ROBOTS, MONSTERS & ALIENS ... OH MY!

The release of PACIFIC RIM this summer really geeked me out because I grew up a huge fan of Giant Robots versus Monsters stories which really haven't been that popular last few decades until Guillermo del Toro re-energized the genre with his blockbuster movie.  In the movie, aliens breed giant monsters and send them to Earth through a trans-dimensional portal to wipe out the human population so the aliens can recolonize the planet for themselves.  To defend the planet, giant robots called JAEGERS are created to fend off these monsters which have been named KAIJU (Japanese for "strange creature).

While they may seem cheesy now, I never missed a chance to watch The Adventures of Johnny Sokko & his Flying Robot

Ultraman

or Godzilla

I remember watching these tv shows and movies as an elementary school kid while playing with my Shogun Warrior toys recreating epic battles between robots and monsters...those were the good old days.  Now maybe with PACIFIC RIM and the upcoming new GODZILLA movie a new generations of kids, and their geeky dads, can enjoy a renewed era of story-telling in this genre.  Check out this trailer to the new GODZILLA movie coming out in 2014:

Can't wait for the new movie to come out to get a your monster madness fix, well don't fret because IDW Publishing has a new line of Godzilla comic books on the market now and next week you can purchase the graphic novel accumulation of the first story arc of the series in GODZILLA: RULERS OF EARTH VOLUME 1 hitting store shelves on December 17, 2013.

In the Godzilla comics there are two variety of monsters, ones that have evolved from radiation and pollution mutations on Earth and ones, that like in Pacific Rim, are sent by aliens who want to take over our world for themselves.  The comic also introduces a new cast of characters called Megazoologists who are academics studying these new creatures and often time need to be rescued by the military cast who are fighting off these monsters.

The artwork in this comic is bright and crisp giving the impression that you are watching an animated special on TV versus reading a publication.  The quality of the artwork really enhanced the story and made the book interesting to flip through.  Plus the story lines were well scripted making for a fun read.  Due to violence and graphic nature of the book it may be a little much for young children, but for an older grade school kid, teen or adult who has an interest in monsters I'd recommend adding it to their bookshelf.

For more information, visit http://shop.idwpublishing.com/comics/series/godzilla.html

DISCLAIMER:  I received an advance copy digital pdf of GODZILLA: RULLERS OF EARTH VOLUME 1 to review from the publisher.  The opinions in this post are my own.