GODZILLA: Rulers of Earth #24 Review

The penultimate chapter to the will-be longest running Godzilla comic series has arrived! How does it fare? Let’s take a look.

Here’s the official description from IDW:

Earth is on the verge of destruction! Will Godzilla be able to escape his imprisonment in time to help save the planet? And which kaiju will help or hinder him?

It’s something to think that Rulers of Earth will be no more next month. It had a fantastic run, for it kept prevailing over almost being canceled. That’s the power of Godzilla fans, and of course the quality storytelling and art. This final arc has been pretty grand, showcasing the classic alien invasion with a twist. The Trilobites are awesome creatures, and continue to be so here as they copy Godzilla’s abilities. What we have is fantastic action-packed lead-in to the final double-sized issue next month.

Chris Mowry nicely delivers a grand pre-climax. Steven Woods and his soldier buddies add to the intense dread of the Trilobite attack. It’s reminiscent of the climax to Legendary’s GODZILLA, where we watched from the military’s point of view. The reader can really feel the doom of the situation with the Trilobites mimicking Godzilla. There’s also nice backstory regarding the Cryog, which will definitely be sure to make longtime fans happy since it’s something many have been wanting to see since the G comics began. There’s quite a few “oh yeah!” moments, such as Jet Jaguar emerging to help and Gigan being released. I don’t know how the creative team is going to utilize all this in the next issue, but I have faith it will come together nicely.

Matt Frank’s art is great throughout. Godzilla is drawn to perfection, and Gigan’s splash page is one of the best renditions of the Final Wars design yet. There’s a great sense of climatic urgency the art conveys from beginning to end. The main cover by Frank showcases a nice rendition of Gigan in the background with Jet Jaguar in the front doing the classic back-to-the-camera pose. It’s a good cover, but perhaps a little misleading since these two aren’t really too much of a focus. The RI by Jeff Zornow is definitely unique. It conveys a powerful message that Godzilla is truly defeated.

Overall, another fantastic issue. The climax heats up with plenty of satisfying destruction. Even the marine scenes are engaging. It’s going to be truly disheartening to see the series go, but at least with a double-sized finale it’ll go out stomping.