WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Step by Bloody Step #1, available now from Image.

Pop culture has long been full of homages to other works across various mediums, and comics are no exception. Even when things aren't explicitly spelled out, fans are quick to see the similarities between their favorite franchises, especially when those properties find themselves holding up against the power of nostalgia. For many, The Iron Giant has become an icon in every way, and many of the same heartfelt notes that made it so fascinating are being hit in the grim, fantastical world of Step by Bloody Step.

Step by Bloody Step #1 by Si Spurrier, Matias Bergara, Matheus Lopes, and Emma Price introduce readers to a silent world covered in ice and snow. An unnamed, towering suit of seemingly sentient armor cares for a defenseless young child. The armor protects them from the elements, and it brutally keeps the wolves hunting them at bay, even turning their furs into what might be the child's first proper clothing. While their young ward is obsessed with picking what few flowers they find in the wintery wasteland, the armored guardian is almost entirely consumed with protecting them, although not without sparing at least a little time for some levity. The world might be far different, but Step by Bloody Step has still given fans a fantastical inversion of The Iron Giant.

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Based on Ted Hughes' 1968 novel The Iron Man, 1999's The Iron Giant was a Cold War-era animated film centered around the sudden appearance of a massive sentient robot. Hogarth, a nine-year-old living with his mother in Maine, discovers the robot and quickly befriends it. What follows is a thrilling story of Hogarth and his adult allies hiding and protecting the titular behemoth, all while xenophobic agents from the U.S. government work to uncover and dismantle them. As much as the story is about Cold War tensions and reactionary politics, it also focuses just as much on young Hogarth teaching the Iron Giant what it is to be human, leading to the iconic phrase "I am not a gun," which has even been paid homage in the pages of Marvel Comics' Power Pack.

Rather than the young girl of Step by Bloody Step making any great impact on the giant that protects her, however, this series has apparently inverted that concept by having the armored protector working to teach the child in their care whatever they can without words. The series may be devoid of real language, but that doesn't keep its first issue from imparting the lessons its giant is trying to teach. Though the two are clearly detached from one another on many levels, there is no doubt that their relationship will grow over the course of the series, hopefully culminating in something as unforgettable as The Iron Giant itself.

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There are plenty of fantastical concepts to be explored in the pages of Step by Bloody Step, probably far more than readers are currently aware of by the end of the first issue. Whatever they might be, it is all but certain that the wild world of the series will provide answers as it comes into focus in the coming months. For all of its tension and grit, Step by Bloody Step still looks to unravel a genuinely heartfelt journey alongside every bit of action or horror that crops up. It isn't The Iron Giant that fans know and love, but the protector of this world could very well be the next best thing.

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