Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

I Kill Giants

by Joe Kelly, J.M. Ken Niimura (Illustrator)

4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 · rating details · 4,159 ratings · 359 reviews

Barbara Thorson, a girl battling monsters both real and imagined, kicks butt, takes names, and faces her greatest fear in this bittersweet, coming-of-age story called "Best Indy Book of 2008" by IGN. Collects I Kill Giants #1-7.

Paperback, 184 pages

Published September 1st 2009 by Image Comics (first published May 2009)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Best Graphic Novels

81st out of 1,502 books — 3,026 voters

Reading Rants! Graphic Fantastic

2nd out of 80 books — 36 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Mar 29, 2013 Paul rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels, reviewed

addendum, March 29, 2013
I liked this book so much, I just ordered the "Titan Edition" Hardcover... so anyone interested ion buying my trade paperback? heh, kidding, I'll probably be giving it away to one of my nieces.
Makes me wonder what the extra 120 pages will contain though.
Looking forward to finding out.

I second Meran's thanks for having this graphic novel for our group read!

Before I started reading it, I just quickly flipped through the pages and looked at the art... "m'eh", I thought, "too...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 25, 2012 Johnathan Morris rated it 5 of 5 stars

What an emotional roller coaster! And the first graphic novel to make me cry!

I Kill Giants follows a segment of the life of Barbara Thorsen, arguably the greatest giant slayer of all time, in her quest to defend the world from giants—and maybe defend herself from some giants and ghouls of her own.

Probably my favorite graphic novel, the story opens on the surface with a young, angsty girl trying to follow her passion of bringing down titans and giants. However, as the story progresses we find tha...more

7 likes · like · see review

Dec 07, 2012 Meran niCuill rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, graphic-novels, graphic-novel-goodread-group

Okay, when you read this one, you're going to need some tissues. From what I understand, even men are crying...

This is the story of a 10 yr old very different girl-child, who's having a hard time facing some hard truths. She's a great dungeon master (yay for gamers!), very smart, and obviously feeling unloved and very alone.

However, through her gaming hobby she learns to "kill giants". This does NOT mean she gets along with anyone at school.

The art is very edgy, almost messy; however, I don't se...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 31, 2013 Nicole rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, graphicnovels-comics

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This was a Christmas present from a friend that I just now got around to reading. I hadn't heard of it before, so I'm glad my friend gave it to me because this is AMAZING. First off, the artwork is astounding and really enhances the story.

And the story. Oh, the story. So heartwrenching yet at times uplifting. In the last part, when Barbara sleeps in her mother's bed, I was just in tears. When she put Coveleski on the casket, I was in tears. Along with the part where she finally visits her mother...more This was a Christmas present from a friend that I just now got around to reading. I hadn't heard of it before, so I'm glad my friend gave it to me because this is AMAZING. First off, the artwork is astounding and really enhances the story.

And the story. Oh, the story. So heartwrenching yet at times uplifting. In the last part, when Barbara sleeps in her mother's bed, I was just in tears. When she put Coveleski on the casket, I was in tears. Along with the part where she finally visits her mother in the room, and when she accidentally punches Sophia in the face, and so many other parts. When the Titan showed up, the spread by Niimura was just so awesome and chilling that I was crying, too. Maybe I just cry easily. :P But this story is also a tearjerker on its own, just made moreso by the art.

All the characters are great, but I think Sophia was my favorite. The way she just tries to help Barbara, and then she accidentally betrays her and tries to make it up to her--she's just a great friend.

I have to say that one of the other great things about this book is the abundance of excellent female characters. It's about Barbara, of course, but her psychologist: an awesome woman. Her caregiver: her older, flawed and struggling sister. Her bully: a girl. Best friend?: girl. There are a lot of times in other comics or in novels where I can tell when it's a man writing a female character, but here Joe Kelly just writes all of them as people, with emotions and flaws, and at no point did I feel like Kelly was checking off a list of "What makes a girl different than a boy?" or anything like that. Sure, if people were inclined to label Barbara she'd be a 'tomboy' (and at one point Sophia says something to that effect), but she's still also a young girl struggling with her mom's imminent death.

While reading this I was reminded a lot of A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness--another book about a youngish kid (a boy in that case) dealing with a parent (still the mother) dying from cancer. That book was published after this one, although I read A Monster Calls first, so I can't say if Ness was influenced by IKG because there are some similarities (obviously in plot but also in illustration). I think fans of IKG would like A Monster Calls as well. It has equally amazing art and a similar story (although there are also differences in the story, but I don't want to spoil anything).

But man, I have GOT to stop reading stories about cancer. :((less)

1 like · like · see review

Nov 11, 2012 Dima Yakovenko rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

Сразу стоит сказать, в этом комиксе довольно своеобразный рисунок с собственным, не типичным стилем. Кому то он может показаться весьма любопытным и очень оригинальным, но у некоторых этот простенький и странный рисунок может вызывать лишь неприязнь своими неприятными на вид людьми. Моментами он действительно не хватает звезд с неба, но иногда просто дух захватывает от красоты, которую можно лицезреть в этом комиксе.

Неоднозначен тут и сюжет. С одной стороны, это глубокая и эмоциональная история,...more Сразу стоит сказать, в этом комиксе довольно своеобразный рисунок с собственным, не типичным стилем. Кому то он может показаться весьма любопытным и очень оригинальным, но у некоторых этот простенький и странный рисунок может вызывать лишь неприязнь своими неприятными на вид людьми. Моментами он действительно не хватает звезд с неба, но иногда просто дух захватывает от красоты, которую можно лицезреть в этом комиксе.

Неоднозначен тут и сюжет. С одной стороны, это глубокая и эмоциональная история, о маленькой девочке, пятикласснице, у которой не самая легкая жизнь. С другой стороны, в голове главной героини творится черт знает что, и надо заметить, это же нечто творится и в головах сценаристов, ведь по сюжету, девочка охотится на великанов, гигантских монстров, которых она истребляет огромным молотом. Вроде как все это происходит лишь в ее воспаленном уме, однако иногда наступают моменты, когда невозможно понять, на самом ли деле это происходит или это лишь плод воображения главной героини. С другой стороны, в этот момент становится уже немного все равно, правда все это или выдумка, ведь за героев начинаешь переживать по настоящему и сценаристы, как оказалось, просто удивительные мастера - создавать сцены, с невероятно сильным эмоциональным накалом, от которых буквально мурашки бегут по всему телу, а сердце начинает биться с невероятной скоростью. А герои, на которых было абсолютно наплевать сначала, герои, которые лишь вызывали отвращение в первых главах, они все внезапно начинают вызывать лишь симпатию. И даже главная героиня, не смотря на ее манеры, характер и странность начинает нравится. Правда, тут причина еще в том, что с каждой главой ее характер раскрывают все лучше и лучше и читатель узнает о девочке все новые и новые факты.

Это очень странный комикс, в котором множество странных героев, странных событий, в котором даже рисунок странный. Просто, нужно постараться абстрагироваться от странностей и осилить довольно слабые первые главы, ведь дальше читателя ждет нечто невероятное. И в конце то концов, какая разница, были ли великаны на самом деле, или это лишь воображение юной героини, ведь для нее все было настоящим и эмоции которые испытывает читатель тоже настоящие. А ради такой сильной, эмоциональной истории можно потерпеть довольно затянутое начало и не самый красивый рисунок, который, к тому же, иногда способен удивить и восхитить в некоторых потрясающих сценах.(less)

like · see review

Sep 11, 2012 Nicholas Karpuk rated it 4 of 5 stars

Books like this remind me of how rare it is to find a comic where the art does a portion of the heavy lifting. Especially when a writer and an artist team up the dialogue and narration boxes tend to play an overly intensive part in our understanding of the story.

On paper there's not much about I Kill Giants that would jump out at me. A child escaping a difficult life through fantasy isn't exactly the provocative set up. It's the details and style that elevate the material.

Barbara isn't presenta...more

like · see review

Aug 26, 2012 Jef Hadi rated it 5 of 5 stars

I hate what this book did to what I called, uhm, something within me.

Ha cukup berlatih menulis dalam bahasa Inggeris.

Oklah. Perasaan aku dicekik-cekik oleh novel grafik ini. Aku fikir ini lagi satu cerita dari Man Of Actions (yang bikin Ben10 itu) tentang raksasa dan perjuangan manusia melawan mereka. Tapi tidak. Ianya menjunjung sebuah cerita yang berbeza.

Ya masih ada tentang raksasa.

Ya masih ada tentang manusia melawan raksasa.

Tapi raksasa di dalam novel grafik ini disimbolkan sebagai 'sesua...more

like · see review

Jun 25, 2012 Sam Quixote rated it 5 of 5 stars

SPOILERS

Barbara is a pretty headstrong young high school girl who loves Dungeons and Dragons, dislikes school, isn't interested in friends or other people, and is obsessed with giants - more accurately, killing giants. But in our everyday world, is Barbara just a weird kid because we all know giants aren't real. Aren't they...

The most important thing potential readers to this book should understand that it's not a fantasy book (though it contains fantasy elements) and is set in our world, the "r...more SPOILERS

Barbara is a pretty headstrong young high school girl who loves Dungeons and Dragons, dislikes school, isn't interested in friends or other people, and is obsessed with giants - more accurately, killing giants. But in our everyday world, is Barbara just a weird kid because we all know giants aren't real. Aren't they...

The most important thing potential readers to this book should understand that it's not a fantasy book (though it contains fantasy elements) and is set in our world, the "real world", and that it's far deeper than you'd expect from the manga artwork, macho title, and emo-kid main character. In fact, replace "giant" with "cancer" and you've basically got it.

I had such a strong emotional reaction to this book, partly because I knew nothing about it and it unexpectedly caught me off balance, but also because I identified so strongly with Barbara. When I was 12/13 my mum was diagnosed with cancer too and that age is already such a turbulent one that throwing into the mix the hitherto unthinkable possibility of losing your mum suddenly becoming an all-too real inevitability is really hard to deal with. And like Barbara I was also getting my ass kicked on a regular basis by a bully and I found solace not in D&D but in a similar board game called Warhammer (all of which changed within a couple of years, for the better).

Writer Joe Kelly and artist JM Ken Nimura bring pathos and heart in portraying Barbara's battle against her own demons through some pretty intense fantasy sequences with the titular giants and by the penultimate chapter when Barbara faces down the Titan I was bawling my eyes out. This comic book has bags of heart and soul in its pages, I can't believe it took me this long to pick it up.

Kelly and Nimura tell a difficult story well through an ingenious metaphor of fantasy and the really likeable character of Barbara. Through her inspiring courage and defiance in the face of the void she provides an admirable role model for teens going through parental loss and give them hope for a lighter future. The book goes beyond entertainment and art to illustrate raw human emotion vividly and memorably on the page. "I Kill Giants" is an unforgettable masterpiece that'll touch your spirit and deserves to transcend the audience of comics readers to readers in general. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Apr 14, 2012 Jean-Paul Bass rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was excited about reading I Kill Giants–the title itself was enough to get my attention. And then I read the description and was even more intrigued. Barbara is a loner, an odd kid, who escapes into a fantasy world to avoid dealing with real life. As the fantasy world starts bleeding into reality, Barbara becomes more and more convinced that something big is coming and it’s her duty to stop it.

Barbara is just enough of a smartass to make you feel sorry for her. A kid who backtalks like her mus...more

3 likes · like · see review

Apr 04, 2012 Rob Kirkham rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels, read-2012, young-adult, want-to-own, want-to-reread

I think it would have been better if i hadn't accidentally stumbled upon a spoiler before I read this graphic novel. So, I won't spoil it here for anyone who may be interested in reading this--which, if you are into graphic novels at all, I would recommend.

I kill giants puts you into the mind of a fascinating teenage girl, who, among other things, kills giants. She's an emotionally unstable, abnormally smart, teenage outcast whose imagination sometimes gets the best of her. She struggles to make...more

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 29, 2011 David Stewart rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was excited when I saw this graphic novel compilation. I love stories about imagination and delusion and people who...well, kick ass. I Kill Giants appeared to be right up that particular alley. It stars a pre-teen girl named Barbara who is geeky and nerdy and proud and who also, in her spare time, kills giants with her great hammer Covaleski.

Barbara isn't a normal pre-teen girl, a fact that the writers somewhat shove down the readers throats by constantly pointing out the vacuous, chatterbox...more I was excited when I saw this graphic novel compilation. I love stories about imagination and delusion and people who...well, kick ass. I Kill Giants appeared to be right up that particular alley. It stars a pre-teen girl named Barbara who is geeky and nerdy and proud and who also, in her spare time, kills giants with her great hammer Covaleski.

Barbara isn't a normal pre-teen girl, a fact that the writers somewhat shove down the readers throats by constantly pointing out the vacuous, chatterboxes lining the halls of her school who incessantly talk about celebrities and cute boys and etc etc etc... Barbara, on the flip side, likes to play Dungeons and Dragons and conconts strange mythologies. It's difficult to say that she's different in an age where different is often considered chic, a term that renders the difference of different completely invalid. But at her school, Barbara is a black sheep, and her exclusion from popular society is evident. This makes her both likeable and naturally brings about a sense of pity because she doesn't get along with the other girls. Nevermind the fact that most readers of this graphic novel would probably be in the same boat. I suppose had it not felt so contrived, this mechanic could have worked better, but it feels a little cliche at this point. Yes, Barbara is an outcast. We get it.

The giant-killing thing is the obvious draw here, but there's frankly not enough of it. Barbara kills one giant in the entire series, and it doesn't even end up being a real giant but rather a metaphor for something else that also feels cliche and over-used.

Mostly, I'm disappointed by I Kill Giants. I expected something more than one long and disappointing metaphor for a girl's struggle against dealing with reality. And even if such a message is to be conveyed, it can be done in a less obvious manner. The style is great, there is plenty of comedy and personality to the cast of characters, and there are plenty of asian influences that make it lovable, but the manner in which the actual story, the part that matters, is told is too blunt and in a way misleading for this to be a great comic. Perhaps we can expect more from Kelly later on. I'd certainly give his next effort a look. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Jun 22, 2011 Becky rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels, age-high-school, sci-fi-girl-protagonist

This one packs a punch.

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* Barbara Thorson, bullied and friendless, will not back down. She is smart, angry, won’t follow the rules, won’t let anyone close, and sees things no one else does. In short, she is a very disturbed girl, and the power of I Kill Giants is its ability to convey the reality of a frightened little girl’s pain along with the wonder of her apparent fantasies. Kelly’s portrayal of the material is nothing short of literary, echoing the similarly com...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 29, 2010 Ross rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

This was by far one of the best graphic novels I have ever read. The main character is written in a very accessible way, yet there is still a mystery, which can be argued whether or not it is ever cleared up. The issues dealt with are real issues, and I think that how the character deals with those issues are not dissimilar to how you and I each deal with similar issues.

The art work is fantastic, one of the reviews on the back jacket says something like 'the narrative and the artwork create a t...more

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 20, 2010 Trevor rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was very interesting for me because I've never read a comic that dived right in from the beginning to the end and kept me engaged throughout. The way that the author not only captured the main character and the problems they were facing and put them into a gripping thriller but for the book to have so much action in a little amount of pages was amazing to me however there were parts that didn't grab me as other pages, like the never ending lead to the final battle while although it was...more

like · see review

Aug 19, 2010 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: tween-girl, teen-family-issues, teen-heavy-content, teen-graphic-novel, teen-girl

I'm pretty sure the Booklist review says it better than I can, except to add...Go on witch yo bad self Barbara Thorson...dungeon master and giant slayer extraordinaire.
From Booklist: Barbara Thorson, bullied and friendless, will not back down. She is smart, angry, won’t follow the rules, won’t let anyone close, and sees things no one else does. In short, she is a very disturbed girl, and the power of I Kill Giants is its ability to convey the reality of a frightened little girl’s pain along wit...more

3 likes · like · see review

Apr 22, 2010 randy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

This will now be my go to book whenever anyone asks me of a good graphic novel to read. I do not care if they read them regularly or have never ever read one.

Maybe it is because the subject matter is so close to my heart -- a difficult family life with a looming threat, one that mimics a reoccurring issue from my own childhood that I can recall with photographic memory from the many times it came up in mine -- that makes this resonate so well with me. I can not discount that as a force in making...more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 01, 2010 Karin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, young-adult-fiction, dungeons-and-dragons, realistic, fantasy, cancer, death-of-parent-or-parents, mother-daughter-relationships, families, friendship, middle-school, outsider, borrowed-from-the-library

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Barbara’s a bit of an outcast. She’s weird, she’s anti-social, she plays D&D, and she’s a little too obsessed with her fantasy world – where she is a killer of giants. Maybe Barbara was always a little strange, but her behavior becomes more than just eccentric as she acts out against the world. We gradually discover that her mother is terribly sick (with cancer) and Barbara is avoiding her (and her problems), trying to save her in the only way she’s convinced herself that she can help – by s...more

like · see review

Jan 09, 2010 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, fantasy, graphic, life, voice, ya

I have a personal quibble with this book in that it reinforces the stereotype that the only people who play Dungeons & Dragons are socially awkward misfits who need the escape because they can't handle reality, but I'll save my rant that D&D can be great fun for well-balanced, emotionally healthy people who enjoy exploring stories.

Trying to set aside my issues, this is a powerful and fairly original (in its telling) story of a smart(-ass) fifth grade girl who uses rebellious misanthropy...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 10, 2009 Seth Hahne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

It's good to pick a book with vaulted expectations, set the book down finished an hour and a half later, and have those expectations met. In I Kill Giants' earliest chapters, I was not at all sure this would be the case. The pace felt abrupt, the characterizations suffered some adjacency to verisimilitude, and the ground seemed well-worn and overly familiar as it hadn't been long since I had the pleasure of reading Nate Powell's Swallow Me Whole. Of course, by book's end, all that had been well-...more It's good to pick a book with vaulted expectations, set the book down finished an hour and a half later, and have those expectations met. In I Kill Giants' earliest chapters, I was not at all sure this would be the case. The pace felt abrupt, the characterizations suffered some adjacency to verisimilitude, and the ground seemed well-worn and overly familiar as it hadn't been long since I had the pleasure of reading Nate Powell's Swallow Me Whole. Of course, by book's end, all that had been well-enough justified by Kelly and Niimura's wonderful story-telling.

I Kill Giants exploits expectations in order to tell a story that, while common, is made special by its telling. The creative team breathes a crisp newness into Barbara Thorson's imaginative life that many such tales lack—and in their lack become shallow caricatures that never come to life for the reader. Traveling with Barbara through the travails of her fifth grader's existence, we are given a unique vantage into the lives and motivations of much of her supporting cast. There are still clichés that never entirely extricate themselves from the narrative weight crushing any spark of life from their shell of an existence(for instance the bully, Taylor, who is just like every other storybook bully you've ever encountered), but for the most part, Kelly's script is a relief.

Accordingly, Niimura's visual work shows its excellence by nature of considering just how easy it would have been to really screw up the story by producing the wrong kind of art. When Niimura draws giants, they are impressive. When Niimura draws Barbara the giant slayer, she is awkwardly confident. When Niimura draws the intersection of worlds, we find ourselves charmed or horrified according to how Niimura wants us to feel. The only curiosity that took me out of the story and forced me to wonder at his visual choices was his depiction of Taylor, the bully (yes, her again); despite the character's solidly established age (she's a fifth grader), Niimura draws her as being well-enough into puberty that she's granted heftily developed breasts. While it's not outside the realm of possibility for such a girl to exist (apparently puberty is hitting girls earlier and earlier), it's far enough outside the norm that it may give readers (such as myself) pause.

In any case, I Kill Giants is the story of Barbara Thorson. Who kills giants. Or so she tells just about everyone.

Barbara is, sigh, precocious and outspoken. She's a bit geek (loves D&D and baseball history) and has a difficult homelife. Her interaction with her teachers (and school psychologist as a result of her interaction with teachers) is less than worthy of emulation. She seems to almost purposely make enemies with those around her. And yet, despite the difficulties she presents for herself and the reader who wants to sympathize, she cuts figure as an able protagonist. She's far from perfect and, for this story at least, we prefer her for it.

Amidst portents of the arrival of a grave doom, the heralding of a coming giant, Barbara has to negotiate a society with which she will have nothing to do. Against her wishes, the society around her makes many overtures of peace and goodwill. Some make ground while others break it. And all the while, the unseen world becomes increasingly active as the prophesied doom grows ever nearer. In the end, it's in Barbara's interactions with both worlds and their inevitable clash that I Kill Giants' story takes shape.

And it was wonderful to take in.

As a final note, it is a happy circumstance that I Kill Giants is as short as it is—for the book certainly bears a second reading (as many things previously hidden are unveiled only with knowledge gained in the book's climax).(less)

10 likes · like · see review

Dec 02, 2010 jess rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, graphic-novels, yaf

I read this because: Felicia Day told me to.

I brought this home from the library, and finished it within 12 hours. This is a noteworthy feat because I have 18 other books sitting next to my bed. I love each of them more than the one before.

This is a YA graphic novel about Barbara, a middle schoolish-aged girl who is dealing with some serious shit. The ways that kids cope with the difficult things in life consistently amaze me and remind me of what the human spirit is capable of. Joe Kelly captur...more

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 10, 2010 Raina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: faeries, graphicnovel, magic-realism, ya

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · like · see review

Dec 11, 2009 Terry rated it 5 of 5 stars

On career day, Barbara Thorson proudly announces to her fifth grade class that she kills giants. Barbara plays Dungeons & Dragons and she takes the rule books which govern the game and applies them to her life. She kills giants, yes, but she also talks to fairies and keeps a magical warhammer named Coveleski hidden in her pocketbook.

Barbara lives in a fantasy world, but it’s one so real that it pulls the reader in. It also keeps others at bay. Barbara is a target for bullies and spends more...more

2 likes · like · see review

May 12, 2013 Cara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, read-in-2013, library, recommend-to-read, unique-or-different, over-hyped

3.5

While I did find this comic rather unique, beautifully drawn and had a premise full of potential, I was ultimately left a little confused and let down. I Kill Giants is highly acclaimed, won an Indy Award, had super great reviews that promised me a wonderful read....So, I was super excited to see what all the fuss was about.

I actually didn't really like it. The concept was really quite brilliant if not a tad cliché, but it HAD great potential, it just never fully got there. I felt as if the...more

like · see review

Oct 24, 2012 Anya rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A young girl named Barbara Thorson goes through life battling monsters. Sounds cool on a superficial level, sure enough. But I Kill Giants will surprise you with it's seriousness; I read the last 10 pages with tears in my eyes. What a heavy ride!

I finished this graphic novel in the course of one evening. I had planned to spread it out over a few days before turning it back in to the library, but the story pulled me right in. I was expecting a fantasy novel, based upon the title and manga artwo...more

like · see review

Jan 16, 2012 Sylvia rated it 5 of 5 stars

I Kill Giants is a moving, intelligent and exhilarating story of a pre-teen outcast girl who sports bunny ears, is bullied, picks fights, plays Dungeons & Dragons, and most importantly, hunts and kills giants. Something terrible is happening in the upstairs of her house, which the reader soon suspects is a sick or dying mother, but our protagonist, Barbara, finds it easier to fight monstrous dragons than to face her ailing parent. As the story unfolds, we find ourselves rooting for Barbara,...more

like · see review

Dec 12, 2010 HelenaBasket rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel

I bought this to give to my 12 year old niece. I couldn't send it off without reading it first.

Thanks, Felicia Day, for recommending it in your "In Bed With" feature. Since I love the Guild and of course Dr. Horrible, and everything else I think I can trust the source.

We'll see how it goes. I'm excited.

"It was a time of darkness..."

Wow, times were dark indeed. Fantastic story that made me laugh and cry. And, who can't recognize a little bit of themselves in Barbara? Here's to finding that bit...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 18, 2011 Jerry rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Good stories are the ones that leave a little bit of themselves with us after their last scene unfurls. The most marvelous of stories, however, are the ones that take a piece of us with them when they go. I was happy to surrender a tiny piece of myself to I Kill Giants.

Joe Kelly deftly weaves the incredibly personal tale of Barbara, a young girl who makes no apology for her awkward looks and eccentric tastes. Armed with the mystic hammer Coveleski, Barbara takes on the monsters of middle school...more

1 like · like · see review

May 28, 2012 Elena rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 12th-grade-reading

This was a really good book but it kind of annoyed me a little! Only because I never understood if the protagonist was just crazy or if there really were giants in the world, because it's a comic book there's no way of knowing for sure which is a bit disappointing but it adds to the suspense! It is interesting anyways because if she just had a hyperactive imagination then it would be an interesting turn in comic books, not everything has to be superheros and what not, it's just a crazy 5th grade...more

like · see review

Apr 03, 2011 Doug rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I don't know, I feel pretty conflicted about I Kill Giants. I want to try to not review this as the story I wanted it to be, but rather the story it is. So there's going to be some spoilers here, so if that kind of thing offends you, you should probably stop reading this review now. I'm not sure what the consensus on Goodreads is about I Kill Giants. I thought in the end, it was an okay story. There were major problems I had with the book on a conceptual level, that stopped me from completely lo...more I don't know, I feel pretty conflicted about I Kill Giants. I want to try to not review this as the story I wanted it to be, but rather the story it is. So there's going to be some spoilers here, so if that kind of thing offends you, you should probably stop reading this review now. I'm not sure what the consensus on Goodreads is about I Kill Giants. I thought in the end, it was an okay story. There were major problems I had with the book on a conceptual level, that stopped me from completely loving the book. On one hand, I thought tying the Giants into the death of the main character's Mother was clever and the final scenes between the two characters were effective. With that said, for a story called "I Kill Giants", it was a little odd that no actual giants, figurative or literal, were in the story. The mythology behind the story made a very clear distinction between Giants and Titans and it's the latter that shows up.

My second major problem is, in the afterward, Joe Kelly talks about the artists imagination and how clever and refreshing the designs were of everything. Which I agreed with, until the Titan showed up. The Titan had a very striking resemblance to one of the Colossi from the video game Shadow of the Colossus. Here is a reference picture for you to keep in mind when reading this story, http://img3.lln.crunchyroll.com/i/spi... so it's not exactly the same design, but there is a panel that even seems to have the iconic bridge from Shadow of the Colossus and nowhere in the afterward did the artist say that he was inspired by the game. It's possible this is a complete coincidence and maybe it's just in my own head that I'm making the connection to the imagery, but it's still striking enough for me to bring up.

The last thing I have to say, is that while the final scenes between the Mother and main character were effective, I don't feel like the story as a whole had anything important or insightful to say about death. Which is a complicated and emotional topic to talk about, so with it not really having anything interesting to bring to the table of the subject, kind of felt like an exercise in futility.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Mar 21, 2013 Dawn Peers rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazon-reviewed, graphic-novels

"Amazing emotive story"

I Kill Giants is the story of a loner at school escaping in to a fantasy world. But all is not as it seems with Barbara, and Barbara is not what they think she seems to the children at school that torment her, her family or her only friend.

Think Pan's Labyrinth [DVD] [2006] (with less mucking around and more D&D) mashed with Franklyn [DVD] [2008] for the fantasy / reality collision and you'll probably be about there, though the quality of the storytelling in "I Kill Gi...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Graphic Novel Rea...: Optional Book Club Discussion: I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly and J.M. Ken Niimura - December 2012 (may contain spoilers)	20	54	Dec 27, 2012 05:47am
Eclectic Readers: I Kill Giants	1	8	May 09, 2012 08:33am

combine
Other Editions (5)

More editions...

Genres

Sequential Art > Graphic Novels

287 users

Sequential Art > Comics

119 users

Fantasy

70 users

Young Adult

40 users

Graphic Novels Comics

25 users

Comics > Comic Book

13 users

Young Adult > Coming Of Age

9 users

Sequential Art > Comix

9 users

Young Adult > Teen

8 users

Death

7 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Local
by Brian Wood
Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites
by Evan Dorkin
Chew, Vol. 3: Just Desserts
by John Layman
Daytripper
by Fábio Moon
Bayou Vol. 1
by Jeremy Love

Books by Joe Kelly

Spider-Man: Gauntlet Book 2 - Rhino & Mysterio

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About I Kill Giants

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from I Kill Giants

“We're stronger than we think.” — 22 people liked it

“And I'm a little mean to people who are dumb. And most people are dumb.” — 7 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: I Kill Giants
avg rating	preview: I Kill Giants Goodreads rating: 4.14 (4159 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6435893-i-kill-giants?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356121155l/6435893.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6435893-i-kill-giants?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly[/url]

I Kill Giants

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website