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‘Giant Days #1:’ Advance Comic Book Review

This is the start of a beautiful friendship.

BOOM! Studios has another great title coming down the pike in Giant Days.  Here, there are three British ladies at University who’ve managed to forge that fateful first friendship of dorm life, dealing with life’s little issues as they crop up.  The first few pages feel comfortable; we have the Punk, the Oddball, and the Put-together one (Buttercup, Bubbles, and Blossom, if you will).  This is the only time I can describe them as such, though, because the rest of this awesome title shatters their stereotypes and gives us some really rich, interesting, and layered characters in just the first issue.

The story takes place three weeks into these girls’ friendship, and we’re treated to a basic recap of some wackiness that’s happened to them without the drudgery of “How I spent my summer vacation”-style exposition.  We’re given a living relationship that makes us feel like we’re already part of the story.  The writing is really smart, John Allison writes some great dialogue, and there’s a snappish wit that keeps the pace moving and the characters on their toes. He manages to wink through the fourth wall, at times, when you least expect it.  I can’t say enough about how intelligent this thing is. I had to pop over to Google a time or two (in the best way, where I was really interested in learning more) to get a reference.  There’s also a great sense of maturity to this title, obviously not on the part of our protagonists and not in a video game way, where mature content means gallons of blood and boobs. There is real maturity and delicacy in how he handles certain subject matters and turns your expectations on their heads to surprise and delight.

Lissa Treiman brings a fun and sensible, but fluid, style to the work, giving it a feel like Freshmen but with the spontaneity of an anime. There’s never a panel where you couldn’t get by without the text (though I wouldn’t want to, it’s so good!), and the story is evident in just the motion captured here.  She brings a true life to these girls, and it’s great fun, with the same sense of maturity that the story evokes shining through.

This is a really fun, interesting, and character-driven book, and I’m excited by the possibilities.  If you enjoy Lumberjanes or wonder what the Powerpuff Girls would be like in college, minus the powers (or if you hadn’t but are now intrigued by the idea), then this will be a book you can really get into.  I’ve already added it to my pull list, you should put it on yours.

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*Giant Days will be released in March and is currently available for pre-order.

Erik Cheski, Fanbase Press Contributor

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