InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "censorship blows"

dr_hermes (dr_hermes) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-09-06 17:42:00

Entry tags:

char: godzilla, creator: alan moore, creator: steve bissette

Alan Moore draws Godzilla
There is a mountain of art about Godzilla, enough to bury the big guy himself in. I don't know why he haunts the unconscious memory of humankind, unless he is some sort of Great Old One left out of the NECRONOMICON and he lives in our collective unconsciousness or something. A very evocative scene from one of the movies had a group of schoolchildren drawing what they had been dreaming about. To the teacher's apalled surprise, they all drew different images of Godzilla (as the march played). Dark Horse did a 1987 one-shot called GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS, which featured a few guest artists.

Alan Moore's page seems at first too gimmicky to have any resonance. The woman's rapidly turning head drawn as three exposures and the depiction of the superheated breath head-on)irritated me at first glance. But a second look reveals several amusing details (the bottom of the big guy's foot, for example) and the perspective of a difficult angle is handled well.

A page from the story. Pencils by Steve Bisette and Ron Randall, inks by Art Nichols and Tony Salmons.

Back cover by Mark A Nelson. This could make a fresh and interesting story, Godzilla awakening in an earlier age. Maybe he wouldn't have his radioactive breath, but he'd still be a handful. Imagine scenes where armies of samurai on horseback charge him, elaborate traps are set, perhaps a pit with poisoned stakes.

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	johnzdrake 2009-09-07 06:25 pm UTC (link)
	In Giant Monsters All Out Attack, Godzilla is re-imagined as a physical manifestation of the rage-filled souls of all the Japanese killed in WWII. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	btravage.livejournal.com 2009-09-07 07:12 pm UTC (link)
	Oh, is that where I'm getting that from? I thought that was something they touched upon very briefly in the Japanese version of the original film. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

johnzdrake
2009-09-07 08:55 pm UTC (link)

It wasn't in the original -- at least not as more than a passing comment. I don't recall it, at any rate.

GMAOA was a weird entry in the series. It's a 2001 sequel to the 1954 Godzilla (ignores all other Godzilla movies in between) and the new take on Godzilla's origin didn't go over real well, although I rather liked it.

In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Godzilla's origin was given as being a Tyrannasaurus Rex which had improbably survived on a Pacific Island until WWII, when it died defending a brave Japanese platoon against the American aggressors -- died or was injured, or something, it's a long story, alternate timelines get involved. Radiation then revived the T Rex as Godzilla.

In the original timeline, Godzilla maintained some good feelings toward Japan for some unexplained reason, but aliens altered the timeline, with the result as one character says, "Godzilla is no longer a friend to Japan." Also the second-timeline Godzilla was much bigger.

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