Essential Godzilla
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
[...] But the art is always good for the duration of the AMAZING ADVENTURES, with Neal Adams, Howard Chaykin, TOMB OF DRACULA’s Gene Colan and, most notably, Herb Trimpe, whose immense talents also lifted the work in ESSENTIAL GODZILLA. I cannot say the same for the 1983 KILLRAVEN graphic novel that’s also included. P. Craig Russell’s drawings look sloppy and rushed, and McGregor again drains the life out of it. To be fair, that was in the early stages of the graphic novel, before anyone really knew what to do with it, other than throw in some sex. And 2001’s attempt at reviving Killraven as part of the Marvel Knights line, though slick and polished, is dreadfully dull, little more than a two-person conversation, void of action. It ends this mediocre collection on a serious down note. –Rod Lott [...]
[...] Marvel Comics simultaneously pays tribute to and pokes fun at their monster books of the 1950s and 1960s with the must-have MARVEL MONSTERS collection. As befitting of that era, Marvel’s creatures were Godzilla-inspired, oversized creatures of the post-atomic age, brought to city-smashing life in tryout titles like WHERE MONSTERS DWELL, STRANGE TALES, JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY and TALES TO ASTONISH (in contrast, DC’s monsters of the time were largely horror). [...]
[...] OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS SERIES: • ESSENTIAL GODZILLA: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL IRON FIST: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL KILLRAVEN: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL MOON KNIGHT: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL NOVA: VOL. 1 [...]
[...] OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS SERIES: • ESSENTIAL DEFENDERS: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL GODZILLA: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL IRON FIST: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL KILLRAVEN: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL MOON KNIGHT: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL NOVA: VOL. 1 [...]
[...] OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS SERIES: • ESSENTIAL DEFENDERS: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL GODZILLA: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL IRON FIST: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL KILLRAVEN: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL MOON KNIGHT: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL NOVA: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL SAVAGE SHE-HULK: VOL. 1 [...]
[...] OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS SERIES: • ESSENTIAL DEFENDERS: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL GODZILLA: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL IRON FIST: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL KILLRAVEN: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL MOON KNIGHT: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL NOVA: VOL. 1 • ESSENTIAL SAVAGE SHE-HULK: VOL. 1 [...]