Giant Days: Early Registration

Giant Days: Year One #1-3

by John Allison

Flashback to freshman year with Esther, Susan and Daisy to see how they first met and became the best of friends, in these bonus Giant Days stories.

Take a trip through the past in these early Giant Days stories, and discover the origin of Daisy, Esther and Susan’s friendship as they embark on orientation, getting-to-know-you-exercises, and collisions with a secret society devoted to Black Metal.

Collecting the original, self-published Giant Days comics for the first time, creator John Allison (Bad Machinery, Scary Go Round) takes us back to where it all started in Giant Days: Early Registratio.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Young Adult, Fiction, Humor, Contemporary, Graphic Novels Comics

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

John Allison is the author and artist of the British webcomics Scary Go Round and Bad Machinery.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See other authors with similar names.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suffering from Giant Days withdrawal, I was delighted to discover Giant Days: Year One exists! The book is three self-published comics, the first from 2011 and the others from 2013, written and drawn by John Allison which paved the way to Boom picking it up and turning it into an ongoing. And of course it’s great!

Esther, Susan and Daisy are fresher uni students who become friends in the halls of residence. In Year One, the mean girls try to recruit Esther, our heroes meet Ed Gemmell who falls for Goth princess Esther and who inevitably gets his heart broken when his blokey lad “friend” Steve scores with her, and the girls try joining a couple of campus clubs.

After seeing how Boom’s Giant Days starts, it’s so weird seeing the alternate dimension Giant Days beginning like this. It is impressive though how fully-realised the characters and set-up are this early on - though things become more polished once Boom get involved later on, this is easily recognisably Giant Days. The voices, the tone, the quirkiness, the humour, the Ed and Esther stuff, it’s all right there - brilliant!

The later changes though are a definite improvement. Allison’s art style is very angular and flat which isn’t the most appealing look - having him just write the comics and bringing on artists Lissa Treiman and Max Sarin to draw was the right move. Their art is more appealing but most importantly it means we get more Giant Days comics as Allison’s not having to do everything himself.

I also like how Allison moved away from Esther as the main character here to developing Susan and Daisy more in the ongoing books. Like McGraw, Susan’s moustachioed beau, is entirely missing in Year One and his and Susan’s storied past and turbulent present is one of the best features of the series - he’s such a great character, like a younger, British Ron Swanson! Year One is the poorer for not having him in it.

Even though it’s essentially a dummy run/extended pitch for what becomes the “proper” Giant Days series, Year One is still a great, entertaining read and a no-brainer for fans to pick up, particularly if those volumes aren’t coming out fast enough for your liking!

[Austra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gads ir jāsāk ar kaut ko lielisku, kaut ko sirsniņai.

[Anete · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bija patīkami un omulīgi atgriezties tajās agrajās dienās, kad meitenes vēl viena otru nepazīst un izveidojas viņu ciešās draudzības pamats.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collecting the original three issue self-published Giant Days mini-series by John Allison, Early Registration is an interesting look at how far the series has evolved since inception, and how fully formed the characters were even back at the start.

The core three are all here, and pretty much the same - Esther is flighty and boy crazy, Daisy is the naive one, and Susan is a force to be reckoned with. The only other truly familiar face is Ed Gemmell, who's a hopeless romantic with no idea what to do with that fact, while the rest of the cast are either interchangeable faces or not that important.

The Giant Days zaniness is right where you'd expect it to be though; the plots are outrageous and yet believable, the dialogue is absolutely top notch, and the character's voices all ring surprisingly true. There are a few more 'out there' moments like Daisy's yoga-flying powers and Ed Gemmell getting kicked literally across town between panels that I'm glad the ongoing series didn't keep, but overall this is very clearly the Giant Days we all know and love, in its infancy.

Allison's artwork is a little more off-kilter, with jagged lines and some insane facial expressions that really sell his jokes well, but give the world a little more of an uninviting feel as opposed to the softer lines of Max Sarin and Liz Treiman on the 'proper' series. It's not a horrible change, but the difference is noticeable.

Giant Days enthusiasts? Grab this one for some perspective, and a sneak behind the curtain. Giant Days newbies? Grab this and see what you're missing.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

So bummed this was the last never read Giant Days I had to read, I love this series so much.

[Agnė · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5

I remember reading Giant Days, Vol. 1 and wishing that the three intriguing stories from the first three weeks of college shortly summarized by Susan would be elaborated upon:

Little did I know that these stories already existed as three separate issues, self-published by John Allison way back in 2013 and now collected into Giant Days: Early Registration!

I genuinely enjoyed reading these early issues, though I'm glad that the current series stays away from such bizarre supernatural elements as yoga-flying Daisy. Also, I'm not a big fan of John Allison's artwork, so I'm glad that later on he entrusted that task to other artists:

[Robin Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Giant Days, and these early stories from John Allison are as funny and weird as ever. (14+)

*Please note: this review is meant as a recommendation only. If you use it in any marketing material, online or anywhere on a published book without asking permission from me first, I will ask you to remove that use immediately. Thank you!*

[Rod Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giant Days version 1.0 with writing and art by John Allison. I'm surprised these weren't collected long ago, they're so damn good. Glad to have them now. And if you haven't read the series, start here and get caught up ASAP!

[Artemy · Rating 5 out of 5]

These early issues of Giant Days are every bit as lovely and brilliant as the current ongoing series published by Boom! I am so glad it exists, something that can always cheer me up.

[Chessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed so much you guys. UGH SO GOOD!

[Alex Sarll]

As Britain's poor bloody teenagers prepare for the shittest fresher's week (and indeed, shittest everything) in living memory, a reminder of happier times, courtesy of an early iteration of the best comic ever about going to university, and the friends, enemies and bad decisions one makes there. Back when I started reading the canonical Giant Days, I found it strange encountering what were so obviously John Allison characters, yet not as drawn by John Allison. Ten volumes in, though, I'm used to Esther, Daisy and Susan in those versions, and so it's unsettling all over again to see them as rendered by Allison. They're all very recognisably the same people, and indeed at least some of their university (mis)adventures here were in the series in similar form, especially the dramatic engine of the first issue here, when the awful cool girls try to drag glamorous Esther away from her ramshackle friends. But while nobody would ever mistake Giant Days proper for unvarnished realism, the resolution here plays out in considerably more Scott Pilgrim fashion. Set against that, though, I recognised the precincts of Sheffield University much more in this rendition, possibly because it always looked a little like an expressionist caricature anyway. Obviously my normal nostalgic tendencies have been in overdrive these past six months, because the present is entirely awful and the future set to be still more so, but I think even pre-Event this would have left me very much missing the days when we spent our days pretending to like The Congleton Bastards USA, instead of spreadsheeting for coin.

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

actual rating: 2.5

I'll round this up because I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more if I hadn't read the rest of the series first but wow this is just weird. It is pretty impressive for a self published comic but the art is just not very good and the stories seem to be all over the place. Also I have no idea what was going with that weird almost magical-girl-esque head girl fight in the first issue. I kind of know what a head girl is because of Harry Potter but I was still sitting there like ??? Would I have thought it was funny if I was British??? Anyway the whole thing is definitely very bare bones and almost verges on magical realism at times which was wild considering the main series is just like Peak Contemporary to me, but I guess it was an interesting place to start. Glad I didn't read this first though because I might not have kept going.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure I would like this after Giant Days: Extra Credit. The art is not the art I love (sorry, John Allison), and there are a few odd elements. But even though the girls don't quite look like the girls I know and love, they talk all the talk and do all the do, and I found that I loved seeing their beginnings! Plus, we get to see Ed Gemmell dressed in black metal garb and Susan take over the indie soc club with a cape!

[Elyse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look at the the beginnings of Esther, Susan, and Daisy's friendship and Ed Gemmel's crush! No McGraw yet so that was a booooo. But this was a fun blast from the past. The illustrator was different for this one. Or John Allison WAS the illustrator?

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the characters and getting to know more about how they met, but I’m not crazy about the art of this one (don’t hate it, but not my favorite).
OMG I’m Daisy.

[Jasmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best part was definitely the head girls fight.

[Karin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was done by a different artist and I am not loving it as much as the normal ones. I am glad I read it but not one of my favorites.

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

While at times rough at the edges compared to the Giant Days series, these early stories are really good. It is funny that a comic book like Giant Days known for the crazy adventures and imagination are actually toned down from the original. Recommended.

[Mehsi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Welcome to a very early version of Giant Days. Sadly, this wasn't a favourite of mine.

I was pretty excited when I heard about this book, and that it would be a very early version of GD, one of my favourite series.

Sadly, very sadly, I feel really unhappy that I didn't like this book. With each issue I felt my heart sink further, and I have had a few times that I wanted to drop out. But I kept reading on, hoping for something, a spark, something. But sadly, I didn't find it.

I already knew the art would probably be a bit eh/dodgy, but I hadn't expected it to be this. It was, sorry to the artist, bad. Yes, I could see some improvement with each issue, but it wasn't that much, which is a shame. Yes, I could recognise the characters, but yet they also looked different. Esther wasn't as glamorous and gothy, Daisy seemed normal with the exception of her ever present poof of hair, Susan.. well it was that we knew it was her and she had that attitude of hers. :P The other characters didn't fare much better. *sighs*

The story, well, it was fun to see them meet up again, see them go through the university, visit colleges and have fun, go to mysterious parties and get tattoos, but it was also very chaotic and time jumped around quite a bit. At times I was confused how it was night one moment and apparently day the next... For instance the party with the mean girls (what the hell happened there btw?), the girls were partying and the next Daisy is checking if the meanies have truly left and apparently it was the day after it all. Whut?

So yeah, didn't enjoy this one, sadly.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series, but didn't know this was out here. If you are going to start this series (I recommend it):
START HERE FIRST

Then you can move on to Giant Days, Vol. 1. (There appears to be a book between this & vol 1, but it I believe it is just book 1 & 2 of the 4 books that are in Vol 1: Giant Days: Orientation Edition)

A compilation of the early Giant Days comics. It's interesting to see how the character illustrations have changed from the beginning (they look much more like the style he used in Bad Machinery: The Case of the Team Spirit). It's still clear who is who, and the character's personalities are still the same, but I do like the artistic changes he's made since starting the comic. This book shows how the girls became friends.

John Allison can't create content fast enough for me. I love his work!

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early Registration has all the charm and spunk of later works in the Giant Days series with just a bit less cohesion. Awkward time jumps between pages betray the daily webcomic nature of these three chapters. Fortunately, the dialogue and character interactions are just as strong as ever. The standout tale features Ed Gemmel falling for Esther, a classic plotline that was revisited later in the series. The standout page features Susan campaigning aggressively for president of the Indie Society wearing a very compelling cape. I laughed out loud, which I can't say is something I've done while reading in quite some time.

[laura (bookies & cookies) · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I don't enjoy the art style (which I'm glad was changed in the official run), I felt the real essence of all the characters and I loved revisiting their early friendship while now reading Issue 47 (!).

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fun because it was drawn by John Allison. I liked exploring the backstory of the characters.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s nice to have some prequel stories, but I don’t like the art style nearly as much. Black Metal Ed was pretty great, though.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a minute to get used to the art that is different than what I'm used to, but still love these girls and their adventures SO much. And I loved seeing the beginning.

[Bunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

How the girls became friends. Flipping adorable.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
Giant Days is always charming but the art in Early Registration is flatter and less engaging than in other volumes.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kad iestājas neizskaidrojams bloks grāmatu lasīšanā, nepieciešams šāds jaukums, lai restartētos. Izlasīju vienā piegājienā, un labprāt saņemtu vēl vienu devu! Vai vairākas.

[connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is the Supreme susan ptolemy. shark teeth? destroying lives? setting fire to girl's hair extensions? BEAUTIFUL

[Jade Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felt very underdeveloped and outlandish compared to the rest of the series, which makes sense but meant it was only 'Okay'.