I am usurping this review from fellow Bastard Chris Smith so that I can return to my love-hate relationship with IDW’s take on Godzilla. He’s done a fine job in reviewing this series, and I will build upon that great work by saying that this series is so middle-of-the-road with its story arc. Let me first point out that we see in this series a pastiche of elements done in previous comics and movies. First off, there is a whole fleet of the Kiryu MechaGodzilla that come to slow down Big G’s advance. Readers would have remembered hints of this plot point from previous IDW comic tales.

Next, the humans construct a black hole device to suck Godzilla into another dimension. Any G-Fan who remembers Godzilla vs. Megaguiras can see how familiar this feels.

Next, we get a reconstruction of King Ghidorah into Mecha King Ghodorah. This design and plot element (minus the time travel and Dorats) comes straight out of 1991’s Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.

You are now thinking that I will be tanking this issue because of its lack or originality. Not at all. This book does well something that most IDW Godzilla stories fail: establish pacing. The story opens with a Godzilla fight, continues with minimal story interactions from the humans, and goes right back into kaiju battling. Even the scene with Godzilla attacking King Ghidorah’s hanger had a tense moment added in for fun. Best of all, the cliffhanger sells the next issue well.

While we get retreaded ideas, we do get Joashua Fialkov’s adept use of Godzilla. Overall, any Godzilla fan—or comic book fan for that matter—will enjoy this book’s design. As Chris Smith stated in a previous review, IDW has the option to explore real what if scenarios with Godzilla, but they tend to always play it safe. And that is seen here quite clearly. Also, keep in mind that the artwork leans towards the more cartoonish; nevertheless, that doesn’t hinder the story one bit.

Simply stated, this book is great read while sitting on the beach soaking up some rays and wishing that the waters would part and a giant kaiju would emerge.

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Godzilla Oblivion #4 Writer: Joshua Hale Fialkov Artist: Brian Churilla Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 6/22/16 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital

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