Golgotha Motor Mountain #1 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Golgotha Motor Mountain is a new sci-fi/horror comic series from IDW Publishing that follows a pair of meth-cooking brothers, from a small town where everyone’s trying to escape and no one wants to acknowledge it exists, on the day a rock from space crashes into their meth lab and changes everything forever.

The opening line of the book sets out a mission statement, a promise of things to come, “This ‘ere is a story of an old rock.” And whilst that is certainly true, by the end of the opening issue of the mini series it’s clear that this is much more than that. It’s also possible that perhaps that simple, almost vague way of describing the story is perhaps the easiest way to do so, as there’s a lot in this first issue that feels dense, and almost incomprehensible. There’s an underlying layer of psychodelia, a narrative and dialogue that don’t quite make perfect sense to begin with, and it quickly becomes apparent that this is going to be a series that requires more than one reading, and may even be better read in one single sitting when all of the issues are out.

The book opens with a pair of brothers, Vern and Elwood, killing time in their barn turned meth lab, where Elwood, the younger of the two, does card tricks to entertain his older sibling. They’re waiting for their latest batch of meth to be ready so that they can make a big score and move out of the hated town of Golgotha and move to Cincinnati.

Elwood dreams of a place where he can live with bright skies, clean rooms, and a space where he can have a little indoor plant room, and Vern is determined that the two of them are going to get it. However, when a rock from space rips the roof off the barn as it comes crashing to Earth just outside, it ruins everything for them. With the meth ruined, Elwood is ready to give up on their dream. Vern has another plan in mind, deciding to break pieces off of the strange, purple rock, grind it up and sell it as drugs.

There’s not a huge amount more that can really be said about the first issue of Golgotha Motor Mountain both because the stuff that happens in the latter half of the issue should be kept as a surprise, but also because not a huge amount actually happens either. As said earlier, this book feels like it’s going to be better read in a single sitting, and part of that comes down to the pacing. This first issue doesn’t feel like an issue of a comic, not in the traditional sense. You’re barely getting a grasp on the characters and the setting when the book ends.

I can easily sum up what happens in this issue in a sentence or two, but if you were to ask me if it was good, and what bits stood out, I’m not sure I could do that. It has ‘slow first chapter syndrome’, where a story can be fine when the next chapter is sitting there waiting for you, but when you have to wait a month for the next part there’s very little here making me want to come back to it for the second issue.

Part of the problems for me also comes down to Matthew Erman and Lonnie Nadler’s dialogue. There’s a point in the book were Elwood describes Vern’s talking as “Why are you talking like you got a drill put in your skull?”, and this kind of sums up a lot of the dialogue in the book. Characters say whatever comes into their heads, whether it actually helps or not. Vern talks and talks, but doesn’t really feel like he’s saying anything. I don’t learn more about him as a character, nor do I understand more of this world, and half of what he says feels like gibberish. This feeling is further compounded by a gang of militant types who have their own slang and way of talking that makes Vern feel normal by comparison.

Whilst the dialogue made the book hard to get through, Robbi Rodriguez and Marissa Louise do well on the art duties, with Rodriguez providing the art and Louise the colours. The book is interesting to look at, and Vern and Elwood have some exaggerated and unusual features that make them feel distinct from most other comic leads in the horror genre. The book has a messy, moody colour scheme to it too, where the backgrounds will often be bathed in single colours that indicate a change in scene or tone. Plus, there are some moments of body horror here that are truly gross to look at.

Golgotha Motor Mountain might be trying something different, but it still feels too early to really know. Whilst there are some interesting ideas here they feel like they’re buried under a lot of excess, and it makes the prospect of coming back to read the second issue a bit of a tough one.

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Listmas 2023 – Comics

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Writing about best comics at the end of the year can be a difficult topic for a variety of reasons. In the past I’ve had people criticise my choices for being skewed more towards one publisher over others (I’ve been trying to read more Marvel, I promise I have), I’ve been told certain picks aren’t good because they didn’t start that year but ended in it, or that they started in that year but didn’t end then. Everyone has an opposing opinion on comics, and it seems that everyone wants their opinion to be the right one. I just want to share some comics that I enjoyed, series that were either just consistently strong throughout, or did something that I’d never seen before, or were just that ridiculous that I couldn’t help but love it.

This last year has had some great comics released, and whilst I’ve tried to read as many as I could there just isn’t enough time to get to them all. So, if your favourite isn’t on this list it doesn’t mean that I think it’s bad, just that I either didn’t get the chance to read it, or it didn’t quite connect with me as much as these ten did. Some books that came close to making the list but didn’t include the consistently good Nightwing, the absolutely phenomenal Birds of Prey (if I’d have read issue four when I wrote the rest of this article it probably would have bumped something to be fair), the new Wonder Woman run by Tom King, and the new Captain America series that takes a look at America’s history of home-grown fascism.

I hope that this list might help some of you find a fun new series or two to try out, and I can’t wait to see what all of the amazing creators in the industry have to offer in 2024.

Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons

Godzilla is a character and franchise that can easily be fit into any kind of setting.

We’ve had horror stories, post-apocalypse, and sci-fi in abundance. But this series does something new, and gives us Godzilla in a historical setting. Taking place during the Age of Piracy, this story reveals an ancient society of Kaiju worshippers who shape the world, and the secret final voyage of explorer Sir Francis Drake that took him to Monster Island.

Possibly one of the most creative Godzilla stories put to the page, it not only deserves more attention, but it’s a formula that we absolutely need to see more of. I can’t wait to see Godzilla pop up in another historical setting sometime soon.

Werewolf By Night

A one-shot comic that was surprisingly not released alongside the Disney+ special, it does in some ways feel very similar.

Telling the story of Jack Russel, the titular wolf-man, as he infiltrates a remote monster filled castle to try and save a young woman, the book is presented in creepy black and white and drips atmosphere. But what makes it special is the inclusion of monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone, who’s just too awesome to have her colour held back.

Whenever she’s on the page bright colour bleeds through, leading to moments of wonderfully clashing art styles. Written by Derek Landy, the relationship between the two leads is full of banter and sarcasm that will feel right at home for fans of his Skulduggery Pleasant book series.

Green Lantern: War Journal

Jon Stewart stars in this new Green Lantern series that puts his relationship with his mother and desire to be with her as her health deteriorates in the centre of things.

One of the Lanterns stuck on Earth since some space political shifts, he thinks he’s going to have a quiet life, until a evil undead cosmic being from another dimension breaks through into Earth-0, and decides that she’s going after this world’s version of her greatest enemy, John Stewart.

With some amazing writing that’s full of heart and emotion, stunning art, and a story that feels grand in scope and captures the magic of what a Green Lantern book is like when dealing with otherworldly concepts, it far outshines the Hal Jordan led series.

Jay Garrick: The Flash

Jay Garrick is my favourite Flash.

There’s something about him I just love, and the Justice Society are my favourite team too. Golden Age heroes are just fun. And now he’s getting something of a revamp. Thanks to time-travel shenanigans it was recently discovered that Jay had a daughter, Judy, who was pulled from time decades ago, with time folding around the event to make it so everyone forgot her. Now, Judy is back, still a young teen, whilst her parents are old enough to be her great-grandparents.

The series follows Jay and his wife Joan as they try to reconnect with Judy, who’s having to discover a whole new world from the one she left. Full of intrigue, action, and a ton of heart, this might be the most exciting thing to happen to Jay in several decades.

Predator vs. Wolverine

When Disney bought Fox it was only a while until Aliens and Predator would cross over with the Marvel universe, and Wolverine might be the best choice to kick off a Predator cross-over.

The series follows Logan as a Predator hunts him across the Canadian wilderness. Each issue reveals, however, that this isn’t their first encounter, and that this hunter has been coming for Logan for decades. With flashbacks set at different points in his life, the series isn’t just one Predator vs Wolverine story, but several wrapped up into one.

With some cool interactions with Logan’s history, and an interesting retcon or two, it makes for a great read that begs the question; which character could a Predator hunt next?

Alan Scott: Green Lantern

Another member of the JSA with a new solo series.

This story delves into the secret history of Alan Scott, and shows readers the true story of his early years. Having came out as gay recently, this story depicts how Alan tried to navigate a world of homophobia and hate, and doesn’t hold back. The second issue in the series features queer people being put through conversion therapy, and even lobotomies to ‘cure’ them of their queerness.

All of this is mixed in with a new villain, the Red Lantern, who, like Judy Garrick, was removed from history. Whilst this series is only two issues in, it’s already feeling like it might end up as the most important queer comic that DC has ever produced.

Shazam!

Shazam, or Captain Marvel for older fans, has had a tough time finding a place in recent years, with some writers trying hard to distance him from his more goofy Silver Age stuff.

Mark Waid, however, says to hell with that, and makes a delightfully silly and weird series that embraces that era. Tawny Tiger is back as a housekeeper for Billy’s family, and he’s not the only weird thing, as we get talking gorillas, space dinosaurs, and other throwbacks that just end up making the whole thing delightful.

Waid has managed to make the Silver Age silliness feel fresh, new, and modern in a lot of ways too. Add onto that some absolutely phenomenal art by Dan Mora, and this is also one of the best looking books on the shelf.

The Hunger and the Dusk

This new fantasy series has been a genuine highlight each month.

Telling the story of a world where the human and orc kingdoms have been at war for generations, with a deep hatred and distrust between them, it introduces a new threat that must unite them.

With a vicious, monster-like race of killers threatening both, an alliance is formed and sets the stage for both some amazing action, and a potential romance. Blessed with brilliant writing and some absolutely gorgeous art, The Hunger and the Dusk is a series that fantasy fans need to be reading.

Green Arrow

Oliver Queen vanished during the recent Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths event, swept away by mysterious forces.

Now, lost in a strange world, Oliver sets out to find a way home, whilst his extended family search for a way to bring him back at the same time. However, Oliver will uncover a conspiracy designed to keep his family apart, one that includes some surprising powerful people, including the villain Parallax.

This series was announced as a six issue mini-series, but was extended to twelve thanks to the sales and popularity; and just this morning the writer revealed that DC had made this an ongoing series, which just goes to show the popularity of the Emerald Archer.

Batman / Superman: World’s Finest

A second entry from the creative team of Mark Waid and Dan Mora, this series is set during the past, when Batman and Superman were younger, and Dick Grayson was still Robin.

Following the two titular characters across several adventures, it features appearances by other characters, including some lesser known and weird ones. It brings the Silver Age to life in brilliant ways, and establishes a wonderful history of friendship between Batman and Superman.

Most excitingly, in the current story, Waid uses the book to revisit his hugely popular Kingdom Come story in surprising developments. A series you don’t want to miss out on.

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The Hunger and the Dusk #5 - Comic Review

 

Sending a lone scout off to track a deadly enemy into the heart of their territory is the kind of plan that carries a lot of risks with it, and Cal is learning this the hard way in the latest issue of The Hunger and the Dusk as Mikil has gone missing, and the rest of the Last Men Standing will have to put their lives on the line in order to save him; a rescue that might cost something more than just lives.

The issue focuses solely on the human side of the story this month, with no cut aways to show what the orcish side of the new alliance are doing; which is a good decision as the last issue's politics focused scenes need some time to breathe, and the human led drama of this issue would feel underserved if it was having to be interrupted.

We open on Cal deep in thought, wondering where his tracker has gone, and what their best course of action would be. Luckily, Tara still has a magical connection to Mikil thanks to healing him, and can at least tell Cal that he's not been killed. Whilst this is a useful skill to have, it does give the human warriors hope of finding their friend, and drives them on to try and save him even though that course of action puts the rest of them in danger.

Driven into a marshland thanks to summer wild fires, they eventually find Mikil, having been tied up outside a small Vangol camp. Despite knowing that it's a trap, the team goes in to save him, and end up getting into a skirmish with several of the towering creatures, including what appears to be one of their leaders; a creature covered in ornamentation, carrying a giant sword, and able to speak the human language. Whilst Cal ends up in combat with this Vangol, he doesn't have the skills to beat it, and looks set to die until Tara uses her magic to save him.

Despite having won the day, the Last Men Standing are in bad shape, and Tara has reached a breaking point. Cal went into the trap despite her warnings, and is demanding that his people keep travelling despite their wounds, a course of action that would undo much of Tara's healing. This makes her snap, and the two of them end up arguing, bringing up long festering arguments that humans and orcs have had for years. It ends with Tara and Cal having given up on the alliance, and Tara leaving the group.

This issue manages to pack a lot into it, with some great action sequences that look fantastic and really show off how good the art on this series is, but it also throws a lot of character development and world building at the reader too. Tar and Cal are at the heart of this part of the story, and their argument here is really disheartening as they've gotten on so well up to now, and you can see that the two of them really do care for each other. But, they're having to deal with generations of hate and distrust, and it pours out of them when things finally reach a head.

And the arguments they use, the things that show us more of what this world is like. Through them we see how both sides see the conflict, how one side is complaining about their farms are destroyed, whilst the other yells back about stealing land. You can very much see that both orcs and humans see themselves as the wronged party, and it shows that if perhaps they'd have come to the negotiation table before this, had just talked to each other, then maybe centuries of conflict and hate could have been avoided. It's a nice way of adding to the lore and world building in way that feels natural that G. Willow Wilson has done wonderfully across the series. We also get some insight into the Vangol at the start of the issue that doesn't make them seem any less of monsters, but absolutely makes them feel richer and more thought out than just 'big scary people'.

The art on this issue is absolutely superb, and Christian Wildgoose does phenomenal work during the action scenes. Everything is packed with movement and speed, and you feel like you're in the middle of a fight that's raging all around you, rather than just looking at a static image. There's always a character swinging a weapon or charging at an enemy, so things always feel in motion. The action scenes in this series have been great since the start, but this issue feels a lot more frantic and fraught with danger than ones that we've had before, and you get a big sense that the Last Men Standing could die at any moment.

The Hunger and the Dusk has been one of the books I've looked forward to each month since it came out, and made it onto my top comics of 2023 list, and the quality looks set to continue on into the new year. With the relationship between Cal and Tara at an all time low, and her leaving the group at the end, I'm going to be counting down the days until the next chapter comes out, as I need to find out what happens next. 

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Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons #5 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

All good things must come to an end, and thus is the case with not only one of the best comic series of the year, but with what might be the best Godzilla series I’ve ever read.

In the previous issue of Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons, Mr Hull continued his tale of Sir Francis Drake’s journey to Monster Island to find hidden treasure, dealing with the creatures that call it home. Last time we saw the pirate crew using the dynamite that they’d taken from the wrecked ship they’d found to lure the gigantic lobster creature, Ebirah, across the island. Why would you want to have a Kaiju chase after you? Well, Drake uses the creature to lure Godzilla out of his lair, and tricks the two creatures into fighting each other, giving the pirates the chance to go after the treasure hidden within. However, the vengeful Captain Blanco is hot on their trail.

This issue sees the end of the series, and thus, the end of Hull’s narrative. With Blanco having cornered Hull and Drake in the cave full of gold, a fight for survival breaks out, whilst out in the ocean Godzilla not only has to contend with Ebirah, but the giant octopus creature Oodoko too. This becomes the first issue of the flashbacks where the human story isn’t the most interesting part. The confrontation within the cave is decent, but when its being inter-cut with a three-way giant monster fight, with one of those monsters being one of my favourite under-used Kaiju, it’s hard to compete.

That being said, the events in the present are where this issue shines, and the current day Hull’s story is the most important part of this issue, and is used to bring the entire series to a close in a way that I wasn’t expecting but found to be really interesting, to the point where I wish that this series could have been longer. The events on Monster Island aren’t hugely in depth, and it’s all told through narration rather than spending a lot of time there and seeing characters interact. I feel that with longer this series could have gone into more depth, could have spread the story out more, and could have easily filled double the amount of issues. And the way things end it demands a follow-up series in order to explore this version of the universe more.

But that’s not a gripe in any way. Yes, it would be nicer to have more, but what we have here isn’t lessened in quality because we don’t. The story is still a fantastic read, and this issue not only brings one narrative to a satisfying close, but has to do it twice, and succeeds.

The art on the comic, by Inaki Miranda, with colours by Eva de la Cruz, looks decent throughout, and the Kaiju fight has some really good full page splashes and large panels to showcase the scale and power of the combat. However, some of the more creative and interesting art choices that were present in the first few issues aren’t here, and that’s something of a shame. A few of the pages from the first issue are seared into my brain with atomic breath because of how well crafted they were, and whilst the art here has nothing wrong with it, there’s not anything in this issue that compares.

Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons felt like a fantastic experiment, of trying to bring a new setting and feel to the Godzilla franchise whilst staying true to what makes it popular; and it works. Sending these creatures back in time to the age of piracy was incredibly fun to read, and I want more historical set Kaiju stories now. Hopefully this series will prove to be successful enough that we might get more from this creative team, and more stories that try equally as creative things. But, if not, we still at least have an absolutely wonderful read.

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Dark Spaces: Dungeon #1 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Dark Spaces: Dungeon is the latest series in writer Scott Snyder’s independent comic anthology title Dark Spaces. Previous stories have been used as showcases for up and coming artists, and for other writers who have worked on some of the titles alongside Snyder. This series, however, is penned solely by Snyder, and reunites him with artist Hayden Sherman, who worked with him on the first title, Dark Spaces: Wildfire.

Each entry in the series has given readers something a little different, whether that be a heist story, or supernatural conspiracies; this time around things take a much darker turn as people become the monsters. The issue begins with a flashback of a small child climbing out of a hatch in the middle of a snow-covered forest, stumbling through the trees until he’s found by a truck driver. Years later we meet a nice, happy family who live in a huge house close to the same woods. When the father, Tyler, is out for a job and trips over the mysterious hatch he realises he’s found something strange, and calls the authorities.

Meanwhile, an odd, almost maverick FBI agent resolves a years long kidnapping case by shooting a mother in front of her children, saving their lives but scarring them forever. He’s sent to cover the case of the mysterious hatch, and reveals to Tyler that he was the child who escaped from it years ago, after being held prisoner inside an elaborately constructed torture chamber by one of the smartest, most prolific serial killers in the country. Now that the FBI have found the previously lost ‘dungeon’ the hunt for the killer is on, and the killer turns his sights on Tyler and his family.

Dark Spaces: Dungeon feels more like a psychological thriller and mystery story more than it does a horror, and whilst the ‘dungeon’ in which our heroic FBI agent was once held prisoner is a horrific device, it also feels slightly too fantastical to be real. A small chamber filled with extendable blocks, able to push and break a prisoner into awful shapes and contortions, the device is an interesting idea, but the idea that someone can be kept alive inside it for years, broken, healed, and re-broken over and over feels like a bit of a leap, and a hurdle that will shape how you feel about the book. The comic seems to want to be realistic, yet this part doesn’t; how you handle that will definitely determine how much you enjoy the book.

Outside of the central ‘horror’ conceit of the book, there are some interesting characters here. The family are given a lot of page space, and we spend a great deal of time with them getting to know them. Tyler seems like a decent, caring dad, and we get a long introduction to him as he spends a couple of pages getting his son to sleep at night, telling him weird facts and making up stories about his stuffed frog toy. He seems like a nice, if rather bland character.

FBI agent Madoc, on the other hand, is something of a loose cannon, and the scene with him and the child hostages shows that he’s willing to break the rules to do the right thing. The fact that he’s also a victim of The Keeper, as the call him, seems to be setting up for a man who’s likely going to go too far, and will do extreme things in order to get his revenge. It also feels like another small leap in logic that the FBI would assign the case to someone who was tortured for months by The Keeper to bring him in.

The art on the book, by Hayden Sherman, with colours by Patricio Delpeche, feels very muted, and has an almost watercolour like quality to it. There are no real vivid bright colours, light shading, and very little bold lines or blocks of darkness that you’d expect to find in a horror title. Instead, things almost have a dream-like quality to them at times. Sadly, due to the slow nature of the story in this first issue there’s very little in the art to actually wow the reader, except for a full page splash that shows off what The Keeper is doing to another victim that’s shocking and dark, yet also highlights how odd the torture device is.

If you’re a fan of implausible psychological horrors, such as the later films in the Saw franchise where it became more about the weird devices than plausibility, Dark Spaces: Dungeon may appeal to you. But at this point the story seems to be happy to take things slow, to not give the reader much, and rely on the promise of better things to come, leading to a first issue that doesn’t really encourage you to try out issue two.

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Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons #3 – Comic Review

 

Originally published by Set The Tape

With the last two issues of Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons we have been introduced to a time of pirates, swashbuckling adventure, and giant monsters, and it’s been an absolute delight to see these two worlds collide this way. But the third issue gives us something even better than this: a whole hidden history of Kaiju!

Things looked grim for Mr Hull, a condemned pirate, at the end of the last issue as he was led to the gallows for his long promised execution. How is the series going to go on without him there driving the narrative forward? Well, the book kind of did a fake out on us, as the very first panel of this issue reveals that Hull was spared from his fate at the last possible second thanks to the arrival of Sir Francis Walsingham, the principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth.

This new introduction changes things slightly for the story, but not to a huge amount. Walsingham has come to listen to Hull’s story, as part of his investigation into larger issues. This means that Hull will continue his story about his time on Monster Island, but he won’t be under constant threat from his captors, and we’ve done away with the back and forth with his jailers from the first two issues. Which isn’t a bad change. It doesn’t really alter much in how the story is being given to us, but manages to expand the world in interesting ways.

The most interesting thing that this third issue does is that it reveals that it’s not just the people of this time and this culture who have experienced Kaiju before the modern era. A wonderful splash page shows us Godzilla in Feudal Japan, King Ghidorah fighting Roman soldiers, Mothra worshipped in ancient Egypt, Rodan being offered sacrifices in Central America, and Hedorah alongside a Viking long-ship. It turns out that these creatures are known throughout the world and history, but that their existence is a closely guarded secret; one kept by a Kaiju worshipping secret society called The Sons of Giants.

These few pages, especially the one that showed robed cultists wearing amazing Kaiju masks, are perhaps my favourite images in the series so far. Words cannot express how much I want each of those cultist masks. This gives us the reason for Walsingham having arrived in the book, and why Hull is so important. His story may hint at a connection between The Sons of Giants and the Queen of England (please god have Queen Elizabeth be wearing the lobster mask!). A whole new dimension has been added to this story now, and it’s no longer just pirates and giant monsters, but conspiracies and cults.

The issue isn’t just focused on the present, however, as we continue Hull’s story of his time on Monster Island, introducing a human antagonist for the members of his crew to deal with, along with showcasing Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. For a story focusing on seafaring and pirates it feels right that the giant lobster monster makes an appearance here, and seeing him crash through the jungle was a genuine delight. Frank Tieri not only knows how to pace a story and when to throw something big and bombastic at the reader, but it also seems like he’s hitting my all time Kaiju wish list with this story too.

Art on this series has never been anything but wonderful, and Inaki Miranda and Eva de la Cruz continue to to impress each issue. The already mentioned pages where we see the Kaiju scattered across the globe interacting with different cultures is amazing, and the panel showing the secret cult was a jaw dropping moment thanks to the way that the art team execute the visuals. They manage to make it both wonderfully silly and goofy looking, but also so fantastic that you want to see it in real life, which is a hard line to walk on such things.

We’re over the halfway point in the series so far, and it is genuinely not just a delight to read, but a wonderful celebration of the entire Godzilla universe. The only complaint is that there are only two more issues to go, as this is a series that more than deserves to be an ongoing tale.

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The Hunger and the Dusk #2 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

The first issue of IDW‘s new fantasy series The Hunger and the Dusk introduced readers to a dark and dangerous fantasy world, one where humans and orcs have been at war for generations, and where raiding parties and armies would clash so often that the animosity and hatred for the other race was baked into each culture. But when a new threat emerges from the pages of myth and legend, those hatreds have to be put aside if both races are to survive. As such, a ground-breaking alliance was made, and an orc healer travelled to the human kingdoms to learn from them and form a bond of friendship.

The second issue picks up shortly after this, with Tara, the orc healer, trying to find her place within The Last Men Standing, a group of warriors and heroes who travel the land. Tara and the team’s leader, Callum, have already begun to form a friendship (and I think a few ships have been born about them already) but she feels like she’s too distant from the others. This gives the reader an easy insight into the other key members of the group, as Callum gives both us and Tara a quick intro to several members of the group. Unfortunately, the new team are soon tested when they come under attack from the savage Vangol.

Meanwhile, the orcs are continuing to form alliances and strengthen their own nations, with Troth Icemane (Tara’s cousin) marrying Faran Stoneback in an attempt to unite the two most powerful orc dynasties. But orc wedding’s aren’t simple affairs, and the two of them set out into the cold, snowy wilderness on a hunt that will either bring them honour and a united nation, or a grim and painful death.

One of the things that G. Willow Wilson did so well in the first issue was to create a world that felt easy to slip into. Writing for characters and worlds that are already established with readers can be a lot easier than creating a whole new setting, especially one with tons of history, but Wilson is doing a fantastic job at easing us into things. The first issue set up the threat, and the basic structures of the human and orc nations, whilst this issue gives us more insight into how the orc culture works through the wedding ceremony. Meanwhile, we get a very natural insight into how the humans of this world work via Callum and his troops. Small snatches of dialogue and tiny insights slowly build a larger picture.

This world building and the character moments are also well balanced with the action, with both of the story lines getting moments of action. The action in the book is something that I’ve come to really like even over just two issues. Things feel very visceral and dangerous, and there’s blood flying all over the place, yet things never feel like they’re gratuitous or gory just for the sake of it. The art works in such a way that it tries to draw your attention away from the worst parts of the violence, such as having a character in the background shouting an order to others, whilst someone is being beheaded in the foreground. The careful placement of the important characters and dialogue keeps your focus off the severed heads and pools of blood without omitting them completely, and it’s a wonderfully executed trick.

Speaking of the art, much like in the last issue review I have to spend some time gushing about how amazing the art on this book is. Every character looks unique and interesting, with fun designs and little quirks that make them instantly identifiable, and makes them able to stand out in a crowd. The environments look gorgeous, and the moments of action are all dynamic and filled with movement and energy, but also the smaller moments where characters are just talking keep your attention thanks to the emotions conveyed on their faces and the depth of personality on display.

The Hunger and the Dusk seems to have managed to keep up the quality of the first issue, showing that it wasn’t just a strong start for the series, but hopefully an indication of how good the entire thing is going to be. With ten more issues to go I’m already slightly sad that it’s not going to be a longer and ongoing, because if the book continues on like this it’s easily going to be one of the best comics of 2023.

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Godzilla: War for Humanity #1 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

One of the best things about the Godzilla universe is that there’s so much of it that there’s something for everyone. Whatever you’re after, there’s something here for you. If you want the darker, more horrific side of things, the original Godzilla is there for you (with the upcoming Godzilla Minus One looking set to be scarier too!). If you want something that’s big, bombastic, and all about the fights and destruction there’s stuff like Godzilla: Final Wars or Godzilla: King of the Monsters. There’s even plenty of Kaiju action that’s aimed squarely at the younger audience, with films like All Monsters Attack and comics like Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors.

Godzilla: War for Humanity, the latest release from IDW Publishing, falls into that latter category it seems, thanks to wonderfully bright and deceptively simple looking art that stands out as something that younger readers would love. However, this also seems like a series that could appeal to older readers too, with enough character and story scattered throughout to get you wanting to come back for the second issue.

The book opens with a flashback to when our lead character, Yuko Honda, was just ten years old, and was out playing in the woods with her friend. Their idyllic day is changed when the monster Hedorah starts attacking the area, trying to cause fires and destruction so that it can feed off the smoke and pollutants it causes. Thankfully, Godzilla arrives on the scene, and engages with Hedorah, stopping his rampage and directing it elsewhere. Thus began a lifelong interest in Kaiju, and a lifelong belief that Godzilla is more of a protector than a destroyer.

Yuko is delivering a lecture about Godzilla when she’s approached by a douchey tech-bro named Phazon Fullchech, who wants to recruit her to help with a mission. He shows her footage of a new monster that emerges from the earth, attacks peaceful Kaiju, and turns them into rampaging monsters. Working for a clandestine, military funded group, Yuko is asked to lend her expertise into stopping this new monster, dubbed Zoospora, before it’s too late.

Godzilla: War for Humanity does something that I’ve not seen in many Godzilla books: it gives us something new. Yes, a lot of this feels like things that we’ve seen before –  monsters going berserk, a group of soldiers and scientists trying to stop them, the deployment of a man-made Kaiju fighting machine (M.O.G.U.E.R.A. in this case). But it balances out these familiar elements with a brand new monster. Often the comics will recycle old creatures, giving us new origins, or changing up some aspect of them to give them a fresh take, but this might be the first time I can remember reading a Godzilla comic with a completely new big bad. And it’s kind of refreshing.

The new monster, a bipedal fungus creature, bears some similarity to monsters like Hedorah and Biolante, but still has features completely unique to itself. The similarities to some existing monsters isn’t a criticism either, as it makes it feel somewhat connected to what’s come before, and means that it doesn’t feel out of place in this world. The art style also helps with this, as all of the monsters have a much simpler, almost exaggerated look to them that this new monster doesn’t need to look super realistic.

The art on the book, by Jake Smith, is a big draw for this book, and I can see a lot of people picking it up because of the way it looks. Smith not only provides the pencils, but colours the work too, and chooses bright, contrasting colours at times that gives each scene its own feel. The opening forest scene is bright and beautiful, filled with lush colours, whilst the secret base Yuko gets taken to is very cool blues and greens that not only makes the characters pop on page, but feels beautifully retro to look at. The art on the book reminds me of the big, bright style art found in the Criterion Collection Godzilla: The Showa Era Blu-ray set, a box set presented as an art book filled with new poster art for several movies. I adored looking through that set, and the art in this book would feel right at home in those pages.

This seems to be an interesting start to a new story; one that’s trying to do something new and adding to the world its set in. With us only having briefly seen this new monster, however, we’re yet to know how big of a foe it’s going to be to our heroic Kaiju.

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Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons #2 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Throwing together modern pop culture with historical settings has long been something that has entertained people, whether it’s things like putting alien hunters in the 1700s in Prey, or putting characters like Wonder Woman into World War I or the 1980s, folks love a good mash-up. It’s not even a modern thing: Mark Twain did it with A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court in 1889! Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons is just following on in this proud tradition, but setting a Godzilla story in the 1500s.

The first issue of the series introduced readers to the pirate Mr Hull, who is about to be hung for his crimes in the Caribbean. However, before he heads to the gallows he’s managed to convince his jailers to hold off on his execution by telling them a story about Sir Francis Drake, and a mysterious mission to an island in search of lost treasure. The mission was so secret that the public was told that he was circumnavigating the globe, whilst the real goal was to reach Monster Island.

In this issue Hull continues the story, beginning with what happened when he and his crew came face to face with the greatest monster of all, Godzilla, as well as what happened when the Spanish navy decided that they could take down the towering titan. One of the more enjoyable aspects of most Godzilla stories is watching giant monsters destroy stuff, and military might has always fallen short against such creatures without some kind of fantastical device or plan. So, it’s a pretty foregone conclusion what would happen to sailing ships trying to kill a kaiju with canons, but it doesn’t make the sequence any less cool to read nor the spectacle any less amazing. The art team really excel here, and it’s easily the best looking part of the issue.

Most of the issue pertains to the pirates’ first few hours on the island, and the things that they find waiting for them. And it feels like a fun excuse to let the art team throw some cool visuals and interesting moments at the reader. It also feels like the book is slowly drawing us into the more bizarre elements (minus the first meeting with Godzilla himself of course) as the more outlandish creatures from this world are yet to rear their heads, allowing some new, more mundane monstrosities to have a go first. This feels like a good decision, as it’s not only giving the reader something that feels a bit new, but it also raises the tension somewhat as you know that the pirates have barely scratched the surface of what’s to be found on the island.

Compared to the first issue, the art feels a lot more mundane here. That’s not to say that it isn’t good as it has some fantastic moments and looks great throughout, but some of the best pages in the first issue were when the art got a big more creative, and gave us interesting visuals such as panels being broken up by Godzilla’s tail. This issue doesn’t really do that, and looks much more like what you expect from a comic. Whilst this isn’t bad, I do hope that future issues will give us a little bit more flair, as it was a genuine delight last time.

Overall, this is a really strong second issue, though perhaps not quite as solid as the first. The story continues to be interesting, and there are some fun character and story moments to be found here that are sometimes lacking in other Godzilla comics that choose to focus on monsters fighting over decent storytelling. This is still the Godzilla comic I’m most excited for each month, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

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The Hunger and the Dusk #1 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Orcs can vary wildly from story to story depending on the kind of person writing it and the tale that they’re trying to tell. Tolkien’s orcs were twisted monstrosities lost forever to the forces of evil; the worlds of Warhammer depict them as roving warriors who love to fight; The Elder Scrolls games often portray them as skilled blacksmiths and crafters; and Dungeons and Dragons have gone from having them be brutish barbarians to pretty much anything that a player could want them to be. Whenever you pick up a book that has orcs in it you’re almost doing a lucky dip, having to hope that what comes out is a depiction that you like.

The opening pages of The Hunder and the Dusk makes it seem like perhaps this new fantasy comic series from IDW will be going for the type of orcs who travel the land, pillaging and killing in order to survive, caring nothing for the weak and pathetic humans that stand before them. We see them through the eyes of human children, who see a trio of orc warriors watching from the top of a hill, sizing up their small settlement. As such, the orcs instantly become a source of fear and hate, and it does seem like this group of raiders are prepared to cause havoc. However, a darker threat emerges from the setting sun, coming at dusk; something that slaughters the orcs and humans alike.

From here things change, and we see the orcs in a new light as we jump forward in time several months where this new threat, the ancient race the vangol, has begun to bring humans and orcs together. Knowing that neither race can defeat this new threat alone, a meeting is made to formalise the alliance. It’s here that we get to meet some of the lead characters of the series: Callum Battleborn, a human warrior and member of the mercenary band The Last Men Standing, who’s been selected to be the human representative by one of the orc leaders, Troth Icemane. Troth is bringing his cousin, Tara, to act as ambassador to the humans, to travel with Callum in their fight against the vangol.

The first issue of The Hunger and the Dusk is pure set-up, but it’s masterfully done. The opening scene plays with your expectations a number of times, setting the orcs up to be villains, before showing a more nuanced side to them. They’re then killed off by what you think might be the heroes of the piece, before you learn that their assailants are true monsters. It’s a tense sequence, and one that builds to a point where you’re almost holding your breath as the unseen forces come to the human village, waiting to see if they act as saviours or destroyers.

Despite not previously knowing anything about this world that writer G. Willow Wilson has created, she’s able to use this opening scene to lay the groundwork for the warring nature of human and orc interactions. This means that as we move on to the meeting between the two delegations and get to see them talking about how important this alliance is, how each race’s very survival hangs upon it, it is completely believable. And whilst we only really get to know a couple of the characters in this first issue what we do learn about them makes them interesting. Troth seems like a man for whom honour means everything, Callum is a capable guy but definitely feels like he’s in over his head, and Tara is a character who doesn’t really seem to know who she wants to be yet, but who holds a ton of promise. Plus, there’s definitely some cute romance vibes between her and Callum.

The art, by Christian Wildgoose, with Msassyk on colours, looks absolutely gorgeous. The environments are beautiful, with gorgeous rolling countryside and cosy-looking farm homes in the opening scene, and more mysterious and foreboding settings for the latter half of the book as the two races come to meet. And speaking of the races, the orcs in this book are fantastic to look at. They have wonderfully interesting features, with parts of them that feel very classically goblin-like with their large ears and bright eyes, but there are times where they also look a bit feline too, with a beauty and grace to them. Each of them looks unique in their colours and their features, and it makes them instantly stand out from each other; and Tara is made to look very beautiful without losing her orcness.

The vangol, when we do finally see them, are an interesting creation; one that looks similar enough to both the orcs and the humans that they’re clearly from the same kind of world and don’t look completely alien. However, they manage to look twisted and monstrous to the point where you can see why the two races fear them and are willing to come together to fight them. It feels like there’s going to be a lot of visually creative and creepy moments to come in the series featuring them, and I can’t wait to see what those are.

The Hunger and the Dusk seems like an exciting new fantasy series, and one that will appeal to fans of the genre. Despite being a first issue that has to try and set up both the world and the characters we’re going to be following, you come away from it feeling like you’ve got a good grasp on things, and that this is a deeper, richer world that we’ve only just started to scrape the surface of. With the promise of frightening enemies to fight, epic battles for survival, the chance to get to know a really interesting version of orc culture, and romance blooming, this is a series that folks are going to want to keep an eye on.

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Godzilla: The Best of Rodan – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Whilst most people will instantly think of Godzilla when you mention Kaiju, the Kaiju genre has been one that has spawned dozens of giant monsters over the decades (thousands if you count all of the giant monsters from tokusatsu shows like Super Sentai). And whilst Godzilla might be the king, there are a number of monsters that are almost as famous as him, and deserve a moment or two in the spotlight. Godzilla: The Best of Rodan gathers together four issues from across IDW‘s back catalogue that give the fire demon the chance to shine.

The first up in this collection is Godzilla: History’s Greatest Monster #4, written by Duane Swierczynski, which drops the reader into the middle of a story featuring a group of monster hunters who have been paid to capture as many Kaiju as possible. The story sees Titanosaurus smashing his way through a city whilst the monster hunters figure out a way to take him down whilst flying above in their helicopter transport. Unfortunately, Rodan comes onto the scene, forcing them to fight a monster on two fronts.

Compared to some of the stories in this collection, this one is clearly part of a bigger tale. Some of the Godzilla series have told self contained stories each issue, but this is clearly not the case here, with the characters referencing other events, and the story ending on a note that feels very unfinished. That being said, it does showcase Rodan well, and his arrival in the story feels brutal and epic as the huge winged creature fights against its ground-based adversary. The art, by Simon Gane and Ronda Pattison, is packed full of strong line work, and is filled with detail. Whilst this can sometimes feel a bit much on the human characters, the detailing is great on the monsters and the city destruction scenes.

The second story comes from Godzilla: Legends #2, by Jonathan Vankin, and feels like the most self contained and complete tale in the entire book. It begins a number of years before the main events, where a soldier stationed at a military base goes hiking up to the mountains and brings back a giant egg he finds as a souvenir. Unfortunately, its parent is attracted, and Rodan attacks the base. Several years later, and the egg is still in military custody, and under examination by a scientist becoming increasingly obsessed by it.

This story is easily my favourite in the book, because it feels like it’s doing everything that it needs to in this one issue. The story manages to be incredibly engaging and interesting considering its short number of pages in which to do everything, and whilst Rodan doesn’t feature much on the page its presence is there throughout and drives everything. The art for this story is the same as the previous issue, yet manages to look different thanks to less focus on heavy shading lines and less extraneous detail being added in the line work.

The third story comes from Godzilla: Oblivion #3, and whilst it’s part of a larger narrative it comes across as a solo story in its own right. Written by Joshua Fialkov, it tells the story of a brilliant scientist who’s been hired to build a portal device to allow travel to other worlds. Made to activate the device before proper testing can be done, the scientist, their employer, and a group of bodyguards cross over into a world ruined by the Kaiju.

Even though this issue ends on a cliffhanger, and is clearly being used as the set up for its own story, it works nicely as its own short story, and the ‘oh no what happens next?!’ type end does feel like the kind of shocking conclusion that many short stories tend to have. That being said, Rodan features very little in this story. Young Rodan babies appear once the team cross into the other universe, but so do a number of other monsters, and Rodan ends up being the first in a line of creatures that cause trouble, and don’t even end up being the main ones. So in a way it does feel kind of odd to see this in a Best of Rodan book when he’s a bit player. The art for the story, by Brian Churilla and Jay Fotos is really nice, and the two of them create some very cool moments once things go over to the other universe and you get to see multiple Kaiju interacting with each other.

The final story comes from the pages of Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #5, by Chris Mowry and Matt Frank, and much like the first story is clearly a part of a longer narrative. The story begins with a scientist and his students being chased by Varan, who eventually ends up fighting Rodan as they’re ushered into a military bunker for safety. However, when it’s revealed that the bunker houses a captured Kaiju, it becomes obvious that their safe haven is far from the sanctuary that the students were hoping for.

With this story seeming to be a middle part of a longer tale it means that there’s little to this to follow other than the monster fights, which are actually a very small part of the book. Who are these students, why are they at this bunker, where are they going next, why is anything happening? All questions that this issue does not address in any real way. As such I found it very difficult to connect with any of this story. Plus, Rodan is a background monster for much of this tale, and it’s inclusion here feels like it’s simply to make up numbers. The art on this story, by Chris Mowry and Jeff Zornow, is perhaps the best in the book, with the cleanest and neatest work, and the best monster visuals, which makes the fact that it feels so out of place all the sadder.

Whilst this collection does bring together four issues that feature Rodan, I cannot say that it brings readers four Rodan stories. The lack of a focus on Rodan in much of a meaningful way in most of them, and the inclusion of snippets of larger narratives makes it feel like this collection was thrown together as a purely moneymaking exercise. If you’re a completionist who has to have every issue then this book might be worth while to you, but for everyone else it’s a costly book without much to show for that cost.

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