'We Called Them Giants' is a stunning little graphic novel that has a fairly fulfilling standalone story, though I would have been pleased to see this extended into a duology to further explore the interesting world that Gillen, Cowles and Hans have created. The novel has solid pacing and really gorgeous, vibrant artwork, I only wish that the atmospheric beginning of the novel was extended into a wider exploration of this dystopian world. Ultimately, I don't necessarily think that this book NEEDS any more volumes (I actually think the ending itself was poignant, succinct and discourages any sort of sequel!), but I would have liked to see more of these characters and watch them really develop their relationships further, especially so with the giants.

Nevertheless this is a stunning novel and could appeal to a broad age-range.

As a library assistant, this book would fill a very good niche in our catalogue, and works perfectly as a standalone to encourage readers who are perhaps unused to long-form graphic novels.

We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans is a post-apocalyptic fantasy that explores the all-encompassing solitude and isolation of loss and grief through a dreamlike world full of unanswered questions. We are introduced to our young hero Lori immediately lamenting her lifelong sense of loss and betrayal. The first pages are a intense download of her hard-earned skepticism of love, community, or hope as a result of a childhood in the foster system. That fear of abandonment manifests literally as she explores a world suddenly emptied of nearly all signs of life.

That fear of abandonment follows her throughout the story. Even as she discovers others to ally with, even as she comes face to face with the unexplainable and awe-inspiring. That anger that pushes people away persists. In the end, We Called them Giants explores the costs of our reflexive need to prove our own worldview correct at any cost. At the very outset of the story the world is gone—no explanation is given. It doesn’t matter. Lori lives the life she believes she is fated to. She cannot trust. By the end, it costs her everything.

Given the structure as a standalone original graphic novel as opposed to a serialized 

ongoing story, Gillen’s script relies heavily on narration to orient us to Lori and the world. It’s probably the book’s biggest weakness, adding to the way it at times reads like a miniseries condensed and pulled together into a single 100 or so page story. There are moments where the narrative jumps or pauses awkwardly that feel like issue breaks. The biggest disappointment is how we encounter this post apocalypse not through Lori’s lived experience of bonding with Annette, (her unlikely, vaguely religious and bubbly companion in the wasteland) or running from the deadly gang of thieves and pirates called the Dogs, but through her telling us about that experience. 

In some cases, this works fine. We do not need to spend 20 pages on Lori’s life before the world changes. We do not even need to see Lori and Annette clashing with and hiding from the Dogs and avoiding their mall fortress, though those things would make for potentially great visuals and could help us feel the losses and challenges we encounter throughout more deeply. But what this skipping around robs us of is the opportunity to see Lori’s worldview shift and change as a result of these various characters and adventures. Where she starts and where she ends emotionally are very different and the weight of those changes simply does not feel as powerful as it could. 

But the art from Stephanie Hans makes up for a lot of this. Because she sells so profoundly the emotions of every scene. Not just in the facial expressions —which are rendered with beautifully exaggerated fashion and leave no room for subtle misinterpretation—but through the full page. Color, brush stroke, panel size and framing, it all works together to communicate emotion and mood. There is a directness to her art that cuts through the distant nature of the heavy narration. It’s not simplicity, but by not chasing realism and instead relying on representation and expressionist techniques, Hans eliminates the complexities of interpretation. Gillen’s narration puts us in Lori’s head. Hans’s artwork reminds us that we are more than words on a page or thoughts in our heads.

The gorgeous artwork more than makes up for any larger narrative shortcomings. The lush and expressive painted artwork stuns on every page. The colors carry us through the mood of each scene and the arc of the larger story—from desolate gray to warm and welcoming reds to unsettling green. The soft touch of the painted aesthetic gives the story a humanist bent. You can see the artist behind the work. This is not a rigidly constructed grid, precise and measured using triangles and rulers but something personal that aims to touch on human experience. The softness of the style exudes accessibility and comfort, like the fairytales, legends, and religious stories Annette tells Lori. Throughout the book, Lori uses those stories to relate her experience to the world and make sense of what she sees.  You can feel Gillen and Hans attempting to do the same. The attempt overcomes most of the story’s shortcomings.

Ultimately, stories become a crutch and a cudgel that separates Lori from her small trusted circle. She finds passing comfort in those tales but none of it lasts. they do not bring her any true comfort. They cannot overcome the stories she has spent her life being told—stories told not through words but action; through rejection and loneliness.

All of the grand stories collapse once Lori and her compatriots encounter the giants. And how could they not? The Giants of this story—mysterious, glowing beings of unknown origin and intent—are stunning. Hans depicts them with an incredible grace. They are beautiful, radiating light in the cold dark. But they are frightening, as well. Towering figures, obscured in mist and claiming the horizon. Lori cannot make sense of them in her story. And because we experience this world through Lori, neither can we. We are challenged to find our own meaning in their presence and actions. Are they responsible for the disappearance of most of life on Earth? Or are they seeding and reorienting the planet for a better future? Is one an Angel of creation, another of death? Are they divine? Alien? Or forces of primal nature? We get no answer. 

But as we spend time with the one giant, and we begin to see Lori’s defenses fall, the initial perceptions fade. 

This is a difficult book to review or discuss without delving into the specifics of its plot, because its most meaningful moments rely on surprise and misdirection. The end result is a story that feels like it could have gone on for so much longer, cut short by both the character’s actions and the realities of production. There is a sadness inherent in the final pages—both because we did not get to spend enough time in this world and because the choices made by our protagonist cost us something beautiful. We yearn for more, just as Lori does. We yearn for the meaning to be laid bare. But we are left to live in the mystery, to long for the answers our stories have taught us to expect. 

The end of We Called Them Giants feels abrupt. But that abruptness and the incomplete feeling has sat with me in the few days between reading and writing this. Living in that mystery—what did it all mean?—is the challenge we are faced with throughout our lives. It is the challenge that religion and theology and the act of creating art exist to face. I am left wishing there was more to this story, more questions to find the answers to, but there is something more satisfying in the open ended nature of these giants. We live most of our lives in Lori’s lonely winter, unable to grasp the truth of the grandest mysteries. We Called Them Giants offers little warmth but endless grace to fumble and make mistakes in the pursuit of our own stories.

We Called Them Giants is available through Image Comics on November 12. This review made possible through early access via NetGalley in exchange for honest thoughts and reviews.

Really beautiful Illustration and the story matched, but wished there was a little more to the story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader’s copy.

The illustrations in this graphic novel are incredible and intense; they support and enhance the story beautifully. Unfortunately, the story itself seems unfinished. It begins with an apocalyptic events; the vast majority of the world's inhabitants simply vanish, along with most of the world's stored food - at least in the city where Lori lives. Electricity stops flowing. If there are other people left somewhere else, they never come to where Lori and her classmate Annette are; what does come is a pair of giants, one green and one red. The giants can't communicate with people, so their motives, and role, if any, in the changes in the world, remain a mystery. Lori's exploration of her new world, her interactions with Annette and later with Beatrice, are beautifully done. The illustrations enhance the emotions evoked by the text beautifully. I enjoyed this volume enormously until it just... stopped. It seemed more like the end of a chapter than the end of a book, and left me feeling as if part of the volume had simply been omitted at publication. I do hope that there's a sequel, and that it completes the story begun in this volume.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

тιтℓє: We Called Them Giants
αυтнσя(ѕ): Kieron Gillen | Stephanie Hans | Clayton Cowles
яєℓєαѕє ∂αтє: November 12, 2024
яαтιηg: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

му тнσυgнтѕ:
I was so intrigued by this one!
But, unfortunately, I was left wanting a whole lot more…

The artistry is unique.
Very colorful and detailed, but I’m not the biggest fan of whatever style it’s in.

The story had SO MUCH potential.
But it was too short and too choppy.
The plot was rushed, we got ZERO answers or explanations for anything, and the ending was both sad and just…an ending.
Zero conclusion.

Now, if we’re getting more, then my reviews may change and update.
So stay tuned because while I wasn’t a fan of how it is now, I AM willing to continue the story if we get more.

𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠. 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣. 𝙌𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙗𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣.

Seeing who was behind the creative direction of the graphic novel, I was so intrigued because I have loved The Wicked and The Divine series in the past. The art in this was phenomenal; it was so beautiful, especially when it came to the style of the Giants... gorgeous. However, I think this novel was really lacking in its worldbuilding, which was so surprising to me! The point of the novel is definitely not to know what is going on, but it makes for a really convoluted beginning and we don't really get to focus and/or care about our main characters. I would have liked a bit longer of a novel to really develop on the relationships between characters (and their relationship to the Giant) so that the ending could have felt a bit more impactful.

An interesting and beautifully drawn story about living in a horrible dystopia. I think possibly the complete lack of explanation of either origin or resolution was the point of this story—it drops you in the middle of a weird apocalypse, and never gives you a beginning or an end, or satisfactorily answers basically any question—but I guess I can recognize something is being done purposefully and still find it frustrating.

We Called Them Giants is a post-apocalyptic tale of survival. And, there are giants. And, a ruthless gang.

Two of them to be precise. It seems like most of humanity has disappeared with those left behind just struggling to survive. A ruthless gang terrorizes the streets. Lori and Annette just want to live. But what do the mysterious giants want?

Nothing? They’re just here to exist? Did this go way over my head?

I think I would have rated this story a lot higher without my preconceived notion that the story was building to something “huge” from author Kieron Gillen which it never found. It was a big bummer to me, and for me, it felt like the story just ended.

My previous experience with Gillen was through his Star Wars work. I really had a great time with all off his stuff over there, so I was excited for this book.

The artwork from Stephanie Hans was incredible. I loved everything about it from the characters to the world to the giants. I loved the design of the human characters, and the giants were really unique and cool looking.

There’s a lot to love in this book, but it just didn’t really come together for me in the end. I’m sure it lands perfectly for others.

Thank you Netgalley and Image Comics for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

In this story, we encounter a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has largely disappeared, leaving a small band of survivors who must rely on themselves and each other to survive. The book presents a vibrant, reimagined landscape filled with mysterious, otherworldly beings and a more unforgiving climate.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE BOOK
The visuals are absolutely stunning, capturing the setting beautifully.

WHAT I DISLIKE
While the plot is straightforward—a quality that can work well—it lacks much suspense, giving the sense that it serves as more of a prologue than a fully developed narrative.

WHO IS THIS FOR?
Fans of YA fantasy might want to have a look at this one.

Many thanks to Image Comics for providing a review copy.

We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen is a captivating story of survival and resilience. This novel skillfully portrays the lasting impact of kindness and friendship in a world torn apart.

A gorgeously drawn comic, that left me wanting more.

I love Kieron Gillen's work with Once & Future, Die, and The Wicked + The Divine all being 5 star reads for me. So I was expecting a story that felt more finished here.

The story concept is great, with a teenager waking up and realizing almost all humans have disappeared. She meets another teen and together they are trying to survive in this world, when a giant alien lands on earth and they try to understand what it all means. However we miss the character development that I have come to expect from Kieron's previous work.

Stephanie Hans' illustrations carry this collection. It's 5/5 and I love their art in Die and The Wicked + The Divine and will absolutely keep finding their work!

Thank you to Image Comics and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book is best read while camping with your tallest friend.

God, this ENTRANCED me. That cover image is no overstatement, we’ve got an issue of scale here, not just physically, but also metaphysically.

One morning, Lori wakes up to find that most of humanity has disappeared. No idea why. With perhaps one in a thousand humans left, society collapses. Lori and her schoolmate Annette scavenge for food and hide from territorial gangs.

And then they see the Giants.

Two creatures, as tall as redwoods. A red and a green, working at opposite sides of their valley. They have a language and, presumably, some goal, but it’s entirely vague. The girls (and a new companion, an elderly woman named Beatrice) are further perplexed when the red giant spots them and…leaves out a bowl of food?

Are humans to be exterminated…or kept as pets?

There’s a definite overarching cosmic horror to this book. The giants are at times beautiful, and yet always terrifying. Their technology is not so much organic as…metal-fungal. And just when I had a notion of their goals, a new horror would take place.

I loved this. If you’re into any measure of sci-fi, this is an amazing pick. Kieron Gillen does it again. Does this man ever miss!?

Advanced reader copy provided by publisher.

This was a great standalone graphic novel, the art is beautiful and the dystopian story is fast paced and engaging. I wish we got a little more in terms of answers but the point of the story was not the answers but rather the journey. Really enjoyed it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Image Comics for granting me access in exchange for an honest

What a surprising sad ending! But also endearing and heart warming. This is more like a 3.5. I wanted more information on either side of the story it feels like it’s missing context to make it a full story. Loved the artwork. Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We Called Them Giants is a beautifully illustrated comic with wonderfully drawn characters. Our main lead in particular, Lori, is so expressive and it really makes you feel for her, despite the lackluster impact of the supporting characters. The small group she surrounds herself with are very one note, and unfortunately, this also impacts the giants. These mysterious creatures spend most of the comic acting like a physical manifestation of "gentle giant" and not much else.

Similarly, the story also falls flat, but is interesting enough that I want to know more. But it feels like part one of a series, which, if that is the author's plan, I'd be happy to keep reading this. The illustrations are enough to keep me interested in where these characters go from here. But if there is no follow up, I feel like more could have been done with this story.

I kept waiting to get something bigger from this than what it was. It's not bad, and most of the art is amazing. I like both of these creators and their previous work together. I didn't dislike this, but it didn't deliver for me.

We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen is a spellbinding journey through myth and heroism, blending poetic prose with stunning visuals. Gillen captures the epic and the intimate, exploring themes of fate, legacy, and sacrifice in a way that feels both timeless and fresh. The story is powerful and haunting, leaving a lasting impact with its unforgettable characters and beautifully crafted world. This is a modern myth that deserves every bit of praise—a must-read for fans of mythology and graphic storytelling alike.

"A poignant, romantic, and devastating story of a young girl who wakes up to find her world has turned upside down.

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."

SUCH a fan of Kieron Gillen!

We Called Them Giants feels like Watership Down in a way I can’t quite describe. Part of it is, of course, the sudden upheaval of everything familiar sending Lori and Annette into the unknown, but a lot of it is almost dreamlike atmosphere interspersed with scenes of grave danger. It makes for a riveting, short read you’ll keep coming back to.

The art in this book is beautiful, but the story leaves quite a bit to be desired. The plot is quite simple and the points it makes are heavy handed. However, I did find myself greatly enjoying the reading experience, even if it was mostly for the gorgeous illustrations.