Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens #1 // Review
Agent Jones is getting a call from Dwight D. Eisenhower. And since this is 1954. that’s President Eisenhower who’s calling him at home. This is only hours after he got laughed out of a government meeting to discuss a giant lizard that has recently popped-up in Japan. So maybe the wrong people don’t believe him but it seems like the right people might in Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens #1. Writer Frank Tieri mashes together X-Files-like conspiracy intrigue with the traditional Godzilla tropes in an issue brought to page and panel by artist Angel Hernandez and colorist Heather Breckel.
It’s not long afterwards that Agent Jones gets a visit from a couple of Men In Black who are there to ensure that he meets with someone else entirely. As it turns out, the woman he’s meeting with is from Japan. She’s part of a very secretive group within the U.S. Government that takes the threat of a giant lizard from Japan very seriously. So Agent Jones has people that are willing to listen to him, but they clearly know WAY more about everything than he does. It’s possible that Agent Jones might be in over his head.
Tieri does a good job of fusing together a few different elements. On the surface, it would seem to be kind of strange to fuse together.Chariots of the Gods/ Ancient Aliens with Godzilla and some of the lore surrounding Ufology, but Tieri makes it work quite well in an issue that seems quite well constructed and modulated. everything is Family establishing the first issue. The challenge is to keep it all moving in a balanced fashion as the plot progresses. Given the nature of aliens and Godzilla and all that it might be a bit of a tall order. But the author seems to be doing a pretty good job so far.
Hernandez has a firm grasp of the shadowy government based conspiracy drama that's rolling through the center of the story. The more horrifying images of Godzilla and aliens, and think of that nature don't seem to hit the page in a way that feels all that compelling. And maybe that's just because they're being presented in a way. Doesn't really allow them to have a chance to be as big as they will , nevertheless it feels like the fantastic is a bit stiff on the page whereas the more intricate and earthbound political drama feels a lot more rendered.
Things could get very silly very quickly in this series. And it's not like they aren't embracing that kind of campaign that could be fun as the series progresses. However, there's enough death and meet to the Lord that the author is bringing to the page that I can really turn into something a lot more interesting than, spoof sort of adventure. So hopefully they're able to steer more direction of substance that might actually provide some insight into the various elements that are being so cleverly mashed together.
