Ex-special forces tough-guy, Boxer, is a man with a grudge and vows to end the terror of Godzilla — no matter what! He assembles a top-notch team to take down monster-sized threats… at $7 billion a bounty! What starts as a vendetta could become a lucrative business for Boxer… if he can live past day one!
Title: Godzilla, Volume 1 | Writer: Duane Swierczynski | Pencils: Simon Gane | Publisher: IDW | Pub. Date: 20th November 2012 | Pages: 104 | ISBN: 9781613774137 | Genre: Science Fiction | Language: English | Starred Review: No | Source: Library
Godzilla, Volume 1 Review
‘Godzilla Volume 1’ features the first four comics in a series published by IDW and written by Duane Swierczynski. It’s fast and furious fun with the destruction ramped all the way up and a great sense of fun. It’s not the most original comic I’ve ever read, but who needs originality when you’ve got huge monsters stomping the shit out of some of the world’s most famous cities?
The book starts with the mysterious reappearance of some of the best loved Kaiju including Rodan, Kumonga and of course the big G himself. Caught up in things from the start is British ex-special forces operative Boxer, a character who seems to have been written (and drawn) to be played by Jason Statham. He’s foul-mouthed, abrasive, determined and, of course, tough as nails. Boxer has been hired to protect the teenage daughter of a millionaire, but things take an unexpected turn when Godzilla attacks Washington DC (well, okay, maybe it wasn’t that unexpected). This pisses Boxer off, and he decides to team up with a bunch of his equally tough as nails buddies and kick monster butt.
The main draw here is the kaiju and the carnage they bring. The book doesn’t disappoint at all in that regard, it takes its chomp and stomp responsibilities seriously and the resulting destruction would put any Hollywood summer blockbuster to shame. It’s all very silly (especially Boxer’s method of defeating the kaiju) but the story moves at a brisk pace and the writing is often very funny. The artwork from Simon Gane is a bit rough at times, but full of energy. His monsters are great, and he clearly had a lot of fun drawing them.
This being only the first four issues, the story doesn’t conclude, but it’s still an entertaining read that sets things up well for the series. Boxer is just the kind of shoot first, ask questions later hero that comics like this excel at and Godzilla is, well, Godzilla.
You can purchase a copy of this book via your normal retailer, but please consider purchasing it from a local indie bookshop instead. It can be found here at Indiebound or at Bookshop. Please note the Bookshop link is an affiliate link and each purchase you make through it helps to support Sci-Fi & Scary and keep the site running.
Olly joined the team in August 2018. He is our first non-American team member, and lives in the UK. He is the head of our UK team. Olly reviews both science fiction and horror books and movies for the site. He also enjoys writing articles when time allows.
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