This time around we’re taking a look at the new Dark Horse series, Gigantic.
I recently discovered writer Rick Remender’s recent sci-fi, action/adventure comic, Gigantic. I picked up the first two issues (and the only issues so far) of the Dark Horse title not knowing what to expect. To my delight, however, I was very pleasantly surprised. I’m definitely glad I picked up both issues, because this comic is seriously addicting.
A story of alien and robot magnitude needs a great team, and Gigantic has a fabulous one working behind the scenes. Rick Remender pens the issues, and Eric Nguyen and Matthew Wilson draw and color the pages, respectively. The finished product packs a major punch—not only is the story completely engrossing, but the art magnifies the overall effect of gradeur.
The premiere issue begins five thousand years ago, where a group of aliens are working hard in front of computers, assigned with the task of designing a new life form. Each panel until the direct reveal a few pages later gives us another clue, and it quickly becomes obvious that this “ugly race” is us. Why? “It’s good television.” The comic’s basic framework sets planet Earth as a galactic television show.
Fast forward to present-day San Francisco, where Chris and his girlfriend Jill are enjoying what has so far been a normal day in California. All of a sudden, a flash of eerie green light fills the sky and a giant robot appears out of nowhere, trampling Jill and countless other innocent people when it lands. What’s more, it’s sentient—the reader is introduced to the entity via its own narration.
Suddenly, the middle of San Francisco becomes an episode of Power Rangers gone modern sci-fi, but instead of cheap monsters and robots and suited-up humans there’s a metal giant and what looks like flying green space creatures called “UBC bounty hunters.” UBC actually stands for Universal Broadcast Company, and the gigantic grey and orange titan is endeavoring to escape his contract. They want ratings; he wants to save human life—or just the planet in general. Earth is being cancelled.
Gigantic #2 takes us back to 1958. A farmer is trying to convince his son Kane—who has hid in the barn—that the gun wasn’t supposed to ricochet on him, and his brother Scotty will be just fine. Scared, Kane runs off into the woods, but almost immediately afterwards a UFO’s beam lights the sky and abducts the boy. On the following page, the alien Gatll tells Kane he’s going to turn him “into the brightest star the universe has ever seen.”
The reader is transported back to the situation in San Francisco, where we see a man worried sick over his daughter, Jill—Chris’s girlfriend, who was trampled to death in the previous issue—and trying desperately, to no avail, to enter the city. Frustrated, he leaves the area and returns to his home, only to find himself confronted by aliens determined to annihilate him.
To his (and our) disbelief, Scott Blake is saved by none other than the dual-colored robotic thing from outer space. But just why and what happens after that, you’ll just have to find out for yourself. We see more of Chris, too, and by the end of the issue a LOT has been set up plot-wise. The comic really heats up in this issue, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.
Gigantic #3 hits stores February 18, but in the meantime why not catch up on the title? It’s definitely worth it, and the art is absolutely gorgeous. The whole “Earth is a television show” may not be a new concept, but Remender handles the concept with a new vigor and fresh approach. Gigantic is my new comic love, for sure.
