Dustin Gebel
Images Comics revealed new information about the upcoming graphic novel, We Call Them Giants. The project reunites creators Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans for the first time since their 2018 creator owned series Die. The duo are joined by letterer Clayton Cowles for the book. That series presented a dark fantasy in which a group of friends reconnected to venture into a twisted tabletop game. Now, their new series carries some similar strokes as it offers a post-apocalyptic story following a young woman waking up into an unfamiliar world.
In the exclusive with io9, Gillen spoke about the history of the concept, and his collaboration with Hans, stating:
“After we finished Die, we knew we wanted to do something completely different. Rather than a sprawling ongoing, do something smaller, intimate, self-contained and really pure. So, in the middle of the covid lockdowns, I was left alone with my cats, staring at them, and them staring at me, and thinking about the miracle of relationships between beings of completely different kinds of intelligences, and the wonder of the jump across that gap. The image of the feral girl in the devastation and the giants came quickly after that, and we were away. People will fall in love and have their hearts broken—the full Hans/Gillen experience. Despite the post-apocalypse setting the story has an almost weird-fable kind of vibe, and ends up basically as a conversation between The Walking Dead and The Iron Giant. Basically, We Called Them Giants is the story of communication across a chasm at the end of the world. Folks have seen what Stephanie does on a month-by-month rush on an ongoing comic. Here, it’s a thrill to see her luxuriate—creating this single long story, and being able to shape the whole thing into a poignant, romantic, devastating single canvas.”
The press release describes the series as a blend of The Walking Dead and The Iron Giant, as Lori tries to find any signs of life after waking to empty streets. The description also promises plenty of melodramatic elements like romance, heartbreak, and a sense of growthing for a young woman trying to find her place in the world. All of which sounds like a perfect fit with Hans’s painterly qualities.
Hans spoke about her approach to the series, stating:
“As an Artist, it is always a joy to work on new challenges, especially when it is with such a great Writer. Kieron wrote an emotional story in which he let me go wild on designs. It’s a new, beautiful end of the world tale, a little bit epic, a bit nostalgic and a bit contemplative. It’s nothing like we did before. In all the best ways.”
Image also revealed a few pages of Hans’s interior work, which can be seen below.
We Called Them Giants will be available at comic shops on Wednesday, October 30 and bookstores on Tuesday, November 12.
