What attracted me to I Kill Giants from the moment I caught a glimpse of it in some solicits was the art. This book screamed Japanese style as characters and shading techniques came to the page ripe with a manga feel. I won’t lie; I’m a bit biased when it comes to anything with a Japanese flavor. I’ve been to Japan for study twice in my life already (still young, I’ve got a baby face to prove it) and what I took away from the experience was a respect for the culture’s unique take on entertainment.

So that’s a good lead in to what made me nervous about the title before I even dove into the pages. The book was written by an American writer and drawn by a Japanese artist. Clearly, the art style had roots to match, but I was afraid I’d be dealing with an Americanized hero within Japanese influenced world. See, in my experience, Japanese stories that focus around a hero tend to focus around the anti-hero archetype. You know, the kid you shouldn’t be rooting for. The kid that’s got deep emotional problems, acts like an asshole, and defines punk perfectly. Those are the types that take center-stage in a lot of Japanese hero drama. Take plenty of familiar anime, Cowboy Bebop or Evangelion: the main characters here don’t portray qualities that you can keep in line with, say, Superman or Spider-Man. They walk about with a negative energy, more in line with Batman or Iron Man than anything else.

Put those fears to bed; Joe Kelly drops in a main character that fits the mold of imperfection perfectly. Barbara, the little girl with enough emotional problems to fill the Grand Canyon, is troubled by her family, by her lack of friends and by school bullies. She exists in her own little world and escapes reality through her imagination. Add that to the fact that she’s a downright bitch-face and you’ve got something really special. She’s a character that you’ll struggle to like, but once you do you won’t be able to walk away. In the third issue alone she manages to hide from a school bully, strengthen a relationship with a friend and then rock it to the core and deal with the school’s psychologist.

The art style rings true to the Japanese form throughout. There is a fantasy level to this story, without ruining any plot points, that Niimura handles, well, oddly. But it’s nothing that takes away from the story in any way. In fact, the way that fairy tale creatures are drawn within these pages adds levels of character to Kelly’s overall feel. Niimura’s presence here is downright welcome.

I read the third issue without experiencing the first or the second. I managed to pull together the first two installments after reading this one and I have since completed the trio consecutively and over again. I really enjoy what I’m reading. It’s not too intense, and it definitely hasn’t gone to lengths to blow my mind at all, but it’s been enjoyable. Entirely enjoyable. My only complaint comes from the fact that the issues read quickly, and for $2.99 there are some folk out there that would rather walk away from a comic feeling, I don’t know, exhausted. I can tell you, however, that I’ve loved these books so far and will be picking up the trade paperback version whenever it hits.

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