We Called Them Giants
Kieron Gillen
Image Comics
Published November 12, 2024
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About We Called Them Giants
“What an astonishing piece of work. Beautiful and moving.” —Neil Gaiman
We Called Them Giants is a story of communication across a chasm at the end of the world.
Lori wakes to find the streets empty. Everyone has gone. Or at least, nearly everyone. She’s thrown into a world where she has to scrape by in the ruins of civilization, nearly starving, hiding from gangs when …
They arrive.
The award-winning team behind dark fantasy smash DIE release their first stand alone original graphic novel.
My Review
The artwork in this short (just over 100 pages long) graphic novel is striking. The images feel as apocalyptic as the story, showing characters in a dark, shadowy landscape. One of the things I love about the book is that all three central human characters are women. At the beginning, Lori and Annette meet someone in a mask with a weapon who tries to prevent them from stealing cans of food. This person turns out to be an older woman the girls eventually meet again.
Much of the story is told in narrative that’s divided into short sentences arranged at the top or bottom of the panels. I love the way the panels are arranged on the pages. A lot of pages have tall, narrow panels side by side, showing a sequence of events. This made each panel seem huge and drew attention to the details of each image.
The storytelling itself is a little bit choppy, jumping from a few lines about Lori’s backstory straight into the present apocalyptic world without offering much explanation about what happened. The story leaves a lot of unanswered questions. We never learn what caused so much of the population to disappear, for example.
What does come into stark focus, though, is the relationship between Lori and her friends and the giant they call Red. They look for ways to communicate their needs and ultimately form what feels like the kind of relationship between a caregiver and a pet.
All in all, I can see why so many people are talking about this book. The illustrations are truly compelling. Readers who like dark fantasy will not want to miss this one.
Content Notes for We Called Them Giants
Recommended for Ages 14 up.
Representation
Lori’s friend Annette is pictured with brown skin.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.
Romance/Sexual Content
None.
Spiritual Content
Some characters have otherworldly abilities. Annette wonders if everyone else disappeared because of the rapture, a reference to an apocalyptic belief that some Christians share.
Violent Content
Situations of peril. Giant wolves attack Lori and her allies. Lori sees the dead bodies of other people and creatures.
Drug Content
None.
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