In 2008, a miniseries about a fifth-grader named Barbara Thorson arrived on comic book shelves. Over seven issues, we watched as she prepared for the arrival of the giant she was destined to fight, and we wondered if she was strong enough to survive what life was about to throw at her.
“A palpable sense of discomfort permeates from the very beginning”
I Kill Giants is a difficult work to review. The story is a slow reveal, and discussing the plot in detail will give away too many of its secrets. It’s clear that something is definitely wrong, and a palpable sense of discomfort permeates from the very beginning. Barbara seems to be the only one who knows there is a monster approaching, and the only person in her town readying herself for battle. But has the giant already arrived?
Barbara Thorson is not the nicest protagonist, and writer Joe Kelly uses dialogue to illustrate her unlikeable tendencies. Barbara is sarcastic, mean, and quick to point out the flaws in others. This 
also makes her lonely and isolated, something we discover when she encounters Sophia, a girl who has recently moved to town. When Barbara isn’t immediately rejected by Sophia, she opens up and shares more, including her vast in-depth knowledge of giants and how to destroy them. Over time, Sophia becomes Barbara’s only real friend—and her greatest vulnerability.
Although Barbara is complex, many of the supporting cast are rather one-dimensional. We learn little about Taylor, the school bully—other than that she is a violent bully. Similarly, the principal and many of the other characters continue to play the same role over and over again.
Joe Kelly manages to expertly layer the apprehension coiled within this story. Barbara talks about the giants that are coming to wreak havoc, and their arrival is foreshadowed by the bully that continually targets her. 
At other points, dialogue in speech balloons is dramatically scratched out. This visual technique demonstrates Barbara’s reluctance to face her reality by blocking out the words she doesn’t want to hear, and also dramatically increases the narrative tension by keeping the reader in suspense.
“Joe Kelly manages to expertly layer the apprehension coiled within this story.”
The art by JM Ken Niimura conveys Barbara’s world nicely, although it sometimes jumps around stylistically. Dramatically posed, thick-lined figures in panels with dark backgrounds suddenly transition to sketchy, fine-lined figures with no backgrounds. Perhaps these changes were meant to indicate a change in Barbara’s view or mood; the result was unclear and rather confusing.
Most horror movies lose their dramatic oomph once the monster has been revealed, and I Kill Giants is no different. Despite a strong buildup, the last act contains its weakest elements. The giant appears, and there are moments that are both touching and eye-rolling. Everything wraps up quite nicely, and there’s even a mantra to recite. Given the emotional messiness of the beginning, it’s almost too clean of an ending.
I Kill Giants: Titan Edition includes a number of extras, including the scripts for chapters one and seven. Interspersed throughout are character designs and proposed page layouts, allowing a peek at the process behind this novel’s creation. There is also a commentary on the creative process, where the writer and illustrator discuss the challenges they faced in character design, storytelling and medium.
Ten years after it was first released, I Kill Giants still manages to land an emotional punch. Although the ending may be overly sentimental for some, there is still a lot to enjoy in this collected work.
I Kill Giants
Joe Kelly (Writer), JM Ken Niimura (Artist)
Image Comics (originally released 2008, Titan Edition released 2010)
I Kill Giants
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