Essential Godzilla: King of the Monsters

I got Godzilla: King of the Monsters about a year ago in Toronto. It was free comic book day, and a graphic novel store that I frequent was giving copies of it out. I wasn't really sure if I was going to read it, but I took it anyway. Of course, that fear has been assuaged over the last few days as I have indeed read it. And what a wild story it was! Godzilla is in North America, and he does pretty much everything: fight superheroes, solve mysteries, shrink, go back in time, and of course he fights other monsters, too!

While this is the story of everyone's favourite gigantic lizard, it is also the story of Dum Dum Dugan, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent sent to deal with the problem, and of Rob Takiguchi, the grandson of Dr. Takiguchi (who was sent with his grandson and assistant to deal with Godzilla). Rob is the only one who believes in Godzilla's innate goodness and who tries to stop everyone from attacking the giant lizard. And no matter how many times Rob is proven right, no one will listen to him, especially not Dum Dum.

I have to admit, I didn't really like Dum Dum Dugan. He was one of those characters that no matter how many times he was proven wrong, he refused to alter his standpoint. In this case, no matter how many times Godzilla saved his life, he continued to attack the giant lizard. It got really old really fast.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters was by no mean the best thing I've ever read. It's pretty dated in some ways, and it is pretty long (it's made up of 24 issues). And the whole "only the kid knows" stuff got pretty old. But overall, it was a lot of fun. I mean, Godzilla beating up everything is always entertaining.

Library Break: Batman: Vampire

Batman: Vampire is something special. I noticed that right away when I first picked it up at work. Batman: Vampire starts out as the tale of Batman vs. Dracula. Dracula has come to Gotham City, and only the Dark Knight can stand in his way. But at the end of this first tale, Dracula manages to change the Dark Knight into a vampire himself.

The second tale has Batman struggling to uphold his moral code: no killing. But how long can he hold out when the blood of the living calls to him? At the same time, the Joker has taken control of the last nest of Dracula's children, and has urged them to grander targets, taking out all of Gotham's mob families. This tale ends with the unthinkable: Batman succumbs, killing the Joker and drinking his tainted blood.

Finally, readers are left with the third story: Batman has been staked for an unknown period of time, and now crime has run rampant. In a desperate plea for help, Alfred removes the stake, unleashing the terrible monster that Batman has become. Who now can save Gotham from the fallen Knight?

Batman: Vampire is a terrifying tale, showing that even the Dark Knight can be corrupted, can become one of the monsters that he strives to protect Gotham from. An alternate history to the Batman timeline, this is one book that all fans of the Dark Knight should read.

Library Break: Batman: Knightfall pt. 3

I read this last week and forgot to write about it here. Part 3: Knightsend ends the Batman: Knightfall saga. This is the story of how Bruce Wayne reclaims his place as Gotham's Dark Knight.

After a long and slow recovery, Bruce Wayne is almost ready to resume his place. But he knows he has lost his edge, and he is afraid he will not be able to reclaim it. To that end, he asks Lady Shiva to train him.

As Bruce Wayne is struggling to survive Shiva's training, Jean Paul Valley is spiraling further and further into madness.

Knightsend is the explosive conclusion to the Knightfall trilogy. I didn't think it was nearly as good as Broken Bat (because I doubt that anything will be able to compare to that), but it is definitely worth the read!

Library Break: Batman: Knightfall

I have read parts 1 and 2 of the Knightfall series. And I have to say, I absolutely loved Part1: Broken Bat! Bane released all of the villians from Arkham Assylum, using them to wear out the Dark Knight. Batman, who was already in rough shape from the previous few weeks, is slowly but surely worn down as he goes after the escaped villians. He has no time to rest, even though his body desperately needs it. There were many fights when Batman should have been able to take out the thugs no problem, but he was only able to by using the last of his strength. Depleated, there were many images of him hiding in the shadows, exhausted. Yet he always managed to find the strength to continue as there was no one else.

It was the strangest story to read: with Batman barely managing to remain on his feet. And finally, when Bane struck, Batman was at his weakest, and he lost! Bane attacked Batman at home, when the Dark Knight was mentally and physically exhausted. Batman tried to fight back, but there was no strength left in him. And so Broken Bat left me with this image: Bane literally breaking Batman! It is a sad and terrifying image: no one should be able to break Batman!

So of course I had to start reading the second graphic novel in the series: Who Rules the Night. It starts out where Broken Bat left off, with Bane gloating over the fallen Knight. And so there is a desperate attempt on the parts of Tim (Robin) and Alfred to save Batman from being paralyzed for life. Fighting the clock, they manage to get the medicine they need, the only one that can help heal a broken back.

But now Gotham is in ruins. News that Batman has fallen bursts open the flood gates. Crime skyrockets. With no one to stop them, criminals everywhere try to carve a piece out of the city. And Bane lords over everyone, proclaiming the city his.

Into this dreary night comes Batman's chosen successor, Jean Paul. Jean Paul takes up the mantle of Batman with the help of Robin, but quickly proves to be a much darker Knight than that of the real Batman. He slowly decides to disobey Bruce's command not to engage Bane directly, deciding that taking down Bane will be the best way to stem the tide of chaos that has taken over Gotham. He modifies his costume, and becomes increasingly violent. Robin desperately tries to reign him in, but Jean Paul will not listen.

Jean Paul fights Bane twice. He injures Bane a lot, but almost dies in the process. For this reason he modifies his costume again, needing more than just the claws he had made the first time. It is during his second encounter that Jean Paul manages to bring Bane down. At the last moment, he decides not to kill Bane, but instead leaves him broken, much like how Bane left Batman.

It was a great story, and I can't wait to get a hold of part 3. But I definitely didn't like part 2 as much as part 1. There wasn't enough Bruce Wayne in part 2 for starters, which, although understandable, still made me sad. And I think I liked reading the downfall of Batman rather more than the aftermath. Jean Paul seemed rather unstable, and also kind of scary. I know Batman is not made of teddy bears and gum drops or anything, but he does have his code, and it never seemed like Jean Paul held up to it. (I know, that was the point, but I didn't like it).

Finally, I now have a reason to hate "Batman and Robin" even more. They totally butchered the character of Bane!!!