Godzilla vs. America: Chicago (2025)

Godzilla vs. America: Chicago, internally titled Godzilla vs. Chicago, is the first issue of IDW Publishing's anthology comic series Godzilla vs. America. At 48 pages long, it includes four separate stories from different authors, all involving Godzilla in the American city of Chicago, Illinois. It was published on February 26, 2025.

NEW SERIES DEBUT!

Godzilla is coming to America, and its first stop? CHICAGO!

a star-studded crew of Chicago comics creators through four epic stories across the Windy City. The L train experiences its worst delays yet, Godzilla interrupts a major sporting event, and a new Chicago-based superhero reaches the end of her rope.

This issue features a superstar lineup of creators including Tim Seeley (The Local Man, Grayson), Mike Costa (God is Dead), Ryan Browne (Eight Billion Genies, Curse Words), Caroline Cash (PeePee PooPoo Comics), and Ezra Clayton Daniels (Upgrade Soul, BTTM FDRS)! us at the start of a new anthology series that follows Godzilla across the United States!

“Godzilla Versus Chicago”

Godzilla comes ashore in Chicago, to the delight of the city’s #1 Godzilla fan and the terror of everyone else. Wrigley Field is leveled; Lori Lightfoot is missing; a hot dog stand closes early for the day. One woman, walking past an electronics store whose display TVs are all reporting on the crisis, remains oblivious. Bored, she wanders into an empty convenience store. The clerk explains there’s an evacuation order, which she mistakes as a tornado warning. She asks to sample a Giant Woman Energy Drink on sale, which promptly turns her into a giant, bursting through the store’s roof. She’s amazed that the drink actually works as d - but she’s also completely naked, so she wraps herself in a Chicago flag. Distracted by thoughts of her limitless prospects at a local lesbian bar, she suddenly finds herself standing next to Godzilla. He’s confused, but soon resumes leveling Chicago. Realizing that the monster’s rampage will destroy “not just the Loop, but also the parts of the city I like,” she finishes the energy drink and surges to a even greater height than the King of the Monsters. She picks him up and carries him across Lake Michigan, leaving him to ravage Indiana.

Trivia

*Fangoolie’s name and appearance are based on the Chicago-area horror host Svengoolie, while the incident which leads to his infamy—inteference with the path of a ball in a semifinal playoff game—evokes Steve Bartman.

*Cover A features a person dumping liquid from a bus off of the Kinzie Street Bridge, referencing a real-life incident in which a tour bus for Dave Matthews Band dumped 800 pounds of human waste off of the bridge.

*Although it is the third-most populous city in the United States, Godzilla only visited Chicago twice in official media prior to this issue, likely due to its great distance from any ocean. Those visits took place in the picture book Godzilla Discovers America and episode 30 of Godzilla: The Series, “Metamorphosis”.

*Series composer Michiru Oshima also wrote the piece “Godzilla vs. Chicago” for the Kaiju Crescendo concert held in 2019 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, Illinois.

*Surprisingly, none of the stories in this issue reference G-Fest, the unofficial Godzilla convention which has been held in Chicago or its suburbs almost every year since 1994.

*Rosemont, the convention’s current location, is partially visible on a list of stops for the “L” train in “Blue Line Sign”.

*To celebrate the comic’s release, the Seventh Corner Gallery and the independent comic shop Howling Pages held a Godzilla VS Chicago art show from February 28th to April 25th, featuring Godzilla-themed artwork by a variety of Chicago-based artists.

Source:

wikizilla