IDW Publishing continues to expand their kaiju offerings with Mothra: Queen of the Monsters #1. This new five-issue mini-series is coming from the creative team of writer Sophie Campbell and artist Matt Frank. Campbell is coming off a memorable creative run on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Frank has a massive catalogue with experience drawing many kaiju related comic books. This is certainly a strong creative team to assemble for this mini-series. We got the chance to check an early copy of Mothra: Queen of the Monsters #1 from IDW Publishing. Find out how it turned out with our advance review.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Sophie Campbell
Artists: Matt Frank and Sophie Campbell
Letterer: Nathan Widick
MOTHRA: QUEEN OF THE MONSTERS #1 SOLICITATION
“Mothra has fallen after a fearsome battle with a terrifying new kaiju, ANTRA. Without its protector, the world has entered into a state of desolation. Kaiju roam freely, and what remains of humankind has been forced into hiding.
But all hope is not lost! Mira is a young woman living in the wasteland, who believes she lost her entire family in Mothra’s final stand. That is, until her missing twin shows up at her door with two fairies! If her sister is to be believed, Mira might hold the key to the rebirth of Mothra and the Earth’s return to normalcy. They just have to travel back in time and get its egg from the Jurassic period first.
Join the kaiju king Matt Frank (Godzilla: Rulers of Earth) and all-star writer Sophie Campbell (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) on the adventure of a lifetime!” – IDW Publishing
REVIEW
Mothra: Queen of the Monsters #1 is such a refreshing take on the kaiju storytelling, especially from an American media standpoint. Rather than going with the typical plot of introducing the kaiju into the modern setting this is a post-apocalyptic story. Not just any post-apocalypse. It asks the question of what happens when the world’s protector, in this case Mothra, has fallen. Answering that question leads to such fascinating world building.
What speaks to the strength of the premise that Sophie Campbell and Matt Frank create for Mothra: Queen of the Monsters #1 is how compelling the human cast are. So many times the human characters in a kaiju story are there so that kaiju doesn’t appear all the time. That’s usually due to budget constraints or other factors. But that has shown to create a feeling that we are wasting time with the human story and just waiting for the kaiju to appear.
Campbell and Frank smartly avoid this problem by making sure you as the reader are always aware of the danger Mira is as the lead character. There is never a lot of time between the times we see the kaijus threating the world show up in some form or fashion. Taking this approach keeps the tension high. Which in turn gets you even more invested in Mira’s journey as you’re constantly concerned about her safety.
Creating such tension through Mira’s journey adds so much to what Mothra meant to this world. She was the world’s protector that when she does fall at the beginning of this comic book it meant something. The world completely changed as the new kaiju named Antra completely took over. They claimed the crown that previously belonged to Mothra. The constant thread of Antra amplifies Mothra’s importance as a protector.
With that set-up, Campbell presents a fresh take on the mythology around Mothra’s character. For fans of the kaiju there will be easily identifiable call backs to the character’s history that are done well. Embracing the mythology of Mothra further builds the investment in where the direction of the series will go from here.
As with his previous kaiju work, Frank really nails the look and feel that Mothra: Queen of the Monsters #1. Specifically, the scale of everything, even when we are on the streets following Mira, has a epic scope. The amount of detail to the world helps to further put over the post-apocalyptic setting we are placed in. It gets over the importance of the hero of the world falling in such a dramatic way to an bigger threat.
FINAL THOUGHTS
As soon as you open Mothra: Queen of the Monsters #1 you will immediately know that Sophie Campbell and Matt Frank are crafting a special kaiju comic book. There is so much depth to the world building that branches off the premise of the fall of Mothra. This is easily one of the best balance storytelling between the human and kaiju characters. The artwork takes that storytelling to another level with how epic everything that happens looks.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
For more opinions on anime, comic book, movies, and sports you can follow Kevin on Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, and Twitter/X.