Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theatre Presents: Romeo & Juliet #1: But Soft, What Kaiju Through Yonder Window Stalks

Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theatre Presents: Romeo & Juliet #1 is the oneshot follow up to Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theatre Presents from Tom Scioli that found the King of The Kaiju meeting  literatures iconic Capitalist The Great Gatsby, and other literary stalwarts from Tom Scioli. This next foray into the mixing of classic monsters and classic literature is down by Adam Tierney and art by Sean Peacock.

The creators take one of The Bard of Avon’s best-known works and sprinkle in a dash or two of Kaiju goodness that would have made reading the play in high school much more exciting. The duo do an excellent job of taking Scioli’s concept and putting their own twist on how the two are combined. For instance, for the first part of the issue the known story of the star-crossed lovers plays out while Godzilla stomps around Verona, not unnoticed but more as a running gag in the background, which the characters seem to notice but not give a second thought about or completely ignore, a device that should keep readers attention until the fighting begins.

The initial Kaiju battle is between Godzilla and Mothra, that is until the Shakespearian version of Mecha-Godzilla arrives, piloted by Juliet’s father. The  creative team hits the major plot points of the Shakespearian play, such as the balcony scene, interrupted by the fight between Godzilla and the wooden Mecha Godzilla, and the death of Romeo and Juliet with a twist worthy of the story.

Peacock does a solid job on the art, capturing the same feeling of Scioli’s work, while showing enough difference to have a unique aesthetic of its own. The colorwork and the palate of colors used for the story also help set the tone for the story.

The 10-page  backup story has Tom Scioli returning to this type of storytelling as part one of Godzilla meeting Robin Hood. This first part is a good introduction, introducing who this version of Robin Hood is and establishing that Godzilla is believed to be a dragon of some sorts which is a nice concept for the story. It will be interesting to see the next part of the story and where it eventually goes.