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Giga: The Complete Series

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Ever since their world-shattering war ended, the slumbering mecha called 'Giga' have been both gods and habitats for the surviving humans. Then disgraced engineer Evan Calhoun discovers a murdered Giga, and the very fabric of society stars unraveling around him.

A GIANT MECH MURDER MYSTERY.

Nobody knows why the skyscraper-sized mechs known as ‘Giga’ fought their bitter, centuries’ long war. All they know is that when the fighting finally stopped, the dormant Giga became humanity’s new habitat and new gods in one. When disgraced engineer Evan Calhoun finds an apparently murdered Giga, his society and the fascistic tech-centered religious order that controls it are rapidly thrown into chaos..
From writer Alex Paknadel (Friendo, Turncoat, Incursion) and rising star John Le comes another Vault & White Noise partnership about what happens after the mechs stop fighting.

Collects the complete five-issue series.
 

144 pages, Paperback

Published June 27, 2023

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Alex Paknadel

161 books29 followers

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5 stars
4 (9%)
4 stars
11 (25%)
3 stars
15 (34%)
2 stars
10 (22%)
1 star
4 (9%)
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Profile Image for Sarospice.
1,045 reviews11 followers
February 2, 2023
This took too long to come out as floppies and I lost any enthusiasm for it. Giant robot gods who forget why they exist. The end is rushed.
Profile Image for Lenoire.
1,082 reviews33 followers
July 13, 2023
Giga: The Complete Series by Alex Paknadel is about an engineer who is trying to survive in a world that is dominated by gigantic mechas, commonly known as “Gigas”. Evan Calhoun is a disgraced engineer who is trying to scavenge parts to get enough points to buy food. While out searching for parts, he comes across a murdered Giga in the middle of the forest.

Gigas are huge mechas that allow humans to inhabit them. There isn’t much known about them other than they are slumbering after fighting a world shattering war that ended many many years ago. They are just lying in wait for their next mission. The people who inhabit the machines treat them as shelters but also as Gods.

Since Evan has found the dead Giga, he finds himself in this web. People from his past re-entered his life but he isn’t sure who to trust. He knows the only way he can go back to his quiet life is if he figures out who is behind the murder. If he isn’t able to find a viable suspect, he fears the authorities will blame him for the murder since he found the body. Will Evan be able to solve the murder before society starts to crumble around him?

I thought the book was an okay read. It was hard to follow along with the story at times. It would jump back into the past or the author would hint it at something that wasn’t very clear to me. It took a long time for me to get into the story and then the ending felt rushed and incomplete. I felt like we were left to assume what the ending meant instead of being told. If you like graphic novels with giant robots, then you might enjoy this sci-fi graphic novel more than I did.
Profile Image for Online Eccentric Librarian.
3,098 reviews5 followers
April 27, 2023
More reviews at the Online Eccentric Librarian http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

This is pure speculative science fiction that is both original and yet some how ultimately derivative; a different look at the same story we have seen often. But the characters are nicely nuanced, the story is given room to breathe and expand organically, and it has a strong arc.

Story: Evan was never fit to be a part of the ruling order - a religion revering the giant sleeping mecha as gods and saviors of the human race. When he washes out as an initiate, he spends his days scavenging and barely surviving in his run down dystopian world. Unfortunately for Evan, his friends are both too smart and too dedicated to their own ideals: one working as an enforcer for the order and the other leading rebels. There's no place for Evan in either world but he will soon be forced to become involved in both.

The maguffin of the story is the quest to find out about the mecha "giga", how they were created and why they fought a war that devastated humanity. Most are lying derelict, sleeping with cities growing up around them. Evan is a talented engineer who always questioned the religion of revering the mecha as gods. Aiko only ever wanted to find out the truth of the mecha. Mason saw the best course of action was to serve the religious order and lead a good life and also come closer to understanding the mecha In the middle of the three is an automaton built by Evan and Aiko who might just have the answers that not all of them want or need.

The artwork is the prototypical gritty science fiction but fortunately it is easy to discern the action and not get lost. The colors are also in the sci fi palette and about what I would expect from this type of story. Bladerunner, as always, seems to serve as the inspiration for the dystopian cityscape. This is a dialogue heavy piece and at times I felt it would have done better as an illustrated novel rather than a full graphic novel treatment. It can get long in places but at the same time that indulgence really lets the story build at a good pace.

In all, I was engaged through the whole story. The plot was nothing new - but I appreciated the pathos of the characters as well as the philosophical questions asked. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

5,784 reviews
June 22, 2023
Giga: The Complete Series is a graphic novel written by author, Alex Paknadel. I appreciated their imagination all throughout the book. There are a diverse set of characters that are involved in this intriguing tale. It was full of adventure, danger, and action. I liked it.
Giga: The Complete Series is illustrated by the talented artist, John Lê. The graphics all throughout the book were appealing to the eye and perfectly go with the story. They greatly help the plot flow.
I am giving Giga: The Complete Series three stars. I believe adult fans of graphic novels, as well as, dystopian and fantasy books will want to give it a try. I would be interested to meeting these characters again in the future.
I received a paperback copy of Giga: The Complete Series from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.
Profile Image for Mike Jorgensen.
831 reviews20 followers
July 30, 2023
This premise intrigued me. It could have been a longer series, but ultimately it said what it had to say and did what it had to do. I enjoyed it, but it was a lot of peripheral characters to keep track of for a five-issue endeavor. A smaller cast would have tightened it up a bit more. If there were another five issues we could have spent more time with side characters and factions to move them out of one-dimensional prop mode, but sometimes that is alright.

The diety/dogmatism/religious components of this book were most interesting. It seemed like a critique of deism and in praise of an incarnate deity.
Profile Image for Jaime.
501 reviews22 followers
June 18, 2023
This was an interesting science fiction graphic novel! I loved the illustrations and color palette! This was a great, quick read with a very intriguing storyline! This graphic novel will be a great read for lovers of science fiction.
Profile Image for Adam.
564 reviews
April 3, 2024
I liked this. The artwork succeeds and the story setup is great. However, the end falls flat. It could have easily taken up several more issues because of the religious elements, political intrigue, sci-fi, etc.
Profile Image for Matthew.
96 reviews
November 16, 2023
Very cool concept, but I'd like to have seen more world building before the shit hit the fan.
August 29, 2023
I didn't understand GIGA the first time, and I had to reread it twice to grasp the giant mecha war set before the events of the five-issue run. Alex Paknadel has created a vast giant robot mythology that serves as the foundation and environment of GIGA—a gritty science fiction tale told through stunning illustrations by John Lê. The central plot involves a murder mystery—an apparently murdered GIGA discovered by a disgraced engineer, Evan Calhoun.

Overall, I enjoyed reading GIGA—the three times I read it. ╌★★★★✰
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

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