3 out of 5

I think Godzilla is probably a tough character for a comic.  I mean, props to IDW for… eh… capitalizing on every goddamn property possible (comboed with Dynamite and Boom, I’m sure every possible television / movie source will be comic booked soon enough), but how much can we really do with the giant monster template?  Assumedly previous series have covered humanity’s first interaction with ‘zilla, so that reveal is done, and I’m guessing the other monsters have had similar setups.  Of course, one could pull a Walking Dead and go over the effects of the destruction on the survivors… but I’ve never found Walking Dead to be much more than an ongoing set of cliches.  Needless to say, I’m not reading the Godzilla ongoing series.

Now every genre could be said to come with similar limitations, and every genre also has its highlights: James Stokoe’s take into the ‘zilla universe focused on a couple of monster-fightin’ peops, but he kept the story tight and the sense of wonder intact.  Most authors will probably take the route it seems Bunn is taking with ‘Cataclysm…’ hope lost, forever threat of the monsters’ return, they do return, and cue a new struggle.  And there’s nothing wrong with that route, except that I don’t feel like it allows for much surprise.  Indeed, I’m not surprised by anything I’ve read in these two issues, though Bunn’s improved a ton with his VO narrative style over the last few years (not every sentence is paced the same, and he’s willing to step away from it to let other story-building moments evolve) and Dave Wachter’s art looks appropriately desolate without feeling boring.  What I do appreciate is that I don’t feel like Cullen is relying on the creatures for the wow effect of his story; issue 2 gives the impression that they will be more of a background to some more focused dramatics.  …Although that fits that route outline I mentioned above.  So we’ll chalk this up to ‘zilla filler.  Not bad filler by any means – presented by two quality creatives (and Chris Mowry’s expressive, well-placed lettering is definitely worth a glance) – but not a series that I sense is ready to break the mold, either.