Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theatre Presents: The Kaiju Of OZ: We’re Off To See The Lizard….

Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theatre Presents: The Kaiju Of OZ is the latest installment of the King Of Monsters being inserted into literary classics. The combination of these two fan-favorite properties is really a no-brainer, seeing as OZ is a very versatile world and Godzilla can do whatever he damn well pleases.

This iteration of the story takes a different approach to both the telling of the original story and how the characters interact with Godzilla. While the issue begins like the original, it soon diverges after Dorothy arrives in Oz, believes Toto has transformed into Godzilla, and it is the Wicked Witch Of The East who becomes the main character of the issue.

That being said, after appearing in the opening, Godzilla doesn’t reappear until halfway through the issue as the main story focuses on the Wicked Witch as she meets and co-ops the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion as she chases Dorothy to obtain the slippers. The overall story feels much like I Hate Fairyland in the way the characters are written and the way they interact with one another, but toned down and not so in-your-face and reserved. There are plenty of inside jokes for die-hard fans and for those with a rudimentary understanding of the larger mythos.

Where the issue truly shines is Ryan Browne’s art, which sells the twisted version of Oz that this story takes place in. Yes, it is a large divergence from Scoli’s art in The Great Gatsby issue, Romeo and Juliet, and The Odyssey installments (somehow I missed August’s War Of The World’s, and hope to review it here soon), but it works, and works well, as one has come to expect from Brown’s work such as God Hates Astronauts and 8 Billion Genies.

Overall, the issue is another fun chapter in this literary-bending experiment, as Godzilla is more of an active character than in previous issues, but again demonstrates just how versatile both the Oz and Godzilla mythos can be given a chance.