Luke Owen reviews Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #9 from IDW…
Before Godzilla was king, there was another! King Caesar makes his comic book debut in a tale set thousands of years in Earth’s past, in a battle that sets the stage for today’s world of monsters.
Just as its sure the sun will rise in the morning, Chris Mowry has put together another fine issue of Godzilla: Rulers of Earth. Like Godzilla running amok in Tokyo, this is a behemoth that can’t be stopped and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. Even when it’s an issue like Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #9 which is 80% exposition, it’s still awesome.
The comic kicks off with an epic three-on-one battle of Godzilla against Gezora, Titanosaurus and Manda in the Pacific Ocean before Lucy gets stuck on an island where she discovers everyone’s favourite fairy twins. This is where the exposition part of Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #9 comes in as the Shobijin explain (in vague terms) the history of Earth’s monsters and how they tie into our Universe. While it may sound like it would be slightly dull, it’s actually fascinating to read with some really interesting ideas behind Godzilla cannon. Mowry has a very skilled hand when it comes to writing dialogue that is genuinely interesting to read and its a testament to his skills as a writer that he makes text heavy issue such as this one as exciting as one filled with huge monster brawls.
But of course, that’s not to say that Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #9 is all talk. There is a battle in the middle of the exposition that could very well be a ground-breaking fight in Godzilla comics. On one of the latest episodes of the Kaijucast, Mowry revealed that a battle would be coming up between two monsters who haven’t appeared in a Western comic. The battle of which he speaks is King Ceasar and Megalon who have a pretty epic battle during the Shobijin’s flashback. While Megalon has certainly appeared in Western comics (he featured in last year’s Godzilla: The Half-Century War), this is the comic debut of King Ceasar and it’s certainly a grand entrance. Jeff Zornow’s (stepping in for Matt Frank) artwork is once again sublime as he brings this often forgotten kaiju off the page in superb style. Furthermore, he captures the sillyness of a creature like Megalon and turns him into a legitimate threat. Not many artists have been able to do this, but like Matt Frank, Jeff Zornow can pull this off.
It’s almost becoming tiresome to say month after month, but Godzilla: Rulers of Earth continues to be fantastic. We’ve been given a tease of a re-appearance of space-based kaiju so it’s looking like this series is only going to get bigger. With the release of Gareth Edward’s Godzilla not too far off, one would imagine that this will be a big year for the King of the Monster in terms of comics. However, whoever is stepping up to the bat next has some big shoes to fill.
Luke Owen is one of Flickering Myth’s co-editors and the host of the Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.
Originally published February 19, 2014. Updated November 9, 2019.
