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Description
Entering Act III of the popular "Rulers of Earth" story, this issue gives us something of a backstory to the madness that began in "Kingdom of Monsters" several years ago. A solid issue, not as good as I had hoped, but once again, it is evident the series underwent drastic changes when extended another 4 issues. While King Caesar does battle Megalon for a decent-sized fight and the monsters on Matt's cover do appear, between the covers and original solicits, I think it's obvious some things were switched around. Not necessarily a bad thing, though.
We begin with the Devonian assault on the naval fleet near the island Godzilla did battle with Biollante. The enslaved kaiju succeed in doing some decent damage, but Godzilla, fresh off his battle with Biollante and still in the area, intervenes. After a brief bout, Godzilla sends the monsters away and the "cleanup" begins, collecting as many survivors as possible. All of Lucy's team is accounted for... except for Lucy herself. She wakes up on the mystical and lost world of an ancient people and the Shobijin (called Infant Island in the films). The Shobijin begin to tell her the history of the kaiju and specifics about why they are back...
~~ MAJOR Spoilers from this point forward! Turn back now! ~~
There is a hell of a lot going on in this issue. A whopping 16 monsters (more if you count the Mothra Larva as separate) appear in the issue, though only a few are actually focused on.
It's unfortunate that we're limited to 12 issues, and there's so much to wrap up in those issues. This issue in particular could seriously have benefited from having 2 issues dedicated to the whole Shobijin story here, which would also have allowed more time for the short brawl in the beginning and the various kaiju appearances/battles inside if they had to keep all of them in it.
I love seeing the whole "element" sort of angle here, sort of like the original version of GMK had (back when it was "Godzilla X Varan, Baragon and Anguirus: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack"). The kaiju are split into four elements (five due to the space monsters, having no element not being from Earth) that must remain balanced. Whenever one grows too strong, another stops it from upsetting the balance.
The Shobijin focus on the battle that changed everything - King Caesar vs. Megalon. The battle itself is fairly entertaining and long enough to satisfy. The story the Shobijin give is also quite good and excellently portrays a mythical, spiritual feel that the Shobijin always had, especially here with all their talk about the great "balance" (also like in "Gangsters and Goliaths").
Unfortunately, quite a few of these monsters seem to be just thrown in there and have not yet been seen before in this series, or at all, such as Kamacuras (a sky monster) and Ganimes (a water monster). Baragon, Ebirah, and Kamoebas, for instance, only appear for one panel each. Lucy does point out that several of these kaiju have not yet been discovered, but it might have been best if they had just stuck with the ones that had already been established. Replace Ebirah with Zilla or Kamoebas with Titanosaurus or something to that effect instead of just shoe-horning everyone in. I prefer each one to have a "memorable" first appearance, but almost all of the ones here (save Megalon and Caesar) are forgettable and could have been replaced with any monster.
The artwork for the entire issue is handled by Jeff Zornow, reliving Matt of art duties for the second time (Matt deserves a break every now and then 
). The artwork overall was fairly well-done, some scenes looking absolutely breathtaking, others feeling rushed. The humans are varied. Like in #5, there are a bit of consistency issues. Lucy and the Shobijin appear inconsistent in some panels. But overall, I think it was better than #5. Megalon and King Caesar look beautiful, especially in their debuting panel(s). They also look really good throughout. The other kaiju vary. Some look fantastic, like Manda, Godzilla, or Mothra, others... not so much. Interestingly, the colors by Priscilla Tramontano also feel a bit rushed as there are several obvious instances of miscoloring, like missing Megalon's eye or Megaguirus's mouth.
). The artwork overall was fairly well-done, some scenes looking absolutely breathtaking, others feeling rushed. The humans are varied. Like in #5, there are a bit of consistency issues. Lucy and the Shobijin appear inconsistent in some panels. But overall, I think it was better than #5. Megalon and King Caesar look beautiful, especially in their debuting panel(s). They also look really good throughout. The other kaiju vary. Some look fantastic, like Manda, Godzilla, or Mothra, others... not so much. Interestingly, the colors by Priscilla Tramontano also feel a bit rushed as there are several obvious instances of miscoloring, like missing Megalon's eye or Megaguirus's mouth.Both covers are great. Zornow's looks incredible, with both Caesar and Megalon looking basically as perfect as can be. Matt's is a bit misleading - while all the kaiju appear in the issues, a few of those monsters only appearing for one panel - but all of them look great and detailed.
Bottom line, I was hoping this would be the best issue yet, and was a bit let down, but it's not a bad issue, either. The story was good and engaging. The art was pretty good as well. Though I hope the next issue explains something that wasn't mentioned here, and judging by the covers, it might - the Gargantuas. They do not seem to fit into the "element" thing here. They are not seen as part of the Earth elements yet probably aren't part of the fifth (alien) element, either. Unless they were man-made, which would explain it. Hopefully we get something of a backstory to them. Looking forward to seeing Godzilla FINALLY duke it out with Frankenstein's sons. 
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© 2014 - 2024 Mr-X-The-Kaiju-Freak
Comments6
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I don't know about that. Sanda could be part of the Land/Earth element, while Gaira could be of the Ocean/Water element. And Godzilla could easily be in the Fire element, but like the Gargantuas isn't pictured. Speaking of elements, am I the only one who got a 'Avatar: The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra' vibe from this issue? And while it was disappointing that Gorosaurus, Kameba, Megaguirus and the other kaiju didn't get much time in this issue, I honestly really enjoyed it.
It added a lot more story and depth to the series. Plus, the cataclysmic battle that was continental/planetary in scale was pure awesome. And King Caesar and Megalon were badass! Finally these daikaiju are getting some much-needed respect.
I can only hope IDW plans to continue the series past G:ROE #12. I mean, it's doing good comic sales and is always in the Top 10 Digital Comic purchases on ITunes and at numerous other places. There's tons of ideas that can be done with this unique story.