Godzilla 70th Anniversary Collection
“Godzilla” 70th Anniversary Collection from IDW Comics
Art and Writing by:
James Stokoe / Dan Dido and Joelle Jones / Danny Lorez and Sebastian Piriz / Matt Frank / E.J. Su / Adam Gorham / Casey Gilly and Liana Kangas / Michael W. Conrad and Gege Schall / Natasha Alterici
The 70th Anniversary edition of Godzilla from IDW comics collects ten separate one-shot stories from a collection of talented writers and artists, many of who pulled double duty to create truly original work and let me tell you something-
Every. Single. One. Of. These. Stories. Are. Beautiful. Like what the fuck did IDW tell these artists? Did they tell them to write this Godzilla story like it is the last story you can impart to this world?! I CRIED, BRO! IT’S A 10 PAGE STORY WHAT THE FUUUCK?!
If you consider yourself a Godzilla fan or just a fan of unique, perspective shifting, original science fiction with truly subtle and sublime thematic messages- then you need to get your hands on this collection.
I have highlighted IDW Godzilla comics in the past with their Godzilla Rivals series, which is amazingly entertaining and consistent, but this collection right here is like the prime, quintessential essence of what makes Godzilla such a prolific figure for writers and artists.
I don’t want to spoil all of the stories here, but I do want to touch more in depth on a few that really impacted me, so… SPOILERS AHEAD.
First off, “Ain’t No Place for an Angel” by Casey Gilly. I think that when I or any Godzilla fan talks about Godzilla to a third party there is a barrier of cognitive entry, a thought that forms like, “What is a Godzilla story even? Like it’s just a big lizard attacking a city, right? How many stories can you possibly tell about tha?” Which are fair questions. Well, after reading “Ain’t No place for an Angel,” I have a brand new foremost counter explanation for just how inventive, diverse, and impactful Godzilla stories can be. This story from Casey Gilly is a fucking Western. Yeah, no you didn’t hear that wrong- in this story we follow a group of displaced women in an abandoned town in the desert as they try to form a life apart from the dangers of the outside world, all while under the protection of their queen, Mothra. The confines of this short story leave a lot of details undeveloped- but I don’t think I have ever been so immediately invested in a story. IDW please, I need a full length version of this story, I would read 12 issues. Hell, I would watch this animated series, this is a goldmine of an idea.
Next, I want to mention, “The Half-Century Bore” from James Stokoe. First of all James’ art in this issue has so much life and style and character that I kind of did a double take thinking this was Daniel Warren Johnson at first. This story not only perfectly captures the horror and spectacle of my favorite Godzilla villain, Hedorah. It also is a rare look at the horror and reality of what struggling to live within a Kaiju infested world would be like. We follow two grunts, two “might as well be nameless” background characters as they clean up the mess of Hedorah’s polluted body and carnage of a Godzilla battle that has devastated their city over the course of YEARS, only for Godzilla to arrive again and fight the reformed Hedorah once more. It is the perfect summation of the hopelessness and horrific absurdity of war and willful pollution on humanity told through characters that embody and represent those ideas.
Finally, I want to touch on the story that impacted me so severely which was, “In the Shadow of a God” by Matt Frank. this issue features probably one of the most classic Godzilla comics settings- a child running through the rubble of a city in the wake of Godzilla’s rampage- but as she does so she encounters and rescues a lost horseshoe crab by carrying it around in a bucket. The art her is titanic, epic, otherworldly, and yet all achieved in black, white, and red which is impressive. But also, the observations made by both little girl and writer are poetic and subtle and cutting in all of the most evocative and eye opening ways. This feels like a classic Godzilla tale but never told so affectingly.
This collection of short format comics deserves recognition so please support your local comic book store and share your favorite story in the comments below!
-Nicholas Aaron Hodge
