Originally published on Set The Tape
The previous issue of IDW‘s new Godzilla series, Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors – All Hail The King, spent time getting readers caught up with the characters and where they are since the last series, as well as introducing the idea of Xillian aliens monitoring the Earth for their own nefarious means. This issue, we get a ton more information (super interesting info dump time), and things start to move into place for the oncoming confrontation.
The only Kaiju action in this issue comes straight away, as we get another dream sequence fight between Godzilla and Gabara. What makes this a bit different from the last time, however, is that towards the end of the fight Gabara is surrounded by a glowing golden light in the shape of a three headed dragon, hinting at the oncoming threat. It’s a neat scene, and the inclusion of the Ghidorah energy makes it more than just a throwaway moment in an otherwise full issue. But for a Godzilla comic, the fight in this issue might be the least interesting part.
The rest of the issue deals with lore, and giving the audience the information that they’re going to need for the rest of the series. We find out that the Xillians are working with the people responsible for the Biollante attack in the previous volume, and that the Xillians were backing them. I actually really like this idea, and the Xillians being behind the scenes trying to test the waters when it comes to taking over Earth is a neat choice. The villainous team up are working on a new scheme, however, and are drilling down to find an alien life-form deep beneath the Earth.
Using their mind-reading tech, the Xillians are able to learn more about the creature, discovering that it came crashing to Earth millions of years ago, and that its impact distorted the atmosphere, making the planet colder and more inhospitable. Between the environmental changes and the monster killing everything it could find, it turns out that King Ghidorah wiped out the dinosaurs. Again, another cool twist to the history that makes Ghidorah extremely frightening, and makes this version a little different. In the original continuity he was responsible for wiping out life on Venus, here he did it for Earth.
Whilst this is all going on the kids are trying to figure out what their dreams mean, and if they can use them to contact Godzilla. Their new friend, Karen tries to help them out, but Cederic is something of a jerk, and keeps shutting her down and excluding her because she isn’t part of the Godzilla psychic network. However, when the four of them have their minds transported to Infant Island to chat with the Shobijin it becomes clear that Karen is more than just a tag along. The twins warn the kids about the coming threat, and encourage them to use their connection to try and awaken Godzilla. They also tell Karen that she has a connection to another of Earth’s guardians. Luckily, there’s a very small cave painting in one panel that Karen looks at that looks suspiciously like King Caesar that might indicate who that is.
As with the first issue, the art is really good, and the monsters all look fantastic. The fight between the two monsters in the dream sequence is dynamic and full of energy, and the flashback to Ghidorah killing off the dinosaurs is a truly amazing moment. But the art also serves the human characters well, and everyone has really distinct, bold designs that make each character stand out on the page and look unique.
It looks like Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors – All Hail The King is gearing up to be even bigger than the first volume, and this issue is just building the hype whilst giving the audience some key info. If it carries on like this it looks set to be some of the best Godzilla books from IDW for a while.
No comments:
Post a Comment