I do love a good novella. It isn’t that I want shorter stories, but seeing how an artist works within limited space helps to see the bare essentials of what a good story needs. A graphic novella works well at this length as we’re given more space than a single issue, but just a bit less than a collected edition or standard graphic novel. And there’s very few better graphic novellas than Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans, and Clayton Cowles’ We Called Them Giants.

Lori hasn’t ever had much of a home. She’s been in the foster system most of her life and bounced between multiple homes and families to the point where it feels like she can never settle, especially when those people just move her somewhere else. But then the world very nearly disappears one morning and she’s left actually alone—or as alone as she could be when Annette joins her to try surviving in this new world. And they need to survive with the leftover supplies from the old world dwindling and the Dogs roaming the streets, recruiting anyone they find. The world changes again, though, as Giants appear on the outskirts of town. But these Giants aren’t doing anything all that menacing, they just exist and sometimes leave out food for Lori, Annette, and Beatrice, an older woman who’s been living near the Giants.

It’s when Lori is first brought into the home of the Giant that we see a broader theme of trust being deployed and the immediate parallel between humans, Giants, and cats. When the Giant leaves out food, Annette is trusting enough to approach before eventually being scooped up and brought into the Giant’s lair. Beatrice follows after they’ve nearly run out of food, and Lori is last after being nearly killed by strange wolves. When inside the lair, though, we expect the worst from fairy tales, but it’s pleasant. Odd, but fine. Annette and Beatrice are alive, fed, and warm. They have free reign of the odd home and are fed regularly while taking the occasional nap on the Giant as it rests. All three attempt to communicate with the Giant, but the language barrier is too great, even if it makes sounds that resemble words. While Annette and Beatrice are content where they are, Lori has never stayed in one place too long, by choice or otherwise, and her attempts to escape by lazing around the door may seem all too familiar to anyone with an outdoor cat. And her eventual escape can feel all that familiar, especially when the Giant goes searching after her before she runs into those same wolves again.

Cats are fickle, but then people can be just as fickle if they don’t know what is going on around them. And it’s hard to know when the Giant standing over you is saying words you don’t understand and occasionally forgets to give you food. But both sides still try to do what good they can with what they have, even if their definition of “good” isn’t always the same. 

Get excited. Get jellicle.

Drew Barth (Episode 331, 485, 510, 651, & 674) resides in Winter Park, FL. He received his MFA from the University of Central Florida.