REVIEW: Godzilla in Hell #1

Up from the depths, thirty stories high, breathes fire, his head in the sky,  GODZILLA, GODZILLA and…..

Right we will stop there before we get to the second worst character ever created behind Scrappy Doo.

Now before you all think I have lost it, I am aware that Godzilla was famous way before the Hannah-Barbera cartoon.  In fact, I remember my Dad taking my brother and I to see Godzilla vs Mecha Godzilla and me getting told off for saying it was hellish, which at the time was considered a bit of a naughty word.

Anyways, back to the book.  Godzilla has been in American comics for a number of years whether its with Dark Horse comics or more recently with licence king  IDW.  He must be popular despite the somewhat lukewarm reception his film career has received.  You know that saying about judging a book by its cover? Well in this case you can totally judge the book by its title.  Story wise, Godzilla is in Hell.  That’s it.

Now fans of ole’ big green will ask what did  I expect?  It’s Godzilla! He goes around fighting monsters, destroying stuff and basically that’s it.  This book continues in that vein, but with the locale, writer / artist James Stokoe doesn’t need to worry about innocent people getting trampled and Godzilla’s actions being misinterpreted as malicious intent.  The book has it funny moments, such as the total disregard that Godzilla has for the initial warning that starts the story.

James Stokoe not only provides the lack of words, but is on art duties.  With the locale being Hell, this gives Stokoe a chance to really go nuts and create something unique.  So its a little disappointing that we see the types of cave and landscape that could be actually any desolate area.  There is nothing yet to suggest that we are in Hell. That said, his Godzilla does look that part even if , in the current surroundings, he is no longer thirty stories high. Stokoe also provides the colour on the book and does a great job adding menace to the Godzilla doppelganger that appears halfway through the book.

I am not a big fan of the comic book version of Godzilla.  Taking out of the natural element of trampling cities, Godzilla becomes just a monster book.  A well done, high quality monster book, but still just a monster book which may only appeal to hard-core fans.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network

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