The first of IDW’s limited Godzilla Vs. America series is here! Featuring a collection of stories written & illustrated by locals to each town Godzilla shows up in, it’s almost poetic that our first city in this series is Chicago, home of G-FEST. The book touts various different unique art styles and voices, making it a fun and enjoyable way to enjoy an anthology story. Given that there are different stories, similar to the Godzilla 70th Anniversary comic, we’ll be breaking this review into different sections for each one (in order of the actual anthology).
GODZILLA DOES CHICAGO
We begin our collection with Godzilla Does Chicago, a whimsical and fun story about a handglide celebrity named Fangoolie… who just happens to bear a striking resemblance to somebody we know. Fangoolie gets cancelled because of his interference in an important football game and loses all credibility – that is, until he discovers Mechagodzilla and plans to steal it. That way, he can beat up Godzilla and save the day! He’ll become Chicago’s hero again! Unfortunately, defeating the King of the Monsters with zero mech piloting experience isn’t exactly like driving a car. I found this story to be extremely enjoyable, giving the book a strong start. The tale is simple, and you can probably guess what’s coming, but it’s full of personality and fun references to Chicago & the Godzilla world at large.
BLUE LINE SIGN
Our next story, Blue Line Sign, is a simple and effective tale about a crush. We follow Jessie, a young woman who is getting the nerve to ask out her high school crush, Cameron, as both of them are on the blue line. As the stops keep coming and going, she’s running out of time to muster the courage to talk to this handsome guy. As she finally does, her dreams of a crush are crushed by our favorite Big G. Tim Seely’s amazing art elevates this entertaining story; his take on Godzilla is MASSIVE. The lizard’s bulky and ready to rip apart anything in its path, which makes for such a fun design and great stakes in the story. With fun banter and a tremendously accurate depiction of the blue line, this story shows that romance can be found within a Godzilla story, and maybe, just maybe, it’s not the biggest red flag in the world. We’re on the blue line, after all!
CHI GODZILLA
Chi Godzilla has some serious political bite to it, which was unexpected given the retro newspaper strip-esque style brought to it. When Godzilla faces off against an amoeba and grows very, very hungry. Thankfully, a prominent local figure has a plan – to lure Godzilla over to an area he would like redeveloped anyway. I really dug Godzilla as a character in this one, with an entire page dedicated to him looking around and examining the lights being a fun moment for the monster. Much enjoyment and chuckles were had around his facial expressions!
GODZILLA VS. CHICAGO
Our final story is a short, simple, and sweet one. In a stylishly green hue, a young woman discovers a drink that can turn her giant.. just as Godzilla makes landfall! Will she face off against Godzilla or come up with an even better idea? That’s for you to find out as a reader. I really dug the animated style of this book; a sharp departure from some of the more realistic takes on Godzilla we’ve seen thus far. The cartoony Millennium era Godzilla is adorable! The ending was completely unexpected, but made me laugh out loud. While not as action-packed as the other stories, there is still some heart to be found within this finale to Godzilla’s attack on the Windy City.
Overall, Godzilla Vs. Chicago is a breeze to read, with four fun short stories consisting of ten pages each. I frequently visit Chicago every summer for G-FEST, but I can tell the local flair is strong with this book without even living there as a resident. If you’re looking for a book that highlights local creators and imagines our favorite monster in various styles and tones, this self-contained book can’t be beaten. The various art styles that inhabit this issue are so wonderful and diverse, and even if I might not be particularly invested in one style over the other, it is still fantastic to have so many unique and bold looking takes on Godzilla. I eagerly await the rest of the series’ installments – Godzilla Vs. Los Angeles and beyond – with eager anticipation.
