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 must scrape by in the ruins of civilization, nearly starving, hiding from gangs when… they arrive. The art, masterfully crafted by Stephanie Hans, captures the eerie beauty of this shattered world.

Pros:
Emotional Depth: Gillen weaves a poignant tale of survival and resilience, emphasizing the enduring power of kindness and friendship.
Unique Premise: The post-apocalyptic setting takes an unexpected turn, blending elements of fable and contemplation.

Cons:
Sparse World-Building: While the emotional core shines, the world itself lacks detailed exploration, leaving some questions unanswered.
Narrative Ambiguity: The giant creatures’ arrival remains mysterious, and readers seeking concrete answers may feel unsatisfied.

Despite its evocative moments, We Called Them Giants falls short of greatness due to these limitations.

As always, I have to start with Stephanie Hans' art. Truly no one is doing it like her - the beautiful colour palette, the dynamics on the page, the smudged, watercolour-esque style that seems to flow from one panel to the next. I could stare at individual panels for hours.

On to the writing: yes, Gillen's arcs are always incredibly chaotic, borderline messy, and rely a lot on the reader to go with the vibe and draw their own conclusions. Guess what!! That's my favourite style of writing, though I understand why it misses for other folks. But if you love character-driven, and especially empathy driven, storytelling, this graphic novel is for you.

A story about a cynical teenage girl who doesn't know how to believe in the good of other people; about the end of the world, and alien giants, and learning the meaning of love and how far people will go for it - I adored this book, and would have loved it to be longer.

An incredible journey into a post-apocalyptic world with stunning visuals and a small, developed cast.

I really enjoyed this, and how tightly it kept within the bounds of its theme. Easy and quick to read, and the Giants were beautifully illustrated and lettered.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley and Image Comics for the ARC of this graphic novel in exchange for my honest review.

We Called Them Giants is a graphic novel that beautifully explores the life of a teenage girl that wakes up and finds herself alone in the world…and surrounded by dangers. Ultimately a book about trust, finding your home, and the love of others, combined with wonderful art, makes this gorgeous graphic novel worth the read.

We Called Them Giants comes out November 12.

✨️ Graphic Novel Review ✨️ We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans, and Clayton Cowles

☆☆☆½

Thank you to @Netgalley and @imagecomics for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lori is a young girk who has bounced around the foster system, and just as things might have settled (tho she doesnt trust it), most everyone in the world dissapears suddenly. She meets up with a friend from school, and an elderly women, as they try to make it in the streets against gangs and wolves. And then the truly bizaare happens; they are visited by two unimagknably large beings, those they call Giants.

As a metaphor for Lori's journey in the foster system, We Called Them Giants succeeds wildly. Roaming the streets, meeting people and finding safety, but not trusting it, all of these are parallels for Lori's life. She trusts no one, especially not the kindness of strangers, and for sure not from their new extra-terrestrial visitors. Even when this Giant looks after her and keeps her safe, she is never settled. She is waiting for the other shoe to drop, for things to go sideways, to reinforce her view on the world. The Giant serves as a comparison for every adult in her life that has ended up leaving her or discarding her.

As a graphic novel, I wish there was so much more. Events fly by, and we dont really get to spend time with Lori and her feelings as much as I wish. It all needed time to breathe and develop. I was able to finish this is ~20 minutes. The art is absolutely incredible, and Stephanie Hans and Clayton Cowles knocked it out of the park.

Ultimately though, this is a story about finding home and safety, and being able to trust it. And as that, I really enjoyed this.

Set in a post apocalyptic style setting, our main character wakes up one day to find *almost* everyone has disappeared. Was it the rapture? Who knows? But what they do know it that *they* are here.

We Called Them Giants is a heartwarming story about communication between worlds and languages.
The illustrations are stunning, with beautiful colours and breathtaking images.
I loved the air of mystery surrounding the 'giants', how they arrived and where they came from.
The story is well written, whilst also being an easy read.

Thank you to Image Comics via NetGalley for the reading copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Overall: 4/5 because the artwork is breathtaking and the story was refreshingly endearing despite its apocalyptic setting.

Story: 3.5/5
Cataclysmic, survive-or-perish stories are usually some of my favorites, so I was super hopeful for this story. However, I felt like I was left with too many questions because the story moved far too fast. Despite this being a graphic novel, I felt like I was being <i>told</i> rather than <i>showed</i> in many instances. I wish this was about double the page length so we could get a solid grasp on the world and be able to fall in love with the characters more.

Artwork: 5/5
Woah, this was one of the most beautiful uses of color and imagery I've seen. Absolutely gorgeous from start to finish. The stunning artwork really immerses you into the brutal, yet beautiful apocalyptic world that Gillen created.

Thank you to Image Comics and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this graphic novel.

Lori wakes up one morning in her latest foster care home to discover that no one exists anymore. All the people on her street are gone, and there are no signs of what happened to them. She runs into Annette on the streets and they team up together to battle in the apocalyptic world. One day they discover these strange ginormous creatures who seem to keep the wolves at bay. Annette gets captured by the red giant and Lori becomes set on going forward alone, only to get captured too. This becomes a struggle for Lori who at a young age knew she would have to fend for herself, but this strange red giant took care of her in a way she didn't expect. The plot of the story is convoluted and doesn't have a clear explanation which creates a feeling of emptiness in the end where nothing is explained, everything is broken, but there's still hope. I wanted more, but I've come to realize that Gillen is often like this with their stories. The artwork was gorgeous, there's a trend with broken women and white-blonde hair and I like it. A challenging post-apocalypse graphic novel, but still worth the read.

Having read DIE by the same author and illustrator, I am familiar with their particular approach to art and storytelling. This is a standalone story easily consumed in an hour or less, but provides a sufficient look into the mind and emotions of our lead, Lori. The colors and art are beautiful and each page is it's own composition, just all around a joy to look at. A short and slightly bittersweet story and message, it's a wonderful take on the themes of trust and love. My only wish is for it to have been longer, but it delivers its message perfectly as it stands.

Intriguing concept, but not quite enough detail to have me fully invested. This is a quick read and not a story for answering all the questions it presents, more of a snapshot into a bizarre situation. A few things took me out of the story at times, like the giant’s language/sound being written as “blah blah blah”. I think a little more background on the characters, or interaction between them, would have been helpful in connecting to the story more. The art for the giants and their bases was made up of vibrant colors and arcing shapes, a good contrast to the rest of the now harsh and empty world.

Great graphic novel with beautiful art and a very Beautiful story. With most stories like this I always find myself wishing it was just a tad bit longer. With it only being around 100 pages it can make it hard to fully Connect with the characters and the plot. Other than that very happy to have picked this one up!

3.5 stars, rounding up.

This graphic novel covers the moments when a young girl wakes up to find everything she has known has disappeared, and the story of survival that follows as she and those she travels with encounter strange beings and dangerous groups in a recent post-apocalyptic setting. The artwork is beautiful and striking and features many expressive moments. With respect to the story, the overall beats will be familiar to any readers who have read stories within this genre, but should appeal to those looking to read more. The ending of the story leaves the readers with more questions than answers, so fans of ambiguous conclusions will likely appreciate the conclusion.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Image Comics for sharing an ARC for review.

Thanks to NetGalley, the Publisher and Author for an ARC of this work for my review.

This stunning graphic is a one-off novel told primarily through narration from a mistrustful seemingly unfazed main character. There are other characters but the cast is small. It has a fantastic setting, some great emotional storytelling, and the art was beautiful beyond words bringing a
muted palette with pops of neon brightness and a painted artistic style.

For a short fiction, there are so many questions many without answers. What caused the event? Who are the Giants? What do they want? There is also some action, but it is mostly quiet moments and panels of beautiful art. Overall, the ending didn't feel satisfying, beautiful as it was, because there just wasn't a conclusion, but that could be a choice made by the author.

I would definitely love a prequel and even sequel to this work that left me wanting more.

This is a hard review.
I liked the art, and the story kept me interested to the last page.
But. I feel like it was lacking in a few more pages? I'm unsure if there is plans for more volumes, or if this is it.
I'd say it's worth the read but also don't expect a ton of answers?

This was a really cool graphic novel! I’m not normally into them, but this was written evocatively. I enjoyed the plot and found myself sucked into the story. The art was top notch and brought the story to life. Definitely recommend!

This is one of the most gorgeous graphic novels I've ever read. I want to frame every panel on my wall! The use of colour, in particular, is chefs kiss.

The story was pretty fun. You follow a girl who wakes up to find most of humanity is just *gone*. She pairs up with another girl and they try to survive by scavenging for tins of food and avoiding violent gangs. Fairy early on, they discover these two enormous giant 'creatures' have come from the sky, and the rest of the story follows them trying to figure out who they are, what they want, and what it means for their world.

Without wanting to give anything away, there is a pretty funny theme that runs as an undercurrent beneath this story, and i'm not sure if its actually trying to say anything, but the parallels were fun to uncover all the same.

It's only just now that I'm realising we don't really get any definitive conclusions to a lot of the mysteries that are presented in the story. I hope they'll do a sequel to tie up those loose ends.

I'm going to head out and devour everything by illustrator Stephanie Hans now ✌

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

"The real truth? Everyone you rely on. Everyone you love. Everyone will leave you."

3.5 star, rounded up to 4.

This is a one-shot by the same team that wrote the DIE mini-series which I read and loved a few months back, so I was excited to see something new from them.
The art style brings that same moodiness that I loved from DIE, the mostly muted colour palette with splashes of neon in a looser, painted style. It matches the mood of the post-"rapture" where the few people left are just trying to survive.

The story is mainly told through narration by Lori. It's clear from the start that she had a tough time prior to the start of the comic and that she has learned to distrust people. So, when she wakes to find the streets empty and nearly everyone gone, she doesn't seem overly fazed.
We meet other characters but the cast is small, as expected for a short story, but I did like both Annette and Beatrice as the two secondary characters. and eventually the Giants appear, bringing with them more questions.

What caused the rapture event? Who are the Giants? What do they want with the humans left behind?

Some questions are answered, some aren't. There is some action but it's mostly quiet moments. Overall it's a sweet story on love and allowing yourself to care and be cared for by others, and I enjoyed what we got.

Set in a world where almost every other human has disappeared, two young women and an older one must figure out how to live among the enormous beings that have arrived on the planet. Pretty artwork, boring story.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

Breathtaking art and I really enjoyed the story! I will read more from this author in the future.

A equally entertaining and intriguing story with beautiful artwork to go with it. It is told in memories of the main character and explores a new apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic world. The giants were awesome and I wish we could've learned more about them.