Issue one of the Valderrama Bros.’ new book, Giants, was the hook, and issue two is the line and sinker.

The first issue introduced us to two brothers, Gogi (the eldest) and Zedo, living in an underground city full of Akira-like gangs fighting over what little territory there is to be fought over. Eager to please, the Bloodwolves sent the brothers on a suicide mission above ground to collect an explosive stone called Ambernoir. The surface of the planet is freezing cold, called The White World (Snow, duh.), and controlled by Kaiju-like monsters. It ended on a cliffhanger, as a giant Kaiju separated the two brothers.

I’ve been waiting expectantly for a month to see if the series would be worth reading, and I was not expecting where it was going to go next – someplace wonderful and character driven. The second issue is a refreshing step, because Giants isn’t about what the next hurdle will be for the two brothers, but about who the brothers are going to become on this journey. Gogi is left above ground, Zedo returns below ground, and the bond fractures. Each is sent spiraling down a very different path that could potentially put them at odds with each other, and I’m ready for issue three.

The art is great. Gogi meets some more aboveground dwellers, and the Valderrama Bros. do a wonderful job giving them all a distinct vitality.  The Kaiju are fun and massive. The scale of the White World is immense and dramatically effective. Gogi and his new friends feel constantly overpowered, whereas the underground city is cramped. The White World feels fresh, and the underground feels stagnant, like they’ve been breathing the same air for decades.

From what I can tell, Giants is a wonderful, thrilling adventure story about two brothers and the journeys they have to take that could put them at odds with each other. I’m all in.