I enjoyed this historical graphic novel. The story is based on photographs taken during the depression of men sitting on girders during a lunch break. Dan a newly arrived immigrant finds a job working on a construction site. He works along side Giant a man of few words. The story follows the relationship between Dan and Giant as they work and play in 1930s New York City. The story is good and does end on a cliff hanger. The artwork was good and fit the story. I am looking for word to reading the next book in the series. Enjoy this haunting tale

Wow. All the feels! It kept me on the edge of my seat - and then the cliffhanger ending! I can't wait to get my hands on part 2 to find out how it all shakes out...

Set in NYC during the Depression, this follows Giant, the quiet, huge, mysterious construction worker building Rockefeller Center and a whole cast of characters around him. Inspired by the famous picture of workers lined up eating lunch on a beam over the city, Mikael brilliantly captured the grittiness of 1930s NYC in sepia tones and detailed backgrounds.

I don't want to give away one iota of the plot but I must say it was brilliantly crafted, not at all what I was expecting from the forward!

I was really looking forward to reading this graphic novel but couldn’t because the words were overlapping each other and unreadable. If I see this book in a store I would still be interested to pick it up

I'm in love with the art style of this book, from the coloring to the character design, I was enticed from the moment I saw the cover.
Going deeper than the art, though, Giant tells an intricate and compelling story, against the backdrop of New York City during The Great Depression.
I immensely enjoyed this book and I'd definitely recommend it.

The illustrations were amazing and the story was pretty good although I'm not sure how the second part will play out. Overall it just didn't feel strong enough although I did like the tie in with the historical elements of life in NYC and working on the skyscraper.

The text in this book is unclear. There is something wrong with the file you provided. As a result of this I could not review it.

It is 1932 and Irish immigrant Dan Shackleton manages to get a rare job in construction helping to build the new skyscrapers in New York. Among his coworkers are several others from Ireland including a quiet giant of a man who, not surprisingly, is called Giant. Shackleton, loquacious and friendly, tries to make friends with Giant but is repeatedly rebuffed. When another Irish worker falls to his death, Giant is tasked with writing to the dead man’s wife, Mary Ann, to tell her of the sad news. But, despite his size, Giant is at heart a sensitive romantic and cannot bring himself to tell her the truth so he pretends to be her husband, borrowing a neighbour’s typewriter to disguise his writing. He sends her money, tells her of all the amazing sights of New York and how much he misses her and the kids. When she writes back, he continues the deception. Slowly, the correspondence helps Giant to come out of his shell and he begins to interact with his coworkers, especially Dan. The volume ends, however, with something he had not anticipated – Mary Ann is heading to New York with her three children to join her husband.

Giant Vol. 1 by Mikael is a graphic novel based on the iconic picture of workers sitting on the high girders of the skyscrapers rising over the skyline of New York during the Depression. It is a beautifully drawn and inked tale of New York and the men who built it. Although overall, I enjoyed this book, I do have one fairly major criticism. The dialogue bubbles varied based on who was speaking as well as in the letters between Giant and Mary Ann. This was fine for native New Yorkers or for the correspondence. However, the words of the Irish workers tended to be jumbled together, I’m guessing to suggest their accents but this made it difficult to read. As a result, I almost gave up but I’m glad I didn’t. Based on other parts of the story, I was able to at least get the gist if not to actually decipher the words and it did not interfere overly with my enjoyment.

Despite this problem, I found Giant a lovely poignant story with beautifully detailed art that perfectly evoked the era and the men who braved the high girders. Thanks to the marvelous art, I was able to understand and appreciate the story even when I could not read the dialogue.

Thanks to Netgalley and Europe Comics for the opportunity to read this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review

Well, the palette of this graphic novel is fabulous - but that's about all it has going for it. The usual racial stereotypes of 20s/30s America, the usual grifters' plot, the usual cliches - it's all here, with horrendous amounts of exposition courtesy of different narrative devices, including, I will charitably assume, dodgy translating. I wouldn't rush to return for the second half - this is not one to stick in my memory.

I really enjoyed this mature graphic novel based in New York -The Great Depression 1932.
The title of the novel 'Giant' is in reference to the name of a worker on the construction site on the Rockefeller centre which is where the story is based. Giant is faced with the job of having to inform the family of one of the workers deaths on the site, his choice of how he handles this situation leads to a big tangled web of deceit and lies.
The illustrations tell the story well and the colours used and fine detail set the scenes perfectly.
The ending leaves you desperate for volume 2.
A unique novel I enjoyed very much.
My thanks the author, publisher and Netgalley in providing me with a copy of this arc in return for an honest review.

A beautiful graphic novel. Including the art style and the storyline. Looking forward to the ending volume.

Giant is a beautifully illustrated meditative piece that is very much of the era in which the story is set. The Great Depression in America has begun and New York City is a the new home of immigrants from all over the world. Into this industrialized city a story is woven of the men who worked in construction to build the new skyscrapers. The author and illustrator accurately nailed the dialogue and the feel - even the art is reminiscent of the late deco period. The story is full of pathos and is more of a meditative piece about life and what we lose and gain, what we have and what we left behind.

Story: In a bustling and growing New York City, effervescent Irishman Dan Shackleton takes the only job he can find in town - building Rockefeller's newest skyscraper. There he learns the ropes - how to be careful, how to survive, and how to work with the various personalities. The most intriguing to him is Giant - a large man of few words. When Giant is commissioned to send a check and condolences back to Ireland after the death of a coworker (the man Shackleton is replacing), he feels for the unknown woman and her children. He takes the place of the dead husband, writing back to the wife and sending money for the children. As Dan Shackleton watches him do it, he is perplexed at the big man's actions. But as with most ruses, they can only last so long....

The story is mostly told from Giant's perspective. Dan Shackleton is a counterpoint - a small and vocal Irishman against the large and stoic Giant. Giant has few words throughout the story but so much is communicated in the illustration work that dialogue isn't needed. Mood is set through a radio commentator discussing the current American elections and state of the union as well as Shackleton's amused observations. As well, we're given a bit of POV of the widow and her children as she reads letters from her 'husband' back in America.

The illustration work is exemplary - rich, detailed, and nailing all the period details beautifully. Small things like the row apartments, the shanty towns, the gruff disrespect of the bosses who are under time constraints and have to push works to dangerous speed, even the construction tools and methods of the time. It is all remarkably done and I was fully immersed once I started reading the story. It's all colored in monochromatic shades of brown - appropriate really for the gritty city and the period.

The story ends on a cliffhanger that will be continued in the next volume. I eager look forward to seeing where the story will go next. Highly recommended. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

It seems that this is another graphic novel by this publisher that has formatting problems. The text is garbled and unreadable. I use Bluefire Reader to access these files.

I am sorry i just couldnt read it. Maybe my canadian english is not good enough but i did not understand a thing. Will read in french, seems really interesting