Giant Days
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''Giant Days'' is a comedic
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
written by John Allison, with art by Max Sarin and Lissa Treiman. The series follows three young women – Esther de Groot, Susan Ptolemy and Daisy Wooton – who share a
hall of residence A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...
at university. Originally created as a
webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be co ...
spin-off from his previous series ''
Scary Go Round ''Scary Go Round'' is a webcomic by John Allison. Running from 2002 to 2009, it is set in the fictional North Yorkshire town of Tackleford and follows university students battling fantasy and science fiction threats to the town. The comic was ...
'', and then self-published as a series of small press comics, ''Giant Days'' was subsequently picked up by
Boom! Studios Boom! Studios (styled BOOM! Studios) is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Origins In the early 2000s, Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby had been working in Holly ...
first as a six-issue
miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
and then as a monthly
ongoing series In comics, an ongoing series is a series that runs indefinitely. This is in contrast to limited series (a series intended to end after a certain number of issues thus limited), a one shot (a comic book which is not a part of an ongoing series), ...
. In 2016 ''Giant Days'' was nominated for two
Eisner Awards The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...
and four
Harvey Awards The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that were ...
. In 2019, it won two Eisner awards, for Best Continuing Series and Best Humor Publication.


Creation


Webcomic

''Giant Days'' is part of the same universe as Allison's previous series '' Bobbins'' and ''
Scary Go Round ''Scary Go Round'' is a webcomic by John Allison. Running from 2002 to 2009, it is set in the fictional North Yorkshire town of Tackleford and follows university students battling fantasy and science fiction threats to the town. The comic was ...
''. When ''Scary Go Round'' came to end in 2009, Allison followed it with the series '' Bad Machinery''. However, ''Bad Machinery'' – a mystery series about school-aged sleuths – was a departure from ''Scary Go Round'', which had focused on a group of twenty-somethings, and Allison worried that the new series might alienate his audience. In case ''Bad Machinery'' failed, Allison began planning a second series based on the character of Esther de Groot from ''Scary Go Round''. Although ''Bad Machinery'' ultimately proved to be a success, he produced three short ''Giant Days'' stories between chapters of ''Bad Machinery''. These were subsequently printed and sold by Allison.


Ongoing series

In 2013, Boom! Studios launched "Boom! Box", an
imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...
for experimental comics from established artists outside the comics industry. Allison, who was friends with Boom! editor Shannon Watters after catching her when she fell at a convention, saw Boom! Box as a good fit for continuing the ''Giant Days'' story and pitched it. The series was initially picked up as a six-issue limited series with pencilling by
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
animator Lissa Treiman (who had previously written a
guest comic A guest comic (or guest strip) is an issue of a comic strip that is created by a different person (or people) than usual. The practice is especially common in webcomics. Guest comics in webcomics Guest comics are usually requested of other artist ...
for ''Scary Go Round''). This was the first time Allison had written a comic but not drawn it. ''Giant Days'' was a success, and after the final issue of the miniseries was picked up as ongoing series, with Max Sarin replacing Treiman (although Treiman remained the
cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game (box art), music album (album art), ...
ist until issue 24). Allison announced the end of the series at issue 55. Later this was clarified as ending at issue #54, with a special over-sized issue ''As Time Goes By'' wrapping up the series.


Setting

''Giant Days'' is set at the
University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...
and has a more realistic, less
paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...
atmosphere than Allison's other comics, which take place in the fictional town of Tackleford. The series begins with ''Scary Go Round'' character Esther de Groot, a melodramatic
goth A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were: *Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history *Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history Goth or Goths may also refer to: * Goth (surname) ...
, moving into her hall of residence and befriending her new neighbours: the cheerful
homeschooled Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
Daisy Wooton and the prickly but grounded Susan Ptolemy. The three webcomic storylines focus on Esther, as she is targeted by a gang of
private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
head girl Head boy and head girl are student leadership roles in schools, representing the school's entire student body. They are normally the most senior prefects in the school. The terms are commonly used in the British education system as well as in Aus ...
s, breaks up with her school boyfriend, and joins a
black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...
society. In the comic book series, Susan initially was the viewpoint character although the series remains an
ensemble Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the chorus * ''En ...
.


Characters


Main


Esther de Groot

Esther is tall, slim, pale, and
goth A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were: *Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history *Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history Goth or Goths may also refer to: * Goth (surname) ...
. She is an English Literature student who loves
black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...
. She is proficient in boxing and is often seen falling in and out of love with various young men. Her friends consider her to be a drama queen, but she is also a very loyal and protective friend.


Susan Ptolemy

Susan is shorter and more of a tomboy than the other girls. She grew up in
Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
, smokes a lot and adopts a tough attitude but is secretly very sensitive. Though she is a medical student, Susan also has a reputation for being very slovenly and her roommates are constantly trying to get her to clean her filthy room and laptop. At the beginning of the series, she is secretly in love with her childhood friend McGraw, whom she later dates. She is very caring for her friend.


Daisy Wooton

Daisy is biracial, tall, with curly/frizzy orangish hair and glasses, studying
Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
. She is an orphan whose parents died in a plane crash, after which she was raised and homeschooled by her grandmother. Daisy struggles with her sexuality and eventually dates a woman. Her friends see her as an innocent, wide-eyed optimist. She is very sweet and always tries to see the best in people.


Secondary


Graham McGraw

A fellow student and childhood friend/enemy of Susan's from Northampton who eventually dates her. He is very serious, mature, and an excellent handyman who often helps the girls do odd jobs around their apartment when they move off-campus.


Ed Gemmell

A fellow student who harbors an unrequited crush on Esther. He is also a friend and roommate of McGraw's.


Reception

''Giant Days'' was well received, with reviewers especially positive about its depiction of women. Oliver Sava of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' noted that "College-aged women are a demographic woefully underserved in the world of monthly comics, so when a new title caters to this group, it immediately stands out" and that "Women make up a large portion of Disney fandom, and hiring a Disney animator for ''Giant Days'' gives the book a visual sensibility that will appeal to those fans while presenting a story they don’t get to see in the Disney house style." Janelle Asselin writing for ''
Comics Alliance ComicsAlliance was an American website dedicated to covering the comic book industry as well as comic-related media, and is owned by Townsquare Media. The site has been nominated for multiple awards including a 2015 Eisner Award win in the catego ...
'' praised its depiction of
online shaming Online shaming is a form of public shaming in which targets are publicly humiliated on the internet, via social media platforms (e.g. Twitter or Facebook), or more localized media (e.g. email groups). As online shaming frequently involves expo ...
while ''Comic Bastards'' singled out the depth of the characters, in particular the sympathetic treatment of Daisy's homeschooling and the nuance of her
coming-out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
arc. David Nieves, reviewing the first issue for ''
Comics Beat Heidi MacDonald (born November 15) is a writer and editor in the field of comic books based in New York City. She runs the comics industry news blog '' The Beat''. Career MacDonald is a former editor for DC Comics' Vertigo imprint and ''Disney A ...
'', described Treiman's art as having the "emotional grandiose of ''
Scott Pilgrim ''Scott Pilgrim'' is a series of graphic novels by Canadian author and comic book artist Bryan Lee O'Malley. The series is about Scott Pilgrim, a slacker and part-time musician who lives in Toronto, Ontario, and plays bass ‍in a band. He fal ...
''" and the writing as having "the feminine voice of
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
’s ''
GIRLS A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...
''", both with a
newspaper comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st c ...
influence, but noted that "a
slice of life Slice of life is a depiction of mundane experiences in art and entertainment. In theater, slice of life refers to naturalism, while in literary parlance it is a narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence of events in a character ...
story needs a little more emotional stakes".


Awards

* 2016
Eisner Awards The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...
: Nominated for Best Limited Series * 2016 Eisner Awards: Nominated for Best Writer/Artist (John Allison) * 2016
Harvey Awards The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that were ...
: Nominated for Best New Series * 2016 Harvey Awards: Nominated for Most Promising New Talent (Lissa Treiman) * 2016 Harvey Awards: Nominated for Best Original Graphic Publication for Younger Readers * 2016 Harvey Awards: Nominated for Best Continuing or Limited Series * 2018 Eisner Awards: Nominated for Best Continuing Series * 2019 Eisner Awards: Best Continuing Series * 2019 Eisner Awards: Best Humor Publication * 2019 Eisner Awards: Nominated for Best Lettering


Issues


Collected editions

The series has so far been assembled into the following collections:


Trade paperbacks


Hardcovers


References

{{John Allison Boom! Studios titles Comics about women Comics set in the United Kingdom School-themed comics Slice of life comics Humor comics 2010s webcomics British webcomics Webcomics in print University of Sheffield 2015 comics debuts British small press comics