In 2010, IDW Publishing acquired the rights to make a series of Godzilla comics, this time featuring a good chunk of Godzilla's classic adversaries. There have been three ongoing series along with several mini-series. Gangsters and Goliaths is the first mini-series and published in a collection in 2011.
Detective Sato has a problem: he is trying to bring down the head of a crime family in Tokyo, but he is the only honest cop around. After an attempt on his life, Sato washes up on an island inhabited by giant monsters. The monsters will pick fights with one another but Mothra and the Elias are able to control the balance and keep the fighting to a minimum. Sato may have found a way to take the fight to the criminal empire with Mothra, but, as her duties on the island are neglected, balance begins to crumble.
What good is taking the crime out of Tokyo when there is no Tokyo left?
The series trope examples include:
- Adaptational Heroism: Godzilla, of all monsters, is revealed to be this. While Mothra is the one to contain the balance of the universe, Godzilla actually sought to restore it. Once Mothra convinces him to leave, the two monsters leave without incident with the rest of the monsters.
- Anti-Hero: Godzilla, obviously. Sato do anything to stop a Yakuza madman and bring him to justice, even if it means using a kaiju like Mothra to do some work for him.
- Ax-Crazy: Ryoto Takahashi, a raving lunatic who considers himself a daikaiju and wants to be the greatest monster Japan has ever faced. Too bad for him, a certain God Incarnate proves him very wrong.
- Big Bad: Ryoto Takahashi, head of the Tokyo Yakuza.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Takahashi, who revels in his evil, boasting that no mere monster could do what he has done.
- Distressed Damsel: The Shobinjin. Sato however had a benign reasons for doing it. Takahashi however...
- Even Evil Has Standards: Two of Takahashi's goons aren't fans of shooting Mothra's priests, and also object to him deciding to destroy Japan even after his desired ransom money was agreed on by the Prime Minister.
- Evil Is Not a Toy: Reversed. Sato finds that Good Is Not A Toy. Especially Mothra.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The title promises a crime story set in a world with kaiju...and the comic delivers exactly that!
- Failed a Spot Check: Either Takahashi can't hear Godzilla's footsteps closing in on him and Sato, or Godzilla's feet are really quiet. Either way, Godzilla stomps the bastard with a single step.
- Faking the Dead: Sato's old boss, who is a Dirty Cop, decided to fake his death reporting that he died during the monster attack. Sato decides to redeem himself as a Shobinjin Priest.
- Giant Foot of Stomping: How Takahashi meets his end.
- Good Is Not Nice: Sato isn't afraid to point a gun at someone innocent if it helps in his quest.
- Good Is Not Soft: The comic is a good reminder that when push comes to shove Mothra can be very dangerous to humans. Also Detective Sato is more than willing to take on a crime lord by himself, with the help of Mothra.
- Humongous Mecha: As usual Mechagodzillas, this time the Showa version is an Earth made prototype.
- Insult Backfire: Yelling "You Monster!" at Takahashi is a good way to convince him you're trying to flatter him. Subverted in that he's still insulted—after all no mere monster could achieve all that he has; he prefers to think of himself as another Godzilla.
- Karmic Death: Takahashi believes himself as Godzilla in human form, it's only fitting that he meets his end at the hands of the very same monster he compared himself to.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Sato's attempt at bringing down Takahashi nearly brings Tokyo down with him.
- Smug Snake: Takahashi is supremely overconfident and convinced of his superiority over all of humanity. He is not, however, superior to Godzilla.
- Yakuza: The main villains of the series are members of it.
