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“something that combines the majesty of enya with the mystery of…enya”

Giant Days, Vol. 4 by John Allison, Max Sarin, Whitney Cogar

Giant Days, Vol. 5 by John Allison, Max Sarin, Whitney Cogar

Giant Days, Vol. 6 by John Allison, Max Sarin, Whitney Cogar

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A really fun thing about failing to write reviews in a timely manner means that I get to go back and re-experience the joys of comics in order to accurately recount my thoughts! Hooray! It’s harder when I procrastinate with novels, but digging back through volumes of comics is far from the worst way to kickstart a writing project! Unluckily? Luckily? I have nearly a dozen Giant Days to catch up on, so I can relive their adventures while I hunch over my keyboard on this VERY dreary day (seriously- where did summer go? we had four days of sun and heat and now it’s back to chilly rain).

ANYWHO! Without further ado, I present several more volumes of life lessons, best friends, strange occurrences, and LOTS of ENYA!

GIANT DAYS: VOLUME 4 (single issues 13-16)

I almost called this while group “ch-ch-changes”, as our trio’s time at Catterick Hall is quickly running out of time, and soon they will be out in the world outside of the safety net of campus housing! One of the reasons that I stopped working in theater was the ever-constant need to find new roommates, find new housing, and find a vehicle that could cart along all of my worldly possessions every few months- not to mention having to find a new JOB every few months as well! Whew! Obviously, the idea of searching for roommates and housing now fills me with immediate dread despite the fact that I’ve been in the same house with the same dude (hi, husband!) for yeeeeeears. Still, icy cold anxiety pricked along my spine as the girls went through the rigmarole of roommate hunting.

Roommates? Why does our Loyal Three need roommates? Well, it is looking more and more like Esther won’t be returning! She’s freaked out by the workload, missing her ex-boyfriend (and first love), and feeling pretty down. She goes home for break and plans to STAY home, picking up a job as a “Sausage Roll Technician” at a chain bakery. A new co-worker teaches her how to bite the end off of a pastry, then slurp all of the insides out in one fell swoop. Good times!

The duo reunite with Esther, saving her from a life of sausage rolling and a very awkward party with her ex-boyfriend, who has moved on surprisingly quickly. Young love! It’s excruciating! I’m glad to be beyond this point in my life, but I do love reading about others in the trenches. Speaking of looooove, Daisy is assigned a difficult exchange student on her campus tour- a difficult student who quickly takes a liking to Daisy that ends in a, as John Allison says, “EUROPASH” at a campus party. Esther is cheered by participating in making a (very bad) movie and participating in a (very cheap) film festival. Ah, youth!

Housing has been secured for next semester, but things are far from figured out!

GIANT DAYS: VOLUME 5 (single issues 17-20)

The ch-ch-changes swing into full force here! Time at Catterick Hall is almost up, the end of semester ball approaches, and it’s time to face MORE exes who are out and canoodling with MORE cool new girlfriends. Esther and Ed, while searching for quick cash, become accidental scammers- and who amongst us hasn’t done that? Daisy goes on an archeological dig, but her day is damped by Dr. Dick (I could not help myself, and no- that is not his actual name, but he is an actual dick)- causing her to doubt herself and her dreams. How DARE you do that to Daisy!

A Music Festival should brighten everyone’s spirits, and that’s where our Fearless Free head after summer term. The title of this post comes from Daisy’s very specific festival hopes, of course. It wouldn’t be a music festival without mud, port-a-potty disasters, and drug induced nightmares and don’t worry- they are all present! The drug thing is icky, as it is done on the sly by another nemesis of Susan (she does rack up enemies) but luckily the slipped-into-drink drugs are NOT used to perpetuate assault- just send her tripping out of her mind- which is still NOT OK! AT ALL! Girl Guide skills save the day (of course) and 0ur heroines are ready to return to Uni and move into their glamorous new OFF CAMPUS DIGS!

The glamour is skin deep, and McGraw has to secretly help the girls turn their hovel into something livable again. We’ve all been there as well- when you tour everything is peachy (or peachy enough), but when you move in, everything turns to ashes in your mouth. Or you know, particle board under your butt.

GIANT DAYS: VOLUME 6 (single issues (21-24)

It’s FALL and things are getting spooky! Giant Days doesn’t play nearly as far into the comedy-horror of Scary Go Round and Bad Machinery, but October with a goth roommate will surely guarantee some spooky times! Unfortunately, the first spooky thing that happens in their new apartment is a robbery. Other spooky adventures include but are not limited to: a Halloween party, cleaning cursed ovens, trying to catch a fence in bad pubs, getting terribly ill and having your dad BIG GEOFF move in to take care of you, hosting horrifically awkward “grown up dinner parties”, and finding a dead body. Daisy has another big book, as Ingrid will NOT BE IGNORED- leading to both unattainable and the sublime. AGAIN- YOUTH! Daisy also takes on the shady pub with “BEAT ENYA” written on her knuckles, because she is the sweetest and meanest little nerd.

 

Is there a lot of rambling here? YES! Are there spoilers? NO! Is it worth checking this series out on your own, if you have not done so already? YES, YES, AND TRIPLE YES!

Dramarama (and a delayed CANNONBALL)!

Giant Days, Vol. 1 (single issues 1-4) by John Allison, Lissa Treiman

Giant Days, Vol. 2 (single issues 5-8) by John Allison, Lissa Treiman, Max Sarin

Giant Days Vol. 3 (single issues 9-12) by John Allison, Max Sarin, Jim Campbell, Lissa Treiman

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I started this review back in March (EEP!) and it has been my albatross now for nearly two months. Double EEP! I adored the web comics, and when I was feeling down around the Covid-aversary I dug into some good- old- fashioned- comfort- comics. What began as a pick-me-up purchase of the first volume became a “tune it all out” obsession once I realized that more volumes were available on both Scribd and Hoopla. My diversion turned into a marathon reading of volumes 1-12 with little time for breathing, thinking, or reviewing. I’m in a better place now, but that means I have a LOT of reviews to catch up on!

John Allison has been filling the internet with mysterious young people and barks of dry laughter since launching the web comic Bobbins back in 1998. Bobbins was a bit before my time- we might have had a PC in the house then, but we DEFINITLEY did not have the internet. I was brought into the fray by the next series: Scary Go Round. Many SGR folks started out in Bobbins, and when SGR started to wind down, the *new* younger generation of Tackleford Teens took over with Bad Machinery. But then? Another crew emerged from the sidelines: the teens of Giant Days. The trio of Giant Days, Esther, Daisy, and Susan – began as side characters before lurching headfirst into their own university-bound story. Giant Days began as a web comic, and now it is an Eisner Award winner in it’s own right! Allison remains the writer and creator, but artwork is traded off throughout the series. Allison’s artwork changed quite a bit from year to year online, so it isn’t too jarring for me to see the characters morph over time- but now it’s because different creators and artists pop in throughout to add their personal flair to Allison’s signature styles.

Without further ado, may I present, THE FIRST THREE VOLUMES OF Giant Days!

Volumes 1-3 cover a good chunk of the first semester at university. Daisy, Esther, and Susan are roommates and fast friends. Daisy is a do-gooder Granny’s Girl, Esther is a glamorous goth, and Susan is a battle-axe powered by cigarettes and spite. I, of course, love them dearly. The gals are joined by hopelessly-in-love Ed, and his roommate MCGRAW! Why is MCGRAW in caps? Well, he is very handsome. He is also mysteriously connected to Susan, but neither party is willing to tell their friends what that history may be! They brood and glare from opposite pages, but you can guess where they’re going. Much like many first-time-away adventures, the girls all get horrendously ill with the flu and alternate between caring for each other and having their own trippy cold-medicine influenced nightmares. Daymares? It’s all the same when you’re sick as an “adult” for the first time! Illness induced madness subsides, but soon vindictive-rage-MADNESS takes over: creepy dudes on campus are creating their own “facebook” style rating site for new girls on campus, and our ladies are furious. An inflammatory zine is, of course, involved. It wouldn’t be a coming of age story without a literal coming of age, and the crew celebrates Daisy’s 18th with TOO MUCH booze and JUST ENOUGH expression of sexual orientation! Get it, girls!

Volume Two kicks off with what is maybe a British schooling tradition? Are Winter Balls a thing? Let me know! Of course, any group party of young people involves a LOT of drinking and a LOT of flirting; McGraw gets more handsome and Susan gets a litttttle less ornery. Ed is, as always, hopelessly in love. Esther is questioning her role at school. Should she be there? Is she smart? Can she do it? There is so much to relate to in all of these characters, even when they go off the deep end with the silly stuff. Daisy spend a good chunk of Volume Two emulating both Coach AND Tammy Taylor. Blue hats, pep talks, humongous glasses of wine- there’s another comfort property! Feeling icky and nostalgic? Let Coach, Tammy, and Big Tim Riggins take you to Texas, y’all. This volume also gives us some solid connection back to Bad Machinery and Scary Go Round when Suzy goes home for break and comes face to face with one of her many nemeses: an MLM-scamming-club-owning-river-polluting-crime-family-matriarch! The Scooby Do-like inspiration for the old comics lives on!

More throwbacks to old characters pop up in Volume Three, with Esther’s old pal (and former character) Big Lindsay returning to the scene. Can the crew survive her partying ways, and can Big Lindsay help with Ed’s unlucky in love situation? You’ll have to see for yourself! John Allison, for all of his very cute artwork, has a soft spot for black metal and we get to see some glimpses into some dark and gloomy (and intense!) concert going. I love it. Not just because McGraw does some serious thrashing. As with many college adventures, some of our girls stop sleeping and become addicted to THE NIGHT. Only the strength of friendship can drag them back towards the sun! Can it also save Suzy from political machinations? Again we get some Scooby Do-ery as Susan runs a shadow campaign for a student body president who may or may not exist.  We close with a camping adventure, where ghosts of Girl Guides past AND past boyfriends (who are still living but ghosts none the less) come out to play.

I cannot recommend this series enough. It’s a wonderful way to reach back to “that teenage feeling”, and if you aren’t familiar with his work already, then it provides a perfect gateway to the world of John Allison.

Welp, 3 down- 9ish to go! I suppose I’ll do another Giant Days update in ANOTHER two months or so!

 

 

Friendships, late nights and feminism

Giant Days Volume One by John Allison

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Giant Days Volume One is a clever book about three best friends who could not be more different. They are three people who would never have been friends if they had not been roommates/neighbors in university. They are three girls who are ready to take on the world. That is, if they can stop causing dramas, survive a night of partying way too hard, and look around them and see the consequences of their actions. You know, typical 20-somethings just trying to get through the day. Fun, goofy, but serious art by Lissa Treiman illustrates the day-to-day fun, tears, parties, colds, and love.

John Allison was introduced to me by the book Steeple, which was one really screwed up ride. It was a good idea to read that first (though I did not know it at the time) as it prepared me for anything that was going to come up in any other graphic novel of theirs. However, these two books are opposites when it comes to execution of stories. Giant Days is a realistic look at growing up. Three girls: the homeschooled naïve one, the goth/pretty/drama girl, the leader who is in love with her arch nemesis (a one-sided nemesis relationship) and does not think things through to the possible result of her actions. And Steeple is a realistic/supernatural combination that blew my mind how on the nose and out of this world it was at the same time.

The fact our main characters are three women dealing with much of what we still are dealing with today (a “rate the hottie” website, the “boys will be boys” attitude and the one male that might be decent getting the brunt of all the “She-woman-man-hating” temperament) is an interesting twist by a (I am assuming) male author. This, and the over all theme of the book, makes it (for me) feel aimed more towards females (teens to adult). Yet, at the same time, anyone can enjoy. It is just a book about life and what we get ourselves into. It is relatable to most readers.

This is a journey …..

Steeple by John Allison

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Steeple is a perky journey that John Allison takes us on to find Satan and the good works they do. No, it is a journey that Allison takes us on to find a DILF (or a Priest I would like to friend on Facebook). No, it is a journey of a new Church of England minister, named Billie, who used to dabble in things as a teen, has her car blown up on her way to her new assignment, and who offers her thumb to anyone willing to pick her up after said car blows up. No, it is a journey of Maggie, who picks up said Billie on her “Satan ride” (a nice motorcycle) and of Mrs. Clovis who might not be as innocent as she seems. This is a journey of good and evil. Oh. And a humanoid creature with one giant eye as a head.

This is a journey where good is not always good, but evil is well evil and likes to stick its bare butt out a window to cool off. This is a journey where maybe you do not have to choose between the two because we are both. But we are neither.

There are several individual comics collected into this one book. Things flow but not always neatly. There are bumps, bruises, and stolen pants. It is dark, but with colorful panels and details on each page. There are witches, sex, a pint or ten and yes, the supernatural. Steeple is off beat and dark humor, but also pretty darn (only I didn’t say darn) serious. There is even a mini rapture. For a few minutes. And a naughty vacuum cleaner.

You, dear reader of my review, if you read Steeple just know that this is not your Grandmother’s going to church. Or maybe it is. Who am I to judge Grandma’s religious choices?

I wish I could go back to college…

Giant Days, Volume 2 by John Allison (illustrated by Lissa Treiman & Max Sarin)

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Last year, I signed up for Cannonball Read 9. Unlike 2013, where I completed my first (and only, thus far) FULL Cannonball of reading AND reviewing 52 books in one year, last year I was a bit more pragmatic. I went for a quarter Cannonball, or 13 books. Unfortunately, last year turned out to be not so much a “reading year” for me as it was more a “I’m slowly going to get more and more upset with my previous job year and struggle to do the best I can because I adore the job but hate a lot of things that are happening in conjunction with said job” year. Didn’t leave a lot of time or energy for reading and writing. My grand count of books read is 5 and books reviewed was 0.

But. One of the books that I read last year was the first in a series of graphic novels that I found through a friend on Facebook towards the end of last year. The series is called Giants Days and it’s a really refreshing story of three women who become friends in college, the subsequent adventures they go on, and all that good stuff. My local library system carried it and with a few requests from neighboring libraries, I had all five volumes in my hands. Volume 1 was great, but I finished that at the tail end of 2017. Given that I’m at the tail end of my renewals for volume 2, it’s high time I reviewed and returned the book.

So without further ado, Giant Days volume 2 picks up with the three main characters Daisy, Esther, and Susan getting ready for the hall ball. They’re in England, so this turned out to be a college version of a school dance. We go with them shopping, where they wind up at a thrift store in mostly ill-fitting dresses, complaining. Except Esther. As the Goth Gal of the Group, who we later finds out has a brother (sewing machine, a cute little joke that comes up later) who can work miracles with ill-fitting dresses, she seems in her element searching for something to wear in the thrift shop. She settles on a Victorian looking wedding gown.

The next people we see shopping for hall ball clothes are two other students: McGraw, a fairly well put-together love/hate interest for Susan and Ed Gemmell, a basket case of a guy who has a thing for Esther. Once they get measured and all for their suits, we fast forward to the actual hall ball. The illustrations are great for showing a nice variety of people, to give it a cool party vibe, but Daisy, who was home-schooled and fairly sheltered, runs into a woman she had a thing for who rejected her and she spirals into an episode of “I don’t even know what my sexuality is”.

The advice her Susan gives is basically to “kiss both kinds of face. Maybe you’ll enjoy them both equally. That’s fine. Let love rule. It’s the 90’s. Get used to it.”

To which Daisy replies, “it’s the 2010’s, Susan. You’re living in the past. Buy a calendar.”

This kind of banter is one of the things I love about this series. They are snarky, flawed, fun, genuine characters. They’re not drawn to titillate, they’re created to be related to. And they’re great friends to each other, too boot. When Esther starting freaking out that she hadn’t been going to classes for more than a month and exams were coming up, she was all too human in telling her friends part of why she was freaking out:

I may not have taken it seriously. I may have asked many stupid questions I thought were funny. I may be quite the jack-ass.”

And when there’s a giant hill to climb in the snow that keeps besting Susan, she winds up at the bottom on her back in a snow bank saying, “No, I’m fine. I’m my own hero. I’m everything I wished I could be.”

I love this sarcastic, real life storyline. I love that it’s drawn exceptionally well by Lissa Treiman and Max Sarin and the dialogue, by John Allison, is just spot on. And can totally pass a Bechdel test. While they do talk about men, there are many other conversations they have that don’t have anything to do with men. It’s all really relatable. The book covers the hall ball, Susan hooking up with McGraw and hides it from her friends, Daisy awkward kissing Ed to see if she likes Boy Face, and Esther later bonding with Ed, who is trying to hide the fact that he’s in love with her. They then go on to winter break, where a hometown woman that McGraw and Susan grew up with try to kill her for something Susan did before she went away to University, and Daisy and Esther trying to save her, and then back to school where Esther proceeds to freak out about how she hasn’t gone to classes in a few weeks. Maybe months.

One of my favorite scenes was after she had decided to further procrastinate studying revising (cause it’s British) and go to a Goth concert, despite Daisy being awesome and trying to help her revise. After the concert, she’s in full-on desperation mode (and full-on skull makeup), looking for divine intervention of her exams:

“Gentle Jesus, I know I’m dressed as a church burner, but I’m good really. Show me the way.”

She then proceeds to go into a church to ask the Reverend for help, who basically tells her to go to more classes lectures. She winds up falling for the hot student TA invigilator, because she has a thing for “milquetoast handsome” boys, but he winds up being a stuffy ass and she dumps him quite spectacularly during a dinner party hosted by a professor.

By the end of this volume, the women are back in their dorm staging an intervention for Daisy, who got a little too into the TV show set in Texas about high school football called Friday Night Lights and may’ve started talking in a Southern drawl and wearing “sports casual” (when she’s normally just casual). Susan and Esther help her out of it. Which is basically what this series is about. These three friends and the adventures they go on (sometimes mundane, getting waaaaaayyyyy too into a TV show, type adventures) as they grow, figure out who they are, and what they want. I love that they’re pretty strong, badass, relatable characters in a graphic novel, since comics and graphic novels have had some serious issues with using women as sex objects and/or side stories. This series is just a whole lotta fun and I can’t wait to read and review volume 3.

Please sir, I want some more

Giant Days, vol 1 by John Allison, Lissa Treiman and Whitney Cogar

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From the back blurb:

Susan, Esther and Daisy started at university three weeks ago and became fast friends. Now, away from home for the first time, all three want to reinvent themselves. But in the face of hand-wringing boys, “personal experimentation”, influenza, mystery-mold, nu-chauvinism, and the willful, unwanted intrusion of “academia”, they may be lucky just to make it to spring alive. Going off to university is always a time of change and growth, but for Esther, Susan, and Daisy, things are about to get a little weird. 

I think this comic book came to my attention when my book twin on the internet, Narfna, started reading them and giving them very enthusiastic write-ups. During last summer’s visit to New York, I picked up the first volume, fully intending to read it and then it got shelved and I sort of forgot about it (this happens FAR too frequently – once I own a book, the rush to read it fades quickly). I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but the slightly off-beat adventures of these three young women at university was certainly entertaining.

My main gripe about this collection is that you only get four measly issues in one book. Comic book trade paperbacks are not cheap, and the least they could do is give you five or six stories, not a paltry four! This merely whetted my appetite. It sets up a lot of stuff, but gives absolutely no pay-off. It’s like some sort of clever scam, make you hungry for more and then make you pay to get further satisfaction. *grumble*. Allison and Treiman’s collaborative work is good enough that I will absolutely be reading more. I can always hope for more comic books for Christmas.

Judging a book by its cover: The cover is very simple as graphic novels go. I like the warm and very bright yellow, and Lissa Treiman’s art and way of depicting the characters is awesome. Just Esther sitting on her duffel bag, looking at her phone. Nothing fancy, just giving you a little hint of the contents inside.

Crossposted on my blog.



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