brought doom upon themselves! As monsters battle in the skies above, the choice Hiroshi makes will have profound affects on the future of humanity!

This issue is very unique and an example of a story using Godzilla characters in a different setting. It’s turned into something more than just a post-kaiju Armageddon. With that said, the comic suffers from being a bit on the dull side. The characters aren’t bad but they aren’t quite that engaging either. Godzilla’s antagonistic role is thankfully defined, which begs a question: is Mothra the only “heroic” creature in this continuity? There’s some intense scenes with the debut of Megaguirus and the Meganulon, but not much in the way of monster action, which for some reason greatly shows in this comic.

Cullen Bunn nicely adds some much-needed backstory. In present day, we have a leader attempting to bring back the “sacrifice ritual” (how this would even be a concept after a monster attack is beyond me) and the main characters trying to stop that. Hiroshi seems passive about it though, and by the end the exposition with him starts to get a bit jarring. Arata and Shiori don’t really contribute much here. Megaguirus is the new monster established, and she and her Meganulon have a very cool debut, which sadly turns into a bit of a throwaway. Godzilla’s role being an antagonist in comics is definitely overplayed, but I can forgive it here since the writing gives him more of a purpose than simply destroying just to destroy.

Dave Wachter’s art is solid throughout. Once again a fantastic atmosphere is created, and even the coloring appears less dull. Megaguirus is drawn beautifully, and Godzilla has one standout splash panel where he looks like a nightmarish creature. The main cover by Wachter features a nicely-drawn Godzilla with charged atomic breath from tip of the scales all the way down to the tip of the tail. It’s a nice piece that fits the overall atmosphere of the story. However, the subscription by Bob Eggleton is the clear winner. It features an absolute stunning rendition of the Millennium Godzilla and Megaguirus, easily one of his best works yet.

Overall, an interesting but kind of uneventful issue. Things do happen, such as the Meganulon swarm, but it just feels dull. The characters aren’t that engaging, and the other humans are pretty jarring. The lack of monster action greatly shows. Still, it deepens the backlstory and I’ll be looking forward to reading the next installment.