Gigantic is an on-going, Dark Horse-published sci-fi comic that is currently on issue #2. Written by Rick Remender with art by Eric Nguyen, Gigantic is the first time the duo has joined forces since creating Strange Girl for Image comics which ran from 2005 to 2007.

Remender has described Gigantic as “a twist on ‘The Truman Show’”, and that isn’t far off. In Gigantic, the universe is a reality show. That is, unless you’re a member of The United League of Planets; then you’re all set. Disease, poverty, war — work; these are all things of the past for the ULP. All that’s left in life for its members is to stay entertained — now you’re a viewer. New shows are planted, grown and observed. Their cast are oblivious that they’re dealing with poverty, hunger, and wars, all for the sake of ratings and ad revenue.

Earth has been on the air for five-thousand years. Enter: Gigantic. Gigantic is gigan- a really big robot. Formerly the star of The Ultimate Gladiators, Gigantic has escaped to earth, freeing himself from the clutches of The Universal Broadcast Company. He has come to Earth to warn its citizens; to make them realize that they’re being used, watched, manipulated — cultivated. That they always have been. Unfortunately, Gigantic made a miscalculation and landed his large self right in the middle of downtown San Francisco. To make matters worse, the UBC isn’t about to lose their biggest star. They’ve sent bounty hunters after Gigantic to silence him and bring him back into custody. As we’ve seen in so much popular culture, the Earth just wasn’t built to sustain giant robot battles.

I eat this stuff up. It’s existential porn. While Earth-as-reality-TV is a concept that has been explored in other media, and perhaps even other comics, I’m able to give Gigantic a pass simply based on its outstanding presentation. Remender’s dialogue is clever and Nguyen’s art is absolutely beautiful and flowing. The story moves at such an incredible, cinematic pace that you’d swear the panels were animated. Gigantic is one of the few books that I do feel are worth buying exclusively for the artwork, as much of a cliché as that is. Fortunately, it’s so good all around that I don’t have to.