Originally published on Set The Tape
The penultimate issue of IDW Publishing‘s latest kid friendly Godzilla series, Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors – All Hail The King, sets up for one final fight as King Ghidorah and Godzilla prepare to face off once again – but a new Kaiju protector steps up to challenge the evil space dragon (wyvern) too.
After the previous issue saw Godzilla and Ghidorah fight, a fight that brought an end to the golden monster’s reign of terror, our heroes think that the danger has passed, and that the world is safe. Which isn’t too far-fetched a conclusion to have made. Unfortunately, another psychic dream lets the kids know that Ghidorah is still out there somewhere. With the monster coming back, stronger than before, the kids need to call upon some extra help for the weakened Godzilla, and so Karen is finally able to make a connection with her Kaiju and summon his aid. And whilst I won’t reveal who it is, I will say that my prediction was right, and that I’m looking forward to seeing the next issue.
Whilst not a huge amount happens in this issue, and most of it takes place over a relatively short amount of time, it does get everything in place for the finale. It gets readers caught up on the situation, it explains the odds stacked against our protagonists, and it makes it clear that this isn’t like other Kaiju battles where the monsters will smash a city or two and go back to sleep. This is a fight with the fate of the entire planet hanging in the balance, because if Ghidorah isn’t stopped he’ll kill every other living thing. And the book does this whilst furthering the development of the core set of characters.
Cedric gets to calm down a bit, and isn’t as much of an insufferable gory hog as in previous issues. He understands that things are bad, and stops being a dick towards Karen. He even seems to get excited when she summons her Kaiju, and is impressed that her way of doing so is a bit more visually interesting than him and the others holding hands and calling for Godzilla. It’s nice to see him finally getting a bit of growth, and seeing him finally being nice towards Karen feels like something we’ve been waiting for for a long while.
The art on this issue, crafted by Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado, is really nice, and whilst there’s no Kaiju action in this issue to wow readers they still manage to make the book look visually interesting and engaging. The small touches in the backgrounds, and the expressiveness of the characters stop a dialogue- and information-heavy issue from feeling like a slog. It’s always fun to look through this book and see what little touches the art team put in there, like the Hedorah plushy that Cedric has in his bedroom that’s absolutely adorable.
With one more issue to go it’s a shame that the end is so close, but with the promise of the biggest fight that this series has seen it’s an issue that could be one of the best ones yet.
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