Huck isn’t a superhero comic. Sure, the titular character lifts trucks out of rivers and rescues kidnapped North African schoolgirls with no other weapon than his fists, but claiming superhero status involves an element of ego. Huck’s just a guy who’s good at finding things and likes helping people.
That’s the premise of the latest from comics legend Mark Millar of Daredevil and Kick-Ass fame. Reading the first issue, it’s easy to remember how he got his reputation. A lesser writer might over-explain the concept or reveal too much backstory about how this strong, kind man with extraordinary abilities ended up in a small town orphanage. Instead, he trusts readers to figure things out on their own and teases them with just enough to make them come back.
Here it’s the action not the plot that propels the issue. Artist Rafael Albuquerque’s line work is quick and cartoon-y, conveying movement and energy in a way that feels almost cinematic. Huck’s square jaw and the all-American look of the town he lives in give the book a sort of clean-cut feel and colorist Dave McCaig’s work only adds to that, his somewhat muted color palette like a smudgier version of superhero books like Superman.
However, so far, it looks like Huck isn’t a symbol in the way traditional superheroes often are. He doesn’t seem to care either way about getting credit. He’s content in his small town life doing his daily good deeds. For him, what he does and why he does it seems simple. But the rest of the world is not so easy. Power attracts attention. Huck may not be a superhero now, but who knows? No good deed goes unpunished, as the saying goes.
