Giant Days #1 (of 6)
Created & Written by John Allison ( @badmachinery)
Illustrated by Lissa Treiman ( @lbtreiman)
Coors by Whitney Cogar
Letters by Jim Campbell ( @CampbellLetters)
Review by Joey Braccino
“Architecture! Femmism! We’re a walking advert for the Bechdel Test!”
From BOOM! BOX, the magnificent imprint that brought us the ineffable Teen Dog mini-series, comes the latest webcomic-turned-critically-acclaimed-new-comic, Giant Days! I’m anticipating here, of course, but if creator John Allison and artists Lissa Treiman and Whitney Cogar can keep up the self-aware, witty repartee of Esther de Groot, Susan Ptolemy, and Daisy Wooton over the next six issues, I will gladly fork over my hard-earned cash to read along.
Giant Days spins off of John Allison’s uber successful webcomic of the same name and sees Esther, Susan, and Daisy navigate the complexities of University life, from love to friendship to classes to mystical tattoos and time travel and fiery battles. Yeah, we just got downright occult up in here, and Allison is more than ready to turn on the wit and have fun with the weirdness. If this first issue is any indication, Giant Days is going to read like a cross between Daria and Clone High (without the history; I’m talking tonally here) and Lumberjanes. Leaving our dynamic trio of female-leads for a second (which, frankly, is more than enough for me to pick up this book! Represent!), Allison also crafts his narrative with a self-aware, smart sense of humor that is at once super relevant as well as delightfully frank in its portrayal of certain topics.
And yeah, Esther, Susan, and Daisy are just spectacular characters in and of themselves.
Whereas Allison’s aesthetic on his webseries (accessible here!) has a more digital, MTV animation influence, Lissa Treiman’s background in Disney storytelling produces a more dynamic, whimsical visual experience. Treiman’s work here combines the eccentricity of a Skottie Young with the storytelling finesse of a Faith Erin Hicks or Hope Larson. The dynamism of Treiman’s art style also allows for some wonderfully meta moments of artistic license in portraying emotion and narrative shifts. It’s a very “Disney” way of portraying emotional beats, and it works perfectly.
Verdict
BUY. Giant Days is a wonderful new comics mini-series from BOOM! The combination of a spectacular, idiosyncratic stable of characters (three of whom are brilliantly drawn—figuratively and literally—female protagonists) and a stunning visual aesthetic makes Giant Days an absolute must-read.
