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NeoGAF Comic Book Club - Issue #1 - I Kill Giants

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M

Mikeside

Member
ibsnYazbQKqLzy.png


Welcome to Issue #1 of NeoGAF's very own Comic Book Club!

The votes are in and by a huge landslide, it appears we'll be reading I Kill Giants.



The Book
iJB1KVU3k7EoN.jpg


Joe Kelly said:
It's a story about a girl who’s a bit of an outsider – she's funny, but totally in our geekland: she's obsessed with Dungeons & Dragons, she doesn't have a lot of friends, she’s a bit of a social misfit. She's taken her fantasy life a little far, and really only talks about giants to people. She's convinced that giants are real and giants are coming, and it's her responsibility to stop them when they show up. This weird little fantasy life that she's going has started seeping into her real life, and as we see things from her point of view, we see that she sees pixies and she sees signs in the clouds and other things that might be telling her that bad things might be coming.
Click to expand...

If you haven't picked up I Kill Giants yet, then fear not - it's easily available below:
Comixology - Digital Copy
Amazon UK
Amazon US



The Rules
We're set to read and discuss this book from now until the 8th October. Obviously the thread won't suddenly disappear after that, so if you want to carry on talking about the book beyond October 8th, feel free - but we'll be moving onto the next comic on that date!

I'd like this to be as easygoing as possible so we can all get on with reading the book and discussing it. As such, I'm not going to set any rules on spoilers, but -
If you've blasted through the book in the first couple of days and have something to say about the ending or a twist then it might be a good idea to spoiler it!
Use your noggin.
That works both ways - if you think you're a bit behind to everyone else then maybe it's best to catch up before you read on if you're desperate to avoid spoilers.

Other than that - we've got 3 weeks to dive in and enjoy this, so let's get cracking!



Also! Please note that I will be opening up votes for the next comics at the end of this week back in the original thread (now the voting thread) so everyone has plenty of time to get their hands on the next one.
 
M

Mr. Sam

Member
Replying to subscribe. Have already read the book but will give it another going over to refresh my memory.
 
W

wenis

Registered for GAF on September 11, 2001.
Loved this book immensely, enough that I let my sister borrow it and she ended up calling me crying when she finished. Very very very very good book.
 
M

Mikeside

Member
Baconsaurus said:
I'll be picking it up soon!

On an unrelated note: three weeks a bit too much in my opinion. I'd be fine with two weeks
Click to expand...

Yeah - this is still a test run to see how it works out.

I imagine that as long as everyone has notice for what we're going to be reading so they can get hold of it in advance then we'll probably only need 2 weeks per comic, but we'll see!
 
N

Necrovex

Member
It might work better if you have milestone for us to reach on a weekly basis. That's one feature that I adore in the normal book club. It allows us to discuss the book without tons of black bars, and it gives us a short-term goal for reading through the book.

It isn't Monday!!!!!
 
M

Mikeside

Member
Necrovex said:
It might work better if you have milestone for us to reach on a weekly basis. That's one feature that I adore in the normal book club. It allows us to discuss the book without tons of black bars, and it gives us a short-term goal for reading through the book.

It isn't Monday!!!!!
Click to expand...

Topic went up at 12:30am UK time :p
 
Musha_Soturi

Musha_Soturi

Member
I forgot to order it so have just done so now. Hopefully it should arrive by the end of the week, beginning of next at the latest. I read quick so it shouldn't take me long to catch up. I should probably stay out of here till I've started it though.
 
P

pock3tmonster

Banned
It's a shame there's no collected edition/volume available from Comixology, as it works out more expensive than ordering from Amazon. But I'm going to bite on the first issue regardless and will see how I go from there. Looking forward to it.

Oh and fantastic banner IamMikeside. Love the comic book covers embedded in the logo. Great job with handling everything so far!
 
M

Mikeside

Member
pock3tmonster said:
It's a shame there's no collected edition/volume available from Comixology, as it works out more expensive than ordering from Amazon. But I'm going to bite on the first issue regardless and will see how I go from there. Looking forward to it.

Oh and fantastic banner IamMikeside. Love the comic book covers embedded in the logo. Great job with handling everything so far!
Click to expand...

Lol - thanks for biting on my self-involved attention craving :D Much appreciated.


Yeah, I bought on Comixology too - was a bit 'meh' about no collected edition but as long as it doesn't turn out to be shit then I don't mind :)

Going to blast through the first issue or two tonight so I'll post some thoughts up after that.


I think I'll probably blast through it once to get familiar over the next couple of days and then reread and digest it slowly over the next couple of weeks.
 
A

AAequal

Banned
I have already read this but I submit my suggestion for next months thread: I have always wanted to read Bones or Scalped.
 
D

Demy

Member
I don't ever read comics. Chanced upon this tho and who could say no to GAF?

Just read the first one on Comixology and subscribed.
 
P

Parch

Member
First time reading this for me. Just finished issue #1 so I'll get this started...

We've got us a bad ass here.
Our first intro to the main character and it's some solid character development. The rebellious 5th grader is definately a stubborn little bugger with no fear of mouthing off and getting detention. I like her. A little sad, a little mixed up. OK, maybe a lot mixed up. It's a fine intro to an interesting character.

Does anybody still play D&D?
I used to play a sci-fi version called Traveller, but never did get into D&D. Video games really stomped on the old pen and paper RPG's.

The first hints of her own fantasy world.
So she thinks she kills giants, and has some sort of little friends she's feeding. A nice little tease of where this might be going, but doesn't reveal much yet. Just enough to leave me wanting more.

I'm reading the singles so I'm not sure if this is part of the trade, but the last page is a cute little interaction between the creative team.
I'm not at all familiar with the art of JM Ken Niimura. Does anybody know what else he's worked on? I like the art style in this issue. I think there needs to be a unique style when using black and white, and this definately has that.
I've read a bit of Joe Kelly's writing, mostly the Marvel stuff. A quick Wiki shows a significant resume of work in both Marvel and DC. For this title, I think he really nailed the character development in this first issue.

Overall I really liked the first comic. It's got a ton of charm and am looking forward to reading more.
 
3

3JORN

Member
I'm on issue number 3! All the characters I am loving so far! It is thanks to this thread that I knew about this comic! Also, the story and the art wow!!!...can't wait to finish! :)
 
3

3JORN

Member
So I'm done, and what can I say? It was fantastic all around, it was personal, it was fantasy, it's a comic that I couldn't wait to finish in one day. The ending was great and affected me a lot too. Looking forward to the next reading list!
 
M

Mikeside

Member
Foxy Fox 39 said:
3 weeks for ONE ISSUE? Dude. 1 week per issue.
Click to expand...

7 issues in 3 weeks.
We're keeping it slow paced so as many people can join in as possible
That way more people who aren't specifically 'into comics' already can join and hopefully realize how great comics are :p
 
P

pock3tmonster

Banned
Might I suggest for the third comic club, we tie-in with Halloween/October and choose from comics of the horror genre?

We could vote on:

Locke & Key VOL 1: Welcome to Lovecraft (6 issues)
Severed (7 issue mini-series)
From Hell (10 issue mini-series)

Alternative suggestions for candidates:

American Vampire (either the first VOL or one of the mini-series)
The Walking Dead VOL 1
Hellboy VOL 1

Thanks IamMikeside
 
N

Necrovex

Member
Finished the second chapter. I don't have much time to write my thoughts on it, so I'll be making this post brief.

The main character is awesome. Another poster in the voting thread said he disliked her because of her ego. Well, I love her because of that ego. She is a competent young woman. And I am curious to see how her new friend plays out. She freaking earns that ego!

The drawing is superb. It might be that effect of being a manga lover, but I love the black and white effect. The other American comic that does the effect well is The Walking Dead. I expect the art will continue to impress me.

The mythology concerning some of the "giants and titans" are interesting. I wonder if they actually exist, or if Barbara's imagination is simply that vast.
 
M

Mikeside

Member
So I've just finished reading the second part and I'm also loving that she's not particularly like-able - full of herself and wrapped up in her own world.

Loved the D&D bit especially because that's the exact thing that could've happened when I used to play D&D with friends - except alcohol would've probably been key in the process.

The art is really great - simple but distinctive. I always find it harder to get into black and white comics, but I ultimately find it more rewarding and enjoyable a lot of the time.
 
G

Grakl

Member
I really loved the art style for this, as well as the story, generally. Unfortunately, I didn't like the end, and what the story became, but I'm probably in the minority, haha.
 
N

Necrovex

Member
IamMikeside said:
So I've just finished reading the second part and I'm also loving that she's not particularly like-able - full of herself and wrapped up in her own world.

Loved the D&D bit especially because that's the exact thing that could've happened when I used to play D&D with friends - except alcohol would've probably been key in the process.

The art is really great - simple but distinctive. I always find it harder to get into black and white comics, but I ultimately find it more rewarding and enjoyable a lot of the time.
Click to expand...

I remember the first time I played D&D, our DM hated us because a few of us, including myself, got drunk and fucked around in the game. That was a blast.
 
L

Lissar

Reluctant Member
Grakl said:
I really loved the art style for this, as well as the story, generally. Unfortunately, I didn't like the end, and what the story became, but I'm probably in the minority, haha.
Click to expand...

I loved the end, though it was quite expected. I've always wanted to do a story that is a bit similar.

But boy does she remind me of when I was that age. The hair, the glasses, the clothes, the attitude. It was a bit eerie.

I stopped at the library to read it since I don't have the extra cash this month, but now I really want to own it. It was great!
 
D

Demy

Member
Bull dyke and vagina! The little gal is really something. I keep reminding myself what her age is and I like her all the more.

Bought the book on half after reading the first three on comixology. Can't wait for mr mailman to bring it ^_^
 
N

Necrovex

Member
Chapter 3. Some speculations about how the story will turn out too.

Shit, Barbara is starting to lose it. Punching a teacher, well, a psychologist as Barbara placed it. Dialogue starting to be filtered when Barbara becomes too stressed out, I wish my mind could simply filter people's word.

She also knows how to fight for herself. Beating up a bully, along with landing a punch on her one normal friend. I feel a little bad for Barbara, she simply cannot catch a break. I am expecting things to become worse for her.

I have a solid guess what will be the end result for her imagination regarding the mystical creatures. She created a fantasy world, so she could be seen as a major player in the world, rather than some insignificant girl. Plus, her fantasy buddies are simply a replacement for the lack of any real life friends.

I am still in love with the art, especially when I see the fantasy creatures. Stellar comic thus far.
 
M

Mikeside

Member
Ahh - I thought it would be cool to call each one we do an 'issue' of comic book club.

Didn't think it would confuse - sorry!
 
L

LiQuid!

I proudly and openly admit to wishing death upon the mothers of people I don't like
Got this but need to pull myself away from the clutches of
FTL
long enough to get to it. Good thing I have a couple weeks!

Still probably won't be enough. :O
 
Z

Zekes!

Member
I decided to read this earlier this year, actually. An old high school friend of mine used to sing its praises constantly; honestly, while I enjoyed it, I wasn't overly blown away. I did end up picking up Ken Niimura's artbook; I really enjoy the guy's style.
 
P

Parch

Member
I was never a fan of black and white art. I always thought they would be better in color. For something like the Walking Dead, I thought the writing far exceeded the art.

Strangers in Paradise was black and white, then they tried to go color and it didn't have the same charm. It wasn't better in color.

Now I like B&W comics. It's another way for the artist to have a distinctive artstyle.
 
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