Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #1
Written by: Chris MowryOver-the-top and simply delightful – that is Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #1 summed up. If b-movies, or hell, c-movies are your thing, this series gives plenty of promise for those elements, delivering on camp in the most spectacular of ways. Those ways are genetically modified, elemental monsters – including Space Godzilla. That’s right.
When it comes to a series like this, one with raucous, outrageous monsters, there needs to be a human element to point out the silliness of the situation, or emphasize its weirdness. What Mowry does with this issue is use the human characters as non-chalant reactors to the events around them, adding to the comedy of the issue. When they spot the clearly life-threatening Godzilla on their radar, we are given lines suggesting it’s Godzilla “on a diet” and that it’s his “wrong weekend to show up.” We also become acquainted with Megazoology, something as horrifyingly believable as McGregor Syndrome (look it up, folks).
And for the spectacle of this bombastic adventure, Mowry and Frank deliver with ease. In this issue alone we see the giant spider, Kumonga, take down Gigan, who proceeds to shoot fire from its robotic eye. Frank creates truly fascinating Godzilla-replicas, but his original looks a little awkward in the two-page reveal. Thankfully, this adds to the drive-in movie feel this story has going for it.
Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #1 moves at Gigan-firebreath-fast pacing, and is an absolute treat for fans of Godzilla or over-the-top mayhem. A Roland Emmerich Production this is not, but an imaginative twist on the decades-old character.
