By Laramie Martinez
Storyteller: Giants #2 has everything you want in a Storyteller comic. Plucky hero? Yes. Enormous evil villain? Check. Overwhelming odds overcome by courage and weird randomness? It’s got this in spades. Check out my review below.
This issue is written and illustrated by Brandon Dayton, and it is essential reading for anyone who likes fantasy. As I said in my introduction, this comic has everything. I really couldn’t find anything wrong with this issue. It sticks to the original source material pretty closely, you can tell by the weird coincidences that pop up in the story and the face that every supporting character seems to be of not only great help but great importance later on at the conclusion. It’s something I like about the series as a whole, it doesn’t try to explain away all the plot points that seem to happen completely by chance, it just leaves them there. It’s something that I find really refreshing about these stories from the past, there isn’t a need to have everything explained, it’s simple and clean tale that stands alone.
I really liked Dayton’s art here too. Cartoony, almost feels like something out of a Disney sketch book and I mean that in a good way. The Tailor’s Daughter is well drawn and expressive as are all of the supporting cast. The titular “giant” of this issue is also well designed, with special attention to the monster's teeth. I don’t know what it was that Dayton did, but that set of chompers just jumps out at your from the page. They were a constant reminder of the real danger this character represents in the story and it’s a small detail puts this issue over the top.
I don’t see this series ever dropping below a 4/5 for me. They have constantly shown dedication not only to the original sources, but the soul of the stories they present. Fables can often be a minefield of outdated prejudice and backward ways of thinking, but the Storyteller series continues to shine a light on the heart of what makes these stories great. It is their ability to inspire.
Score: 5/5
The Storyteller: Giants #2
Writer/Artist: Brandon Dayton
Publisher: BOOM! Studios/Archaia