Gigantic

"Gigantic" #2 on sale December 17

When giant robots battle over San Francisco, it is clear that mankind has entered a new chapter in its long and storied history. But in "Gigantic," the new Dark Horse series written by Rick Remender and illustrated by Eric Nguyen, humanity's first contact with alien life is mere prelude to the shocking events that follow. The second issue of "Gigantic" goes on sale next week, and CBR News caught up with Remender to discuss the series.Fleeing an interstellar organization called the UBC, the hero known as Gigantic escapes to Earth, where he materializes in the middle of a major metropolitan center. However, since Gigantic's physical being is more than appropriate to his moniker, his appearance and subsequent battle with UBC bounty hunters leads to scores of puny humans being crushed under foot, not to mention the catastrophic destruction of property. Death and mayhem, though, make for excellent ratings, and now television viewers throughout the universe are watching Earth. Indeed, "Gigantic" #1 lets readers on to the secret that the Earth is a reality TV "channel," something like "Big Brother" but on a grander scale. Remender told CBR News the second "Gigantic" installment "gives us a better idea in regards to who Gigantic is and what he's up against. San Francisco has been destroyed -- Gigantic is responsible -- but he has to get over it if he's going to succeed in his missio -- and the stakes are universal." Given that issue one features Gigantic, who looks like a giant robot, destroying a major American city, it is perhaps not surprising that the cover artwork was an homage to classic Japanese monster movies.

"We all love that aesthetic so much," Remender said. "The design team at Dark Horse cooked up these amazing faux Japanese monster posters that we're running on the back of each issue.""Gigantic" #2 begins with a flashback, revealing some details about Ultra Mega Hero Gigantic's origins. As suggested in his first appearance, it seems the titular hero is human--but there's a bit more to it than that. "He was human," Remender explained. "What he is now is something else. The reason he was abducted in the past comes down to the nature of light speed travel, the effect gravity has on time, and the relativity of time across space."

Pages from "Gigantic" #2

Much like "End League," another series written by Remender and published by Dark Horse, "Gigantic" looks to pack maximum devastation into each issue. With the rather dire cliffhanger at the end of issue #2, Remender said upcoming issues are "going to get a bit crazy now." The writer continued, "I have a big reveal in issue #4 that flips the story upside down and gives us a different perspective on the first issues. It's all fast-paced action stuff with a focus on fun. We nuke some cities, travel to the Earth's core to visit the factory that keeps the electromagnetic field active, stage exit to the end of the visible field of the universe at the speed of mega-light, fight Gunro Leviathan Combatant aka the planet masher, team up with the new US Army of Telepathy, and try to stave off the cancellation of planet Earth."With alien overlords deciding the fate of worlds based on nothing more than popular ratings,

there is some social commentary inherent in "Gigantic," and in issue two, the hero makes some direct comments about exploiting real life for entertainment. "I had written all that stuff to be very subtle in the earlier drafts," Remender explained, "but when I got to the actual scripting it didn't feel right. It seemed more entertaining to be overt with it, to tap into the great corporate/consumer culture future stuff in 'Robocop;' i.e. the commercial for the car with the alarm system that killed a thief with an electrical current. Once I started having a bit more fun with it the book opened up for me--whenever I try and cut humor entirely, I don't love the work."To this end, Remender introduces in "Gigantic" #2 a new villain named Iconoclast, who may be the scourge of hipsters everywhere. Raging against "mainstream" culture and vowing to "make fighting unique," Iconoclast quickly agrees to a battle with Gigantic to save himself from being cancelled. "Iconoclast is a D-class fighter from the mega warrior circuit that Gigantic was the champion of, so he seems to be fairly harmless--a small talent who has convinced himself he never reached the success and acclaim he deserves because the viewers are too lowbrow, too stupid to understand the depth of what he's bringing to the battle," Remender said. "The Universal Broadcasting Company know Gigantic will see him as a joke, so when they square off Gigantic has no idea he's been specifically augmented to defeat him. "I've seen Eric Nguyen and Matt Wilson art on this stuff and it's mind-blowing good."

Pages from "Gigantic" #2

"Gigantic" #2 is on sale December 17 from Dark Horse.