Early Review: GIANT DAYS #1
GIANT DAYS, from BOOM! Studios, is about three young women that go to university together, who quickly become friends. The book deals with life during that time and dealing with things from your past, finding romance, and building on friendships, all within a humorous light.
The first issue of GIANT DAYS is a pretty fantastic set-up for the book. Writer John Allison and artist Lissa Treiman gives readers a great glimpse into who these women are and the quirks within their individual personalities. However, it's presented with a bit of fun and humor, which ultimately engages the reader quite a bit more.
The first issue of GIANT DAYS actually captures college life exceptionally well and not in the way folks are used to seeing it: horrible, alcohol-infused "comedic" movies. Aside from going to classes, which we do not see here, GIANT DAYS focuses on the friendships that build between these characters and dealing with aspects of their past. Of course, there's quite a bit of these characters dealing with relationship turmoil, and in this case, it's with Susan and McGraw. Setting aside the animated feel and the comedic approach this book takes, there's some great character and story work developing here, which bridges the "slice of life" comics with the mainstream.
Where Allison really shines is in the dialogue. He crafts some great scenes but fills it with some very natural feeling dialogue that moves the story along. The dialogue is a fine representation of the times without dating the book at all, which is no easy feat. In addition, it's humorous but the humor never distracts from the story. Allison's writing is one of the most pleasing aspects of this book.
Artist Lissa Treiman provides a style to this book that is the perfect counterpoint to the writing and vice versa. Her style matches the humor of the book and gives in an animated feel, while giving the reader a little bit of sarcastic undertones at times within the character's faces, which is a marvelous fit to the overall book and to the age of the characters.
One of the couple moments that really didn't work too well in this issue happens on the second page. The first page gives the reader a quick set-up for who these characters are, Daisy, Esther, and Susan. The second page is this quick "we've been through a lot in the past three weeks" montage which feels very out of place for the second page of a new book. Also, the way these women talk to each other and interact already makes the reader aware of their closeness, from page one, so this second page almost seems unnecessary, especially with the fact that is shakes things up too much way too early, when the reader is still getting to know these characters.
GIANT DAYS #1 is a solid opening to this limited series. It feels like a completely different take on college life than what most people would be accustomed to. It has a solid sense of humor and interesting characters. The actual opening of the book is a tad rough and at times, the book can a bit too Saturday morning cartoon for the content, but overall, this is a great first issue that gives readers some wonderful art and some great dialogue and story. If you're looking for something that's fun and hits home, make sure to check out/pre-order GIANT DAYS #1.
Final orders for GIANT DAYS #1 are due Monday, February 23rd. GIANT DAYS #1 hits your local comic shop on March 18th.
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