Godzilla Stomps Portland In New Comic Book

This week, IDW’s line of Godzilla comics continues with a one-shot where the killer lizard visits the City of Roses: Godzilla Vs Portland. As a longtime Portland resident I feel I must call attention to this. You know you’ve truly made it as a city when Godzilla visits you. I’ve never been more proud, man.

“Rising out of the fog of the Pacific Northwest, Godzilla is about to turn Stumptown into Stomptown. Oregon? More like Ore-gone. Rip City? More like…actually, that one already works,” IDW quips in their press release hyping the book. “You’re going to be less concerned with keeping Portland weird and more worried about keeping Portland standing when Godzilla comes to visit.” The city council is currently tearing each other’s hair out over how to repair our crumbling roads and keep the lights on in public schools without taxing us to death, and Godzilla would definitely make those issues worse.

Portland calls more comic book publishers and creators home than anywhere else in the country. IDW isn’t one of them, but Dark Horse is, and Image, and Oni, and Blue Water / Tidal Wave and probably other smaller ones I’m not aware of. The book mentions several local comics writers and artists will make cameos in the story, but only confirms Mark Russell (Superman: Space Age, Fantastic Four: Life Story) and Caitlin Yarsky (Black Hammer: Reborn, Wonder Woman). I know we’ve got more than that. Is Brian Michael Bendis in this, or does his contract with the Big Boys prevent his PHYSICAL SELF from appearing elsewhere in addition to his writing?

Portland is fifth on the list in Godzilla’s nationwide tour. He has previously visited Boston, Chicago, Kansas City and Los Angeles in that order, and the first four have now been collected in a hardcover box set under the title Godzilla Vs America. The series so far has included the talents of Steve Orlando, Matt Emmons, Hanna Cha, Jesse Lonergan, Hayden Sherman. Mike Costa, Ryan Browne, Ezra C. Daniels, Tim Seeley, Caroline Cash. Buster Moody, Freddie E. Williams II, Kyle Strahm, Baldemar Rivas, Jake Smith. Gabriel Hardman, Dave Baker, Jordan Morris, Nicole Goux, and J. Gonzo. Each book is done by a different creative team of people who live in the region; Godzilla Vs Portland was written by Colleen Coover, Russell and Yarsky; IDW does not go into details on who drew it, oddly.

Godzilla Vs Portland is out this week at comics shops nationwide. In Portland, get it at Books With Pictures or Future Dreams.