Jeremy Robinson (w) and Matt Frank’s (w/a) tale of Big G kicking names and taking ass throughout history begins right here.
Is it good?
Godzilla: Rage Across Time #1 (IDW Publishing)
Observations
- New rule: Matt Frank needs to draw more stuff based in ancient Japan. This is gorgeous.
- Behold, the ancient art of the Buddy Cop movie.
- Not sure how human forces armed with melee weapons can hold off Gigan and Megalon, but hats off to them for the effort.
- CRABS!
- DRAGON(s)!
- Ugh. Let’s stay in the past, please. That trip to the present was kind of dumb.
- No matter what era you are in, Matt Frank draws a beautiful Godzilla…
- …especially when Big G opens up a can on everyone around him. Good lord!
- It’s always nice to see horrific violence and destruction bring people together.
Is It Good?
If you take away the parts that place in the present day, then hell yes it is.
Look, I get that the 2016 is supposed to work as a framing device, but it just ended up feeling like a distracting detour to Robinson’s otherwise highly enjoyable story.
Some of it may have felt a tad compressed, but that works well with the idea of it being told as a legend rather than a blow-by-blow historical account. Add in the interesting characters, a bizarre journey, and lots of monsters, and you’ve pretty much got me hooked.
But then you have Matt Frank’s art. Holy cow. I’ve been a fan of the guy for a while, but this might be the best work we’ve ever seen from him. Some of it could be the aesthetic of the historical scenes, but his rendering of Godzilla (and the other monsters) is gorgeous. One image in particular—you will totally know it when you see—is so good that it needs to be made into a print/poster immediately.
Frank also seems to have somehow added even more kinetic energy to his previous high octane action sequences—while at the same time paneling each page in such a way that still gives us a clear view of the story.
If Godzilla: Rage Across Time #1 is an indicator of things to come, then I’m definitely along for the ride.
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