HUCK comic, fantasy, science fiction book reviewsHuck by Mark Millar

Huck is the feel-good action movie you’ve been waiting for, except it is a comic. Of course, as with many Millar comics, there are already rumors that Huck is heading for Hollywood, so you could wait to see it in the theaters. But, why wait?

Huck is an endearing character who is based on the Clark Kent model of the good-hearted, simple-minded, small town farm boy with superpowers. However, unlike Clark, Huck isn’t putting on a simple man act. That’s who he is. He works in a gas station, and he tries to do at least one good act of kindness a day. Not all of them even require being a superhero: He might pay for someone’s lunch, or he might save a life by stopping a speeding car. He neither changes his clothes to do his super deeds, nor hides his powers: The entire town is in on the secret. But they know he’s a simple soul who would be overwhelmed by publicity, so nobody tells anyone outside the town about him.

Until, of course, someone does, and we end up with a fast-paced, breakneck-speed story. The media vultures take over the city and surround Huck’s house. He panics trying to help every new person in the country asking for help, and his list of good deeds gets a little too long to be manageable. Those who would take advantage of him begin to move into position, along with an evil scientist and Huck-the-orphan’s long lost family.

SFF, fantasy literature, science fiction, horror, YA, and comic book and audiobook reviewsMillar’s story is perfectly written, with likeable good characters and despicable evil characters. And there’s the plot twist you don’t see coming, except that you know there will be a plot twist. If it sounds like I’m criticizing Millar or Huck, I’m not. Huck is not meant to be a deep read, and it doesn’t embarrass itself by trying to do so. It’s meant to be a feel-good action comic, and it’s exactly that. Plus, if you are tired of reading comics in which nothing seems to happen for issue after issue, in Huck,  Millar, as usual, can be counted on to throw decompression out the window. Millar’s mini-series are usually completely satisfying, and this six-issue story, now collected in trade paperback, is no exception. I highly recommend Huck, a tender, heartfelt, offbeat action story.

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  • Brad Hawley

    BRAD HAWLEY, who's been with us since April 2012, earned his PhD in English from the University of Oregon with areas of specialty in the ethics of literature and rhetoric. Since 1993, he has taught courses on The Beat Generation, 20th-Century Poetry, 20th-Century British Novel, Introduction to Literature, Shakespeare, and Public Speaking, as well as various survey courses in British, American, and World Literature. He currently teaches Crime Fiction, Comics, and academic writing at Oxford College of Emory University where his wife, Dr. Adriane Ivey, also teaches English. They live with their two young children outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

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