I Kill Giants

So, in addition to the many other kinds of a nerd I am, I'm a comic nerd. Early last summer, I heard about a book called I Kill Giants. Think it was pick of the week on iFanboy. I decided to track down Issue 1, and see if it was any good. Not only was it good, it was the best thing I read all year, and has gone on my list of all time favorite things ever.

The basic story, off of the first issue (and I won't go much beyond, just to make you go and read it yourself): Barbara Thorson (love the name) is a 5th grade girl. Just hitting that awkward stage. But where most would turn quiet, or become a trouble maker, Barbara is a confident, headstrong type. Plays D&D with some of the town's older nerds, who don't want her there because she's too good, takes it way too seriously, and, well, she's a girl... She also will tell anyone she sees that she kill giants. She sees and talks to little floating naked fairies. She carries around a heart shaped bag, in which rests the giant slaying hammer, Coveleski.

One problem is, you don't really know if what she's seeing is real. Together with the hints that you're given about something amiss at home, you're left wondering what could be real, and what might be something made up as a coping mechanism. The world seems to be ours, and noone around Barbara believes her. They simply see her as a weird kid.

As the story goes along, you're given more hints, and get more glimpses into Barbara's life. Beyond the basic, any discussion about the story will only spoil stuff, and at a certain point, words just fail me. By the end of the story, I was a wreck emotionally; but in a good way (really). One of the few things that have affected me as much was an anime called Haibane Renmei, which I also highly recomend.

Well that was a bit rambling, just go read I Kill Giants, then watch Haibane Renmei. Trust me.