There’s been a lot of talk over the past few months about IDW’s new Kai-Sei era of Godzilla comics. The first new ongoing series since 2013’s Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, plus two other ongoing series in one huge shared continuity, not unlike what Skybound Entertainment is doing with their Energon Universe. With three entirely different titles on the horizon, the future looks bright for Godzilla in print. So, how do things look for the latest and greatest comic book to bear the name Godzilla?
Pretty solid, actually! Issue one kicks off by introducing the titular kaiju in all its horrifying glory, debuting the new look by series artist Nikola Čižmešija, featuring soulless red eyes, jagged teeth and veins of green Kai-Sei energy snaking all over its body, followed by our core cast of characters, a team of elite G-Force soldiers (and Jet Jaguar!) each with their own unique set of skills; Dr. Rumi Chiba, a scientist who seems to have some sort of psychic connection to the kaiju; Nuki, the heavy weapons expert; Incense, given the skillset of “controlled pyrotechnics,” translation, explosives; Commander Riviera, equipped with an exo-mech battle suit, who then introduces the newest member of the team, Jacen Braid, a young orphan who actually has the power to control the mysterious Kai-Sei energy, and thus can actually go toe-to-toe with Godzilla.
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It’s all pretty par for the course for a first issue, and that’s fine! Readers need to get to know the characters they’ll be following for the next few months and beyond the story to succeed. They go through a short sparring session to test Jacen’s combat abilities, and we see them bounce off each other in some fun ways for a bit, until their training is cut short by the sudden appearance of Anguirus. The team moves out, and the giant ankylosaur is sent packing relatively quickly, leading Rumi to suspect something is wrong. Her fears are proven right, with the introduction of a new kaiju, and what we can assume will be the overarching villain of the series, Lament; a hulking humanoid kaiju with the ability to speak. The issue ends, and us readers are left to ponder what on earth this intelligent kaiju has planned for G-Force, Godzilla, and the world.
Issue one of Godzilla does exactly what it needs to. It introduces this new universe in a fun, exciting way, leaving little hints towards further mysteries to be uncovered down the line (the titular Deadzone from forthcoming series Godzilla: Enter the Deadzone is mentioned a few times!). Čižmešija’s artwork is the stand-out, doing a surprisingly good job showing emotion on both the human characters and the kaiju, and the way the Kai-Sei energy is shown is very reminiscent of Jahnoy Lindsay’s work on Absolute Green Lantern. While it doesn’t quite hit the ground running with its writing, there’s still plenty of time for the characters, and world to expand into something truly special, and I, for one, cannot wait to see what’s in store.
