It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of classic Science Fiction stories, especially of the Atomic Age. Bombastic music coming from theremins, iconic alien invaders seeking to wipe out humanity, and epic mutated monsters invading our towns brings me great joy. Quite frankly, it’s almost shocking that it took this long to combine those more Western Sci-Fi tropes with the classic Showa era of Godzilla, but Frank Tieri and company is here to remedy that with Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens, bringing Godzilla back to the ‘50s to evoke that familiar style, but still managing to keep things fresh and innovative within.
Our story starts off with a MonsterVerse-inspired meeting, where our protagonist is telling his government about the existence of monsters, referencing the prior book in this timeline, Here There Be Dragons II: Sons of Giants, along with various historical documentations of kaiju. He’s scoffed at, only for Godzilla to show up and attack Japan. You’d think this is standard fare for the Big G, but it’s interestingly revealed that this is the first time in the modern age that the King of the Monsters has shown up. Not only that, but Godzilla isn’t attacking just to be a jerk.. he’s looking for someone.
The incredible art by Angel Hernandez makes this book a must-read. It evokes that classic drive-in style with some seriously awesome and dynamic panels of kaiju shown in ways I wish we’d see more. My favorite, of course, being the assembly line of Hedorahs that are about to invade the city. I don’t think there’s ever been a story where the Smog Monster has been multiple small beings rather than one large, colossal creature, but it’s a really cool and interesting twist on the beloved character. Another great highlight was the reserved but great way of utilizing other classic Toho kaiju. Seeing Gigan and SpaceGodzilla fighting a war against another alien race was insane, but that’s what this comic is all about!
Here There Be Aliens took a big risk jumping forward in time to conclude the trilogy of epic period piece stories written by Frank Tieri. Starting out with pirates was a bold move for a Godzilla story that paid off, and this new book is looking to take the same risk, but up the ante by eleven. It does, however, faithfully connect back to the previous stories by incorporating key elements, events, and characters as historical moments to look back on, which was a nice touch. With fantastic art, sharp and amusing dialogue, and some seriously fun blending of ‘50s Americana with classic Toho fun, fans of both classic Science Fiction and giant monsters will love this book and should add it to their reading lists immediately.
