WONDERS OF THE FRANCHISE COMIC - Godzilla In Hell

“Before me there were no created things, Only eternity, and I too, last eternal. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!”
― Dante Alighieri, Inferno

The franchise comic is frequently trapped in pre-conceptions. One of the better recent examples of this is the new Power Rangers comic, which from reviews actually appears to be fairly well written. However outside that interesting middle ground where tokusatsu and comic fandom intersects, it has received little to no attention. I myself have not been driven to try it…because I find it difficult to take the premise seriously after watching it when I was 7 and thinking it was good then. But perhaps, I should take a lesson from another franchise comic that recently ended and kinda proves creativity has nothing to do with subject matter and everything to do with how we use that subject matter. What comic am I talking about? Well gentle reader, all I can say is...

Welcome to Hell.

Godzilla in Hell is a unique miniseries published by IDW in 2015. Its premise is exactly what it sounds like. Godzilla is in Hell but being Godzilla, he’s not taking this whole underworld eternal torment thing lying down. Each of the 5 issues has not only a different artist but a different write, most of which opted for an Age of Reptiles-esque silent experience (only 2 issue makes heavy use of words and there they serve primarily as narration and Mothra-winged angel banter). With talent such as Half-Century Wars’ James Stokoe and Breath of Bones’ Dave Wachter, the visual and story tone can vary wildly between issues. This of course leads to some issues shining in one way more than others. What it doesn’t result in is any diminishing of the experience GIH provides. This is one of the most individualistic and oddly intense comic reading experiences I’ve ever had.

Let’s be honest, it was never going to be a tiptoe through the tulips

Issues 1, 2, 4 and 5 detail the various trials Godzilla undergoes while slowly revealing what our big black atomic lizard’s ultimate goal is. Issue 3 provides the backstory, revealing how Godzilla ended up in Hell (remarkably not how you think but Spacegodzilla continues his habit of being a colossal dick). While the backstory is kinda interesting, it’s the battles Godzilla faces that drive home the point that this comic has some serious soul behind it. They of course include facing off against long defeated foes or demonic doppelgangers…because of course they do. But they also include Godzilla’s battles with the esoteric. He is washed over by millions of souls, the lives lost because of the destruction he leaves behind. Is this simply a torment being hurled at him at random or is it perhaps representing the fact that Godzilla, whose intelligence is extremely well established, might have some tiny spark of regret? Does his quiet acceptance of a quick “death” represent the inescapable nature of punishment or do his defiant actions show that no matter what, we can struggle beyond our pasts? Is it ultimately that Hell so that we can know ourselves and therefore rise beyond it, better and more than we once were? You may not believe it but these are the questions this comic raises.

Hell is bloody gorgeous.

People battling their demons on a nightmarish hellscape is not a new concept. Our struggle to pass beyond the levels and trials of hell, and the futility of those struggles is not a new concept. Many stories have been told which focus on not our redemption but our condemnation. We will live these lives but in Hell, your sins define you and though you struggle, eternity would not be long enough to escape their hold and the punishments we imperfect beings deserve. Such stories make us feel…very very small. But what sets this story apart is that…it’s Godzilla. Godzilla, who has head-butted nuclear missiles, blasted black holes and asteroids, risen from the dead and saved the world that would wish him ill. We may not be able to struggle against the ravages of Hell and move forward, but he can. He can out and out level them. Godzilla is a juggernaut whose sins are a hindrance but not a blockade. In fact the silent nature of the comic makes the opening scene very poignant and just a little bit uplifting. After falling into Hell, Godzilla is confronted with the classic warning, “Abandon all hope” in the form of a mountain sized wall of text. After a moment, Godzilla demolishes the words and trundles through their dust. Perhaps it’s just my tendency to read something into everything but for me this scene is a rejection of that old warning and a confirmation that hope drives you on. Godzilla wants out of Hell, so there’s no point listening to some naysaying geology.

He’s not even dead here.

As wonderful as I find the symbolism in this comic, it’d be bereft of me to ignore the art, ignorant though I am of what actually qualifies as good art. 5 different artists bring 5 wildly distinct visual styles, ranging from Stokoe’s asymmetrical almost empty comic panels to Bob Eggleton’s panoramic, hyper detailed deeply artistic pieces. Wonderfully each style fits perfectly in my view with the tone of the comic. Stokoe’s art ties in with the emptiness of the experiences Godzilla is faced with while Wachter’s almost hybrid style ties well with the whiplash inducing tonal shifts of his outwardly simplistic but extremely deep story.


Oh and the comic includes the single most…metal moment in anything I have EVER seen. And I live near an ironworks.

Holy crap!

This comic was one of the strangest experiences I’ve ever had…reading. But it was also deeply satisfying and in my opinion a highly valuable reminder that the origins of a notion hold no bearing on where that notion may go or the fields it may traverse. Like Godzilla it can struggle past what tries and hold it back and breach on the surface to see just how bright the sun continues to shine.

It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.

Michael O'Sullivan has co-hosted the Moonbase 2 Podcast for three whole years, no small feat for the longest running continuous Transformers Podcast. He also Paleontologist, much like a suave, irish Sam Neil.
He also has killed, many, many times.