Image Comics 2015
Created and Written by Mark Millar
Created and Illustrated by Rafael Albuquerque
Colored by Dave McCaig
Leonard and Designed by Nate Piekos
Huck still has a few things left to do on his list. That's how this issue starts, finding the girl for her parents and then rescue the puppy for the boy it really does demonstrate just the kind of person that he really is. This is a man who has values, morals and above all else manners so others see him as being slow or retarded when in fact all he is is simple. He leads a simple life he's content and he's happy that's not retarded that's not being slow he sees what goes on around him and he chooses to live his life this way. It's kind of nice to see really and I wish more people live this way with this kind of consideration care and love for everyone else.
When was the last time you met a character who you admired for just being who he is? Not because of their fantastic origin story or their desire to put on spandex and run around saving the world just because of the type of person that they was at their core? For the first time in a long time I see the kind of person in Huck that I wish we all were. Then I see how the outside world views him and it makes me frightened because of the society that we actually live in. Thank goodness he's got those people in his hometown that look out for him and care about him like they do.
The juxtaposition of seeing how the governor and his people view Huck compared to his town folk and friends Is pretty spectacularly powerful. There is so much incredibly good writing, characterization and this whole idea of ideal life vs real life and which should be which and what could be happening here that I think I found a new level of admiration for Mark. In all honesty each issue makes me feel like it makes me want to be a better person after having read it. When was the last time you can say that about anything?
There really is something incredibly marvelously special about Huck. Just his whole demeanor and the way he sees life and sees people with such an almost childlike innocence really speaks to me here. Maybe he has been too sheltered and maybe being at that party thrown by the governor has left him extremely uncomfortable but I don't think he misunderstood what was happening there. He just knew that that wasn't right for him. Yes I can imagine there will be ramifications for him and his association with the governor to come but that's for another time. Right now it's about learning who he is.
Gosh I'm really hoping that meeting his brother and potentially meeting his mother does not change the man that he is. In a lot of ways he's kind of an inspiration for living your life in a better way than we've been doing. His brother seems to be his complete opposite at least from what we've seen of him so far so that's kind of interesting but I think a lot of that is nature vs nurture and considering where he actually grew up and how he grew up shaped him into the man he is. I'll admit to having some trepidation about you know if he changes or not from meeting all these people but I look forward to seeing what happens and that's pretty darn nice.
Rafael really gets to bring something pretty extraordinary to the table as well. There such a difference in the way he visually represent hot compared to everyone else in the world and it's really something interesting to see. Plus he gets to use that whole superhero stuff when we see him running or jumping on a bus or a train just you know using whatever powers he's got. There's just something softer and more tender about the artwork here but I'm not used to singing but it's so powerful as well that I'm glad for it. Of course the man is a genius and the use of pages & panel layouts all of that combined with the background everything is just splendid.
This has become one of my top 3 books of the year already and we're only in January. I can't wait to see what the guys have in store for us with this. It really is just honestly like nothing else.