IDW Godzilla Previews

[Benjamin Haines]

[ebirahsmeg1]

Sorry, but I'm still not on board with this "Trilopod" creature (looks like a poor man's Megalon)...there are still plenty of TOHO that have been barely utilized...I'll wait and reserve judgement, but there had better be one hell of a pay off...

And are those two Battras on the cover?

[klen7]

It's probably every G-fan's fantasy (at least at some point in their fandom) to make a kaiju, so i can't fault the creators for taking the opportunity. I am curious to see it play out but it probably could have been done with existing licenses
Can you imagine a storyline where an egg sack of Kamakirus hatched? A normal mantis egg has 100-200 mantises inside, now that would have provided a lot of fodder. Sure Godzilla can take on 3 at once, but what about 30 or 300? That's a story i'd want to read and would love to see Frank's action artwork on

[jrichreturns]

I do like the idea of a few new kaiju being made for the comic.

[Benjamin Haines]

I like the look of the Trilopod, and I like the concept of the prehistoric trilobite found in Godzilla's footprint on Odo Island in the original movie being realized as a kaiju. I also like the thought of having dozens of these things specifically to serve as cannon fodder for the Toho monsters. I'm looking forward to how this plays out.

[Jorzilla]

Rulers of Earth is starting to read like poor fan fiction. The last issue in particular: Gigan vs. Space Godzilla. A lot of crazy "OH GODZILLA! WHAT TERRIBLE LANGUAGE!" happens on the page that is hard to take in. Random Godzilla vs. Ebirah fight not connected to the other story... I can't fault Frank of Zornow considering how IDW green lights issues, but I really wish there was some kind of narrative structure that lasted more than a few issues. The series basically feels like random strings of monster encounters like some 8 year old kid was just pulling monsters out of a hat "and then this monster fights Godzilla, but his friend Anguirus comes to help him until MECHA KING GHIDORAH SHOWS up, and then like 7 Mechagodzillas fight...etc. Some of them are kind of cool, but I really want something with more substance from IDW.

[klen7]

[RaymondBurr]

Gigan's arm is trapped in Space G's space crystals when Space Godzilla re-forms into space-flying-mode. In order to free himself, Gigan cuts off his own arm.

Very cool idea, but they need to allow more room for the battle--both in terms of the physical size of the panels (less panels per page = larger panels that are easier to see action, more room to choreograph an image) and in terms of total pages. I agree with Jorzilla that including the Ebirah battle was a poor choice in this issue. Those pages could have been used for the Space Godzilla battle, providing more pages for more action (a longer SpaceG vs. Mechagodzillas battle) and/or pages with fewer panels, meaning larger images with more physical space to show what was going on in the battles.

Still enjoying the series though, it is a wonderful dose of Kaiju goodness every month. Jorzilla, I would recommend checking out the current mini-series, Godzilla: Cataclysm, for a Godzilla story with a clearer plot. It's doing a great job of using both humans and monsters to drive the story and the drama.

[Jorzilla]

I've read everything IDW has produced. Catacylsm certainly is good, and I'm interested in how they will close out the series. It still has the issue with the new monster each week, however. Same with Half Century war. They tell this story in only 5 issues but throw in a lot of monsters. Biollante, then Mothra, then Megaguirus... These mini-series get close, but my ideal comic would only focus on 2-4 monsters and take place over either a shorter period of time, or a longer issue series. Give an opportunity to define what each monsters' motivation is, same as humans.

I think IDW is afraid if they don't pack in every issue with as much monster as possible, people will loose interest. That's certainly a risk, but I think it hurts the quality of the comics. I've heard other people levy similar complaints at other IDW comic series.

[klen7]

I'll have to re-read it.

They could have dedicated more pages to the characters and the discovery of these eggs/new kaiju. Maybe the Godzilla/Ebirah fight is just to show Godzilla is already in the area when the eggs start hatching?

[ebirahsmeg1]

[Benjamin Haines]

Jeff Zornow's cover for Rulers of Earth #22:

[XvGojira]

ROBOBROS!

[klen7]

so many jets!

[The Great MM]

VERY happy to see Moggy making a return, finally. Wonder if this means we'll see them versus Showa MG army?

[klen7]

It was just confirmed that issue #25 will be the last issue of RoE. It will be a double issue.

I think this was alluded to by Mowry at G-Fest 2014... it also sets RoE as the longest running Godzilla series (previously a title held by Marvel)

[ebirahsmeg1]

[klen7]

[ebirahsmeg1]

[MekaGojira3k]

Eh, I was happy to wait that long for Stokoe's stuff, especially when what we got was sooo good.

[Benjamin Haines]

I've very much enjoyed Rulers of Earth and I'm sad that it has to end, but I do hope that this also marks the end of IDW's Kingdom of Monsters / History's Greatest Monster universe. Let RoE's hopefully spectacular finale be the cap on this extended saga.

I hope IDW doesn't try to start another intended ongoing Godzilla series with the goal of keeping it going as long as possible instead of crafting the story around a limited number of issues. The creative team behind Rulers of Earth pulled it off well but I'd like to see IDW instead pursue multiple mini-series at once, and I think it would be cool if they didn't necessarily limit them to five issues.

[MekaGojira3k]

I will be sadder if we don't hear anything about a possible mini-series book later in the year. RoE is a great ongoing and I like the way story arcs have been paced so far, I hope the finale lives up to everything. (I feel a need to re-read my old issues in prep for the finale). Back when KOM was coming out I really didn't see any future of this continuity that resulted in people being sad or fond of any part of it.

[ebirahsmeg1]

Covers for issue ROE #24:

[mr.negativity]

Collects James Stokoe’s mini-series in an oversized hardcover with an expanded art gallery including new content!

[Benjamin Haines]

Those Rulers of Earth #24 covers are great.


#23 - Matt Frank


#23 - Jeff Zornow