Godzilla: Escape the Dead Zone is the dirty, grungy little sibling of the shining Kai-sei era flagship book, Godzilla. In the book, writers Ethan Parker and Griffin Sheridan and artist Pablo Tunica show every day life in the kaiju and radiation-infested Dead Zone, an area that used to be Seattle and has been left for dead by the United States government. The story centers around a mysterious half-kaiju, half-human figure that is treated like an urban legend by the locals until he appears in glorious Tunica Technicolor. For the most part, Godzilla: Escape the Dead Zone #1 sets up this particular corner of the United States as well as its protagonist’s role in it before kicking into the real meat of the series’ ongoing plot towards the end of the issue.

As a comic, Godzilla: Escape the Dead Zone is built on vibes, namely, anarchic one. Pablo Tunica’s graphomania is self-evident, especially when the desert winds swirl, and monsters come out of hiding. There’s a lived-in feel to his line art with the characters definitely looking like they survived some kind of monstrous disaster. I love that Tunica colors himself, and blasts of punk rock colors offset the post-apocalyptic gloom and add tension to the fight sequences. He also plays with anatomy with limbs swaying and rocking in this irradiated world. That’s all to say that this book has a bit of edge to it compared to other licensed books: it’s more street art than IP. The main character, in particular, looks really cool.

Godzilla: Escape the Dead Zone focuses on the folks that have been left behind in a world centered around giant monsters and the energy they emit. The monsters that appear in the book are relatively small-ish fries compared to Godzilla and the other Toho big guns, but with no military or sci-fi technology, they pose a dire threat to the denizens of the Dead Zone. There aren’t any heroes or villains in this world: just survival. From the first page, Parker, Sheridan, and Tunica strip away contemporary comforts and hurl you into the deep end of this dangerous world where finding a beer or a smoke could cost your life, but a human/monster hybrid with a giant tail could be your salvation.

Featuring bright colors, an end of the world aesthetic, and gnarly, feral monsters, Godzilla: Escape the Dead Zone #1 shows there’s rooms for a variety of genres in the Kai-Sei era.

Story: Ethan Parker and Griffin Sheridan
Art: Pablo Tunica Letters: Nathan Widick
Story: 7.7 Art: 8.8 Overall: 8.2 Recommendation: Buy

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle