"For the last time, Angurius, I don't care if Tony Soprano was shot or not!"
Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths #1
IDW Publishing (June 2011)
WRITER/LETTERER: John Layman ARTIST: Alberto Ponticelli COLORIST: Jay Fotos EDITORS: Bobby Curnow & Chris Ryall CREATIVE CONSULTANT: Chris Mowry COVER “A” (shown): Geof Darrow (artist) and Peter Doherty (colorist) COVER B BY THE COMIC’S ART TEAM COMIC-CON COVER ART: Matt FrankThis story doesn’t take place in the same continuity as Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters. Hey, if they’re taking alternate continuity ideas…call me, IDW! (Seriously, check those three article links out. I will make you money and it’s rare I make that kind of proclamation. You like money, right IDW?)
Detective Makoto Sato is being chased by Yakuza men who have trapped him on Monster Island when he is rescued (accidentally) by Godzilla and (on purpose) Mothra. Learning that the fairies “control” Mothra and the Yakuza leader, Daikaiju, has threatened both his reputation and his sons, Sato kidnaps the fairies and you can guess what he has planned.
What they got right: Godzilla and the Toho gang dealing with the Yakuza? That’s certainly a different concept, and since this is the guy behind the comic Chew I’m not all that surprised. The story drops you into the action on Monster Island and tells the backstory in a few, properly placed flashback sequences that end up working rather well.
What they got wrong: The art in the comic isn’t as good as the cover, or at least isn’t as much my taste. This is actually nitpicking, as the art is pretty good, but that’s all I could think of to add here. Although if I were to further nitpick I would say that this seemed a lot more subdued than the main comic and if that comic goes too far into the wacky (Girly Yaya will hopefully never show up again, or at least disappear soon) then this goes too far the other way, being a bit TOO dark.
Recommendation: My complaints are minor and I’m curious to see where this story is going to go. Worth taking a look at.
This is just after one Yakuza idiot used a machine gun. On Godzilla's foot.
Tomorrow’s Comic> Love & Capes: Ever After #5
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Liked the art more than you did, but the story about the same. The 70s Godzilla movies were always genre-busting (superspies and UFOs and fantasy fairies oh my!) so a Yakuza story is PERFECT in my opinion. I hope they have lots of other Godzilla comics with this kind of spin in the planning stages.
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