5.5 stars! Introduction: I have read so many Image Comics over time (Saga, Invincible, Chew) and I have been enjoying every one of them! Now, I had stumbled upon this unique little comic called “I Kill Giants” which is written by Joe Kelly along with artwork by JM Ken Niimura and it was seriously one of the most creative and intense comics I had ever read! What is this story about? Barbara Thorson was just your average fifth-grade student…alright maybe not so average student. Barbara’

This really grew on me. It had to. I started the book frustrated with Barbara, with her disconnect from the real world and total immersion in a fantasy world she's created, with her near inability to interact with the people around her. That's a bold thing that Kelly did, to start the reader off with an entirely outside perspective of Barbara, and only slowly reveal exactly what is going on inside her heart and mind, and what events in her life have caused her to react in this way. (view spoiler...

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-...

SPOILERSBarbara 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...

I kinda expected it to be something else and it was. A little disappointed, I just felt that nothing really happened and I could see the end a mile away.

The artwork in this comic is super super amazing! Even If the story wasn't so interesting and full of oomph I would've kept on flipping through, it's that amazing. Cool story, amazing read and satisfying ending. Not many YA comics are this satisfying. Awesome book.

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...

Originally posted @ THE NERDY SIDE OF A QUEEN “You are stronger than you think.” Simple words, yet so deep in giving a meaningful meaning.I don’t know how I stumble to read this graphic novel, but I remember when I saw my friend reading this, I became intrigued what is the story of it. I Kill Giants is the title and I became curious to find out what is the story all about. Until, I also saw the movie trailer, and I’m shocked that it will be adapted into a movie. That’s why I eagerly read this

This was not what I expected, (in multiple instances). When I first encountered this book, it was while I was researching for my own giant story, and while I was looking at giant character designs. As I was searching, a certain image that popped up caught my attention: a single shot of a girl with rabbit ears, a badass - looking hammer, and a giant staring her down in the distant background.Naturally my curiosity got the best of me, and I found the title of what I thought was a strange undergrou...

I’m not crying you’re crying shut up.

Released as a seven-issue, self-contained comic book series, about a teenage girl in the modern day who claims to kill giants. Difficult to expand much on that without spoilers. This book will upset you.Nothing about this is well-done on a technical level, but I still found it effective. The writing is... okay, but there's very little payoff until the end. The art is not great and sometimes make it hard to tell what's going on.The creators have pre- and post-issue comic book conversations betwee...

Reminded me of A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. They both have a lot of things in common -- bullies, nerdy kid, giant monster, sick mother, stupid friend, wild imaginations, depressing story, etc.Actual rating: 3.25 stars

I watched the movie, based on the graphic novel. I cried and cried. Fine performances by all of the cast in that movie. I am not a graphic novel reader, but am willing to give this one a shot. Catch the movie if you can - like A Monster Calls, it will leave you sobbing, but hopeful.

Barbara's a lonely girl, but she tries hard not to show it. Queen of the misfits, she loves fantasy books and D&D. And why shouldn't she? Her real life is no piece of cake. She's bored by school, has her own personal bully, and is coping with one very deep, dark secret. Though I wasn't overly crazy about the manga style artwork, this is a wonderful, touching story that should not be missed.

Pretty awesome. I'm not usually a fan of manga-style or black and white artwork but this is great. (Although I do wish there was more black or, at best, a highlight color like red.) I Kill Giants is a surreal allegory (in the style of Joe the Barbarian) about Barbara Thorson, an angsty loner teen who deals with very bad things through fantasy. Or is it fantasy? This coming of age story is also about friendship, courage, bullies, allies, family, and the power of the imagination. Having been a qui...

Seth said his high expectations were met; mine were set high in part by him, but for some reason I didn't love this book. The highlight: Niimura's visual work, which was awesome. I thought the story was conventionally "inspirational," how you get through the challenges of "giants" in your life, and maybe especially as a kid, and Kelly had some similar challenges, and apparently some of the same angry responses, and presumably came to the same cathartic conclusion as the main character girl in th...

Πάρα πολύ καλό!!!Μου θύμισε το Bridge to Terabithia και το A Monster Calls.All things that live, die. This is why you must find joy in the living, while the time is yours, and not fear the end. To deny this is to deny life. To fear this... is to fear life. But to embrace this... Can you embrace this?You are stronger than you think.

Content warnings:Abelist slursLesbian slursBullyingViolent responses/reactions to non-violent situationsBarbara is a character that I continuously had to remind myself to not judge too harshly. I figured there had to be an explanation. And there is...I'm just not sure it's enough. She's not nice, she's abusive and mean, and there's nothing in these pages that excuses that behavior - though many people make excuses for her behavior. However, there are reasons for her actions, too. It doesn't make...

Very interesting, and strongly reminiscent of A Monster Calls. Barbara, unable to deal with what is happening in her home, instead finds a sense of security in tracking down and killing giants. She has a secret weapon: a mighty hammer. And companions in the form of tiny fairies . . . but also a human friend who seems to be willing to overlook her outrageous behavior and want to know the real Barbara. I did find the violence (real violence) troublesome. Barbara gets in brutal fights, and even las...

I got the same feeling with this book that I did with "A Monster Calls", it was good, but not great.It is the story of a girl named Barbara who thinks she fights giants, the giants being a metaphor for something else of course. Her big sister is taking care of her and her brother, but Barbara does not have the best relationship with them as of late. Something has happened that has distanced them. It is a very well drawn piece of work, all in black and white. It might have been much better with c...