Hey there, friend. Looking for a story about kindness? Good timing! I was just about to tell you about one.
It’s the story of Huck. He’s a mild-mannered, super-powered gas station attendant who lives by one rule. Every day, he does a good deed. That might be something as simple as mowing an elderly neighbor’s lawn. Or it might be stopping human traffickers halfway around the world. It doesn’t matter what he does, as long as he does something to make someone’s day better.
From everything I had heard about Huck, I almost expected it to be too earnest. To be naive. But it isn’t; it feels classically superheroic. Millar avoids most of the traditional trappings of a superhero tale. If there were no intergalactic threats, no world-ending cataclysms, no world-conquering megalomaniacs, this is how Superman would spend his spare time.
In contrast to his American Vampire work, Rafael Albuquerque’s style here borders in impressionistic. It’s actually tough to tell sometimes where his work ends and Dave McCaig’s colors take over. Their work highlights posture, physicality, and expression. And they shift deftly from tone to tone. Huck’s art is at different points serene serene, bucolic, anxious, and even oppressive and dangerous.
Huck is a lot of things. It’s optimistic and earnest. Sweet. Bittersweet. And it manages to evoke classic heroics without being like anything else out there. It’s a pretty safe recommendation to make.
Collected in
Huck, Book 1 (#1-6)
Credits
Writer: Mark Millar | Artist: Rafael Albuquerque | Colorist: Dave McCaig | Letterer/Designer: Nate Piekos of Blambot | Editor: Nicole Boose | Associate Editor: Rachael Fulton