The King of the Monsters returns in the beginning of a brand new series brought to us by Joshua Fialkov and Brian Churilla. In an alternate universe, Godzilla rules the world… so what happens when a team of scientist find their way onto that world and bring something terrible back with them?
Is this new series worth diving into or is the world of monsters all tapped out? Read on to find out, but beware: there may be spoilers below.
Written by Joshua Fialkov
Illustrated by Brian Churilla
A scientist has created a portal to another dimension—one where monsters rule supreme! A terrifying expedition begins into a world where hope has died and Godzilla is the unrivaled King of the Monsters. But what happens when a baby kaiju hitches a ride back to the original, monster-less dimension?
The interesting thing about Godzilla is that he’s one of the most varied characters in terms of longevity and the number of different interpretations he’s had throughout the years. The big lizard is in his 60s now and he’s been a manifestation of Japan’s post-Hiroshima fears of nuclear destruction, he’s been a major part in popularising kaiju films in the west, he’s been essentially a superhero to Japan and he’s been the centre of some of the best (and some of the worst) monster movies of all time. From the humble beginnings of a slow, melancholic story that manifested fears of nuclear destruction in the form of a giant, rampaging monster to a multi-media sensation, Godzilla is a one-of-a-kind phenomenon.
I say all this because actually looking at Godzilla’s history is much more interesting than talking about “Godzilla: Oblivion” #1, a Godzilla comic that’s barely about Godzilla. In fact, it’s barely about anything. The story here is fairly simple and yet it’s made up of elements that could have easily been the focus of their own story: a scientist creates a portal to another dimension and is forced to activate it by his boss and finds the alternate universe where everything has been destroyed by giant monsters which are kept in check by strike forces accompanying giant robots and the King Of All Monsters himself, Godzilla, who basically rules the world.
That sounds like it should be really cool, right?
The problem is, “Godzilla: Oblivion” #1 feels like it doesn’t know what it wants to be about. Each of those elements are just one part of the story that the issue mostly glosses over, never sticking around to focus on one thing. It begins by taking the notion of a transdimensional portal as something that isn’t reality altering by having characters just open it without testing it because I guess there wouldn’t be a story otherwise. Yet, the issue tries to gloss over that fact by having a character mention that they’ve “seen this movie” as if that somehow excuses the poor executed setup. I could probably forgive the issue for rushing the setup if it meant getting to the good stuff (read: the giant monsters) faster, but once the story switches gears and introduces that world it feels like Fialkov and Churilla just didn’t know what to do.
Brian Churilla’s art doesn’t feel quite suited to this kind of story, honestly. His art is atmospheric, using heavy, loose inks to create shadows and mood in pretty static panels. His art looks like it would be perfectly suited a slowburn, character driven piece; something that this comic starts as, but quickly devolves into a messy attempt at giant monster action with very little sense of pace or flow. Churilla’s art is simply too static to really capture the hype of a giant monster battle, but it’s not like he’s given much to work with either as the writing feels like it’s trying to race to the end a be over and done already.
It’s so disappointing because Churilla’s art creates a great first impression in the first few pages, even if the detail in his linework does disappear in wider panels. The focus on building atmosphere, creating a setting and establishing character is perfectly suited for his art. Even the splash page of the scientists first discovering the devastation of the new world is great, but as soon as the page turns the focus on action means that everything feels muddled with little sense of place or flow. It genuinely sucks because from the first pages of this comic, I was excited to get read the rest and now that I’m done with it I almost wish I hadn’t bothered.
Continued below“Godzilla: Oblivion” #1 feels like it could have been a solid basis for a story that had nothing to do with Godzilla. The whole setup with the scientists and the transdimensional portal would have been a pretty solid beginning to the story if Fialkov and Churilla had made the reasoning why the portal was being activated a little less forced. However, once the scientists end up on the other world, it feels like neither of them particularly care about Godzilla or the affiliated properties and were just filling up the page count until the issue was over and done with. As the beginning of a series, I have no idea where this story could or will go and, to be perfectly honest, I don’t particularly care.
There are a lot (and I mean a lot) of fantastic Godzilla comics out there that enrich the lore of the character and celebrate his legacy, telling stories that pull monsters from countless films and throw them together in fights that studios could only dream of affording. This comic isn’t that. This comic is over and done with before you know with little lasting impression. A waste of the Godzilla world, a waste of two otherwise great creators and a waste of what could have been a great story.
Final Verdict: 3.5 – And that’s being generous because there was the makings of a very good comic here. Sadly, I just wish it was the comic we’d got to read.
