Giant Days Vol. 5 (Giant Days, #5)

by John Allison

Max Sarin (Illustrator)

Their freshman year is finally coming to a close and Daisy, Susan, and Esther say goodbye to Catterick Hall forever. Literally forever. It’s being bulldozed and re-purposed as a luxury dorm next semester. But as one door closes, another opens and between end of semester hookups, music festivals, and moving into their first home together, the life experiences are just getting started. Written by Eisner Award nominee John Allison (Bad Machinery, Scary Go Round) and illustrated by Max Sarin, Giant Days Volume 5 finishes off freshman year in style, collecting issues #17-20 of the Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated series.

• ISBN10: 1608869822
• ISBN13: 9781608869824
• Publish Date: 20 June 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Boom! Studios
• Imprint: BOOM! Box
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 112
• Language: English

Reviews

[Mercy]

3.5

[Quirky Cat]

I’m still working on my read through for all of Giant Days! Man, there’s a lot of this stuff. Well, I say that now but I know once I’m caught up I’m going to be so upset having to wait month by month for it. Oh well, enjoy it while it lasts, right? Giant Days has been an absolutely breath of fresh air for me – lately it feels like everything I’ve been reading has been so heavy and/or depressing, so this is a nice change of pace. It’s fun watching their chaotic lives move forward; and you’ve got to admit they’re all pretty good at finding things to keep them busy (though not necessarily out of trouble).



I’m always impressed by the fact that each issue has its own distinct plot, and yet they somehow all connect to each other. The end result is that each volume has four or five different plots in each, yet still feels like a cohesive piece of work. It’s not something you see all the time - and I’ve got to say, I’m really enjoying this format.
The first issue is a Daisy heavy issue! I’m so happy about this; it’s a little bit said. Seriously though, she’s without a doubt the wallflower of the group, so she’s so easily overlooked. It’s nice to see her get appreciated from time to time. Also, I had totally forgotten what her intended career was (see?) so it was nice to be reminded of it again. The fact that this issue ended with her learning to stand up for herself makes it a total win in my book.
Meanwhile Ed and Esther manage to get themselves into a whole new mess (and no, it isn’t what you think it is)…which actually sounds exactly like Esther. The surprising part is that Ed is actually the one that pulled Esther into things. I guess this just proves that he’s too naive and trusting? I honestly would have pegged Daisy for that role (which probably still applies – even if I believe she wouldn’t have fallen into this trap). It’ll be interesting to see if this one has any long term ramifications.
Suzie is not dealing with the breakup well, even though it’s been a hot minute (okay, it’s been a few volumes, but I have to remind myself that it hasn’t been that long for her). It probably doesn’t help that McGraw has already found a (beautiful) new girl either. Suzie is the obsessive type, so this combination really isn’t good for her. She should probably be put under more supervision than she’s getting…but it’s been at least a week and she hasn’t attacked the new girl…so it’s probably okay.
There’s still so much left to cover for this issue! See what I mean by a lot happening? There’s the farewell ball, which mostly goes better than expected. And then they’re off for summer vacation. Cue a page of work montages (Esther went back to the donut shop, Suzie picked up the P.I. gig again, and Daisy is a dog groomer – because of course she is).
There’s a summer music festival they all go to, and I’ve got to admit, there were a lot of really funny quips during this part. I swear I’m not being biased because Daisy sort of got to save the day. I do wish we had seen more consequences for what happened to Suzie, but since she seemed content with it I guess I should be too.
My favorite issue of the volume consisted of the girls taking a trip to Ikea. This one is hilarious – though I may have found it more so by the ironic timing – I was reading this volume while recovering from an Ikea trip myself. And no, I did not plan it like that. Seriously. Still, it was humorous, and they’re complete lack of planning ended up really biting them all in the butts. It was all oddly realistic, all things considered (expect for the fact that they got all of the furniture assembled in one day – I’m calling it on that one!).
This was another fun volume. I’m assuming they’re building up more for a confrontation with Ed and McGraw’s new roommate, but I’m not sure what that will entail. Likewise I think there’s a confrontation brewing between the girls and their neighbor…not that they know it. I’m looking forward to seeing what the new semester entails.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks