3.5/5 but I'll round it up. 3.5/5. T:;DR would be as follows "stunning art, beautiful colors, average story and characters." I liked it. but I guess more for the aesthetic pleasure than good storytelling.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

In a post apocalyptic world, Lori wakens to find everyone just gone. She finds fellow classmate Annette and they set out just to survive. Then the giants come.

This is a story of how someone can love and be loved, without ever understanding a single word the other says. I very much enjoyed some of the obvious metaphors.

2✨️/5

1 star for beautifully composed illustrations. The style of the art was perfect for what this story wanted to represent, portraying a beautiful and fascinating yet gritty edge to the environments and characters. I particularly enjoyed seeing the inside of the Giants 'home' and the inside of the Dogs Mall Base. I felt the art had a light theme to it despite the story taking on some darker elements, a nice contrast. The lettering was easy to read and the perfect size. I didn't feel like I was having to search for the words or as if the font was offputting.

.5 star for an intriguing premise. I enjoyed the idea behind this story. I was curious to see where the story would go and if they would answer my inherent questions regarding where everyone had gone and if the FMC was going to be alone during the entire story. Unfortunately, that's where I became disappointed. It reads a lot like the author had a grand idea for this amazing scene between Red and Green and built the story out from there. My questions were never answered, and I felt like they were also tossed aside by the resolution of the story, as if they knew the questions we would undoubtedly have and simply didn't care to elaborate. I'm okay with not having all my questions answered by a story, movie, book, etc., but to have none of them brought up at all? Feels sort of like I was baited into reading one story and then given another.

.5 star for the pacing and ending. I think the writer has some solid ideas, and I would have loved to see those fleshed out more. I would have gladly read another 50 pages if it meant more continuity, world building, or background story. While I was reading it, I felt like we were skipping large expanses of time without explanation or that ideas were being introduced and then tossed off-putting. then it all culminated in this deep and meaningful message at the end that I'm supposed to understand, but I just didn't. Or maybe, I do understand it how it was meant to be, but it just wasn't really that compelling. This format may hit deeper for those who primarily read graphic novels, but for me, it was very anti-climactic. I would still read more from this illustrator and author.

I enjoyed this very much, it was both a subtle yet painful critique of how we deal with help after trauma. The main characters were less exciting than the giants themselves and I wish there was more on if the giants had caused the rapture, etc. The book left me wanting, but not in a good way. The artistry was good, but the way the characters we drawn, the grotesqueness, was not my cup of tea, especially for the characters that were supposed to be more feminine and delicate (as you can in an apocalypse).

Very quick read - the artwork was absolutely stunning, I loved the design of the giants but I wanted a lot more. I really enjoyed 'The Wicked + the Divine' by Gillen so I was expecting a bit more substance to the story.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC!

What -- noooo! This story broke my heart so fast and then just expects me to just move on with my life. Such gorgeous storytelling, such interesting characters. There's no need for explanations because we're suddenly in this situation and a dystopian world. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this graphic novel

First, I would like to thank Kieron Gillen and their publisher for this Arc.

Rating 4.5 Stars

I really enjoyed this. When I read the synopsis, I was intrigued by the premise of the book. Let me tell you that it did not disappoint. The storytelling and the characters were amazing and I connected with them all. I love the themes of survival, morality, hate, love, sorrow, and acceptance. It was short but it left a large impression on me. The art was also beautiful and I love the art style because it fits the story. I really recommend giving this a read.

What a beautiful graphic novel! It doesn't certainly provide all of the answers we may want with its length, but it gives a satisfying ending and it's got beautiful illustrations throughout.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with this ARC of We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have read it and give feedback.

First off, this was a beautiful graphic novel. Stephanie Hans used colour brilliantly, and I could really envisage the way characters moved. The rest was fine.

As a whole, the story was decent. It was short enough that I could read it all in one sitting, but by the end I didn’t really have any major questions answered. I didn’t care enough about the wolves to need to know where they came from, and finding out whether the Red Giant was friendly or not wasn't compelling enough for me.

Although the characters themselves were fine (nothing special), it was simply too short. Entire chunks of the story were missing, explained away with minor narration by the main character. Part of the beauty of this book could have been about how they survived, the different factions of survivors, and the the growing suspense with the mysterious wolves and giants. This could have easily been a duology, or even trilogy if the authors had wanted to stretch it out. As it stands now, it rushed by in a blur.

The potential of the graphic novel made it an enjoyable enough read, but the reality was a little more disappointing. I’m giving it a 2.5, rounded down to 2.

Probably more like 3¾, but am bumping it up bc the colours were fucking stunning and I am shallow like that sometimes.

The problem sometimes with the self-contained GN is that they can either contain too much story for their relatively short length, and would be better served as a mini-series, or that they drag along bc maybe they should have been part of an anthology or released as a one-shot. This is the latter.

I didn't dislike reading this, and will probably even buy it for my kid bc they will LOVE the art, but the story itself was fairly predictable and dragged on for more pages than it needed to.

Gorgeous art but nothing story. As much as I enjoy world building - I need a bit more meat to my stories. Putting this one down as good but not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for allowing me to read a digital ARC of this title.

The art in this was lovely but the story left me wanting a bit more. I was kind of surprised when it ended. Lots of world building but still relies on you filling in blanks and generally made me feel bad for my pets.

I've always loved the creations from Kieron Gillen, but this one seemed a bit underwhelming. I feel like 100 pages are not nearly enough for the story that could've been told.

We get to see a postapocalyptic world (greatly described) and how it functions, and we get to know three charismatic characters, but I feel like I was constantly wanting to know more. I couldn't relate to Lori because I barely knew her motivation, same with the rest. Also, as much as I love what they show us from the world building, we don't get to know anything about it. How did the people dissappear? Where do giants come from? Why do they act the way they do and give us that ending? I get what they were trying to evoke, but It just wasn't enough for me.

With that said, I was absolutely stunned by the art. I hadn't seen anything by Stephanie Hans beforehand, and I honestly loved how vibrant it was and how it translated the entire story to the pages.

Overall, I found it entertaining and interesting, but it may be one of those books you read and barely remember a few weeks later... Such a shame.

Thanks to NetGalley and Image Comics for the ARC.

Strange story, but it was a good read! I really liked the giants. I wish there were more answers to things.

Gorgeous art from Stephanie Hans, which is no surprise, but overall it was missing something.

This is the story of what happens after a rapture, when there are few people left trying to survive. There is a stoic character, a hopeful one, a trusted adult, a roving gang of awful people, and...Giants?

While I think I can see what metaphor was being attempted here, I feel the execution did not work out. I felt little to no emotion for any of the characters, nor for the events unfolding. There wasn't enough information given about anything to make me care.

A disappointing read from Kieron Gillen.

People really do love their pets, is what we seem to have here. And then your pet will get you killed.

Lovely art by Hans, as is to be expected. Kind of a ho-hum story by Gillen, that'll remind you of a lot of stuff you'll already have read and watched. I expect more from Gillen, I guess.

3.5 rounded up to 4 for the artstyle. Rendered in gorgeous colors and visuals, it is still a one-metaphor fable and reads as such: it’s short and mostly philosophical. I can’t say it made a massive impression on me emotionally, but I enjoyed it on a visual level.

<i>We Called Them Giants</i> by Kieran Gilles exists, in my opinion, primarily as a surface level introduction to the world. As a reader, you don’t really come away with a thorough understanding of the setting, but you’re intrigued enough with the tidbits you have that you’d be willing to read a bit more. Unfortunately, the graphic novel is so short that it truly feels like nothing further than the prologue to a video game with perhaps some outlining for some of the fights you’re likely to encounter later on in the game.

I don’t feel like I really got to know the characters all that much, though it was a bit more than surface level—but again, it feels like the prologue or the outline, like what you would discuss in a drafting meeting with the rest of the writers as you begin talks about what the rest of the game will be like. You’ve only just begun the drafts, but you’ve definitely got a lot of great ideas that show promise.

All of that is to say that I never felt immersed in the story nor did I feel I knew the characters well enough to feel a connection. And while this can often be a staple of this sort of storytelling simply by virtue that it can take a great many pages in graphic novel format before you truly delve into the story, it’s something I’ve grown to actively dislike about it. I’ve read enough graphic novels that I know this does not always have to be the case and while I can deeply appreciate the beautiful artwork here, I am also very disappointed in how little actually happens.

There are no great revelations, there is truly no genuinely discernible plot. We’re just at the beginning and yet the book has already ended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for allowing me to read a digital ARC of this title.

The artwork was good, but I simply did not understand the story. Nothing was ever explained. I had so many questions at the end of the book. The main character wakes up and everyone is gone except 1 friend. Then, all of a sudden, there is a gang running things; where did they come from & how did they end up in charge? Then the Giants appear with absolutely no explanation as to where they came from or why they are there.
Too many unanswered questions for me.

From the award-winning team that wrote Die, Inkpot Award Winner, Kieron Gillen (Uncanny X - Men, The Wicked + The Divine, Young Avengers), Hugo Award Winner, Stephanie Hans (Die, Journey into Mystery, Black Bolt, Lucifer), Eisner Nominated, Clayton Cowles (Daredevil, Batman, Die, The Wicked + The Divine) and Graphic Designer, Becca Carey (Redlands, Vampirella/Red Sonja, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) get together to tell the story of a group of people fighting to survive in a post-apocalyptic world, where titanic Alien beings have mysteriously appeared.

When foster kid Lori wakes up one morning to find that her new adopted parents have broken the one promise that they gave, to get her a kitten, she believes that they have done the same thing everyone else does. They left!

However, it soon becomes clear that something is not right. The world is silent. No one is where they should be. Believing that everyone has gone, she soon bumps into Annette, a spoilt little rich kid from school. Soon an unlikely bond forms between the two as they fight for survival against hunger, vicious gangs, feral creatures, and beings from somewhere else.

We Called Them Giants is a haunting tale that revolves around trust and love. Let down by the everyone, Lori doesn’t trust anyone, whilst Annette is the polar opposite. Brought up by a caring and loving family, she is wont to trust everyone a little too much, which sometimes gets her into trouble. However, as time moves on, we see the relationship between the two girls grow.

As We Called Them Giants is a standalone story, the writers do not spend much time holding the reader’s hand and they leave a lot of things unexplained, leaving the judgement to the reader, rather than giving large amounts of exposition and back story. This lean approach to story telling can leave some readers not connecting with the story. However, I found this tale touching and moving.

The whole comic is gorgeous, and the team have done marvellously to bring the story together. Stephanie Hans’ art is as sumptuous as ever, and the lettering and design by Clayton Cowles and Becca Carey adds to the story (I can sometimes find the lettering to comics a little off putting).

Thank you to both Image and Netgalley for the chance to read this one early, and I would definitely recommend it.