Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #3 REVIEW

(Calling it a "review" is debatable... )

The third issue of IDW's Godzilla: Rulers of Earth continues to satisfy with an intriguing plot and excellent artwork.

Steven Woods arrives at the CKR HQ with a Destoroyah leg that fell off of Zilla, as well as a piece of Godzilla that was cut off during his last battle. Dr. Allison (new character) shows Steven their latest weapon; the "Ice Box", a freeze-gun modified from Kiryu's Absolute Zero Cannon (which strangely didn't freeze anything in the last series and really should have been called the Hyper Maser Cannon, but I digress). The Devonians, intent on conquering the Earth (I think I understand why the series is named that now), launch an attack on San Diego with a swarm of Juvenile Destoroyahs. But there might be more dangerous things lurking beneath the waters...

Plot-wise, we're getting more on the human side that people wanted, which is understandable, especially since the last issue was almost entirely a battle (a battle which kicked all sorts of ass, by the way). I'm happy to see human-sized monsters in fights, because we haven't seen much of that in any of these Godzilla comics yet. Strangely, the story's protagonist, Lucy, doesn't make an appearance in the issue at all. Maybe Steven is the main character after all...

~~ Spoilers from this point forward! Turn back now! ~~

Anyways, the Destoroyahs get some nice panel-time, and I like how mysterious they're made out to be (dissolving 'n stuff). The Devonians also get focused upon, which is sure to satisfy anyone who was dying to learn more about them with the closure of last issue. Manda and Gezora, however, feel a bit out of place, just showing up and disappearing. Though we'll likely see them again real soon (only saying "likely" because, well, remember Kumonga in KOM? Yeah... though Chris Mowry sure as hell ain't an Eric Powell and actually *knows* what he's doing). The cliffhanger was my personal favorite one so far, and reminds me of "Who Shot Mr. Burns?", only with Godzilla instead of Mr. Burns (you'll understand what I mean when you read the issue).

The artwork is phenomenal, as Matt Frank's artwork always is. The Destoroyahs look beautiful in every scene. Looking perfectly suit-accurate, yet display emotions the suits weren't capable of. If the artwork looks better in this issue, it's probably due to the improvement in coloring, which is now being handled by Priscilla Tramontano (the artist who helped make Godzilla: Legends' 4th issue really pop). Jeff Zornow, who will be helping with more issues to come (covering #5), covered the (brief) Manda and Gezora attack. His artwork is very similar to Matt's, also looking fantastic.

The humans look fairly good for the most part. Some scenes look a bit... odd, like a few doing Steven's confrontation with the crazed Dr. Allison near the issue's end. However, they (mostly just Steven, Chavez, and Dr. Allison) look better than usual for the most part, especially the panel with the Monster Kill Crew (who quite honestly I'm glad to see again, now that Boxer's gone). The Devonians look pretty freakin' cool, too, though they lose some detail in their latter scenes.

The covers are by Matt and Jeff again. Matt's cover is eye candy to Godzilla fans, who will have a field day with all the Easter Eggs (Super-X toy, Xilien cosplayer, etc.). Destoroyah and Steven look pretty damn good, too. Jeff's cover, though, is the more eye-catching of the two, due to the awesome new monster team-up.

Overall, a very good and enjoyable issue. Then again, who doesn't like alien plots? This series is on a role, and every Godzilla fan should be checking it out, regardless of whether or not you've been reading the previous few series. Bring on the next one, IDW!

(Destoroyah, Gezora, and Manda seen above by Matt Frank and Jeff Zornow)