What: Goliath Girls (comiXology Originals) #1 &#2

Who:   Written by Sam Humphries and Art by Miralti Firmansyah

How Much: $2.99 or FREE is you have ComiXology Unlimited

Worth It? Absolutely, at either price!

Pitch Line: It’s like apocalyptic Lumberjanes with Kaiju… in the best way possible.

Review: Usually “free comic” means either a reprint or something to put on the bottom of my reading list, but Goliath Girls lives up to it’s name with great storytelling, relatable characters, and a gigantic amount of fun.

World building is the hardest part of any new series, something Sam Humphries does expertly and with maniacal glee. The comic takes every conceivable form of introduction and grins them together in a kinetic cacophony of action, humor, girls and Kaiju. In the first few pages we have written introductions, prophecy like inscriptions, end-of-the world- backdrops, throw away jokes that hide hints at to the looming future, slapstick, huge reactions, dramatic revelations, and a ton of fun.

And that’s just the first few pages… and in that order.

Kaiju comics are a tough sell- trying to illustrate larger than life monsters on a single page, let alone a smaller panel, can lessen the scale of these Earth shattering giants, but Miralti Firmansyah plays with intimate close ups and dramatic landscapes to give these giants… and the human characters, the grandeur they require.

The story moves at a frantic rate, so fast it’s a wonder that Firmansyah’s art can keep up, and yet, there is never a wasted panel or page. Some writers take the time to slowly place their pieces and let their universe breath, while others enjoy the teasing out of details at key moments, leaving readers on the edge of their seats wanting more. The Goliath Girls don’t seem to care or have the patience for either of these options- rather so they try them all, and somehow it all works.

The comic follows the Goliath Girls, a team of 3 girls (and one Giant Creature) who grew up never knowing a world without Kaiju- this puts them in a position of actually enjoying the fear and adventure they experience as they attempt to save the world- defeating one hulking monstrosity at a time.

I am a big Godzilla fan, so this comic had me hooked right away- the comedic tone and wonderful character development was what kept me turning the pages, but I came for the monsters. My daughter on the other hand had little to no interest in city stomping monsters, but enjoyed the story and relationships. Another nod to the talent behind this comic is the way it can cross not just age boundaries, but genre-  showing that a good story will find it’s audience no matter the style it’s told in.

If there is one fault in the series- it’s the end of the first issue where the To Be Continued- Type reveal doesn’t seem to have the set-up required for the effect to work. The cliffhanger for the second issue however garnered a, “Hell Yeah.”, more than making this slight stumble work.

Although the girls are the star of their comic, this is a story about towering creatures of doom, and the Kaiju get just the right amount of screen time (panel time? Page time?). Enough to satisfy, but not too much to steal way from it’s teammates. Which brings me to my final point… the team. This is a team book and which all the characters and creatures the balance between them all is superb and almost impossible to pull off.

Goliath Girls is a huge success in storytelling and I only hope it’s sales match the monstrous enjoyment of reading it.

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