Godzilla (Kai-Sei Era) #3 Review

 

Writer: Tim Seeley

Artist: Nikola Čižmešija

Colorists: Francesco Segala & Gloria Martinelli

Letterer: Nathan Widick

Editor: Jake Williams

Cover Artists: Nikola Čižmešija, Kade Byrand, Arthur Adams & Martin Simmonds

Publisher: IDW

Price: $4.99

Release Date: October 8, 2025

 

Dr Rumi Chiba sensed Anguirus' anger at being drained of its Kai-Sei energy. She rescued Jacen Braid when hungry mouths rose from the seabed to drag the Kai-Sei wielder beneath the surface. But Dr Chiba couldn’t protect Jacen from the Human pirates that attacked Team G-Force USA off the coast of Bermuda. Can she shield him against the sea leeches attacking their captured vessel? And where will Godzilla strike next? Let’s armor up, leap into Godzilla (Kai-Sei Era) #3, and see!

 

Story

Nadine Nuki has a dour look on life. She pushes away others and warns Jacen that most new members on Team G-Force USA don't last long. Despite Incense's interest, Nuki also keeps the glamorous pyrotechnics influencer at arm’s length. But the past binds Nuki to Jacen. While the heavy munitions expert helped protect the Deadzone, Jacen lost his mother there. After the government transported Jacen across the country to New York, Godzilla plowed through the city walls to attack him at Gravesend Charter Academy. When the sea leeches attack, and Jacen can’t use his power to save them, Nuki risks her life to protect the newcomer.

 

But Commander Riviera has more to worry about than his team, let alone his latest recruit, in Godzilla (Kai-Sei Era) #3. The leader of Team G-Force USA wears his patriotism on his armored shoulder. He knows that America awakened Godzilla by testing nuclear weapons. Still, after empowering the kaiju with "weird energy," Riviera wants to kill them or trap them below the surface. But the kaiju keep rising from the sea and attacking the good old USA. So when Riviera finds a target, he doesn't want anyone getting in his way of taking down the kaiju. And that includes voices of reason like Dr Rumi Chiba.

 

Tim Seeley's story hurtles along, powered by the clash of personalities, loyalties, and ideas. Yet it takes time to ponder how our actions affect others. American cities have barricaded themselves behind walls, and the country has retreated from the international community. Yet whether people like Richard Riviera want to admit it or not, America needs help resolving the kaiju crisis. Not just to target the aggressive monsters, but to forge a more peaceful relationship with them.

 

Art

As a woman eats a pink donut while navigating a traffic-choked freeway, the car's green interior glows. The vehicles momentarily lose color as gray fills the air. Then green tongues of fire leap off a gray beast with glowing yellow eyes, as it erupts through the concrete lanes in Godzilla (Kai-Sei Era) #3. Francesco Segala & Gloria Martinelli paint Godzilla's rampage through Chicago in grays, greens, and blues. Orange, yellow, and red surround Riviera's team and Captain Corroñero's pirates as they battle the sea leeches in Bermudan waters. Colors shift slowly amid frenetic action, creating auras around battling giants.

 

Nikola Čižmešija conveys Nuki’s concern for Jacen as she blasts the leeches leaping toward them. Dr Rumi Chiba cuts a graceful swath through the melee with her sword. Incense displays his confidence as he summons fire and pauses for a selfie to share with his followers. Commander Riviera moves like a bull, creating carnage and destruction wherever he goes. Captain Corroñero resembles a broken man, even while wearing a monstrous jaw with long, sharp incisors on his shoulders. Jet Jaguar may not feel emotions. But the smile fixed upon his metal face suggests otherwise.

 

Nathan Widick places black uppercase letters in dialogue balloons that are anything but oval. Yet they link together in a pleasing, organic manner in Godzilla (Kai-Sei Era) #3. An Atlanta DJ and Marco Petithomme, Jacen’s new roommate, fill beige balloons with off-camera dialogue. Jet Jaguar's beige balloons include music notes. Balloons adopt a hallucinatory feel as a newcomer makes a bold entrance. Sound effects make the ground shake with gunfire, jet flybys, kaiju screams, and the power of advertising. Thanks to IDW for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

While Dr Rumi Chiba may dislike Commander Riviera's American term, Kai-Sei energy links Jacen with the kaiju and those anxious to exploit the new power source. Godzilla’s attack on Atlanta opens a new era for Humanity in Godzilla (Kai-Sei Era) #3. The kaiju are no longer limited to coastal cities. Now, they can tunnel underground and emerge hundreds of miles inside the continental United States.

 

Rating 9/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Godzilla (Kai-Sei Era) #1 Review

 

Writer: Tim Seeley

Artist: Nikola Čižmešija

Colorist: Francesco Segala & Gloria Martinelli

Letterer: Nathan Widick

Cover Artists: Nikola Čižmešija, Kade Byrand, Arthur Adams & Martin Simmonds

Publisher: IDW

Price: $4.99

Release Date: July 23, 2025

 

Some cities build walls to keep out the kaiju. Other beacons of civilization are now rubble. The G-Force USA team aims to prevent such destruction from recurring. Can Dr Rumi Chiba and Jacen Braid fit in with their more experienced teammates? And can the team determine the root cause of the constant kaiju attacks? Let’s armor up, leap into Godzilla (Kai-Sei Era) #1, and see!

 

Story

Nuki is a heavy munitions expert from the Deadzone. The destruction of Seattle has taught her to push people away. Incense is a social media sensation who summons fire with his hands. Jet Jaguar has a tune locked in his metal head that the android can’t shake. Dr Rumi Chiba is a Japanese kaiju whisperer. Jacen Braid channels the same Kai-Sei energy as Godzilla. They all have their differences, and the newbies have something to prove. But all Commander Richard Riviera cares about is preventing kaiju from cutting another swathe through Human civilization.

 

Commander Riviera opens Godzilla (Kai-Sei Era) #1 with a briefing. But the team members have more to assimilate than Riviera’s kaiju history lesson. They probe each other for weaknesses, strengths, camaraderie, and the secrets of their power. But their orientation abruptly ends when a kaiju arises in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

As they've all suffered loss, it's understandable that these teammates want to punish the creatures that turned Earth into the monsterverse. Yet in Tim Seeley’s story, Commander Riviera hasn't learned from Humanity's mistakes. Nuclear testing awakened the kaiju and prompted their intrusions on Human civilization. Riviera keeps Dr Rumi Chiba at arm's length in Godzilla (Kai-Sei Era) #1. The commander disdains Rumi's peaceful approach, insisting that brute force is the only way to combat the kaiju threat.

 

Art

Nikola Čižmešija portrays the media appeal of the G-Force team. Dr Rumi Chiba straps a sword to her form-fitting armor and secures her hair bun with long, crossed pins. Nuki covers her crown in a scarf, wears belts adorned with pouches, and protects her left shoulder with spikes. Like Nuki, Incense's long hair hides or obscures his features. A high collar also juts out to shield his face. Jet Jaguar’s angular metal head, fixed wide smile, and armor design evoke a warrior-jester. Commander Riviera relaxes by playing the ukulele and wearing slippers. Yet even while he sings, thick armor covers his arms and torso.

 

Francesco Segala and Gloria Martinelli’s pastels soften the intense action as Godzilla unleashes a fiery blast on New York City. The limited palette imbues action past and present with a time-worn sense of history. While Nikola Čižmešija fills Godzilla (Kai-Sei Era) #1 with dramatic worm's eye, bird's-eye, and crowd-level camera angles, Jacen Braid lights up a dark room with crackling green fire. All the members of G-Force USA have suffered. Yet the gray in Dr Rumi Chiba's hair speaks volumes.

 

Nathan Widick uses letters in green boxes to denote time and place. Commander Riviera’s off-camera words appear in blue narrative boxes, while Jet Jaguar’s responses fill beige balloons adorned with red music notes. All the dialogue balloons are as rough-cut, and the arrows angular, as the edgy team members. Giant sound effects remind us of threats facing Humanity. Yet the crackling energy that prepares a snack and the unrestrained sounds of savoring it help us identify with these glamorous yet scarred defenders of civilization. Thanks to IDW for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Godzilla (Kai-Sei Era) #1 introduces the special ops team defending the United States. Each member of G-Force USA exhibits unique abilities that can help them prevent American cities from becoming another Deadzone. Yet uncertainty casts a shadow over the team’s future. A recent transfer from Japan doesn’t want to fight the kaiju. And then, there is the untrained teenager who unleashes the same devastating energy as the King of the Monsters.  

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Untold Destiny of the Foot Clan #1 Review

 

Writer: Erik Burnham

Artist: Mateus Santolouco

Colorist: Marco Lesko

Letterer: Shawn Lee

Cover Artists: Mateus Santolouco; Nikola Čižmešija; J. Gonzo; Santtos; Danny Earls & Luis Antonio Delgado

Publisher: IDW

Price: $3.99

Release Date: March 20, 2024

 

Oroku Karai is infiltrating Chincha Technology on Awashima Island. Why is she breaking into the underground facility, and can her people get her in and out without getting captured or killed? Let's grab our katanas, leap into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Untold Destiny of the Foot Clan #1, and find out!

 

Story

Oroku wants to establish the Foot Clan’s status in Japan. She believes the Chincha Technology job will be easy. Stealing the handheld device her employer wants will be a quick in and out.

 

Instead, guards swarm her team when they enter the grounds. Her people tackle the Human guards while Bebop and Rocksteady engage a mutant. Worried the Chincha Technology guards will slow their progress, Oroku orders Casey and Natsu to abandon the melee. But the mutant her employer warned her about refuses to go down, forcing Bebop and Rocksteady to think outside their regular playbook.

 

 

 

When they finally get inside the underground complex, a rivalry between Natsu and Casey Jones distracts their focus. Oroku defuses the tension and keeps the two moving. But when they find the device, Oruku discovers the Dog Star Clan guarding it. Their ninja rivals won't give it up without a fight.

 

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Untold Destiny of the Foot Clan #1, Oroku Karai suffers a setback. Bad intel leads to failure and disgrace. Erik Burnham doesn’t tell us about the device she's trying to steal, although he reveals why her employer commissioned her. His story delivers an intriguing rivalry between Natsu and Casey, deadly enemies in the Dog Star Clan, and a smashing dose of Hulk-inspired Rocksteady and Bebop fun. While Oroku begins this journey with swagger, she finishes in disgrace. Still, she’s more determined than ever to succeed.

 

 

 

Art

Within their highrise headquarters, the Foot Clan kneels before a coffee table. A hologram shows their desired prize. Oroku regards them from her throne-like recliner. Her people regard her with determination, while Oroku smiles down at them.

 

Spotlights rise above the chain link fencing, illuminating the fraught battle between Oroku’s team and the armored guards. Amid the fighting, a rhino hurtles overhead in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Untold Destiny of the Foot Clan #1. Rocksteady clenches his hands, climbs from the small impact crater, and trots back to engage a whale mutant slamming a warthog with a pink mohawk into the concrete. Puny Bebop!

 

 

 

Marco Lesko brings eyecatching colors to Mateus Santolouco’s art. The Foot Clan and the nearest guards stand out amid the gray yard, buildings, and sky. Battle closeups receive yellow, orange, and pink backgrounds. Oroku, Casey, and Natsu travel through aqua-green tunnels until they reach the blue-gray chamber. Suffused by a circle of pink light, the imposing gray and turquoise Dog Star soldiers regard them through orange visors.

 

Shawn Lee fills white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes with black, uppercase words in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Untold Destiny of the Foot Clan #1. Words grow bold for inflection and rarely shrink. Emotions and volume enlarge and color words, influence balloon shape, or burst free of their confines. Energetic, multicolored sound effects enhance the battles, threaten to detonate panels and pound home the Dog Star Clan’s ferocity.

 

Thanks to my compadres at IDW for providing a copy of this cowabunga issue for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Bad intel from Oroku Karai’s mysterious employers leads to tragedy and sacrifice in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Untold Destiny of the Foot Clan #1.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.