Godzilla: Rage Across Time #1
IDW

Written By: Jeremy Robinson
Art By: Matt Frank

What if Godzilla was older than we thought? What if all those great cataclysmic events throughout history weren’t great natural disasters such as a tsunami wiping out an invading force? That is what this series is basing its premise on. A couple of archaeologists, who have very minimal panel appearances, try to find evidence that Godzilla was this great natural disaster that through time, was forgotten and explained away. I am in love with this concept as we will get to see many different famous clashes throughout history where some kind of catastrophic event stopped or aided one side of the battlefield, and that event is actually Godzilla.

The story of this issue takes part during feudal Japan, complete with samurais, ninja and the invasion of Kublai Khan. Using the time period to provide a quest for a few minor characters, Godzilla’s role in this comic becomes clear as he is an uncontrollable monster during a war where both sides hold artifacts to control monsters such as Gigan and Megalon. For me, the greatest attribute of this issue is Matt Frank’s art. During the retelling of the feudal story, the artwork is done to look like Japanese Woodblock Art. This style of (which is a favorite of mine) really helps tell the story as if some Japanese Clan elder was reading us this epic tale. Selling the Race Across Time theme, the artwork for the current time has a more traditional comic book appearance to it.

Over the past few years, the Godzilla comics have really tried to shake things up by putting Big G in different scenarios other than Kaiju battles across Tokyo. We have seen him make a journey akin to Dante’s Inferno in Godzilla in Hell, we have seen him fight through waves of monsters to protect the Earth once again from an alien race in Godzilla Rulers of Earth, and we have even seen Godzilla help defeat the Tokyo crime syndicate in Godzilla Gangsters and Goliaths. Along with several other series over the past few decades of Godzilla comics, we have seen some amazing splash pages, cover art and sketch work. Each artist has put forth their mental image of what Godzilla looks like to them and they are all unique. With this Race Across Time series, we have already seen stunning art and a story based around Feudal Japan, and with the teasing of the next issue including the “Fall of the Gods” we will get to see Ancient Greece as the archaeological dig site and battleground worthy of myth to prove Godzilla is a timeless natural disaster of which no one is safe.