Creative Staff:
Story/Art/Lettering: Carlos & Miguel Valderrama
What They Say:
One of the giant monsters that rule the frozen wasteland beyond the Underground City is dying. The last thing Gogi wants to do is help it, but his own survival depends on the creature’s. Meanwhile, Gogi s friend Zedo makes a brutal and bloody–move to become the leader of not one, but two gangs!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The first two installments of Giants definitely hit a sweet spot for me with what it did even as it moves relatively fast to the next plot point when you could imagine this running for dozens of issues to flesh out the cast, storylines, and the world. The creative here definitely has some neat things in motion and a world that leaves you wanting more, especially since we’re getting some characters that aren’t all doom and gloom even amid a pretty dark and dangerous situation. It also doesn’t hurt that the book is just great to look at as the creature design is great and I love the way the characters look and move as they deal with the two main worlds that it’s focusing on at the moment.
Gogi’s storyline is definitely fun to watch on the surface as he’s focused on getting back to the underground world now that he’s better. You can see the others are kind of hoping he’ll stay to bolster their numbers and help with all the projects they have in the works and we get to see how the Ambernoir is being used for a range of things to create a pretty good life, all things considered. The main issue here is that Gogi is just intent on getting back to what he knows rather than thinking Bout what would be best. Some of that becomes clearer for him when he opts to not help in a bad situation he’s brought into and he realizes he’s abandoning people in need again, just like he did with Zedo before. It’s a good understanding moment for him and to see him do the right thing, making him more of this family now than anything he’s really had in a long time.
Zedo’s story is a bit murkier by its nature as he’s found his time with the gang to not go well compared to what he expected. This turns into a gang war as it progresses and there’s plenty of bodies on both sides as things just get crazy, and that’s before the ambernoir is set off and results in a lot more carnage. But it’s the kind of rallying moment for Zedo where he says enough is enough and moves from being a follower to a leader. It can happen in the strangest of moments but his ability here to come across as the voice of reason, and with a goal, between two warring groups that can unite them serves its purpose well. While I can guess how aspects of this will go and how it’ll impact Gogi’s storyline down the line, it’s a hugely empowering moment for Zedo that lets him stand on his own.
In Summary:
Giants may be passing over a lot of good story opportunities but it’s also delivering a very fun book that captures a lot. Part of me is kind of wishing for a novelization that could explore the richness of a world design like this. The two track approach is working well enough in this book as both Zedo and Gogi get plenty to deal with and grow through while also showing off more of the world and how people survive in there – as well as some interesting reveals on the creature side. It’s a great looking book once again and is filled with good ideas to work with and is pretty much delighting me issue to issue. Can’t wait for more.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: February 14th, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
