Customer Reviews

Essential Godzilla (Marvel Essentials)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Marvel has done a number of comic series of independently licensed characters in the past, like Doctor Who; Rom the Spaceknight; and Doc Savage, Man of Bronze. Last year, the brass at Marvel set out to court many of these other companies and get their permission to reprint their licensed material, in anticipation of the large quantity of Essentials and Masterworks for 2006 that they wanted. The only taker was Japan's Toho Studios, hence the arrival of the Essential Godzilla, King of Monsters. I wasn't really into Godzilla or the "kaiju" scene (the last Godzilla movie I saw had a guy and two robots in the lower right-hand corner making fun of it) but I just had to witness the fruits of Marvel's labor. That's why the Terror of Tokyo recently stomped onto my bookshelf, standing and roaring defiantly right between Ghost Rider and Howard the Duck.

The 1977-79 twenty-four issue series allowed the big G to cut a swath of destruction across America's fruited plains, just as his fans have always wanted. The saga begins with `Zilla's emergence after a two decade hiatus off the coast of Alaska. He then picks his teeth with the Space Needle in Seattle before causing some tremors in San Fran. He becomes the ultimate high roller in Vegas, wades into the Grand Canyon, flattens Salt Lake City, and even draws the ire of cattle rustlers in the Great Plains. There's an entire issue devoted to burly cowpokes trying to lasso and corral Godzilla (A deliberate symbol of the tension between two different national cultures: possibly. Hysterical: yes). Finally, our U.S tour via gigantic lizard concludes in the Marvel Universe's most happenin' hot spot, New York City. Like I said, I wasn't really a fan, but if wanting Godzilla to lay waste to the Big Apple is wrong, then perhaps I don't want to be right.

One thing I really must mention to the true Godzillophiles out there is that Toho always licensed each of their creations separately, and Marvel only footed the bill for the big Kahuna. That means no Mothra, no Rodan, no ... uh, the three-headed one, King Gur-something; so the House of Ideas came up with some new giant monsters. Firstly, a bat-dragon and a huge centipede are among the creatures unleashed from a crazed scientist's island lair (there's always some of those scattered around comic books and Bond movies). An 80-foot tall shaggy yeti opposes Godzilla in Arizona, and then two warring alien races with a predilection toward sicking gargantuan beasts on each other stop by (What are the odds?). My favorite of the new colossi is Red Ronin, a towering robot piloted by a twelve-year old boy (no other image defines "Japan" more to me than that).

Of course, this is an in-continuity Marvel title, so naturally plenty of superheroes are called in to try their luck against the big G. The Champions are there to defend `Frisco, and the Fantastic Four banish our title character to the stone age where he runs into the little-known Kirby creation called the Devil Dinosaur (seems like a good fit). Also, Godzilla learns if size really does matter when he's shrunk down to six inches, courtesy of the Avenger Yellowjacket's "Pym particles". Then Pym joins the rest of his fellow assemblers for one final stand against a restored King of the Monsters in Manhattan. But his primary pursuers are from SHIELD and Nick Fury's second-in-command, Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan (his name comes from the slang for hollow-point bullets, by the way). Even if you're not as much of a Marvelite as I, you have to admit that you'd rather see Godzilla face any of these guys than Matthew Broderick and Tea Leoni, right?

In the end, what we have here is a campy, deliciously fun comic book caper and also the first Essential that's a real collector's item. The entire series is penned by Doug Moench, esteemed creator of Moon Knight, and almost all of it is penciled by long-time Incredible Hulk artist Herb Trimpe (What can I say? The man knows how to draw huge green guys!). Doug and Herb set out to make a product that would please both Marvel readers and monster movie fans, and in my opinion they clearly succeeded. They did a fantastic job in identifying Godzilla not as the unholy demonic force that he appears to be, but as a simple creature that was accidentally thrust into a world that's too small for him (and at one point that simple creature decapitates a foe with its own tail. #$%&ing awesome!). This is among the most enjoyable Essentials I've ever read, and if you want a copy of your own, my advice is to get one ASAP because this may be the only printing. Sure, it may cost slightly more than your average Essential, but if you can afford five modern comic magazines, you can afford this.

Before I sign off, I'd like to ask you all something. How many of you ever heard of Rom the Spaceknight or Doc Savage before you read my introduction? Probably not too many, eh? It's a shame there isn't anything out there to generate more interest in those long forgotten franchises, like say, I don't know, maybe a collection of their previous comic appearances gathered in one inexpensive volume. Yep, what a shame.

I must say, marvel did an excellent jop of showing godzilla. godzilla proves himself no matter the size,place,time,or opponent, he is still the king of the monsters. Even when he was shrank down the size of a rat, a rat was still no match for him. When he grows to human size, he meets up with his friend Rob, who thinks that godzilla should not be killed, and as rob gets godzilla some clothes to disguise him (its funny to see godzilla in a hat and a trench coat) two street guys try to mug both of them. Needless to say, godzilla does not take too kindly to threats and as strongbad would put it, "BURNATED". Anyways, any kaiju fan or marvel comics fan should check this out as he fights plenty of marvel classics (including the fantastic four,thor,ironman,iceman,and others.)

Being a Daikaijuologist (Studies Giant mysterious beasts) I remembered this series of comics fondly as a boy but did not have them all, Now I do. Something I found interesting, TOHO (the company resonsible for the Godzilla Movies) didn't reveal that Big-G was a vegitarian until 1993, But Marvel Knew he was back in 78! (See the cowboy issues in the book) all trivia aside though, even a Non-Comic reading Godzilla fan will enjoy this Book! It's fun to watch the Shodai (Original)Dark,evil, mean, Godzilla thrust into the weird & almost funny 70's godzilla situations! Goofy aliens, time travel, saving kids what have you. Buy it, Love it! that fact that it's black & white? who cares? So were the first TWO Movies!

This is a collection of the Marvel Comics imprint of Godzilla comics. It is in their "essential" line, so expect a great volume of story and art at an affordable price. One caveat, the interiors are all black and white. The lack of color is jarring at first, but once you've read a bit you will get used to it.
The material is imaginative as it is great fun to have Godzilla come play in the Marvel sandbox. There are numerous guest appearances from various Marvel stalwarts as diverse as the Fantastic Four to Devil Dinosaur.
Godzilla purists will be put off by Godzilla's appearance (he is much more tyranosaur-like than the classic Godzilla)but there is no mistaking Godzilla.There are lots of guest-spots from Marvel Comics characters, but none from Godzilla's rogue's gallery (we all love Monster Zero, mecha-Godzilla, and Mothra).
Make no mistake though that this a fun read, particularly if you are a Godzilla fan and a Marvel-Zombie!

Back in 1998 I was in Godzilla heaven. The American Godzilla remake was coming out and I was ten years old. I won a drawing contest and used the money to buy a boxed set of Godzilla VHS tapes. Dark Horse comics released three collections of their Godzilla comics from the '80s and '90s- I had them all. Godzilla articles in every magazine (I had to pester my mom a lot to get those), ect. ect. It was in this Godzilla-heavy atmosphere that I discovered the weird world of Marvel Comics' Godzilla series from the late '70s. I managed to pick up a few issues and was delighted by the lighter, campy take on Godzilla from a '70s superhero perspective.

Flashforward to now and I get to see the whole Marvel storyline from begining to end with this fantastic complete set. It has all 24 issues of the series in black and white (as someone who has a few of the actual issues let me tell you that the color was nothing to write home about). In it we see Godzilla emerge om the west coast of the US and cross America untill finding himself in New York for the epic finale. They start out trying to ape the films, but as the series goes on they more and more let loose and play Godzilla up as a part of the Marvel continuity and he meets The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, SHEILD, Devil Dinosaur, and even Spider-Man!

Bought this for my kiddo (a BIG fan) and he loved it. He did express a little dismay about the lack of color at first, but after a while, he settled into reading and devoured it in one sitting.

Fantastic reprint of all 24 issues. Worth the small price! Very good value!

I highly recommend this complete collection, even if you are just a fan of older comics... a good read.

5 stars, highly recommended....

This is a thick book of most of the Godzilla comics that were published, essential for collectors, but if looked at too much the binding comes away from the book, must be careful, but good reading for the Godzilla collector.

This collection is good enough to be a relativly good buy, but not outstanding. All the storys follow a formula, but it is still fun and entertaining. For the price and Godzilla it's worth buying but it wont be the most interesting comic you will read.

I bought this volume of the Marvel Essential series based largely on the reviews I read. It was a fun romp through the 70's Marvel world, even though I have not been a big Godzilla fan over the years. I was worried early on that this would be a different version of the Hulk, with Dum-Dum Dugan replacing General Thunderbolt Ross, but Dugan actually showed character growth early on in this run. There were some parts that were pretty hokey, but it was a fun read and worthwhile.