I fell in love with Portland, Oregon when I took a two-week vacation there in 2019. Having been attracted to the city after watching the hilarious and bizarre TV show Portlandia, I wanted to see for myself if the city lived up to that weird zany vibe. Much to my delight, it not only matched the TV show, in some cases it exceeded it.
Alas, I’ve never had a chance to head back there, but IDW’s Godzilla vs. America: Portland #1 brought back a lot of great memories. Sure, Godzilla’s stomping around and causing his usual havoc (he stomped on Powell’s Bookstore, the cad), and that’s fun and all, but aside from the kaiju chaos, the book also serves as a damn fun tour of Portland and the people who live there.
The book features four stories, all of them terrific and presenting four different versions of the big G storming Portland. My favorite of the four tales is “Dog Day Afternoon”, written and drawn by Cat Farris. The story hilariously focuses on a food critic and his buddy as they head across the city for the debut of a hot dog that will be “Portland’s signature hot dog”. As they stroll through the city, totally oblivious that Godzilla’s rampaging through Portland, they speculate as to what toppings and condiments will be on the hot dog. Hey, I get it, nothing’s going to distract me from a great hot dog either.
It’s a brilliant story and it reminded me of one of the great Jacques Tati’s films, where the world serves as background noise for a small number of charismatic, goofy and lovable characters. What I loved most about the story is Ms. Farris’s renderings of Portland. As the two friends strolled past Powell’s Books (probably my favorite place in the whole world) and other Portland landmarks, it really carried me back to my time in the city. The whole wacky vibe of Portland (including the Naked Bike Ride) is on full display throughout the entire story.
IDW
The story ends on a perfect note and honestly, I’d love to see these two characters stumble through some future adventures.
The three other stories are also fun, too:
- “Godzilla vs. Sasquatch” written and drawn by Colleen Coover shows a secret club of Sasquatch (Sasquatches?) who monitor Portland for kaiju threats and the story culminates in a massive kaiju battle.
- “High Score” written and drawn by Caitlin Yarsky with colors by Heather Breckel is a spooky little tale of a video game called Polybius and how it’s linked to Godzilla. Could Godzilla be mind-controlled by a billionaire?
- “Under Siege in the 503” written by Mark Russell with art by Eryk Donovan concludes the book on a high point. It’s a love letter to the resilient people of Portland and features some terrifying scenes of Godzilla rampaging through the city courtesy of Mr. Donovan’s art. His art reminded me of some of those great classic issues of old EC books like Creepy Magazine.
IDW’s Godzilla vs. America series is a great concept, not just delivering great kaiju action but also serving as a travelogue of the country’s greatest cities.
Pick up Godzilla vs. America: Portland #1 and take a vacation of your own in that wonderful city.
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