I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly and JM Ken Niimura

Barbara Thorson, a bunny-ear-wearing and D&D obsessed fifth-grader, is, according to her teachers and classmates, pretty weird. She’s fiercely independent and sarcastic, has occasional violent bursts of anger, and proudly declares to a career counsellor who’s talking to her class that she already has a career, thank you very much—she’s a giant-killer. As the story progresses, readers begin to see the loneliness that hides behind Barbara’s independence, to glimpse the fear behind her sarcasm, and to understand that there are very good reasons for her anger. Barbara is trying to kill the biggest giant of them all. But some giants, alas, cannot be killed.

And that, I’m afraid, is all I can tell you about the story, because I Kill Giants is highly spoilable. The revelation it builds up to is a gradual rather than a sudden one, but there was still a panel that caused me to completely break down in tears. (I was reading this book at work during my lunch break—it’s times like these that make me glad I’m alone in my office all day). This panel - the whole story, really - was so very moving, so painful, and so very real.


Barbara’s giant has a name, but even before we learn it, the glimpses the book gives us of Barbara's world and its mix of fantasy and reality hint at the serious things that remain unsaid. My favourite thing about I Kill Giants was probably how well it captured the psychological processes of a child facing something so horrifying she can’t quite grasp it; how well it portrays her sense of helplessness and her attempts not to be helpless. But as Barbara learns, sometimes being brave means realising that there are things you cannot fight.

There is no way around how sad this story is, but there’s a sense of acceptance mixed with the sadness, a determination to make the most of her circumstances on Barbara’s part, that turns what could have been a devastating ending into a bittersweet one. There’s no denying the pain, but as Barbara tells herself in the final panel, we are stronger than we think.


I honestly don't have enough superlatives to describe I Kill Giants. The story's sheer power, the expressive artwork, the excellent characterization, and the sensitive way in which the characters' emotions are handled made it an instant addition to my list of favourite graphic novels. You know you want to read it too.


Reviewed at:
OF Blog of the Fallen
Un:Bound
Guys Lit Wire
Boarding in my Forties