Review - Kodoja Terror Mountain Showdown #1 & 2

In the history of cinematic beasts, Godzilla stands head and shoulders (times one hundred) above the rest. The massive lizard has seen his fair share of destruction and battles, but he came from the sea. Kodoja on the other hand is a man-made beast who's not cinematic, but that doesn't make his wrath any less dangerous in Kodoja Terror Mountain Showdown.

The first two issues of the five-issue series are written by Keith Foster and illustrated by Rory Smith.

Major General Jennifer Cruz isn't having the best of days. The Colossus project she oversaw was supposed to have been shut down yet apparently went broken arrow, unleashing Kodoja onto the city and world. And he's quite angry when it comes to giant monsters. She's the expert when it comes to Kodoja, but he's an expert at wrecking shop and being out of control.

Major General Cruz is tasked with bringing the beast under control, even though he's learning from everything being thrown at him. Add that to his already impressive combat training and the antagonist is something who shouldn't be trifled with. Throw in a suicide live at a Presidential press conference, a hothead general who thinks he knows how to beat Kodoja and lots of terror and you've got quite a story.

Foster's story isn't exactly an original, but it's still spun in a way that actually seems original. First, Kodoja was created by the government as an organic robot (for whatever reason). He's completely unstoppable to this point, dealing with everything being thrown at him, often proactively. Kodoja was imbued with the ability to learn and he's definitely taking advantage of that, fighting the waves of military might with intelligent tactics.

Second, Kodoja has been appearing in the dreams of Steve, someone being interrogated by the government for some unknown reason. It's obvious he has some tie to the behemoth trampling cities; what that tie is remains to be seen. That'll be one of the main draws in continuing with the series, that and finding out how to stop the monster.

Smith took a rather simplistic approach to the art, relying on heavy inked outlines and black and white renderings. The art is stark and plain, but it really works for the concept of the comic. It's littered with rigid hashmarks and dark blots throughout, but there's actually fairly intricate detail in there as well. The depiction of Kodoja is fairly terrifying, showing a monstrous creature capable of destroying buildings, jets, tanks and even people.

Beyond the comic, there's an overall package tied to Kodoja that includes a soundtrack as well. The funked-out Kaiju Soundtrack comes as a 45 RPM record and CD and was born as part of the comic creation. There's also has a Kickstarter going which needs your help.

Kodoja Terror Mountain Showdown is a fresh comic that throws things back to a different time when giant monsters ruled the roost. Major General Cruz is going through some personal stuff having to stop Kodoja, despite having her division shutdown. If Kodoja can be stopped it's something that will require a lot more than what's been presented so far.

Kodoja Terror Mountain Showdown #1 is available now, with the second issue due soon.