Cover Art for Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theatre Presents: Godzilla’s The Odyssey
Written by Frank Tieri
Art by Ilias Kyriazis
Letters by Brian Kolek
Cover Art by Tom Scioli
Christopher Nolan, eat your heart out. Godzilla’s The Odyssey is the best adaptation of the ancient epic Greek poem you’ll see this year and my god, what a turnaround from last month's adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. This retelling was fun, had some gorgeous artwork and had great rolls for Godzilla and many of the other Toho Kaiju’s. I’m gonna jump right into this one because I can’t say enough good things about it. Let’s get into it. Spoiler Warning Now In Effect for Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theatre Presents: Godzilla’s The Odyssey.
Thoughts on the Issue
Normally, this is the point in my review where I would go into a recap before dissecting things later on, but if I had to recap the story of the Odyssey, we would be here all day. The Odyssey has long been considered one of the all-time greatest stories in all of human history; its mainstay in school curricula and still resonates within pop culture. If by chance you aren’t familiar with it, I’m not saying you need to be, but if you are, it’ll help your enjoyment of this issue immensely.
This issue was a perfect contrast to last month’s Romeo & Juliet crossover. I was really disappointed with that one because it seemed Godzilla didn’t have a real role within the plot and was mainly used as a background character in his own crossover story. That’s not what Godzilla fans want or what Godzilla fans expect. When I pick up a book with Godzilla’s name or image on the cover, I want him to be featured, and not just thrown in there once or twice, or not having it make sense, I want his role to make sense and to be fun. This issue had a much better balance with Godzilla and gave him a role that made sense within the story.
When I saw an image of a Godzilla-fied version of the infamous Trojan Horse on page one, I immediately knew I was in for a great time. Godzilla’s role within this story is much more defined in this month’s Masterpiece Theatre; instead of being relegated to a role that doesn’t make much sense, he is known in this version of the ancient Greek world as the “Hammer of Zeus.” When Zeus needs a problem solved or needs to help one of the heroes of the ancient world, he sends the massive Kaiju to deal with the issue. Writer Frank Tieri’s decision to make Godzilla a weapon that's utilized by the Gods, specifically Zeus, was a really cool decision and makes for a really fun way to include Godzilla in this crossover
One of the best things about this issue is that it isn’t JUST Godzilla that shows up. We get appearances from Gigan, Rodan, King Ghidorah, Destoroyah, Hedorah, and more. Tieri manages to make all these Kaiju fit within the confines of the Odyssey and manages to make it all make sense. Gigan, for instance, kills and takes the place of the cyclops Polyphemus and tries to kill Odysseus and his crew in his massive cave. The magical bag of winds that are supposed to blow Odysseus back to Ithaca isn’t filled with winds but with Rodan.
When Odysseus and his crew need to make their way through the Gates of the Underworld and along the River of Fire, they witness Hedorah, Destoroyah, Space Godzilla, and other massive monsters in an endless battle “for all eternity.” When Odysseus makes his way through the Strait of Messina with his crew, Scylla and Charybidas are replaced with King Ghidorah and another huge kaiju. Fitting all of these massive foes into any classical story would be a challenge, but Tieri manages to work them into the story with ease. Does it help that the normal telling of the Odyssey already has monsters and fantastical elements built into it? Absolutely, but Tieri has to find the right Kaiju to replace certain monsters, and he accomplished his goal. Gigan as the Cyclops? Genius because he has one massive eye. King Ghidorah replacing a massive sea serpent? That checks out since he’s a massive dragon. Hedorah, Space Godzilla, and Destoroyah in hell, fighting the endless battle? That makes sense, too, since Godzilla has defeated them in the movies, and they are some of the villains that haven’t really shown up again.
The way the Gods are presented in this really worked for me also. The designs were all really cool, shoutout to artist Ilias Kyriazis, and their dialogue was great. They come off like a squabbling family, and the side comments some of the gods make to each other during their scenes can be really funny. A lot of the jokes and humorous moments deal with the classic trope of Zeus’ infidelity, and what makes it even better is that Zeus refuses to comment on it over the course of the issue. The best god in this issue, though, is Poseidon.
He’s the big villain and the reason it takes Odysseus decades to return home. Tieri’s Poseidon feels jilted that he wasn’t thanked and worshipped more by Odysseus for the help that he provided during the Trojan War. His vengeance is what drives the plot forward, and if not for Godzilla, Odysseus’ journey home would’ve been very short. The fact that I just wrote a sentence like that is just proof of why comics are the best. Anyway, Tieri’s Poseidon comes off almost like a jilted lover who doesn’t want anything good to happen for their ex-partner, and it works really well for this iteration of the story. Even after the Gods finally convince Poseidon to let Odysseus return home and we get the happy ending, Odysseus manages to “offend” him one last time.
Poseidon feels as if he should have a temple erected in his honor, but of course, who does Odysseus build a temple for at the end of the story? The main man himself, Godzilla. Yes, that's right, Odysseus honors the gods by establishing the first ever Temple dedicated to Zeus’ “hammer,” Godzilla. After Godzilla saved Odysseus from Gigan, Ghidorah, and all the corrupt suitors in Ithaca, among other threats, he was the one Odysseus felt deserved a temple of worship, and I don’t disagree. The Temple of Godzilla needs to be a place people can visit in real life somehow, make it happen, Toho!
Thoughts on the Art, Tom Scioli’s Robin Hood Story and Rating
The art was an absolute homerun for this issue. Ilyas Kyriazis’ Godzilla feels menacing every time he’s on the page and he has a fantastic look to him reminiscent of the 80’s and 90’s designs for the Godzilla. His atomic breath comes off more like a blue fire breath and it looks great. Some of my favorite panels featuring Godzilla, from an art perspective, are the moment he breaks into Gigan’s cave, the battle between himself and Ghidorah in the Strait and the final moment we see him as he helps Odysseus in Ithaca.
Kyriazis’ designs for the Gods are all really cool too. Athena has this badass golden armor that covers her entire body. It makes her sort of look like a living suit of armor, and it's one of the most unique designs I’ve seen for her in any form of media. Poseidon’s beard, made of seaweed and algae, was a great design decision as well. Along with his brother Zeus, they both barely have any clothing except for a small cloth, and that tracks as they both feel nothing can hurt them with their big egos.
Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Apollo, and Ares don’t have as big roles as the main three of Zeus, Poseidon, and Athena, but they all have some great designs as well. Kyriazis’ Gods have a much more subdued and darker color palette than you expect, and most of their clothing isn’t as extravagant. In a way, it humanizes them even more. Finally, Kyriazis’ designs for all the various settings of the story look great as well. Each location feels distinctly different from Troy, to the various islands Odysseus and his crew find threats on, to Mount Olympus, and of course, Ithaca.
I can’t wrap this up without talking about the second chapter of Robin Hood and the Monster of Nottingham. Tom Scioli continues his story in this Godzilla universe with another fun entry, and the plot revolves around Godzilla setting a forest on fire and Robin Hood and his crew doing what they can to stop him. I don’t want to give this little story away, but it made me laugh how they end up stopping Godzilla in this chapter. Scioli’s dialogue between the characters is fantastic, and he nails it with his art. There’s just something about his Godzilla that I really like, and I almost wish he had more time to tell this Robin Hood story because I would love a full-length issue of it instead of just these bonus stories.
Frank Tieri and Ilyas Kyriazis’ Godzilla’s The Odyssey was a hell of a lot of fun. Godzilla and Greek Mythology were a pairing I never knew I needed, but somehow, it works extremely well together. Tieri makes this concept work from the first page to the last, and Kyriazis’ art hits on every level. If last month's Romeo & Juliet and Godzilla turned you off to Monsterpiece Theatre, consider jumping back on; this one was awesome.
RATING: 9 Kaijus out of 10