Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

TK also has a preview of the first several pages:

http://www.tohokingdom.com/news/2012/05 ... eview.html

Looks like an improvement over KOM...but that's not saying much, and as the review said, it will take a few issues to see how this plays out. I don't like the Political Correctness-Wedding touch (very Powell/KOM-esque...as with the Obama stuff, I really wish they'd leave this kind of stuff out of these comics), but this is just a minor complaint. Art looks like a definite improvement over Santos (as expected), and G in particular looks nice. Overall, it appears like a good start...

*EDIT* Sorry, didn't notice that R. Burr already posted about the 7 page preview

This is a positive start to the series. I'll start with things I liked:

- No reference to any events in Kingdom of Monsters! This is great because that series should be forgotten. It's basically starting anew. I especially liked the tasteful use of the Toho logo and Gojira written in katakana. It evoked the beginning of an actual Godzilla film. Although it was a bit of a strange beginning - TOHO CO. LTD. GOJIRA. GAY WEDDING IN MEXICO.

- Godzilla is drawn very well. This is something KoM couldn't do consistently. It's especially cool that it's recognizably the Hesei design. The other monsters look good too.

- The story and action are coherent. Sounds basic, but many comics (like KoM) can't even do this.

- Characters. Urv and Jason Stath- I mean Boxer are interesting characters (guess what KoM didn't have).

- Solid writing. Swiercyznski is off to a good start. The narration keeps the story flowing and on-pace with the imagery. There's a definite sense this story is actually going somewhere (unlike... say... KINGDOM OF MONSTERS)

Things I wasn't too keen on:

- A gay marriage in a Catholic church by a female priest in Mexico City...? Either the world really has changed or the writers don't understand the rules of the Pope. I'm guessing it's the former.

- Final Wars design Kumonga doesn't have red eyes... They're very blue. Nitpicking I know, but why not just make them what they are?

- If you didn't read KoM, the monsters are just appearing out of no where. Which ironically, is exactly what happened in KoM. The difference here is, we're likely going to get some sort of explanation, so this isn't really a bad thing, but may it be jarring for people who are just tuning in.

- How did Gwen get shot by red-necks aiming up at Godzilla!? I think this moment could have been better punctuated had the red-neck kid shot Gwen.

- Simone Gane's art makes some of the action scenes look like there's confetti flying everywhere.

I'm looking forward to issue 2. It's refreshing to see a clean start to wash away the memories of KoM! Thanks for listening to our feedback Mr. Curnow.

See, I think it's very similar to Gangsters & Goliath Issue 1. I thought that issue was okay, too, and it was really just because it was setting up its universe/playing field. Can't wait to see where this goes.

Personally, I liked the art for issue two but issue three's art was just... eugh. Everyone had chewing gum faces. Issue five's art was very nice, I thought.