Customer Reviews

Godzilla

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

 

 

This black-and-white, manga version of 1984's "The Return of Godzilla" (U.S. title: "Godzilla 1985") was originally published in the U.S. bu Dark Horse Comics as a six-issue mini-series in 1988/89. The English translation was by Randy Stradley and Mike Richardson. This single-volume collection features a wonderful cover painting by Bob Eggleton. The story is pretty straightforward: after thirty years, Godzilla returns to menace modern Tokyo. Since this was an adaptation of the Japanese cut of the film, there are no scenes with Raymond Burr, who reprised his Steve Martin role for "Godzilla 1985." It's also much clearer in this version that the Russian nuclear missile launch on Japan was a mistake, not intentional. The manga style of art employed by Iwata is an odd mix with a Godzilla story. G-fans not used to it might think the whole thing comes off as a sort of "Speed Racer vs. Godzilla." The collection also comes with a nice gallery of Godzilla art by such U.S. comic artists as Art Adams, Mike Mignola, Steve Bissette, and British artist Alan Moore. For the price, it's well worth it even for marginal 'Zilla maniacs. For fans of the 1998 TriStar "Godzilla" -- shame on you!

Between 1988 and 1989, Eugene, Oregon-based Dark Horse Comics published a six-issue miniseries translation (of which this is collected) of the manga adaptation of "The Return of Godzilla" ("Godzilla 1985" for us Americans), a year after releasing their first use of the then newly-acquired liscence in comic form, "Godzilla King of the Monsters Special". It is in this miniseries that readers got to truly witness the great ferocity of the movie screen's biggest star, far removed from the Marvel Comics series published from 1978-79 (which can be found in Marvel's Essential Godzilla: King of the Monsters entry in their "Essentials" line).

Story
The main story comprising this collection of the miniseries is, as previously stated, an adaptation of The Return of Godzilla. For making a long story short, think Godzilla 1985 without the Raymond Burr/Pentagon scenes and all the Dr. Pepper product placement (aka the Japanese cut). As to the plot, it is laced with the genuine feelings of people during the waning years of the Cold War, emphasized by both the subplot of an accidental nuclear missile launch from an orbital Russian satellite; and the fears of the Japanese government leaders of use of similar nuclear weapons, not wanting a repeat performance of the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Combined with a subplot involving a reporter and his interations with a pair of siblings (one of whom is a shipwreck survivor) and a scientist who lost his parents in Godzilla's original attack on Tokyo makes this story a very emotional and engaging tale. But the bulk of it is a wonderfully scripted rampage of the Monster King himself, free and unburdened from the 20 years of being Japan's heroic defender. It is the sequencing of his destruction that ressurects the notion of Godzilla being forevermore a force to be reckoned with.

Art
The art of this story to me is very eye-catching; it almost looks similar to the art used in the manga series "Knights of the Zodiac", though more streamlined and less action cartoony. The facial expressions on the main human characters fit greatly with each moment of suspense; Godzilla himself, despite fluctuating features in each panel, is beautifully rendered as the great titan of terror he has come to redeem himself as. Probably one of the best sequences drawn are the stormy waters at the start of the story and the views of the satellite in space. Outside the main story, in the back pages there are also great tributes to the King of the Monsters by artists such as Arthur Adams ("X-Men" "Longshot"), Mike Mignola ("Hellboy" "Cosmic Oddessey"), Steve Bissette ("Saga of the Swamp Thing") and even legendary writer Alan Moore ("Saga of the Swamp Thing" "Watchmen" "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", among others).

Overall
This book is a great read for longtime fans or people who have yet to see their first Japanese monster movie. If you introduce someone to this book, let them know that THIS is what a monster movie SHOULD be.

This graphic novel from Dark Horse, based on the film "Godzilla 1985" is fine proof of Godzilla being the King of the Monsters.

Here, Godzilla sheds the "friend to all children" stuff, & unveils himself as the living nightmare he really always was. A walking mountain of flesh & hate, with no "off switch"--merely ever amped-up levels of raw, naked power.

Well illustrated, slickly written, & set in the Cold War era, it is certain to please the true kaiju (Japanese for "giant monster") fan.

The Hipster gives it a Big Thumbs UP!

Godzilla going manga? I thought that was cool, and turns out so is this book. It's a nice change from the usual American-style that Dark Horse always does. Now all the Big G needs is his own non-dubbed anime and he's set.

Godzilla does appear different from his usual look, but that by no means takes away from his giant dinosaur charm. He's still as cool as ever. This is also one of the few books where Godzilla actually looks more closely at human beings, courtesy of the main characters. Not a bad book. Maybe he should team up with Astro Boy or something.

This book is a faithful, surprisingly powerful and moving graphic adaptation of the movie "Godzilla 1985". The black and white pages add a somber tone to the tale of the disasterous return of a monster the world has thought long dead. Godzilla himself is lovingly drawn, as are the battle scenes between the Big G and the JSDF's ultimate weapon - the Super-X. The story is sometimes jarred by the "cartoony" appearance of some of the human characters, but overall this is a book any kaiju fan will want to read again and again.

This Godzilla book is a classic which I have read all my life and it is still fantastic!!!!!!

I give this graphic novel three and a half stars, but since Amazon.com doesn't do half-numbers, I put three in. Anyway, "Godzilla" is a comic book adaption of the 1984 film, "Gojira" [translated as "Godzilla"]. Thirty years after Godzilla original attack on Japan in 1954, he is awakened by a volcanic eruption and stomps Japan's capital again. This is an adaption of the Japanese version of "The Return of Godzilla" (the international title of the film), so it (thankfully) excludes all of the American-filmed scenes from "Godzilla 1985", the US version of the film. Like my rating suggests, this book is between average and good. The manga-style art is kind of weird (remember, we're talking about Godzilla here), and the characters look nothing like the actors in the film. The drawings of Godzilla could've been better. Besides the story itself, there is a small art gallery of Godzilla drawings by different artists, ranging from great to terrible. There's also an essay-esque afterword by the book's editor, who tells the story of how he became a Godzilla fan in the 1970's when he was a child. With some extras along with the main story, which is good overall, this is overall a good graphic novel. Godzilla fans will definitely like this book, especially if they haven't seen the Japanese version of "The Return of Godzilla."