Customer Reviews

Godland, Vol. 1: Hello, Cosmic! (v. 1)

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

 

 

Joe Casey and Tom Scioli deliever the goods

in this tale of cosmic drama that goes down like

a glass of cool fresh water. If one would like

a FREE full-issue preview of issues #1 and #8 they

can check them out at newsarama.com. I read issue #1

and that was enough for me. Gorgeous art, smart

story -telling and a "great" price for the collected

trade make for a sweet deal! Who needs Infinite Crisis?

Recomended!

if the intent was to produce a fun throwback to Kirby's late career - the New Gods/Kamandi/Eternals/Detroyer Duck era - while putting a little bit of a contemporary spin on the "Kirby genre," then the book is an unqualified success, in large part because of Casey's cleverness as a writer and Scioli's sincerity as an imitator/reinventor of the Kirby style. It is for this reason that I plan to read all the G?DLAND trades as they come out, personally. But I'm certain that that is not the intent - that Casey and Scioli mean to do more. There's a podcast interview on Wordballoon.com, where Casey mentions that G?DLAND is supposed to be more than a nostalgia kick, specifically pointing to the relationships between the protagonist, Adam Archer, and his sisters, as an example of the complexity and contemporary nature of the work. Yeeks. If anything, the relationships between Adam and his sisters remind me of the weak, childish characterizations you might see in any typical Silver Age comic book - there's one sequence, between Adam and his sister Neela, for example, that reminds me of the poorly-done "feminist" version of Lois Lane from the late 1960's/early 1970's (if you're not familiar with those books: the only difference between the feminist Lois and the pre-feminist Lois was that pre-feminist Lois was always grateful when Superman rescued her; feminist Lois was always pissed off by the rescue; neither of them, though, was able to survive on her own, without rescue of some sort or another). When I was reading it, I thought: "Fun! He's playing with that old campy helpless-but-bitchy pseudo-feminist stuff." But, well, in light of his statements about the book, and about his goals - it seems that, maybe, um, he wasn't. If the real intent is to step beyond pastiche into something that stands on its own, outside of its references to old comics (Kirby or otherwise), and can be taken seriously as a character study, or even as a meaningful action-adventure, then Casey and Scioli have a long way to go.

(Above is excerpted from my review at graphicnovelreview.com)

No, Godland isn't a long lost Jack Kirby story that was recently found although no one would fault you for jumping to that conclusion. Rather it's Joe Casey and Tom Scioli's tribute/reset on Kirby and Stan Lee work of the 60's, combining elements of the Fantastic Four along with Kirby's cosmic work of The New Gods, and the Eternals/Celestials, and that's just for starters. The pair hit on various Lee & Kirby creations ranging from the late 1950's through the 1970's, albeit with a more complex storyline for 21st century audiences.

As a meteor crashes near the Great Wall of China, the cosmic hero Adam Archer flies to investigate as we learn about his origin in a series of flashbacks. He was an astronaut on a mission to Mars and the lone survivor when their ship crashed. Near death, he stumbled upon an ancient alien machine and transformed into a being of awesome cosmic power by a group of alien minds. This harkens back to the days of the creation of beings such as the Silver Surfer and Adam Warlock. Investigating the meteor, Archer finds it contained a life form...a giant reptilian dog-like form that looks like one of those monsters created by Kirby in the pre-hero days of Marvel/Atlas comics that had names like Groom or Grok. A battle ensues but soon the arch villain Basil Cronus arrives on the scene and has his own designs on the alien mutt. Cronus is another great throwback to the 60's...a humanoid body with a skull floating in a vat of fluid for a head. While all of this is going on, America's most cherished hero "Crashman" has gone missing and been captured in the Arctic Circle by a villainess named Discordia.

There's a part in Godland that really made me laugh...as Archer battles the alien dog he chides himself for trash-talking while fighting...which of course is something that Stan Lee loved to have his heroes do in his stories. Very clever. Tom Scioli does a great job imitating Kirby's art style. I will note, however, that the Kirby he's replicating is more the mid-70's Kirby as opposed to the 60's "classic" Kirby. Still for Kirby fans it works as a wonderful tribute to the old master and Scioli obviously put in a lot of time studying Jack's work. He's got a lot of the nuances down pat, such the multitude of spots in Archer's "cosmic powers" right down to the facial expressions of the characters.

The only short-coming for me was the plot which was far more complex than anything Kirby and Lee would have created. I realize that audiences are more sophisticated today than they were 35 or 40 years ago, but I think it would have worked a bit better if the story were also kept in the Lee style. Still, it was a fun retro take on 60's material.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

What a great comic!

A cosmic adventure for TODAY'S audience. A great tribute to Jack Kirby and the cosmic tales of yesterday but this is clearly a tale for this generation of readers. It's fun, wild, and at times a bit crazy. The creative team has a fantastic imagination. With a great hero, a neat supporting cast, and wonderful and outlandish villians, this book has it all.

I had heard great things about this comic, how fun it is, how outrageous, etcetera. But when I was reading it, I wasn't into it. While the art is very good and the story is okay, I just thought that not much was going on.

Adam Archer is a nice hero, he has a sister that is jealous of his powers. There is a junkie villain which brings some nice comedy into the story and there are subplots which make it clear that there are plans for future issues. This is what makes me think of getting the second trade, but while reading the book, I just didn't feel the excitement I feel when reading other comic books.

I think the comic is well made, but it just isn't my kind of comic. Worth checking out.

This is just plain fun, old fashioned sci-fi at its best. I originally was not enthused about this title when I read the first issue, but now that I can read the trade in its entirety, it is just brilliant. Also recomment Fear Agent (not in trade yet) if you enjoy this.

This book is about as fun as it gets! Retro in all the right ways and progressive in all the others, I really reccomend this book to anyone into superheroes, big screen sci-fi or just looking for something new!

"Godland, v.1: Hello, Cosmic!"
Written by Joe Casey
Illustrated by Tom Scioli
(Image Comics)
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Dude, this book is so much fun! I've seen my fair share of Kirby imitations and homages, and it's not usually a gimmick I gravitate towards. But, oh man, Casey and Scioli get it all SO right in this pitch-perfect throwback to the breathless, burst-of-energy style of the Stan Lee-Jack Kirby collaborations. Gradually, they introduce a more modern feel to the plot -- a teeny bit of swearing, some 21st Century sensibilities in the dialogue, and finally the unrepentant kinkiness of the sexually sadistic villainess, Discordia. Still, they don't slip into the hyperviolent gore or facile irony that's dragging down so much of the contemporary comicbook scene, and stay true to the propulsive, just-for-fun ethos of Kirby's best efforts. This book is a gas - I highly recommended it. (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain book reviews)

Truly retro in that not much happens in each issue. The old Lee-Kirby style of large panels and extraneous shots of people who play no part in the overall plot makes it so each individual issue doesn't progress too much. The graphic novel format works well for Godland. It would be tough to read one issue at a time, but in 6-story blocks you can sink into its comfortable pace.
Given that pace, you can see the storyline developing into something that should last a number of years. I hope the writer-artist combo manages to stay together and see it to the end. They should take a cue from Y The Last Man and actually plan an ending, but not any time soon!