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Review: ‘Godzilla Rulers of Earth’ #2

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Godzilla returns this month in an issue driven by spectacle. Kaiju battles are the only reason to pick this book up, anyone looking for any sort of character development look elsewhere.

WRITTEN BY: Chris Mowry
ART BY: Matt Frank
PUBLISHER: IDW
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: Aug 7, 2013

Godzilla stories are inherently problematic. They are incredibly unrelatable, and often focus on spectacle. Premise never drives a good story. Character is paramount in any story, and this book begs you to accept Godzilla as a character, but offers you no compelling reasons to do so.

Most of the issue is devoted to showing Godzilla Prime deal with his American counterpart. While the battle is interesting and exciting, it fails to have any stakes. Neither monster is really defeated. The resulting stalemate ensures the larger than life conflict ends with a whimper rather than a bang.

The characters Lucy, and Commander Woods are flat. Neither character has anything more than superficial motivations for doing what they are doing. Lucy is rather annoying and her introduction into a special task force was almost groan worthy. There is a rapid-fire introduction of new characters but they are all so nondescript and boring you’ll be hard pressed to remember them.

Mowry hopes that you’ll latch onto Commander Woods’ flimsy backstory. We’ve seen it a million times before. Woods is the self-doubting hero of old, bent on revenge. It’s hardly new, and proves uninteresting in the context of the story.

A missed opportunity on character makes the issue feel directionless and empty. There is nobody here to root for, and the resulting destruction of the city hardly feels like it has any real stakes. No character finds themselves in danger, not even Godzilla, who spends half the issue in a epic battle, only to emerge unscathed.

Matt Frank’s art should be applauded. The battle that takes the majority of the issue is made dynamic and exciting by his art. His attention to detail with the Kaiju is unparalleled. They have such subtle details and the pain they feel is evident on their gigantic faces. You feel like a fly on the wall for an epic confrontation. The focus on the eyes, the swiping at tails, and the impact of a bite, you feel it all.

Frank’s work with the human characters leaves a much more to be desired. Humans seem to be drawn with wavering proportions that never really look nice in comparison to the monsters they share the pages with.

“Rulers of Earth” continues to falter with little to no direction. The book hopes that you accept the gigantic monsters on the pages as the characters to root for. Yet, Mowry never provides any depth to their plight. Instead superficial flat human characters are meant to be rooted for, but usually just seem vapid and directionless.

1/5 Skulls

Reviewed by – Jimbus_Christ

Comics

‘The Wicked Trinity’ – Preview New Archie Comics One-Shot Inspired by ‘The Craft’ [Exclusive]

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From Sabrina’s Magical World, Bloody Disgusting has learned this afternoon that Archie Comics will be releasing brand new one-shot comic The Wicked Trinity this coming June.

You’ll be able to meet The Wicked Trinity in the 32-page comic on June 12, 2024.

In The Wicked Trinity, “Sabrina’s magical nemesis Amber Nightstone and her sidekicks, Jade Kazane and Sapphire Gill, are intent on becoming the most powerful witches in the world. Isolated from so many around them, the three have formed a coven based on their individual needs for vengeance and true freedom.

“But when there is some dissent among the ranks, their small coven is threatened to be obliterated from within.”

The Wicked Trinity features a script by Sam Maggs, art by Lisa Sterle, colors by Ellie Wright, letters by Jack Morelli, main cover by Lisa Sterle, and variant cover by Soo Lee.

Archie Comics Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante tells Bloody Disgusting, “When Editor-In-Chief Mike Pellerito came up with the idea of the Wicked Trinity—Amber Nightstone, Jade Kazane, and Sapphire Gill—I was immediately intrigued. I even had the good fortune to work on the script for Jade and Sapphire’s first appearance in last year’s SABRINA ANNUAL SPECTACULAR comic for younger readers. What I especially loved about these magical teens is that they could seamlessly transcend from classic-Archie stories into more mature, even horror stories. I was eager to start developing their world with a modern sensibility, taking cues from the great work of Kelly Thompson and Veronica Fish on our SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH series, and Sarah Kuhn and Carola Borelli on our recent DARKLING one-shot. Inspired by series like Charmed and films like The Craft, I knew there was so much potential to build up this coven in a story that beautifully blends magical fantasy with horror.”

Writer Sam Maggs previews, “Real witches writing real witches—that’s how we do things over at Archie Comics! I was named after a famous witch—Samantha from Bewitched—and so I grew up absolutely obsessed with everything witchcraft, devouring every book series I could about teen witches. That makes WICKED TRINITY a dream project for me. The power and energy of teen girls is absolutely unmatched (just look at the engine behind fandom culture) and being able to harness that metaphorically for a story like this is such a delight. Everything I write focuses on the power of female friendship, and this story is no exception. And what’s better than a morally grey female character? I struggle to think of anything. Cat familiars, maybe? Also, I’m totally a practicing witch now. So maybe if you read this, you’ll find yourself imbued with magical powers, too.*

Artist Lisa Sterle adds, “I can’t wait for people to be re-introduced to The Wicked Trinity! Witches, fashion, and Archie Comics; this is truly a magical trifecta and I’m so happy to have the opportunity to put my own personal stamp on this. I love to create stories in which girls find their own power, both from within themselves and through their friendships and coven. If you’re a fan of my Modern Witch tarot, you’ll find this comic just as magical.”

Exclusively check out the two covers for The Wicked Trinity one-shot comic below!

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