Godzilla: Cataclysm #1

By Cullen Bunn and Dave Wachter

Happy 60^th anniversary to the King of Monsters! In honor of that crazy accomplishment, IDW is treating us to Godzilla: Cataclysm by Cullen Bunn (Sixth Gun, Magneto, Sinestro) and Dave Wachter (Breath of Bones). What’s not to be excited about? Especially after IDW gave us a Godzilla series like Half Century War from James Stokoe—which you need to buy if you even just casually like Godzilla.

The first few pages really grab the reader amidst images of some of the classic Godzilla characters, as well as the legend himself, while Bunn cryptically describes the origins of legends and myths in what can only be described as an awesome voice over moment, if this was a movie introduction. After that, Bunn paints a rather bleak picture of a world after the monsters and what life would be like after an all out war. It’s a great angle to take, considering most of the movies and other Godzilla-related materials might show a monster fight and some destruction but it always just resets, so to speak, for the next attack. There’s lots of great set up here for the rest of the series and as far as first issues go, Bunn really nailed it.

On the art side of the coin Dave Wachter, who more than impressed with the Steve Niles mini-series Breath of Bones, steals the show. His monsters, his scenery, the colors; everything is just fantastically compiled and executed. The muted, dark tones, the lack of greenery and colors, really reinforce the devastation caused by this war and really give a sense of hopelessness. The colors used in the opening scenes, particularly the blue tones of Godzilla’s Atomic Breath, really make the scene pop and add extra layers to the devastating, classic, ability of the King of Monsters.

Really and truly, if you’re a fan of Godzilla (even those who only know that shitty remake in early 2000 with Matthew Broderick that was awful) or even just a fan of large monsters, you’re going to like this. Bunn and Wachter mesh together extremely well and both clearly have a love for the story and characters involved. You can’t go wrong with this creative team or Godzilla, so definitely give this a chance and check it out.