Attack On Titan, Vol. 1
2012
- giants
- comic books, strips
- good and evil
- comics & graphic novels, manga, science fiction
- nyt:graphic-books-and-manga=2021-08-15
- giants--comic books, strips, etc
- good and evil--comic books, strips, etc
- graphic novels
- horror comic books, strips, etc
- comic books, strips, etc
The story
The megahit Attack on Titan anime is back! In this post-apocalyptic sci-fi story, humanity has been devastated by the bizarre, giant humanoids known as the Titans. Little is known about where they came from or why they are bent on consuming mankind. Seemingly unintelligent, they have roamed the world for years, killing everyone they see. For the past century, what's left of man has hidden in a giant, three-walled city. People believe their 50-meter-high walls will protect them from the Titans, but the sudden appearance of an immense Titan is about to change everything. Winner of the 2011 Kodansha Manga Award (Shonen) and nominated for the prestigious Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize for 2012.
What it’s like
Stark black-and-white linework with heavy inked shadows, the pages built from jagged, cramped panels that widen abruptly into full-bleed spreads when the giants loom into view. The atmosphere is one of grim siege: grey stone walls, rubble-strewn streets, smoke drifting over ruined farmland, and a constant pressure of dread that tips into shock and then into sudden, startling violence. Violence is frequent and graphic, with bodies torn apart and blood spattered across pages; the gore is drawn in close detail and lands hard, so this is not gentle reading. The pacing is relentless, with short bursts of quiet dialogue and tense planning giving way to chaotic action, and the emotional register is raw determination, grief and rage among a cast of young recruits fighting to stay alive. Best suited to readers who want a propulsive, bleak survival story with a strong sense of grim momentum, late-night reading, or fans of dark shonen who can handle unflinching horror.
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