Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens #1 Review

 

Writer: Frank Tieri

Artist: Angel Hernandez

Colorist: Heather Breckel

Letterer: Steve Wands

Editor: Jake Williams

Production & Design: Darran Robinson

Cover Artists: Fero Pe & Angel Hernandez

Publisher: IDW

Price: $4.99

Release Date: May 14, 2025

 

Bob Jones works for Project Colossus, a United States government department founded to prove the existence of monsters. He has researched the subject extensively, gathered eyewitness testimony, and charted their involvement with Humans throughout the centuries. Despite all his findings, the leaders of other government departments scoff at his assertions. Can he retain his agency's funding and help prepare the United States for the next kaiju attack? Let's grab a camera, leap into Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens #1, and find out!

 

Story

Frank Tieri’s story begins by putting Bob in the crosshairs. His government department has drained money from other projects. That money could go to far better uses than trying to prove what seem like urban legends. Bob’s trouble is that he lacks indisputable proof that kaiju exist. Although cameras date back two thousand years, the daguerreotype didn't make cameras commercially viable until the nineteenth century. Even then, it would be a long time before photography became popular.

 

Bob lives in the 1950s. Cameras and movie cameras are becoming available. Still, there haven't been sufficient kaiju sightings to yield even one clear image of Godzilla. So for his briefing, Bob must rely on artists' depictions to convince his superiors that Project Colossus is worth the taxpayers' money.

 

Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens #1 is the story about Bob's life. We view nearly the entire tale through his eyes. Frank Tieri conveys Bob's frustration, worries, and realization that his best efforts may lead to failure. His wife seems loving and supportive. But she realizes the stakes for him. And it's not just his career and marriage that matter to Bob. In an era when husbands are often the sole breadwinners, Bob also has a young son to care for.

 

Bob's struggle is as much a search for facts as a need to confirm his beliefs. He shares the same problems facing scientists and priests. People want hard facts, not faith. All he can offer them is his beliefs. In Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens #1, Bob's life has been leading up to this. Perhaps Project Colossus will continue. Or fate will hand Bob a chance to shine.

 

Art

Angel Hernandez reveals Bob’s struggle to convince his superiors as they sit around a briefing table. Clad in matching gray suits, the men see a detailed Black and White drawing of Godzilla, a sketch of the monster breathing fire, and a blurry photograph. Historical figures surround Bob as he clicks the slide projector remote and shows them a drawing of an ancient symbol. Yet the men, seated before flags and a symbol of the United States, regard him with stony expressions.

 

While his wife reclines on the couch, Bob hunches with a hand on his head, staring at their yellow recliners. As his wife tries to cheer him up, Bob glances at the Black And White TV showing the 1950s' most beloved couple. But when the camera shifts to a news report, Bob watches as Heather Breckel portrays the yellow and orange barrage streaking across a maroon sky. After leaving his colorful home, Bob walks beneath an orange sky and meets someone clad in maroon.

 

Steve Wands portrays Bob's worst fears, as yellow laughter fills the briefing room in Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens #1. Wands reveals uppercase black dialogue in edgy white balloons and narrative boxes. The words grow bold for significant words as Bob seeks to assert the significance of his beliefs. Yet his son's bold utterance reminds Bob of how other government researchers view him. Thanks to IDW for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

In popular fiction, governments often disguise the facts to control the populace and prevent widespread panic. In Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens #1, Bob Jones struggles to prove what government leaders have tried to repress throughout history. But first, he must overcome his prejudices about popular beliefs and the stated purposes of other government departments.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.