We Called Them Giants: Book Review
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Orphaned as a child, Lori knows that “nothing lasts forever,” so when she wakes up one day to find her foster parents gone and her neighborhood completely deserted, she isn’t too shocked. What does surprise her is that the only other survivor in the area is her cheery, optimistic classmate Annette, who theorizes that perhaps “the rapture” has taken place—a world-ending event where God takes away all the “good” humans and leaves only a few behind.
Written by Kieron Gillen, with artwork by Stephanie Hans, We Called Them Giants follows the adventures of the cynical Lori and the bright Annette as they navigate the apocalypse while avoiding a violent group of survivors known as “the dogs.” Their world shifts further when two colossal creatures suddenly appear, seemingly descending from the sky like shooting stars. Are they gods, angels, or aliens? Lori and Annette simply call them the Giants.
The alien creatures are illustrated as a blend between Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy and C-3PO from Star Wars. While I enjoyed the artwork, the story itself wasn’t as engaging, mainly due to the lack of character development. Lori and Annette fit the typical “introvert versus extrovert” BFF dynamic, though their friendship has some endearing moments, it feels too surface level. The girls influence each other—Lori becomes slightly more hopeful, while Annette adopts some of Lori’s fiercer traits. How their lives intersect with the giants forms the crux of the tale.
One scene stands out where one of the giants leaves a bowl of edible liquid for Lori and her friends when they are struggling to scavenge for food. From Lori’s perspective, it seems like a trap, perhaps a ploy to capture or harm them. To me, it looked more like an attempt to lure a pet, like how a child might want to befriend a bunny or a stray dog. What is it really? Lori discovers the giant’s true intentions the hard way. It’s kind of funny how the Giants mimick humans by saying ‘blahblahblahblah’. C’mon, even some random gibberish would’ve been preferable over ‘blahblahblahblah’! Kieron Gillen just didn’t want to put too much effort into that, or maybe, he meant it to be funny little element, which I guess wasn’t such a bad call.
In the end, We Called Them Giants is a rather simplistic and abrupt story about the bonds people forge in desperate circumstances. The giants become metaphors for gods—creatures that are huge, powerful, intelligent, and capable of creation, and see humans as either annoying ants or pliable pets, depending on their whims. And, as we know, ants often get crushed, while pets are coddled. Anyway, the story is interesting in the beginning, but it never really takes off, and the whole ‘end of the world’ scenario feels pretty phony throughout.
The climax is wistfully tragic, delivering a sentimental lesson on how love can be unconditional, and how we don’t always need to fully understand one another to nurture a lifelong bond. Given its artwork and intriguing premise centered on a mysterious apocalyptic event, We Called Them Giants had the potential to be a far more ambitious tale. However, it’s too short and doesn’t give its characters the space they need to truly resonate with readers. It’s worth a one-time read for graphic novel enthusiasts though.
Rating: 3 on 5.
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