I Kill Giants Titan Edition Signed & Numbered

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I Kill Giants Titan Edition Signed & Numbered

by Joe Kelly, J.M. Ken Nimura

4.17 · rating details · 1,564 ratings · 224 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! Collects I Kill Giants #1-7, plus the original script for issue #1, a pin-up gallery, back-up material, and more!

Hardcover, 300 pages

Published March 17th 2010 by Image Comics (first published May 2009)

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Aug 29, 2011

David Stewart rated it

· review of another edition

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 vacuou...moreI 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)

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Jun 22, 2011

Becky rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels, 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, e...more

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Oct 29, 2010

Ross rated it

· review of another edition

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 artwor...more

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Oct 20, 2010

Trevor rated it

· review of another edition

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

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Aug 19, 2010

Sarah rated it

· review of another edition

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 alo...more

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Apr 22, 2010

randy rated it

· review of another edition

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 for...more

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Apr 01, 2010

Barky rated it

· review of another edition

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 sl...more

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Jan 09, 2010

Chris rated it

· review of another edition

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 misanthr...more

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Nov 10, 2009

Seth Hahne rated it

· review of another edition

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-...moreIt'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)

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Dec 02, 2010

jess rated it

· review of another edition

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 capa...more

like 2 likes

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Sep 10, 2010

Raina rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: faeries, graphicnovel, magic-realism, ya

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

· see review

Dec 11, 2009

Terry rated it

· review of another edition

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 spen...more

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Jan 16, 2012

Sylvia rated it

· review of another edition

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, as s...more

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Dec 12, 2010

HelenaBasket rated it

· review of another edition

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 recogniz...more

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Apr 18, 2011

Jerry rated it

· review of another edition

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 midd...more

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Apr 03, 2011

Doug rated it

· review of another edition

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...moreI 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/spire1... 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)

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Jun 12, 2009

Jack rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: comics, teen

A really compelling read with a pretty typical storyline but great style and believable characters. Barbara is a weird but badass kid who is plummeting deeper and deeper into a fantasy world in which she is a giant-killer to avoid dealing with the true horrors of her life. Her strangness attracts the attention of the school bully who engages her in a series of escalating confrontations, while her beleaguered older sister tries her best to keep it all together at home.

Barbara's to...more

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Oct 12, 2009

Ren the Unclean rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novel, fiction

I Kill Giants is a pretty impressive graphic novel. It tackles a subject that is normally not covered very well in any medium, let alone comics, and handles it very well. The writing is very well done and the art is fantastic. Niimura has some obvious manga/anime influences, but there is definitely something western about it. His drawings of the giants are reminiscent of Mignola's stuff. The art pushes this book from three stars up to four.

The book is written from the perspectiv...more

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May 18, 2011

Matt rated it

· review of another edition

One of the more mature "young adult fantasy" books I've read, comic or otherwise. Nimura's work is stunningly simple, serving the story at every turn with fun and expressive character designs that give the reader a complete snapshot of a person in a glance, coupled with dynamic layouts that guide the reader's eye masterfully and with undeniable power, all with a beautiful scale of greys to blacks that evoke depth and color all on their own. Nimura pushes Kelly's story into a fascinatin...more

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Oct 10, 2010

Jeannette rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: eclectic-readers

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

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Aug 25, 2009

Kate rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novel

A graphic novel with art by Ken Niimura that portrays the inner struggle, pain, and imagination of the young main character, Barbara Thorson, as well as the writing does. The art reminded me of Manga and "Spirited Away." Barbara's imagination does not just include giants and titans, but sprites and fairies that are with her throughout her days (there's even one of the cover of the book, if you hold the book at the right angle). I think that Kelly faithfully portrays what it can be li...more

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Jul 16, 2010

Jacki rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novel-manga

Read this book.

Barbra Thorson has it rough. At school, she has no friends and is alternately bullied by larger kids and counseled by a therapist who's trying in vain to break through the shell of Barbra's denial. At home, she must face her disgruntled siblings, all of whom are dealing with the family's problem in different ways. With nowhere else to hide, Barbra mentally escapes to the fantasy role-playing universe. Unfortunately, she takes her coping mechanism too far, to the point...more

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Jun 23, 2011

Meagan rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, graphic_novels

This was a pretty good book, although I feel like the title and, to a certain extent, the artwork may keep it from finding its ideal audience. The title I Kill Giants and the slightly manga-like artwork will probably pull in the fantasy fans. (Who will likely be surprised to find that this is an emotional book about friendship and dealing with an unidentified family hardship.) There are elements of fantasy here, but it seems more of the imagination variety than the "there's a creature li...more

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Sep 18, 2010

abatage rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels

I Kill Giants is fucking cool... and sad... it's damn good actually. The story walks that fine line between being corny and having some integrity, but thankfully it's written with a little finesse and avoids being a trite tear-jerker. Hell, some parts are even funny and exciting, which is also thanks to the excellent art throughout. Some graphic novels struggle with capturing a real fluidity between panels, which isn't the case here. Sure there are some similarities to certain animation artists,...more

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Jul 28, 2011

Amanda rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, graphic-novel, ya, standalone

I honestly do not get why this graphic novel is so popular. Barbara is completely unlikable. She's your typical angry geek girl who hates everyone except herself. Plus, what's up with the bunny ears she has throughout the book? The "giant" that supposedly is so big and scary and haunting is that her mother is dying of cancer. I, frankly, was expecting something far far worse given the title and the implications throughout the first half of the book. Something like abuse or incest...more

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Apr 27, 2011

Mark Desrosiers rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: comics

The title is complete and true... to a point. The heroine, a witty acidic grade school gamer-geek called Barbara Thorson, arms herself with carefully built amulet, awesome purple curses, and an encyclopedic knowledge of giants, baseball, titans, harbingers -- and proceeds to annoy the crap out of everyone (except the reader of course). Then two challengers appear -- an enormous bully, and the school psychologist... though both are far inferior to her grim, awe-inspiring, unutterable foe.

...more

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Feb 08, 2012

Molly rated it

· review of another edition

I hated the writing, the story was a little obvious and not very interesting and the art was too kinetic and hard to follow.

I'm sick of this trend of Dungeons & Dragons being a running theme in American published YA graphic novels. I wonder if the late 20's-30's authors of these books understand that these references aren't as poignant to their audience as they think.

Needless to say I'm never reading anything written by Joe Kelly again. It'll be easy because he mostly writes ...more

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Jun 02, 2009

Matt Chic rated it

· review of another edition

I forget if I knew the actual plot when I originally read the first few parts in single issues. I guess not, since I still didn't know what to expect at the end. I really liked the first six (of seven) parts to this, but once it took a serious turn, I lost a little of the fun the carried me through most of it.

I guess its no surprise she doesn't really fight giants, and the metaphor of the 'giant' is okay I suppose. But there was a part of me that would've liked for this to NOT a...more

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Jul 02, 2011

Vanessa rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011, favorites

This book is why God or Santa Claus or Alan Moore or whoever invented graphic novels and it's the perfect example of why they are a valid and worthy literary form. The art and text together make the story. It's a truly beautiful collaboration between Joe Kelly and JM Ken Niimura.

This is the story of Long Island fifth grader Barbara Thorson. She is iconoclastic and nearly friendless-until she meets a girl named Sophia and the school guidance counselor. She is a Dungeon Master extraor...more

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Jun 21, 2010

Evan rated it

· review of another edition

This book was one of the most amazing stories I've read in a long time. It's a modern, heart breaking version of 'I never Promised You a Rose Garden' with immediately accessible characters. The art is sketchy and sparse, and lends to the overall mood. Don't get frustrated when the action scenes get confusing, this is truly a story driven piece. If I didn't have a heart made of permafrost, I would've cried at the end. (spoiler: I totally baby squirted at the end of this story) I Kill Giants...more

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