Review by Ian Keogh

Mira lives in a city devastated by a battle between kaiju Antra and Mothra ten years previously, and blames Mothra for the death of her twin sister. Puzzlingly, shortly after this has been established Sophie Campbell institutes a rapid turnaround by returning Emi who’s not previously thought to reveal herself as having been saved by the priestesses of Mothra.

The characterisation just doesn’t ring true, but Mira is convinced to join Emi on a mission back in prehistoric times to retrieve a Mothra egg. How will they get there? Well, Campbell glosses that over also, but back in time they go.

While the story should be the priority, it needs foundations, and all too often Campbell comes up with a theoretically exciting idea and doesn’t supply the reasoning. It’s a shame, because those concepts are good, like a decades long plan for draining Mothra’s energy.

Matt Taylor certainly compensates with page after well composed page supplying all the giant monster action we want to see along with some b-movie cheesecake. He manages to convey both the immensity and wonder of kaiju, while managing somehow to make a Mothra grub look cute, and takes some dizzying trips into psychedelia, colouring his own pages for most of the book. He doesn’t colour the climax himself, but draws a fantastic pay-off maximising the possibilities of what’s been set-up.

Once the plot kicks in properly after the second chapter the earlier shortcomings don’t seem as important, and the desperation of the task Emi and Mira must see through is well conveyed. Overall, this isn’t going to disappoint kaiju fans.