Giant Days: Extra Credit (Giant Days)

by John Allison

Jenn St-Onge (Illustrator), Lissa Treiman (Illustrator), Caanan Grall (Illustrator), Sarah Stern (Secondary Author), and Jeremy Lawson (Secondary Author)

Head back to school with Esther, Susan, and Daisy in this collection of shorts and bonus material from Eisner-nominated series Giant Days.

Featuring “universally beloved” terror Desmond Fishmen, the magic of London at Christmastime, off-beat music festivals, and an extra-special what-if story in which Susan, Esther, and Daisy never became friends!

John Allison (Bad Machinery, Scary Go Round) and illustrators Jenn St-Onge, Lissa Treiman, and Caanan Grall take us to Sheffield University for bonus coursework and new stories from the Giant Days Holiday Specials, and BOOM! Box Mix Tapes.

• ISBN10: 1684152224
• ISBN13: 9781684152223
• Publish Date: 26 June 2018 (first published 23 August 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Boom! Studios
• Imprint: BOOM! Box
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 112
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

I read Giant Days: Extra Credit as single issues.

Giant Days: Extra Credit is a collection of all the Giant Days short stories floating around out there. Included are the two largest; the Holiday Specials, as well as half a dozen other, much shorter, stories. Obviously since they’re shorts you don’t actually have to read them to understand the main plot, but they’re still a lot of fun. Any fan of the characters in Giant Days will likely greatly enjoy this one!



Truthfully, the Giant Days format actually fits in perfectly with short storytelling. After all, half the time many of the plots are actually over within the course of a single volume (four issues), so this isn’t too much of a stretch for them. Plus the series, more than anything, is the detailing of three girls and their chaotic daily lives.
The first Holiday Special shows a ‘what-if’ sort of scenario. I’ll be honest with you – these aren’t usually my favorite sort of plots, but it’s still fun and cute so whatever. The question posited with this story is; what if Daisy, Susan, and Esther hadn’t ended up being friends in their first year? The different paths their lives could have taken is jarring, though at times comical. On the bright side it did a fantastic job of showing how great these girls are for each other, which is very heartwarming. A perfect holiday story, no?
The second Holiday Special is one that actually happened (and not one Daisy dreamed up, I promise!). Daisy, Susan, and Esther all head out to London before the holidays. Partially because they’re bored and partially because there’s a free place they can stay. Naturally a lot of adventures and chaos ensue, mostly in the love department. Our three girls can’t resist meddling in the love life of the lovely woman that lets them bunk with her for free. Well, mostly it’s Esther conning them into it, but you know what I mean.
The rest of the short stories are much shorter than the holiday specials, sometimes being only a couple of pages long. They’re fun and perfectly fit for the Giant Days girls, and sometimes even give us extra insight to the past or certain characters. Like always, they’re fun and light and the perfect escape from the real world.
It’s nice that they’ve collected all the short stories in one easy to find place. Now all us collectors out there can breathe a little easier! Granted we’ll also be a little bit poorer, but whatever.

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