{"id":18920,"date":"2018-09-01T08:00:48","date_gmt":"2018-09-01T08:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=18920"},"modified":"2018-08-29T17:36:56","modified_gmt":"2018-08-29T17:36:56","slug":"essential-godzilla-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2018\/09\/01\/essential-godzilla-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Essential Godzilla"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Doug Moench<\/strong>, Herb Trimpe<\/strong>, Tom Sutton<\/strong> & various (Marvel)
\nISBN: 978-0-7851-2153-4<\/p>\n

What’s big and green and leaves your front room a complete mess? No, not a Christmas tree, but (arguably) the world’s most famous monster.<\/p>\n

Back in 1976 manga and anime were only starting to creep into global consciousness and the most well-known popular culture Japanese export was a colossal radioactive dinosaur who regularly rampaged through the East, destroying cities and fighting monsters even more bizarre and scary than he was.<\/p>\n

At this time Marvel was well on the way to becoming the multi-media corporate colossus of today and was looking to increase its international profile. Comic companies have always sought licensed properties to bolster their market-share and in 1977 Marvel truly landed the big one with a 2-year run of one of the world’s most recognisable characters. They boldly broke with tradition by dropping him solidly into real-time contemporary company continuity. The series ran for 24 guest-star-stuffed issues between August 1977 and July 1979.<\/p>\n

Gojira<\/strong> first appeared in the eponymous 1954 anti-war, anti-nuke parable directed by Ishiro Honda for Toho Films; a symbol of ancient forces roused to violent reaction by mankind’s incessant meddling. The film was re-cut and dubbed into English with a young Raymond Burr inserted for US audience appeal, and the Brobdingnagian beast renamed Godzilla<\/strong>. He has smashed his way through 27 further Japanese movies, records, books, games, many, many comics and is the originator of the manga sub-genre Daikaij\u00c3\u00bb<\/em> (giant strange beasts).<\/p>\n

Although a certified sell-out, this mammoth monochrome collection is not generally available and – due, I presume to copyright issues – is not likely to resurface anytime soon in either physical or digital form, but if you’re a regular prowler in back issue bins you might get lucky. Stranger things have happened\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

In this no-frills, no-preamble Marvel interpretation compilation, the drama begins with ‘The Coming!’<\/em>, courtesy of Doug Moench, Herb Trimpe & Jim Mooney, as the monstrous aquatic lizard with radioactive fire-breath erupts out of the Pacific Ocean and rampages through Alaska.<\/p>\n

Superspy organisation S.H.I.E.L.D. is quickly dispatched to stop the onslaught, and Nick Fury<\/em> calls in Japanese experts Dr. Yuriko Takiguchi<\/em>, his grandson Robert<\/em> and their eye-candy assistant Tamara Hashioka<\/em>. After an inconclusive battle of ancient strength against modern tech, Godzilla returns to the sea, but the seeds have been sown and everybody knows he will return\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

In Japan many believe that Godzilla is a benevolent force destined to oppose true evil. Young Robert is one of them and he gets the chance to expound his views in #2’s ‘Thunder in the Darkness!’<\/em> (inked by Frank Giacoia & George Tuska) when the skyscraper saurian resurfaces in Seattle and nearly razes the place before being lured away by S.H.I.E.L.D. ingenuity.<\/p>\n

Veteran agents Dum-Dum Dugan<\/em>, Gabe Jones<\/em> and Jimmy Woo<\/em> are seconded to a permanent anti-lizard task force until the beast is finally vanquished, but there are also dozens of freelance do-gooders in the Marvel universe\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Sadly, when the Green Goliath takes offence at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, he attracts the attention of a local superhero team. The Champions<\/strong> – a short-lived, California-based team consisting of Black Widow<\/em>, The Angel<\/em>, Iceman<\/em>, Ghost Rider<\/em> and Hercules<\/em> – rapidly respond in ‘A Tale of Two Saviours’ <\/em>(with the solids inks of Tony DeZu\u00c3\u00b1iga adding a welcome depth to the art). Typically, the humans spend more time fighting each other than the monster\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

There’re only so many cities even the angriest dinosaur can trash before tedium sets in so writer Moench begins his first continued story in #4 with ‘Godzilla Versus Batragon!’<\/em> (guest-pencilled by the superb Tom Sutton and again inked by DeZu\u00c3\u00b1iga), wherein deranged scientist Dr. Demonicus<\/em> enslaves Aleutian Islanders to help him grow his own world-wrecking giant horrors\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 until the real thing shows up\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

The epic encounter concludes in ‘The Isle of Lost Monsters’<\/em> (inked by a fresh-faced Klaus Janson) before ‘A Monster Enslaved!’ <\/em>in #6 opens another extended epic as Herb Trimpe returns and Godzilla as well as the general American public are introduced to another now commonplace Japanese innovation.<\/p>\n

Giant, piloted battle-suits or Mecha first appeared in Go Nagai’s 1972 manga classic Mazinger Z<\/strong>, and Marvel would do much to popularise the sub-genre in their follow-up licensed title Shogun Warriors<\/strong>, (based on an import toy rather than movie or comic characters but by the same creative team as Godzilla). Here young Rob Takiguchi steals S.H.I.E.L.D.’s latest weapon – a giant robot codenamed Red Ronin<\/em> – to aid the Big Green Guy when he is finally captured.<\/p>\n

Fred Kida stirringly inked the first of a long line of saurian sagas with #7’s ‘Birth of a Warrior!’<\/em> whilst the uneasy giant’s alliance ends in another huge fight in concluding chapter ‘Titan Time Two!’<\/em><\/p>\n

‘The Fate of Las Vegas’ <\/em>(Trimpe and Kida) in Godzilla<\/strong> #9 is a lighter-toned morality play with the monster destroying Boulder Dam and flooding the modern Sodom and Gomorrah, but it’s soon back to big beastie bashing in ‘Godzilla vs Yetrigar’<\/em>: another multi-part mash-up that ends in ‘Arena for Three!’<\/em> as Red Ronin returns to tackle both large looming lizard and stupendous, smashing Sasquatch.<\/p>\n

The first year ends with #12’s ‘The Beta-Beast!’<\/em>: first chapter in an invasion epic. Shanghaied to the Moon, Godzilla is co-opted as a soldier in a war between alien races who breed giant monsters as weapons, and when the battle transfers to Earth in ‘The Mega-Monsters from Beyond!’<\/em>, Red Ronin joins the fray for blockbusting conclusion ‘The Super-Beasts’<\/em> (this last inked by Dan Green).<\/p>\n

Afterwards, loose in cowboy country, Godzilla stomps into a rustling mystery and modern showdown in ‘Roam on the Range’<\/em> and ‘The Great Godzilla Roundup!’<\/em> before the final story arc begins.<\/p>\n

‘Of Lizards, Great and Small’<\/em> in #17 starts with a logical solution to the beast’s rampages after superhero Ant-Man<\/em>‘s shrinking gas is used to reduce Godzilla to a more manageable size. However, when the diminished devastator escapes from his cage and becomes a ‘Fugitive in Manhattan!’<\/em>, it’s all hands on deck as the city waits for the shrinking vapour’s effects to wear off.<\/p>\n

‘With Dugan on the Docks!’<\/em> then sees the secret agent battle the saurian on more or less equal terms before the Fantastic Four<\/em> step in for ‘A Night at the Museum.’<\/em><\/p>\n

The FF have another humane solution and dispatch Godzilla to a primeval age of dinosaurs in #21’s ‘The Doom Trip!’<\/em>, allowing every big beast fan’s dream to come true as the King of the Monsters teams up with Jack \u00e2\u20ac\u0153King\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Kirby’s uniquely splendid Devil Dinosaur <\/strong>– and Moon Boy <\/em>– in ‘The Devil and the Dinosaur!’<\/em> (inked by Jack Abel), before returning to the 20th<\/sup> century and full size for a spectacular battle against the Mighty Avengers<\/em> in ‘The King Once More’<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The story and series concluded in #24 (July 1979) with the remarkably satisfying ‘And Lo, a Child Shall Lead Them’<\/em> as all New York’s superheroes prove less effective than an impassioned plea, and Godzilla wearily departs for new conquests and other licensed outlets.<\/p>\n

By no means award-winners or critical masterpieces, these stories are nonetheless a perfect example of what comics should be: enticing, exciting, accessible and brimming with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bang for your buck.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Moench’s oft-times florid prose and dialogue meld perfectly here with Trimpe’s stylised interpretation, which often surpasses the artist’s excellent work on that other big, green galoot.<\/p>\n

These are great tales to bring the young and disaffected back to the comics fold and are well worth their space on any fan’s bookshelf. If only somebody could get all the lawyers in a room and have them battle out a solution to enable us to see them in a new edition\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6
\n\u00c2\u00a9 1977, 1978, 1979, 2006 Toho Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved. Godzilla, King of the Monsters \u00c2\u00ae Toho Co., Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Doug Moench, Herb Trimpe, Tom Sutton & various (Marvel) ISBN: 978-0-7851-2153-4 What’s big and green and leaves your front room a complete mess? No, not a Christmas tree, but (arguably) the world’s most famous monster. Back in 1976 manga and anime were only starting to creep into global consciousness and the most well-known popular … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Essential Godzilla”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,94,71,79,107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-avengers","category-marvel-essentials","category-marvel-superheroes","category-science-fiction"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-4Va","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18920\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}