On the positive side, I can praise the issue’s art with few reservations. This is where the creative team’s enthusiasm and talent show most successfully and charmingly. The kaiju in this series are clearly meant to be disgusting, and boy are they. There’s flesh and blood and gore abound, and Harren and Stewart sell the idea that alien invasion and the battle against it are pure hell. There are some creative visual reveals that I won’t spoil, as well as a multitude of moments that call to mind the likes of Ultraman and Evangelion in a good way. I also adore the highly detailed architecture and the electric feel of the coloration. My only complaint art-wise is that the sense of scale feels a bit inconsistent at times. The Kaiju attempt to create one of their own plarger than any of them to destroy or at least scale the walls protecting the human cities. While it certainly looks relatively impressive, the insides are a mismatched mess, and it winds up being too small for the job it was made for anyway. Indisputably one of the top science fiction novelists of this era, if not the top, Jemisin walks into the medium of comics as if she was born to it — which, in an era of high profile creators dipping into the comics world, is not at all a given. You would never guess this is her very first graphic novel, and not simply because she’s working with one of the best artists in the industry right now. Jamal Campbell breathes vibrant life and character into Jemisin’s intricate multi-species alien society, and their partnership leaves plenty of room for him to deliver his impeccable grasp of expression, motion, and framing. The last time Jamal Campbell drew a whole comic, it was also one of the best in its year, and with Jemisin on board it is not at all surprising that Far Sector makes the cut this year. —SP As funny as it is awe-inspiring and epic, Kaiju is a comic with real heart — a book about second chances and trying to become the person you’ve always wanted to be, even after endless failure, even if it feels like it’s too late. The kaiju designs are equal parts cool and creepy, and the action spectacle of kaiju clashes are gorgeous. Beyond all that, the actual texture of systems and world-building around the Kaiju-presence and mankind’s response is an immersive treat. Where else would you get Kaiju-intenstine clean-up, but also detailed breakdowns of Anti-Kaiju weaponry? Pacific Rim? Puny. Godzilla? A guppy. Readers beware: no series launch in 2021 could possibly be bigger than ULTRAMEGA. Literally.

Cruel and Unusual Death: Mariah is submerged in the literal flood of blood gushing out from Jason's decapitated body. And then it coagulates, trapping her inside of it to suffocate.Gorn: The comic pulls no punches on depicting just how brutal fights between Ultras and Kaiju would really be.

Reed, Ryan (January 18, 2017). "Soundgarden Finalize 'Ultramega OK' Remix for Reissue". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 7, 2017. Genre Deconstruction: Of Toku series, showing how terrifying and dangerous it would be to actually live in a world where Ultras and Kaiju battle for the fate of humanity every other day, with many of the genre's tropes and conventions getting subverted and toyed with. There's also a lot of Reconstruction at work, however, as through it all this is still ultimately the story of mighty heroes battling Kaiju in awesome fight scenes to protect people.Gladiator Games: Without Ultramegas to fight, the Kaiju turn to staging gladiatorial "games where they dress prisoners up in Ultramega costumes and throw them into a toy model city to be brutalized and killed by Kaiju warriors. When you’re rescued from drowning by a beautiful girl in the sea, what do you do? If you’re Morgan, a closeted gay teen in a tiny fishing town, you kiss her. It has to be a dream, right? Until she shows up at your home the next day saying true love’s kiss has turned her into a human. Because she’s a selkie, you see. The Girl from the Sea takes the classic Little Mermaid set-up and gives it a queer, modern spin. The book explores young gay love in all its beauty and messiness. While she can’t help but be pulled toward Keltie’s free spirit, Morgan is determined to keep her head down and keep her identity a secret until after high school. Her flaws and mistakes throughout the story will be relatable to a lot of teens out there just trying to survive. Molly Ostertag’s art is expressive, and Laiho’s colorwork here highlights the simple beauty of the setting while revealing the intensity of Morgan and Keltie’s connection. Even in its bittersweet ending, The Girl from the Sea is about love, joy, and hope for the future ... even when it seems so far away. —Katie Schenkel

Ultramega faked out the reader with a simple, quippy hook: Three Average Joes are endowed as an Ultramega, tokusatsu-style battlers in a war against a plague that has infected every human on the globe with the possibility of sudden transformation into kaiju. Then, at the end of the first issue, every single one of them died horribly and the book jumped a decade forward into a post-kaiju-apocalypse coming-of-age story. After the Kaiju King murders the first three Ultramegas, the public turns to using giant robots to battle Kaiju.

Ungrateful Bastard: The Kaiju have little appreciation for the humans under their thrall despite their loyal service, treating them as expendable cannon fodder at best and punching bags at worst. Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Red Gara's betrayal of his fellow humans to the Kaiju is "rewarded" by being thrown into their Gladiator Games to die alongside their human prisoners the very instant he gets injured and ceases to be immediately useful. The Quisling: Many of the slaves of the Kaiju Cult serve their masters beyond what is needed to survive in hopes of earning special privileges once the monsters dominate the Earth or in the case of Red Gara, becoming Kaiju themselves. Noah's harassment of the Kaiju Klan unwittingly delivers a capacity cube to them. And lands him and his adoptive mother Beth in their sights. Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p.333. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.