We all live in a giant mecha.
Creative Staff:
Story: Alex Paknadel
Art: John Le
Colors: Rosh
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
What They Say:
Nobody knows why the skyscraper-sized mechs known as ‘Giga’ fought their bitter, centuries’ long war. All they know is that when the fighting finally stopped, the dormant Giga became humanity’s new habitat and new gods in one. When disgraced engineer Evan Calhoun finds an apparently murdered Giga, his society and the fascistic tech-centered religious order that controls it are rapidly thrown into chaos.
From writer Alex Paknadel (Friendo, Turncoat, Incursion) and rising star John Le comes another Vault & White Noise partnership about what happens after the mechs stop fighting.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The pre-release period for Giga has been interesting with a lot of up-front praise for it and some key visual pieces that definitely made it alluring to comics fans and a reach over to the science-fiction/mecha crowd as well. Alex Paknadel has the right ideas that are being brought into play for this series that we get something that borrows from different concepts well and blends them together. And in working with John Le we get a good visual design for it that does give us the classic giant robot look to everything but also with enough of a naturalistic curve to it that represents some of what the genre went through in the 1970s. The result is definitely appealing, especially with how Rosh colors it with an earthy tone throughout.
The premise initially introduces us to this future where after generations of war, mankind has now chosen to reside within the structures of these giant beasts and serve to maintain them and keep them running. We see how there are various roles to play within this and that it’s basically a religious approach to the overall structure of it. In that, we see how one young man, Evan, can quote the truths but sees things different, partially because he’s in a wheelchair and is exposed to a different life than the rest. His view is that like there are microbes in our own bodies, people are the microbes within the Giga that exist in how they keep them functioning and running. There’s various tensions over this but it’s all pushed to the side when there’s a bloody attack – perpetrated by a friend of Evan’s named Aiko – and it leads to a lot of death and chaos, pushing us thirteen years into the future to get the main storyline underway.
That time in the future shows us how Evan ended up outside of the Order – though he could have paid a smaller price and remained in – but works to scavenge for metal and gear that he can get rations for instead. We get a view of how things have changed since then, but with Evan on the outside it’s hard to tell what’s really happened. Mostly, he’s surviving with some help from a friend or two and has built his own human-sized android that he keeps secret and repairs on his own, which is where the focus shifts as the two head out into the woods in search of a nomad Giga that they can scavenge for parts. With other groups out there that have their own missions, it’s no surprise that things are going to angle there but it’s just interesting to see how Evan has taken to doing what he can to survive and working the world as he does. Of course, that we meet him in this time leap facedown in the water about to drown doesn’t say too much for him at first.
In Summary:
With a slew of variant covers that are really striking as well as the many Shogun Warrior types that we’re getting as well, Giga makes a strong impression from the start. When it comes to what’s inside, there’s a lot of interesting ideas to work with here but the present is just a little awkward at times. The progression of the story is a little awkward with the time leap that keeps us from getting a firm foundation in it but the ideas and some of the visuals definitely make you want to come back for more to see what it’s all about. I really like the look of the landscape and the concept of the hollowed-out but still functional Giga that people live in. I’m cautiously optimistic because there are some really neat things you can do with this kind of concept and the right pieces are certainly here.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Vault Comics
Release Date: October 28th, 2020
MSRP: $3.99
