World Famous Comics: Essential Godzilla (Marvel Essentials)
Essential Godzilla (Marvel Essentials)
By: Doug Moench Publisher: Marvel Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Marvel Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 440 Publication Date: April 12, 2006 Reading Level: Young Adult
Product Description: You have your fear, which might become reality. And you have Godzilla, which IS reality. From Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956)And what a reality it was! For two years, Japans greatest export was one of Marvels biggest stars, and the King of the Monsters upheld his title against some of the best and worst the House of Ideas had to offer including the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and Nick Fury and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.! Godzilla shrinks, goes West, travels through time and hosts one of Spider-Mans most gratuitous guest-shots ever! Plus: aliens, mutants, mad Scientists and almost a dozen MORE giant monsters! Its so big, you cant miss it! Collects GODZILLA #1-24.
Entertaining godzilla collection This collection is good enough to be a relativly good buy, but not outstanding. All the storys follow a formula, but it is still fun and entertaining. For the price and Godzilla it's worth buying but it wont be the most interesting comic you will read.
Entertaining... I bought this volume of the Marvel Essential series based largely on the reviews I read. It was a fun romp through the 70's Marvel world, even though I have not been a big Godzilla fan over the years. I was worried early on that this would be a different version of the Hulk, with Dum-Dum Dugan replacing General Thunderbolt Ross, but Dugan actually showed character growth early on in this run. There were some parts that were pretty hokey, but it was a fun read and worthwhile.
Good and bad together: but worth it. The bad points first: Black and white printed on cheap news print. But that is how they pobably make this so affordable. But hey man, This is the seventies, should definately be in color. Good points: At least this volume allowed me to read the issues ive not been able to fingd in comics shops. Fans who dont like the way Godzilla looks here: Godzillas design for this comic was modeled on the Aurora model kit, which was in turn modeled on the Godzilla suit from KING KONG vs Godzillla. That particular suit was probably the most dinosaur like (especially the head )version seen in the films and is distictly different from the way he appeard in all the other films. So its somewhat diferent from what many fans are used to. The model kit they used to make the drawings from was probably painted green with red eyes. In some of the comic book art there is an attempt to create a forced perspective to exagerate G's size. But it doesnt work and he just ends up looking weird. The Godzilla cartoon from around the same time used the same Aurora design, but they had painted the eys the right way. (HIs eyes are humanoid looking, usually, with redish brown pupils.
For those unfamiliar with this incarnation of Godzilla or this version of The Marvel Universe for that matter, It shold be noted that this comic was released during what is known by fans as the "Second Monster craze". the first was in the 1950-sixties, The second was fom mid 70s to about 1980 when slashers became the rage. The huge theatrical release of movies like Godzilla vs. Megalon and Inframan were a big part of this. But the era is mostly owed to the release of many high quality monster toys. A lot of Universal monster inspired Action figures. The import of weird Japanese toys like micronauts and Shogun warriors (also marvel comics) and Godzilla Toys and games fro mattel. Mattels Shogun Warrior GODZILLA toy as the holy grail or at least the pinacle of this era. The aurora monster kits, including Godzilla, were rereleased in glow in the dark versions at this time. Glow in the dark Monster postrs were prizes in Super Sugar Crisp cereal boxes. And there was even a Godzilla record containing two audio adventures.
Marvel Foresight! Being a Daikaijuologist (Studies Giant mysterious beasts) I remembered this series of comics fondly as a boy but did not have them all, Now I do. Something I found interesting, TOHO (the company resonsible for the Godzilla Movies) didn't reveal that Big-G was a vegitarian until 1993, But Marvel Knew he was back in 78! (See the cowboy issues in the book) all trivia aside though, even a Non-Comic reading Godzilla fan will enjoy this Book! It's fun to watch the Shodai (Original)Dark,evil, mean, Godzilla thrust into the weird & almost funny 70's godzilla situations! Goofy aliens, time travel, saving kids what have you. Buy it, Love it! that fact that it's black & white? who cares? So were the first TWO Movies!
Something big is coming your way, Essential fans! Marvel has done a number of comic series of independently licensed characters in the past, like Doctor Who; Rom the Spaceknight; and Doc Savage, Man of Bronze. Last year, the brass at Marvel set out to court many of these other companies and get their permission to reprint their licensed material, in anticipation of the large quantity of Essentials and Masterworks for 2006 that they wanted. The only taker was Japan's Toho Studios, hence the arrival of the Essential Godzilla, King of Monsters. I wasn't really into Godzilla or the "kaiju" scene (the last Godzilla movie I saw had a guy and two robots in the lower right-hand corner making fun of it) but I just had to witness the fruits of Marvel's labor. That's why the Terror of Tokyo recently stomped onto my bookshelf, standing and roaring defiantly right between Ghost Rider and Howard the Duck.
The 1977-79 twenty-four issue series allowed the big G to cut a swath of destruction across America's fruited plains, just as his fans have always wanted. The saga begins with `Zilla's emergence after a two decade hiatus off the coast of Alaska. He then picks his teeth with the Space Needle in Seattle before causing some tremors in San Fran. He becomes the ultimate high roller in Vegas, wades into the Grand Canyon, flattens Salt Lake City, and even draws the ire of cattle rustlers in the Great Plains. There's an entire issue devoted to burly cowpokes trying to lasso and corral Godzilla (A deliberate symbol of the tension between two different national cultures: possibly. Hysterical: yes). Finally, our U.S tour via gigantic lizard concludes in the Marvel Universe's most happenin' hot spot, New York City. Like I said, I wasn't really a fan, but if wanting Godzilla to lay waste to the Big Apple is wrong, then perhaps I don't want to be right.
One thing I really must mention to the true Godzillophiles out there is that Toho always licensed each of their creations separately, and Marvel only footed the bill for the big Kahuna. That means no Mothra, no Rodan, no ... uh, the three-headed one, King Gur-something; so the House of Ideas came up with some new giant monsters. Firstly, a bat-dragon and a huge centipede are among the creatures unleashed from a crazed scientist's island lair (there's always some of those scattered around comic books and Bond movies). An 80-foot tall shaggy yeti opposes Godzilla in Arizona, and then two warring alien races with a predilection toward sicking gargantuan beasts on each other stop by (What are the odds?). My favorite of the new colossi is Red Ronin, a towering robot piloted by a twelve-year old boy (no other image defines "Japan" more to me than that).
Of course, this is an in-continuity Marvel title, so naturally plenty of superheroes are called in to try their luck against the big G. The Champions are there to defend `Frisco, and the Fantastic Four banish our title character to the stone age where he runs into the little-known Kirby creation called the Devil Dinosaur (seems like a good fit). Also, Godzilla learns if size really does matter when he's shrunk down to six inches, courtesy of the Avenger Yellowjacket's "Pym particles". Then Pym joins the rest of his fellow assemblers for one final stand against a restored King of the Monsters in Manhattan. But his primary pursuers are from SHIELD and Nick Fury's second-in-command, Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan (his name comes from the slang for hollow-point bullets, by the way). Even if you're not as much of a Marvelite as I, you have to admit that you'd rather see Godzilla face any of these guys than Matthew Broderick and Tea Leoni, right?
In the end, what we have here is a campy, deliciously fun comic book caper and also the first Essential that's a real collector's item. The entire series is penned by Doug Moench, esteemed creator of Moon Knight, and almost all of it is penciled by long-time Incredible Hulk artist Herb Trimpe (What can I say? The man knows how to draw huge green guys!). Doug and Herb set out to make a product that would please both Marvel readers and monster movie fans, and in my opinion they clearly succeeded. They did a fantastic job in identifying Godzilla not as the unholy demonic force that he appears to be, but as a simple creature that was accidentally thrust into a world that's too small for him (and at one point that simple creature decapitates a foe with its own tail. #$%&ing awesome!). This is among the most enjoyable Essentials I've ever read, and if you want a copy of your own, my advice is to get one ASAP because this may be the only printing. Sure, it may cost slightly more than your average Essential, but if you can afford five modern comic magazines, you can afford this.
Before I sign off, I'd like to ask you all something. How many of you ever heard of Rom the Spaceknight or Doc Savage before you read my introduction? Probably not too many, eh? It's a shame there isn't anything out there to generate more interest in those long forgotten franchises, like say, I don't know, maybe a collection of their previous comic appearances gathered in one inexpensive volume. Yep, what a shame.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
