For any franchise or continuing
character, there is a point where fans (or the creators) want that character to
be in new surroundings. To that end, the
newest aspect of the popular Godzilla franchise has been re-envisioned as
Godzilla versus U.S. cities. The first
in this new series is Godzilla versus Chicago and it features four different
stories all written or illustrated by creators with ties to the Chicago
area. The stories all feature an aspect
of the visual make up of Chicago. Given
this reviewer’s ties to the Chicago area, I had a great time with a lot of
inside jokes.
The first story (of the
four total) uses the gimmick of the fan man, a paraglider who often lands in
major outdoor events. The character Fangoolie, is a nod to the Chicago-based
character called Svengoolie, who hosted a TV program showing old horror
movies. In this story, his ill-timed
landing at a Chicago football game causes his reputation to be destroyed. His new job is as a janitor of a
Mechagodzilla storage unit located beneath the Pritzker Music Shell and
Pavilion, and Fangoolie sees his way to gaining public trust back. While the story ends horribly for him, the
inside jokes for this story are locally recognizable: the concept of “dibs”
where someone digs out a parking space in the winter, then calls “dibs” by
putting something like a chair out to hold the spot; a cheese grater head worn
by a Chicago sports fan, along with the score of the Bears losing to Detroit by
a large margin; and a comment on “da East” (in this case, anywhere East of
Chicago) and the verbal affectations of Chicagoans.
The second story deals
with one of the Chicago train lines, the Blue Line (which technically is the
oldest line in Chicago, at least in part), and its run toward Jefferson Park
near O’Hare Airport. This is a subtle
nod toward the fact that not all trains run to their terminus. In this case, the story has Godzilla
following close to a blue line train as it goes in and out of the tunnel
system.
The third story arc
features Godzilla serving as de facto urban renewal for a poorer neighborhood
on the South Side. The story has an
alderman who, when trying to lure Godzilla away from downtown, volunteers his
neighborhood to place floodlights to lure the monster. As the story unfolds,
the reasons for the alderman’s “offer,” combined with the fact that he lives in
the affluent suburbs north of Chicago, show that he is merely looking to
quickly get a reason to demolish the area, then sell to developers at a
profit. These stories may not be
entirely factual, but they have elements of Chicago politics throughout
them.
The final story, told
in green overlaying black and white art, is of a woman who hears of Godzilla’s
arrival in the Windy City. One panel
shows the unnamed heroine in a convenience store. As Godzilla threatens
destruction, she drinks a questionable energy drink, which is advertised as a
Giant Women Energy Drink and soon she is equal in size to Godzilla. When she
grabs a giant Chicago flag to cover herself, she notes that it is okay, as she
was “born in Uptown, not Naperville.” Ag
phrase native Chicagoans often hear, where a suburb is not considered Chicago
proper. In the end, the giant woman
drinks more, becomes large enough to pick up Godzilla and then throws him
eastward. The comment “Screw Indiana” is
again one that might seem mean, but it is very common in the area. The reviewer is not from Chicago originally
but did hear a lot of these exact comments at one point or another while
living there.
In all, this comic book
is one that combines a lot of local artist talent, art for those who live, or
have lived in Chicago, and should serve as a template for the future “location”
comics planned in the series. In all, it
was a fun, fast read which combined a familiar character, with unexpected
locations.
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