G Comics: Godzilla vs. Texas

Finally got around to actually reading IDW's Godzilla vs. America: Godzilla vs. Texas one-shot.  

Was I pleased?  You know I was.  

If I recently complained about a lack of local specificity in media where the story unfolds in Texas, I will not be repeating that here.  In fact, the bigger problem for this comic is that Texas is gigantic, and the stories themselves are pretty location-specific.  Even chronologically specific.  And Texas is too big for one slim comic.

The two covers are spectacular.  Cover A is by Matt Frank who, I believe, lives here in Austin, or did live here.  I met him twice.  Very nice fellow and I'm glad he seems to be doing well.  And I love that he seems to have drawn Godzilla roaming across Texas, heading North up I-35, if I had to guess.  Maybe somewhere south of Kyle.

Cover B is by Sam Lotfi and depicts Godzilla heading East down the Colorado River toward downtown Austin.  

That bridge is the Pennybacker Bridge that crosses the river/ lake and is a major Austin landmark.

Anyway, commutes will be borked all morning, so check in with traffic reporter Erica Brennes on KXAN for the traffic report.  

Story 1:  Deep in the Podcast of Texas, story and art by Matt Frank

For a very long time, Austin has suffered as the homebase of Alex Jones and his former online toxic bog of InfoWars.com.  Some of us have known he's a cretin since the early 90's, but never mind.  

This one sees Godzilla appear in Corpus Christi and walk his way all way up from Corpus to Austin, passing along I-37 to I-35 - ie:  up through San Antonio and San Marcos - to Austin.  Of course, even as reality in the form of Godzilla comes his way, our podcaster is in denial - spewing conspiracy theories.

It's a very on-point story for those of us who just want to throttle the brain-wormed nimrods who make their living insisting the sky being blue is a lie and selling protein supplements.

That it ends with Godzilla sliding in to nap in Lady Bird Lake is just icing on the cake.

Story 2:  Crude, story and art by Devin Kraft

A story mixing oil production, the oil economy and Godzilla coming for Hedorah in Ft. Worth.  It's a artfully told story about the rich and powerful getting their comeuppance.  If you like Hedorah, and I do, then this is a great way to see him repurposed in the context of Texas, where oil and energy have fueled the economy for a 100 years, everything else be damned.

Story 3:  Godzilla vs. Tex-Mech, story and art by Joe Eisma

The goofiest of the stories, this is probably a nod to Big Tex, the giant animatronic cowboy that welcomes you to the Texas State Fair, but which is not held in copyright by either IDW or Toho.  

Instead, we get a mustachioed robot with two laser guns fighting G in Dallas.  

Story 4:  You Missed It!, story and art by John Lucas

This one felt written especially for yours truly.  

In the 1990's, Godzilla stumbles into Austin.  He wanders past locales I myself used to hit.  The Black Cat on 6th Street, The Backyard - an outdoor venue.  The unspoken thing is that Godzilla has nothing to rage against in Austin - it's just folks listening to music and enjoying themselves.  This is back when celebrities were getting in trouble with the law for playing bongos nude in their living rooms.  

Goji slips into Lake Travis where he goes to sleep, re-awakening today, 30ish years later.

Seeing how Austin has changed into a paved-over modern city full of content creators, overpasses and general dip-shittery, Godzilla just decides to level the town.  

Same, Godzilla.  Same.

If there's an issue with the comic, it's that Texas is a big state.  There's no story on San Antonio's River Walk.  No story in *Houston*, which would be the ideal Godzilla stomping ground.  Can we get Godzilla in the petroleum plants of Pasadena?  Wandering through the Woodlands?  

Surely Lubbock could use a visit.  Godzilla in El Paso or in the Valley would be a whole scene.  Our guy checking out Marfa would be a kick, lumbering through Big Bend...

Still, I enjoyed the hyper-local vibe of the stories.  But clearly we need Godzilla to return to the Lone Star State.

There's a hardcover edition coming in February, and I'll likely pick it up.