Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles X Godzilla by Tim Seeley; Artwork by Fero Pe; Colorist Luis Antonio Delgado; Letterer Brian Kolek
A great, big kaiju thanks to IDW Publishing and NetGalley
for making their latest Godzilla mashup available to preview. Sometimes
unlikely pairings can have a great payoff. Whether it’s the Judgement Night soundtrack
or Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg, the unexpected pairing of two seemingly
disparate individuals or groups can show more alignment and result in fascinating
and novel outcomes. Such is the case with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles X Godzilla,
where it would seem like the 4 pizza loving, skateboard riding turtle brothers,
named after Renaissance painters, who hail from NYC would have little in common
with Japan’s biggest export and most feared giant monster, Godzilla, and his
other kaiju kin. However, as this comic makes the point, both the Ninja Turtles
and Godzilla are mutants whose mutations provided them with unique skills and
powers. While the Ninja Turtles grew from mutagen in the NYC sewers, Godzilla’s
mutation arose from radiation from the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. What was
also interesting about this pairing is that there’s a shared backstory to the pair.
Shredder and Master Splinter were both part of the Foot Clan, which was formed
in Japan and was one of the organizations that attempted to protect people from
the kaiju attacks in Japan’s past. This comic features flashbacks to the Foot
Clan’s older days when Shredder and Splinter worked together. Although the Foot
Clan struggled to contain the giant monsters, they were able to develop a kind
of connection to the creatures through meditation, allowing the Foot Clan to
better understand the monster’s motivations and drives. It’s a creative and
fascinating way to seek ways to understand and potentially exploit the monsters’
anger, fury and pure power to wreak havoc on the world.
The story includes flashbacks and alternates between NYC and
Shredder and Krang’s crew in the Technodrome as they make their way to Japan to
take advantage of the kaiju. The action starts as Bebop and Rocksteady are
attempting to take some proprietary hardware from a Japanese scientist who is in
NYC. The Turtles come to her rescue, and eventually learn more about the
attacks on Japan from Godzilla. They spot Shredder there, and Master Splinter
then reveals his long connection with the Foot Clan and their role in keeping
the kaiju in Edo Island. April O’Neil and Casey Jones are also featured, along
with Mondo Gecko, a newer character who I wasn’t that familiar with but enjoyed
his time on the pages. There’s much creativity that went into integrating these
stories, bringing in various Godzilla nemeses like King Ghidorah,
Mechagodzilla, Rodan, Jet Jaguar, Hedorah, and Mothra. Both Hedorah and Mothra
have some prominent roles in the plot of this story as well, and I loved the
way Tim Seeley incorporated these canonical Godzilla characters and their
backstories into this graphic novel. In addition, Fero Pe’s artwork is
incredible in this, along with the coloring by Luis Antonio Delgado and the
lettering by Brian Kolek. There are also some great alternative covers by other
artists, especially at the end of the graphic novel. It was fun to see these
variations on the stories and the attempts to blend the Turtles with Kaiju.
This is a great and fun pairing of two seemingly different cult classics that
works really well due to the entertaining story and the excellent artwork.
Highly recommended!
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