“All things that live, die. This is why you must find joy in the living, while the time is yours, and not fear the end. To deny this is to deny life. TO fear this… is to fear life.”
Death Month rolls on as Mike and Alex face down monsters with I Kill Giants (issues #1-7) by Joe Kelly and JM Ken Niimura from Image Comics. The guys start their discussion by covering all the ways someone might connect with this story, and how it facilitates multiple re-reads over time by allowing the reader to connect with different aspects and characters each time they return to it (probably contributes to the fact that the trade paperback has had multiple anniversary editions with multiples printings of each). Then they dive deep into the different themes and messages they take from the story, and do their best to break down the actions of a child without sounding like a couple of washed old men. There’s a universality to this comic that goes beyond the character’s struggle to cope with the idea of death and dying. It’s about how it’s hard to be a kid, regardless of whatever life factors may be in play, and the guys try and remember back to what they were like at 10 years old (spoiler alert- neither was all that great). What makes this book special is how Kelly and Niimura focus that kid perspective through the lens to death, and the result is an ideal book for our theme month.
Next week, we wrap up Death Month with one of the more weightier books we’re ever covered, Daytripper (issues #1-10) by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba from Vertigo/DC Comics. This is literally one of Alex’s favorite comics of all time, and it’s one that if you have the time, maybe consider taking a short break in between issues and giving your thoughts time to marinate before moving on to the next chapter. It’s a book that invites that kind of study, and we’ll be getting into all of it next week, so go find Daytripper wherever you get your comics and join in on the conversation!