GODZILLA: Rulers of Earth #17 Review

Rulers of Earth returns with its 17th issue! After the grand battle with Mecha-King Ghidorah, how does this one stack up? Let’s find out.

Here’s the official description from IDW:

Government experiments with new forms of energy bring unintended consequences… in the form of SpaceGodzilla! Before he returns to Earth, he’ll have to do battle with an unexpected foe! Meanwhile, Godzilla has his hands full with a monster he’s never fought before!

This issue is definitely not filler, but at the same time it feels a little unimportant. The bulk of it focuses in space with the Cryog, who is now becoming a joke of an antagonist. The fight between Gigan and Spacegodzilla is definitely a unique concept, but the way it’s drawn makes it hard to tell what’s going on in some parts, sadly not making it one of the better battle scenes. Then we have Ebirah who literally appears out of nowhere with no relation to the story. (Kind of like the Hedorah scene in Final Wars.) The plot in general takes a bit of a backseat. Still, even though the tone of the review so far might sound negative, it’s still an enjoyable comic.

Chris Mowry continues the plot with a couple of developments. In space the Cryog leader retreats to his ship, but sadly for him SpaceGodzilla arrives. The G clone hasn’t been seen since the ending of the previous Ongoing, so it was an exciting part of the comic. Unfortunately the Cryog have overstayed their welcome at this point. The writing tries to make the leader threatening, but it ends up just being comical. Lucy has a vision of what’s to come, and judging by the image spread it should be very interesting. (Though it looks like the Cryog will continue to be around.) Godzilla has an okay role, but Ebirah fans will be disappointed by the latter’s sudden and underwhelming appearance. It’s disappointing also because this is the lobster’s first appearance in the ongoing continuity!

Jeff Zornow’s art is solid throughout. There are a couple of fantastic Godzilla shots. SpaceGodzilla and Gigan are drawn to perfection. Ebirah in his little page-time looks good too. The battle between Gigan and SpaceGodzilla, arguably the most hyped part of the comic, does have quite a couple of cool scenes. The rest however isn’t that well choreographed and makes it a bit of a disappointing fight. The main cover by Zornow is a fantastic piece depicting the galactic battle between the two space kaiju. It has some fantastic coloring. The RI by Matt Frank isn’t as visually striking but still a very appealing cover featuring Godzilla about to throw the Sea Monster.

Overall, this wasn’t one of the stronger issues of the series. The plot doesn’t really go anywhere and Ebirah has a very mediocre debut. One could replace him with Gezora or Manda and it wouldn’t have made a difference. The battle between SpaceGodzilla and Gigan does have some very cool (and brutal) scenes, but the rest of it isn’t one of the better drawn fights. Still, it’s a pretty enjoyable comic and gives is a glimpse of what’s to come.