At the height of Godzilla’s U.S. popularity in the ’70s, Marvel Comics cashed in by giving him his own monthly title – GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS. It lasted a mere two years, all 24 issues of which have been preserved for history in the new ESSENTIAL GODZILLA: VOL. 1. Not sure why it’s tagged as a first volume since it’s all here, but hey, I’m not complaining.
After awakening from the icy depths off Alaska, Godzilla basically spends the entire series going from one city to another, chased all the way by Nick Fury’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Several times, they almost succeed, but yet they’re constantly foiled by the requisite whiny Japanese kid (thankfully not clad in short pants) who wants to befriend the big guy. There’s always someone else fighting Godzilla as well, like Hercules, a Bigfoot, a laser-sword-wielding robot or alien porcupines. Because of this repetitive nature, GODZILLA really doesn’t pick up steam or find a voice until about midway through, when writer Doug Moench is able to get the giant monster battles out of his system and do some stories that are fun.
And by that, we mean stories you’d never see in a Godzilla film: Godzilla being attacked by cattle rustlers in the west. Godzilla made small by Ant-Man’s shrinking gas and wrestling with a rat in the sewers of New York City. Godzilla in a tank of live sharks. Godzilla sent back to the prehistoric age by a time machine and taking on Devil Dinosaur. Godzilla sparring with the Fantastic Four and the Avengers at the same time (with a bonus cameo from your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man).
Like the recent ESSENTIAL MOON KNIGHT, ESSENTIAL GODZILLA benefits from having Moench drive the thing from beginning to end, as well as a regular artist. With the exception of two early issues, they’re all drawn by the very talented Herb Trimpe, whose bold style is well-suited for this property. –Rod Lott
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I think you get the best of both worlds with this comic: the traditional giant monster battles reminiscent of the movies, and Marvel going off in its own unique direction. And it only lasted for 24 issues, so the writers never had a chance to run out of ideas. (Although I think it would have been nice to have seen one of Marvel’s black and white magazines like DRACULA LIVES and RAMPAGING HULK devoted to Godzilla.) I would recommend to a Godzilla newcomer to check out a few of the movies before trying the comic, but this is easily the best non-Japanese interpretation of the character.