Comic Book Review: Giant Days: As Time Goes By #1

Giant Days: As Time Goes By #1

BOOM! Studios

Writer: John Allison

Artist: Max Sarin & Whitney Cogar

This is a bittersweet review to write. I’ve spoken in previous reviews as to what Giant Days means to me, so I’m not repeating myself again here. It feels weird, in an era where most of the characters I read about just keep continuing to have adventures for eternity, that I get to see a definitive end for some of my favorite characters in comics. A tearful end, but a definitive one.

It’s amazing how John Allison has gone from a writer I’d never heard of, to one of my favorite comic book writers currently working in the industry in the space of a mere year. That’s how good Giant Days truly is, and Giant Days: As Time Goes By #1 is him rounding these characters off with a little tale of the future. One year after graduation, Esther and Daisy go back to Sheffield to reunite with Susan and McGraw, but the year since Graduation has not been easy for all of them. Esther is having issues at her workplace, and as it turns out, she needs her friends to help her through them. It’s touching to see them together one final time, and Allison writes the occasion perfectly.

Even with John Allison’s writing, the series wouldn’t have been the same without Max Sarin. Their art gives the series so much energy and adds to the characters greatly. Without Sarin, we wouldn’t get the insanity that the trio face in everyday life in such beautiful detail. When I first started reading Giant Days, some 55 (and side-steps) issues ago, I wasn’t a massive fan of the art style. I called it “tumblr-esque” and not in the positive light that I’ve managed to ameliorate it into in my head. But now, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I’d like to see more of this style in comics. Hell, I’d like to see more Sarin in comics.

Giant Days: As Time Goes By #1 is a brilliant send-off to the gang, one that brought a tear to my eye and reminded me of everything that the characters have been through. I simply cannot recommend this series enough to anybody who loves quality comics and I cannot understate how much I’ve loved reading this issue, and indeed series. Thank you, John Allison and Max Sarin. Thank you for everything.