It is 1932 and Irish immigrant Dan Shackleton manages to get a rare job in construction helping to build the new skyscrapers in New York. Among his coworkers are several others from Ireland including a quiet giant of a man who, not surprisingly, is called Giant. Shackleton, loquacious and friendly, tries to make friends with Giant but is repeatedly rebuffed. When another Irish worker falls to his death, Giant is tasked with writing to the dead man’s wife, Mary Ann, to tell her of the sad news. But, despite his size, Giant is at heart a sensitive romantic and cannot bring himself to tell her the truth so he pretends to be her husband, borrowing a neighbour’s typewriter to disguise his writing. He sends her money, tells her of all the amazing sights of New York and how much he misses her and the kids. When she writes back, he continues the deception. Slowly, the correspondence helps Giant to come out of his shell and he begins to interact with his coworkers, especially Dan. The volume ends, however, with something he had not anticipated – Mary Ann is heading to New York with her three children to join her husband.

Giant Vol. 1 by Mikael is a graphic novel based on the iconic picture of workers sitting on the high girders of the skyscrapers rising over the skyline of New York during the Depression. It is a beautifully drawn and inked tale of New York and the men who built it. Although overall, I enjoyed this book, I do have one fairly major criticism. The dialogue bubbles varied based on who was speaking as well as in the letters between Giant and Mary Ann. This was fine for native New Yorkers or for the correspondence. However, the words of the Irish workers tended to be jumbled together, I’m guessing to suggest their accents but this made it difficult to read. As a result, I almost gave up but I’m glad I didn’t. Based on other parts of the story, I was able to at least get the gist if not to actually decipher the words and it did not interfere overly with my enjoyment.

Despite this problem, I found Giant a lovely poignant story with beautifully detailed art that perfectly evoked the era and the men who braved the high girders. Thanks to the marvelous art, I was able to understand and appreciate the story even when I could not read the dialogue.

Thanks to Netgalley and Europe Comics for the opportunity to read this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review ( )