Via io9, “Die” and “Journey into Mystery” creators Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans, and Clayton Cowles are reteaming at Image on the original graphic novel “We Called Them Giants.” An apocalyptic fantasy adventure, the book follows a young girl named Lori, who wakes up to find the world has suddenly become much less populated, and the survivors descending into fighting among themselves for survival. When “horrifying, beautiful creatures” suddenly appear, “Lori’s life is transformed all over again.”
Gillen says the book was inspired by the real-world’s own ongoing pandemic. “In the middle of the COVID lockdowns, I was left alone with my cats, staring at them, and staring at me,” he says, “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.”
He and Hans sought to make their new project feel smaller and more intimate than “Die.” He says, “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,” and “a poignant, romantic, devastating single canvas.”
Hans adds, “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.”
“We Called Them Giants” will be released on November 12, and will mark Gillen’s second new project at Image this year, following the alternate superhero history series “The Power Fantasy” (which starts in August.) In the meantime, head to io9 to check out interior artwork by Hans.
