Godzilla’s The Odyssey #1 Is a Pitch-Perfect Crossover Ahead of Nolan’s Blockbuster (Review)

by

It’s honestly been a great time to be a Godzilla fan lately. The last decade and some change of American and Japaneses films are very different, yet they both are making movies that fans have mostly loved. Over in the comics, ol’Goji has been everywhere, fighting both DC and Marvel heroes. Meanwhile, IDW has been putting out their own books starring everyone’s favorite kaiju and going to new places with the monster. One of the more interesting books they’ve been putting out is the Godzilla Monsterpiece Theatre comics, which take classic stories and add the monster who hates Tokyo the most. Godzilla and weird crossovers go hand in hand, and these books have used the monster in wonderful ways.

Frank Tieri, Ilias Kyriazis, and Tom Sciolo take readers to ancient Greece and medieval England for the latest installment, an adaptation of The Odyssey. This installment is my favorite so far, taking the story we know and love and putting a fresh coat of Godzilla-colored paint on it. While the back-up story kind of takes away from the overall quality, this still an awesome comic.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Pros Cons
Tieri does a fantastic job of melding Godzilla with Greek myth The back-up Robin Hood story looks great, but the story itself is mid at best
Kyriazis’s art has the perfect look for this story, his style bringing the story to life beautifully
The issue is excellently paced

Tieri Gives Readers Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together

Greek mythology and Godzilla on their own are both pretty great, and they fit together better than you’d expect. After all, Greek myth is full of massive monsters and capricious gods, which are pretty familiar to Goji’s fans. The story opens up with a Trojan Godzilla, which I wasn’t at all expecting but put a massive smile on my face, and goes on from there. Instead of trying to fit the entire epic in the book, Tieri goes in a different direction, with the gods telling the story of Odysseus’s journey, hitting all the big spots and capturing the feel of the ancient tale wonderfully.

Godzilla is the “Hammer of Zeus” in this story, showing up at various points in the story to help Odysseus and crew. It gives the monster the kind of force of nature feel that works so well in his stories. Godzilla fights the best kaiju in film history, and many of them show up here, like Rodan, Ghidora, Gigan, Biollante, and more, perfectly folded into the classic story. The book’s pacing is amazing; it spends the perfect amount of time with each scene, never leaving you disappointed or wanting more. I love the way Tieri wrote the gods, a giant bickering family of all-powerful beings. It’s a great story, which is why the back-up is sort of disappointing. Scioli’s story isn’t bad, but it’s not as the good as the main story, especially the ending.

Kyriazis and Sciolo’s Art Takes Readers On a Gorgeous Journey

One of my favorite things about Godzilla Monsterpiece Theatre has been the art. Each book has used a different art style and each of them is different from the others (except Scioli, who has been a part of all of them). Kyriazis was exactly the right choice for this book. The way he draws the gods is awesome; we’ve seen a lot of Greek gods in comics over the decades and while his aren’t exactly my favorite, he does a great job capturing the essence of each of them. His kaiju also look fantastic, which obviously is extremely important.

The artwork is stunning, with beautiful lines and vibrant colors that really bring the story to life. The artist skillfully creates a mythical world, and their style perfectly complements it. The level of detail is remarkable, and the scenes are illustrated exactly as the script intended, creating a strong impact. There’s a playful, cartoon-like quality to the art that suits the story well. Scioli’s artwork in the backup story is a highlight, featuring a classic newspaper comic strip style that enhances the story’s appeal.

Okay, as a huge movie and comic book fan, let me tell you, Godzilla Monsterpiece Theatre: The Odyssey #1 is fantastic. It takes the classic Greek epic, The Odyssey, and brilliantly mixes it with Godzilla lore – seriously, it works! It feels fresh and inventive. My only minor gripe is the back-up story wasn’t quite as strong, but honestly, it’s a small price to pay for a book this good. Definitely worth picking up!

Godzilla Monsterpiece Theatre: The Odyssey #1 is on sale now.

Read More

2026-06-10 16:42