5 out of 5

Well well well…  I’m pleased as punch when my suspicions pay off.  Not only because, yeah, it feels good to be right, but specific to instances such as Kaijumax, where my belief – post the first season – was that sprawling plotlines would shape up, it’s fantastic being able to experience a book become awesome right before your eyes.  The style, the energy of the title: I wanted these things to form a worthwhile read.  So it’s a relief that that’s occurred, and it’s even better that its exceeded expectations I could’ve had while doing so.

Something that should be outside of the scope of this review but, admittedly, has influenced my feelings toward the series has been the backmatter: Cannon’s kaiju-related movie reviews, some editorials, and the letter columns.  While the series absolutely stands on it’s own, seeing Cannon’s fan-aware but balanced takes on the movies and the careful mix of presented letters between funny in-universe stuff and question/answer responses – meaning an appreciative lack of boring “your series rocks!” letters – imbues the reader with a sense that Cannon has a level head about all of this, and that, besides having fun with the series, he is absolutely mindful of his output and thoughtful regarding its con- and subtext.  Further illustrating this are the editorials in issues 1 and 2 concerning Zander’s take on the creative process.  His words are equally confident and express an openness to growth and learning; an ideal combination.

Now, again, the actual comic book material can (and does) function without this stuff, but it inevitably warps one’s point of view, for better or worse.  For example, I was already on the fence regarding Brian K. Vaughan when the exhaustive letters column of Saga – which was, like, zero actual conversation and just (to me) chatter – convinced me I wasn’t in sync with what he was trying to do.  But the feeling I get from Kaijumax’s extras only confirms my already positive feelings toward the book.  Word?

Season 2 follows up on some main plot threads from season 1: Corrupt guard Jeong’s descent into drunkenness; Electrogor’s escape to return to his son and daughter.  The issue-by-issue subplots this time around – including a performance review for the warden and some ongoing family drama for Mechazon, whose sister (also a mech monster) works for the cops – are much less herky-jerky, flowing with those two main storylines as logical branches or acting as supporting thematic additions.  (Zander, perhaps not coincidentally, speaks to this structure in the mentioned editorials, stating how there’s a responsibility to shape things up into a conceivable direction for the audience after wowing them with first act bluster.)  This allows our funny kaiju-in-prison send-up to drift further into comedy in places – such as the troubles caused when Electrogor and fellow escapee Green Humongo shack up with Humongo’s (since reformed) brother – some interesting melodrama with Jeong’s PTSD symptoms and love interest, but most rewardingly into some pretty heavy drama, written with the same zippy, reference/jargon littered tone as the rest of the series but the emotional intelligence of the scenes clearly visible.  Electrogor’s tale – and he does remain our narrative anchor – is heartbreaking.

This is all backed up by Cannon’s wonderfully buoyant cartooning style, with a great, bold range of colors that are well chosen to be exciting but not overwhelming.  One of the fight scenes late in the season suffers from having its action cropped too closely to keep the choreography clear, but otherwise, the exciting expansion into more settings than just the prison gives Zander lots of room for fun, and I was continually amazed by how seamlessly the human / monster size discrepancies are handled; transitions and conversations are directed so you never suffer from feeling like there’s a mismatch in the sense of space for a particular scene.

This is ace artistry and storytelling through and through.

However, it’s worth noting that I am extremely troubled that I could not find Grubbzo in issue five.  But I’ll push past this discontent and allow the five star rating.