{"id":32665,"date":"2025-04-21T12:52:44","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T12:52:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=32665"},"modified":"2025-04-21T12:52:44","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T12:52:44","slug":"godzilla-the-original-marvel-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/04\/21\/godzilla-the-original-marvel-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Godzilla: The Original Marvel Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Doug Moench<\/strong>, Herb Trimpe<\/strong>, Tom Sutton<\/strong>, Jim Mooney<\/strong>, Tony DeZu\u00f1iga<\/strong>, Klaus Janson<\/strong>, Fred Kida<\/strong>, Dan Green<\/strong>, Jack Abel<\/strong>, Frank Giacoia<\/strong>, George Tuska<\/strong> & various (MARVEL)
\nISBN: 978-1-3029-5875-6 (HB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

What\u2019s big and green and leaves your front room a complete mess? No, not any first world government\u2019s policy on climate change, but (arguably) Earth\u2019s most famous monster…<\/p>\n

Back in 1976, although some television cartoons had introduced Japanese style and certain stars – like Astro Boy<\/strong> and Marine Boy<\/strong> – to western eyes, manga and anime were only starting to creep into global consciousness. However, the most well-known pop culture Japanese export was a colossal radioactive dinosaur who regularly rampaged through the East, crushing 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 multimedia corporate colossus of today and was looking to increase its international profile. Comics companies have always sought licensed properties to bolster their market-share and in 1977 Marvel truly landed the big one, leading to a 2-year run of one of the world\u2019s most recognisable characters. They also 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 written and directed by Ishiro Honda for Toho Films: a symbol of ancient forces roused to violent reaction by mankind\u2019s incessant meddling. The film was savagely re-cut and dubbed into English with young Raymond Burr inserted for US audience appeal and comprehension, with the Brobdingnagian beast inexplicably renamed Godzilla<\/strong>. The movie was released in the US on April 27th<\/sup> and – despite being a brutally bowdlerised hash of Ishiro Honda\u2019s message and intent – became a monster hit anyway.<\/p>\n

The King of Monsters smashed his way through 33 Japanese movies (and six & counting US iterations); and tons of records, books, games, associated merch and many, many comics. He is the originator of the manga sub-genre Daikaij? <\/em>(giant strange beasts). After years away thanks to convoluted copyright issues, Marvel is regaining contact with many of its 1970\/1980s licensing classics and this volume is a no-frills, simple sensation recovered from a time when the other Big Green Gargantuan rampaged across the Marvel firmament heavily (how else?) interacting with stalwarts of the shared universe as just one of the guys…<\/p>\n

The saga is preceded by Introduction \u2018\u201cIt Had to Happen\u201d Godzilla in the Mighty Marvel Universe!\u2019<\/em> by uberfan Karl Kesel before the compilation commences with \u2018The Coming!\u2019<\/em>, courtesy of Doug Moench, Herb Trimpe & Jim Mooney, wherein the monstrous aquatic lizard with radioactive halitosis erupts out of the Pacific Ocean and rampages through Alaska.
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\nSuperspy security organisation S.H.I.E.L.D. is quickly dispatched to stop the onslaught, and Nick Fury <\/strong>(the original white one) summarily calls in Japanese looming-lizard 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…<\/p>\n

In Japan, many people now believe that Godzilla is a benevolent force destined to oppose true evil. Young Robert is one of them and gets the chance to expound his devout views in #2\u2019s \u2018Thunder in the Darkness!\u2019<\/em> (inked by Frank Giacoia & George Tuska) when the skyscraping saurian resurfaces in Seattle and nearly razes the place before being lured away by daring and ingenuity, S.H.I.E.L.D. style. 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 sadly, there are also dozens of freelance do-gooders in the Marvel universe always ready to step up and when the Emerald antihero takes offence at San Francisco\u2019s Golden Gate Bridge, he attracts the attention of the local superhero team. The Champions<\/strong> – a short-lived, California-based team consisting of Black Widow<\/strong>, Angel<\/strong>, Iceman<\/strong>, Ghost Rider<\/strong> and Hercules<\/strong> – rapidly respond in \u2018A Tale of Two Saviours\u2019 <\/em>(with the lushly solid inks of Tony DeZu\u00f1iga adding welcome depth to the art). Typically, the humans spend more time fighting each other than the monster, before the beast bolts for quieter shores…<\/p>\n

There\u2019re only so many cities even the angriest dinosaur can trash before formula tedium sets in, so writer Moench begins his first continued story in #4 with \u2018Godzilla Versus Batragon!\u2019<\/em> (guest-pencilled by the superb Tom Sutton and again inked by DeZu\u00f1iga), wherein deranged scientist\/monster mutator Dr. Demonicus<\/em> enslaves Aleutian Islanders to help him grow his own world-wrecking giant horrors… until the real deal shows up. The epic encounter concludes catastrophically with plenty of collateral damage on \u2018The Isle of Lost Monsters\u2019<\/em> (inked by Klaus Janson) before \u2018A Monster Enslaved!\u2019 <\/em>in #6 opens another extended epic as Trimpe returns and Godzilla – as well as the American general public – are introduced to another now commonplace Japanese innovation.<\/p>\n

Giant, piloted battle-suits or Mecha first appeared in Go Nagai\u2019s 1972 manga classic Mazinger Z<\/strong>, and Marvel did much to popularise the subgenre in their follow-up\/spin-off 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.\u2019s latest weapon – a colossal robot codenamed Red Ronin<\/em> – to aid the Immense Intense Iguana when Godzilla is finally captured. Fred Kida stirringly inked the first of a long line of saurian sagas with #7\u2019s \u2018Birth of a Warrior!\u2019<\/em> with more carnage culminating in the uneasy alliance ending in another huge fight in concluding chapter \u2018Titan Time Two!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Trimpe & Kida depicted \u2018The Fate of Las Vegas!\u2019<\/em> in Godzilla<\/strong> #9: a lighter-toned morality play with the monster destroying Boulder Dam and flooding the modern Sodom and Gomorrah, before returning to big beastie bashing in \u2018Godzilla vs Yetrigar\u2019<\/em>: another multi-part mash-up that ends in \u2018Arena for Three!\u2019<\/em> as Red Ronin & Rob reappear to tackle both large looming lizard and stupendous, smashing Sasquatch, after which the first year ends with #12\u2019s \u2018The Beta-Beast!\u2019<\/em> – first chapter in a classic alien invasion epic.
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\nShanghaied 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 \u2018The Mega-Monsters from Beyond!\u2019<\/em>, Red Ronin joins the fray for blockbusting conclusion \u2018The Super-Beasts\u2019<\/em> (this last inked by Dan Green). Afterwards, let loose in cowboy country, Godzilla stomps into a rustling mystery and modern showdown in\u00a0\u2018Roam on the Range\u2019<\/em> and \u2018The Great Godzilla Roundup!\u2019<\/em> before the final story arc begins.<\/p>\n

In #17 \u2018Of Lizards, Great and Small\u2019<\/em> starts with a logical but humane solution to the beast\u2019s rampages after superhero Ant-Man<\/strong>\u2019s shrinking gas is used to reduce Godzilla to a more manageable size. However, when the diminished devastator escapes from his lab cage and becomes a \u2018Fugitive in Manhattan!\u2019<\/em>, it\u2019s all hands on deck as the city waits for the shrinking vapour\u2019s effects to wear off. \u2018With Dugan on the Docks!\u2019<\/em> then sees the aging secret agent battle the immortal saurian on more or less equal terms before the Fantastic Four<\/strong> step in for \u2018A Night at the Museum.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

The FF have another non-lethal solution and dispatch Godzilla to a primeval age of dinosaurs in #21\u2019s \u2018The Doom Trip!\u2019<\/em>, allowing every big beast fan\u2019s dream to come true as the King of the Monsters teams up with Jack Kirby\u2019s uniquely splendid Devil Dinosaur <\/strong>– and Moon Boy <\/em>– in the Jack Abel inked \u2018The Devil and the Dinosaur!\u2019<\/em>, before returning to the 20th<\/sup> century and full size for a spectacular battle against the Mighty Avengers<\/strong> in \u2018The King Once More\u2019<\/em>.
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\nThe story and series concluded in #24 (July 1979) with the remarkably satisfying \u2018And Lo, a Child Shall Lead Them\u2019<\/em>, as all New York\u2019s superheroes prove less effective than a single 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 \u201cbang for your buck\u201d. Moench\u2019s oft-times florid prose and dialogue meld perfectly here with Trimpe\u2019s stylised interpretation, which often surpasses the artist\u2019s excellent work on that other big, green galoot. Other than Kirby, Happy Herb was probably the most adept at capturing the astoundingly cathartic attraction of giant creatures running amok, and here he went hog wild at every opportunity…<\/p>\n

With covers by Trimpe, Ernie Chan, Joe Rubinstein, Bobs Layton, Wiacek & McLeod and Dave Cockrum, plus bonus features including Archie Goodwin\u2019s \u2018Godzilla-Grams\u2019<\/em> editorial page from the first issue, as well as covers to earlier compilations, letter page art by Sutton from and a text free version of this volume by painter Junggeun Yoon.<\/p>\n

These are great tales to bring younger and\/or disaffected readers back to comics and are well worth their space on any fan\u2019s bookshelf. This is what monster comics are all about and demand your full attention.
\n\u00a9 2024 MARVEL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Doug Moench, Herb Trimpe, Tom Sutton, Jim Mooney, Tony DeZu\u00f1iga, Klaus Janson, Fred Kida, Dan Green, Jack Abel, Frank Giacoia, George Tuska & various (MARVEL) ISBN: 978-1-3029-5875-6 (HB\/Digital edition) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. What\u2019s big and green and leaves your front room a complete mess? No, not any … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Godzilla: The Original Marvel Years”<\/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":[191,222,351,94,237,381,290,54,288,120,124,382,79,174,219,107,39,100,99],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-ant-man","category-apes-monkeys","category-avengers","category-black-widow","category-champions","category-dinosaurs","category-fantastic-four","category-hercules","category-iron-man","category-licensed-product","category-marvel-monsters","category-marvel-superheroes","category-nick-fury","category-s-h-i-e-l-d","category-science-fiction","category-spider-man","category-thor","category-westerns"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-8uR","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32665","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=32665"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32671,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32665\/revisions\/32671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}