When it comes to fictional monsters, there might just be none as popular as Godzilla. The King of the Monsters’ is exactly that for a reason. Over his 72-year history, the infamous kaiju has been presented and interpreted in a myriad of ways. Some iterations have him being a protector and even a collaborator with humanity. Others have him as something of a mysterious enigma. Still others have him attacking civilization and being an absolute menace when he turns his anger onto the human world. But while that particular take on Godzilla is scary, it’s nothing compared to what IDW is delivering with the new series, The Horror of Godzilla.
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Heading to shops on July 29th and with final order cutoff for the issue set at June 15th, The Horror of Godzilla #1 kicks of a truly chilling take on the kaiju’s very first attack. Serving as a prequel to the Kai-Sei Era and butting up nicely to other takes on Godzilla—specifically Godzilla: Minus One, Shin Godzilla and of course, the classic 1954 Godzilla, Griffin Sheridan and Ethan S. Parker have taken the moment Godzilla became everyone’s problem and dialed it up to a horrifying 11. ComicBook has the exclusive early review for the title and you’ve genuinely never seen ‘Zilla like this—and it’s great.
Rating: 5 out of 5
| PROS | CONS |
| Intimate, chilling details | Already sad this is only 4 issues |
| Excellent setup for what’s to come |
The Horror of Godzilla #1 Will Make You Think About the Kaiju’s Start Very Differently
The Horror of Godzilla #1 is something of a slow burn first issue and while that might seem like odd pacing given the monster nature of the story, it’s actually one that makes perfect sense. The book walks us through what can only be called intimate, deeply anticipatory moments that lead to Godzilla’s awakening and, straight from the first panel, set a tone of unease that lets you know this is going to go way beyond Godzilla smashing Tokyo with his feet and tail. That sense of unease is done with pitch perfect dialogue but is truly bolstered by Tristan Jones’ art. Jones is, full stop, just an incredible artist, but the detail here in every line is unsettling and extraordinary. In particular, there is one panel where two characters see the impact of what they’ve just done where the faces will haunt you.
From there, the story alternates into what I can only call dual consequences. We see the scientists whose experiment in the Pacific Ocean awakens Godzilla and his wrath being held to account for the catastrophe that’s followed, which is its own tense, terse, and unsettling experience—there is nothing quite like watching bureaucracy and a disaster on a collision course to set you on edge—but the real horror is both larger and somehow much quieter. We’re also taken into essentially ground zero for Godzilla’s first attack. Just how monstrous and brutal Godzilla really is fully in focus here with Parker and Sheridan doing an incredible job of conveying true horror and confusion with an incredible economy of words.
The Horror of Godzilla Is Just Beginning
What really stands out about The Horror of Godzilla #1 other than the careful crafting of true fear and all the fine details of catastrophe is that the book makes it unsettlingly clear that the real horror has only gotten started. Without getting into spoilers, there is a moment where the scientist seems to be desperately optimistic that this can all somehow be turned around—this is the start of the Kai-Sei of it all and from where they’re sitting, there is something akin to hope. However, even as humanity grasps at these frantically optimistic straws, it’s brilliantly executed to leave you feeling off center. You, too, hope that there will be heroes in this story. But in your gut and on the faces of the players, you know there’s not.
This false optimism makes for a great leaping off point for this dark, frightening take on Godzilla. While this series has just four issues and that might not seem like a lot of space to tell such an intense tale, The Horror of Godzilla #1 has already set things up for horrific greatness. You’re never going to look at the King of the Monsters the same way again.
The Horror of Godzilla #1 goes on sale July 29th. Final order cutoff is June 15th.
