Thankfully, the original, phallic giant designs didn’t make it into I Kill Giants

Back in 2009, writer Joe Kelly and illustrator Ken Niimura partnered together to create the graphic novel I Kill Giants, a sprawling adventure about loner kid Barbara Thorson, who retreats into a magical world to fight evil giants that may or may not all be in her head. The giant designs in the graphic novel and upcoming big-screen adaptation take inspiration from other giant monsters in pop culture, like the Ents from Lord Of The Rings, or the kaijū from Pacific Rim, but as the creators tell us, the designs Niimura originally came up with were a bit more phallic.

R​LJE Films’ I Kill Giants is in theaters and on demand ​Friday, March 23.