Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #5 Review

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Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #5 Review

Publisher: IDW
Writer: Chris Mowry
Artist: Jeff Zornow
Colorist: Priscilla Tramontano
Letterer: Shawn Lee
Editor: Bobby Curnow

Review by Josh Gillam

Being a long time Godzilla fan, I was overcome with excitement when I heard about this new series. This series has not failed to deliver on the one thing any person expects to see with Godzilla, and that is giant monsters tearing into each other.

This issue focuses on a professor and his students that are in China to study and identify new monsters that have been appearing out of nowhere. It also focuses on two monsters, Rodan and Varan, that start battling only a couple pages into the book. We don’t see any action from Godzilla in this issue, but he makes a brief appearance at the end. But the lack of Godzilla doesn’t take away from the fun in this issue. The initial monster battle has plenty of action, and another monster is introduced to the mix toward the end of the book. The third monster, Gaira, is released from captivity by one of the students after they find out that the Chinese military had been holding it..

This issue is full of battles and action and the artwork by Jeff Zornow is done beautifully. There’s only a few pages that have a significant amount of dialogue, with the majority being action scenes and some narration. A lack of dialogue can be a risky move, because you have to be sure that the artwork is going to be captivating and detailed enough that the reader doesn’t bored, lost, or confused about where the story is headed. Zornow’s detail of the monsters, and destruction their causing, keeps you entertained and even reminiscent of watching old Godzilla movies. Reading through this issue gave me the same feeling I get when watching those old films.

The writer, Chris Mowry, did an excellent job of writing a comic that has that Godzilla feel to it. The story is engaging enough that I didn’t even realize Godzilla wasn’t in the book until I reached the end. Even though we don’t get to see the iconic monster in action, Mowry still gives us a thrilling story with plenty of action. He also opened up what I suspect will be an ongoing plot device, and that is the military application of monsters. It is very intriguing concept, that governments could be trying to capture these creatures to use as a weapon. It would be like having your own walking nuclear bomb. Perhaps one of my favorite moments of this book was when we see a moment of sadness in one of the monsters. Mowry dove into an aspect of these giant monsters that I’ve never seen before.

When the world of comics and Godzilla collide, with the aid of good writers and artists, it produces a fantastic book that you’re sure to enjoy. If you’re a Godzilla fan, this issue is a must read.

Story: 5/5
Art: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

Josh Gillam is the creator and writer for the webcomic/comedy project, Cynical Stew. You can follow him on Twitter at @Cynical_Stew

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