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No Gods, No Masters #1 is written by Julio Anta and published by BOOM! Studios. Artwork is by Jacoby Salcedo, colours by Francesco Segala and letters by Becca Carey. Main cover art (left) is by Jacoby Salcedo.
No Gods, No Masters #1 is available from today, in comic book stores and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your physical copy from Forbidden Planet or digitally from Amazon Comixology UK.
Synopsis
When afternoon detention is interrupted by the sudden, violent emergence of a kaiju, three New York City teenagers with seemingly nothing in common, including Felipe, a recent newcomer adjusting to New York City, must team up to navigate a powerless city and rescue Felipe’s mother from a collapsed subway station.
Review
Whether it’s last year’s Behemoth from Dark Horse Comics or the wide variety of Godzilla-oriented titles at IDW, Kaiju-themed comics seem to be everywhere at the moment. Now, courtesy of writer Julio Anta, it’s BOOM! Studios turn to take on a kaiju story with their new series No God, No Masters.
With this first issue, Anta throws us right into the action before pulling back the curtain for some much-needed context and character work. The opening pages are visually frantic and action-packed, establishing the immediate threat of these kaijus in the most engaging and terrifying way possible. After that violent start and bleak double-page spread that displays the title in front of a desolate New York City, we are sent back three days to when the creature attack first happened.
From this point, we get a clear understanding of who Felipe is and why he’s struggling to fit in. Despite an initial conflict, we also get a glimpse of Mailk and Jeanie’s personalities before all three characters are forced to work together amid dire circumstances. The writing does a good job of making these characters feel like real, down-to-earth people who take the time to hear one another out. It very easily could have veered into coming of age/high school stereotypes but it subverts a lot of those fairly quickly and I think the series will really benefit from that choice in the longrun.
It’s these real character moments that make the jarring shift into kaiju territory all the more frightening as their teacher is killed right in front of them, stressing the severity of the situation. This is also reinforced by Jacoby Salcedo’s raw and energetic illustrations and especially Francesco Segala’s bold colour work, which sees a shift from balanced yet vibrant colour arrangements to a sudden change to dark, murky oranges and browns once the creatures wreak havoc.
The writing maintains its grounded approach once Felipe sees the reports of kaiju attacks on his phone, which again is displayed magnificently over another double-page spread. His recurring anxiety flares up, bringing back PTSD from a prior encounter with creatures before he and his mum moved to New York. It’s a harrowing and very well-done moment that snaps right back to the present for the group, where they’ve just defeated a baby monster. I assume the series will continue to time jump between past and present, showing us more depth to these characters as the story progresses.
No God, No Masters very much takes a note from Behemoth’s book in terms of taking an over-the-top, otherworldly situation and putting real humans at the heart of the mayhem. This doesn’t just give us, the readers, a relatable POV to enter this story through, but it also makes for a thoroughly engaging dynamic between the characters and the threats they face.
Verdict
No God, No Masters is off to a strong start with this first issue. Grounded characters, large-scale threats, and kinetic artwork make this an engrossing read right from the opening pages. With only five issues planned, this has the potential to be a great self-contained series.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
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