When given a new universe to explore, I have always preferred the fringes. The clean, crisp world of “the one” and the heroes has never been a focal point of interest for me in any media, because it’s always been too clean to resonate with my storytelling sensibilities. I prefer the low-lifes, the scoundrels, and the lost ones without a past and a future thrust upon them when they least expect it. Godzilla: Escape the Deadzone splinters itself into the perfect nook to be everything I dreamed of for a Kai-Sei Godzilla book. It explores something brand new with a human-kaiju hybrid while setting the story in a wasteland still filled with people holding on to what little they have left, with some shady outliers around every corner. It poses a major question that I think will resonate through the entire Kai-Sei line…In a time of monsters, how does humanity prevail?
Godzilla: Escape the Deadzone is written by Ethan Parker and Griffin Sheridan, with art by Pablo Tunica, lettering & design by Nathan Widick, and is edited by Jake Williams.
I will provide the IDW Publishing synopsis, as I want to remain as spoiler-free as possible in this advanced review. I do this out of love for the work put into this book, because the first page turn alone was an “oh f$&^” moment where I realized I wouldn’t be able to put this series down until it ended.
Inside the new IDW Godzilla universe, there exists a mystery larger than any other…what is the Deadzone? Inhabitants of this new world know the Deadzone to be a walled-off portion of the Pacific Northwest, sequestered after the most disastrous Godzilla attack the country has ever faced. The government would have its citizens believe that nothing is still alive inside the Deadzone…but do you believe that?
There are stories of a man. Or rather…a half kaiju, half man…who travels freely throughout the Deadzone. Some say he can even kill a kaiju. Some say…he’s not the only of his kind.
The framing narrative of Godzilla: Escape the Deadzone is a narrator talking about the mysterious monster man roaming the former Seattle Wasteland. Sometimes I do find introductions like this to be contrived because they follow the same beats as so many others, but Parker and Sheridan’s writing is so strong throughout the issue. They not only flesh out their corner of this new world, but they also guide their story and introduce their character organically with the flair of a dirt-sullied disaster. When the narrator directly speaks about the kajiu-man, there is an absolute majesty to it that pulls upon your heart strings. There is one line, “Perhaps he even dreamed,” that has lingered in my mind, which is said about him, that opens up a world of who this man could have been before monsters swallowed whatever future he had.
In this book, there are monsters. And BY GOD does Pablo Tunica deserve whatever the award equivalent of an Oscar is for Kaiju design. We encounter a handful of new monsters in this book that are truly fascinating to look at. Each has their unique way of movement due to the design of their limbs, which allows for a fluidity that can be easily translated to the screen. One of the faults of the Legendary Godzilla films, to me, was the lack of original monsters, but Godzilla: Escape the Deadzone is filling that hole in my heart. Mind you, Godzilla is the king, but the kingdom also has to be filled with citizens if you know what I mean. Tunica is helping fill out the monster kingdom with some really fresh gnarly designs that I cannot wait to see more of as the series progresses.
That’s not all, though, because Pablo Tunica is illustrating the Deadzone with grit and flair. Each panel we get to see of the environment is jammed with notes of the old world being recycled to function in this new one. There is a scene set at a Cantina where every single thing in the panels makes you take a second to really break it down in your mind. The character designs are fascinating, with the integration of technology into organic forms, such as a bartender who looks like he crawled out of the sewers of some 1940s nightmare. The construction of the cantina building itself is also noteworthy. It’s a beautifully illustrated book that deserves a second flip through just to look at the elements alone.
Everything in Godzilla: Escape the Deadzone is tied together by Nate Widick’s lettering and designs because it seamlessly moves everything forward. The narration speech bubble design has an orange similar to that of the hoodie worn by the monster man, but it’s not a color you often see chosen for the main speech bubble, so it makes it stand out from the grit of the world. I want to say so much about the sound effect lettering design, but it would get into spoilers, so instead I will give you my favorites out of context because they WHIP. Please read these aloud as you read along.
KA-THOO
GREIGH!
KRA-KOOOM
FRUK
So now we have come to the end. We live in the time of monsters as the Kai-Sei era of Godzilla only begins to charge up at IDW. Godzilla: Escape the Deadzone brings us to the fringes of this new world to see what lies behind in the wake of the destruction. It’s a unique book, unlike anything I have seen done with Godzilla with strong writing, gritty inventive art, and so much going on you could reread it 5 times and still see new things. Go tell your shop you want it. The preview for Issue 2 left my mouth open because it alluded to my favorite Godzilla character so be sure to be ready for what lies in store for the Kai-Sei universe.