BIGS OGN, from UpChuck Comics in October 2021, presents a world where a birth “defect” turns a subset of children into 10-foot-tall giants. How does the world deal with its bigotry and hatred when you can’t hide who you are?
The Details
- Written By: Bronte Erwin
- Art By: Khalid Robertson
- Colors By: Tyler Bass
- Letters By: Frank Cvetkovic
- Cover Art By: Samax Amen, Fabio Da Silva Bandres
- Cover Price: $14.99
- Release Date: October 2021
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Was It Good?
BIGS OGN (Original Graphic Novel) is a four-issue compilation from indie publisher UpChuck Comics. This is our first exposure to UpChuck Comics, and we hope you’ll give them a look for current and future offerings. You can visit their website here for more: UpChuck Comics
On to the review…
Writing allegories can be tricky. The idea is to tell a compelling story that can be enjoyed at face value, but for readers who choose to dig deeper, you can find the hidden meaning of a moral or political nature.
BIGS is an allegory in the technical sense in that the creators are working in deeper statements about bigotry, corporate greed, government corruption, and more. On the positive side of things, it creates this allegory by creating a class of people that could be a stand-in for any marginalized group you could think of without being any marginalized group you’ve ever heard of. It’s a clever way to create a foundation for this type of allegory, and it lends itself to making statements about hatred and othering in an agnostic way while also paving the way for potential superhero adventures in the future.
With the positive comes the negative. Allegories work when the compelling story comes first and the moral or political messaging is nuanced enough to not interfere with the main story. Here, there’s not a drop of nuance to be found and the moral/political messaging frequently overpowers the main story with all the subtlety of a kick to the face. Yes, it’s very clear the creators are making a statement about bigotry, but when you factor in the messages about Big Pharma AND Government Corruption AND Media Collusion AND healthcare AND worker’s rights AND AND AND AND… there are so many messages that the most important message and the story get lost in the noise.
We love indie creators, and we want to encourage more writers and artists to get their works on the market, so don’t take this criticism as anything other than constructive. If you have a message, keep it simple, clear, and concise, but more importantly, make sure the compelling story comes first.
As for the art, it’s not bad. The coloring is excellent. Each character had a distinctive look that set them apart from everyone around them. And a lot of fine detail work into making sure every panel looked finished and complete. The artistic down point, which may be major or minor depending on your point of view, is the inconsistency in scale for the characters. The whole point of this story surrounds people who grow into 10-foot “giants”, and yet it wasn’t always clear who was or wasn’t a “giant” on each page aside from the main characters. You would expect the BiGS to tower over everyone and continually feel cramped in surroundings not designed for their size. At worst, the BiGs looked occasionally inconvenienced, and it takes away from the heavy-handed bigotry message when BiGS are presented as a little taller than average.
In all, it’s clear a lot of love and passion went into this project. However, if you want a compelling story with a nuanced message, this OGN is a mixed bag.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
The plot is simple but the twists and turns are admittedly complex.
We begin with a discovery that 1-in-20 children are born with BGS
[Author’s Note: I can’t find any explicit explanation of what BGS stands for in this OGN.Let’s call it “Baby Growth Syndrome”.]
BiGS children have a shortened lifespan and grow to 10-feet-tall. The government provides government assistance but heavily restricts employment opportunities. Vicero Pharmaceuticals quickly develops a drug to help keep BiGS alive but the pills are highly addictive and create innumerable side effects such as weight gain, lethargy, and euphoric effects similar to taking recreational drugs. In short (no pun intended), BiGS are an imposed burden on society regarding everything from healthcare drain to tax dollars to social programs.
However, one BiG, Nate Belcher is strong, lean, and healthy. He begins a one-man crusade to show the world that being a BiGS child isn’t an automatic sentence of uselessness. Together with friends he picks up along the way in his adventures, Nate will upset the systemic oppression keeping BiGS down.
Final Thoughts
BiGS OGN is a unique tale about a subset of people born with an unusual “defect” that makes them stand out from the rest of the world. The writing touches on every social ill you can imagine, sometimes to the detriment of the story, and the art is fairly good.
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