Huge Detective #1 Will Scratch That Urban Fantasy Detective Itch [Review]

Written by Adam Rose. Art by Magenta King. Coloured Magenta King and Minimone. Lettered by DC Hopkins. Published by Titan Comics.

Do you remember the Netflix movie Bright? The 2017 movie starred Will Smith as an LAPD cop who teams up with an orc cop. There were some inter-species tensions and something about a prophecy. I turned it off after 15 minutes as it wasn’t that good. But do you know what is good? Huge Detective – a new comic by writer Adam Rose, artist Magenta King, and publisher by Titan Comics. The series has similar elements to Bright but takes them in a different direction to much better results.

Huge Detective is an urban fantasy series set in a world where giants, referred to as “huge”, emerged from the ground and took over Australia. 40 years have passed, and humans have been able to live with them, coming to an understanding beneficial to both parties. One is the teaming of FBI agent Detective Tamaki and Huge Detective Gyant. The pair are on the case to solve a murder involving a human perpetrator who believes he’s a giant. While they’re investigating that case, there’s also the mystery of two missing Huge and something sinister happening on the moon.

Writer Adam Rose digs deep into the dynamic of the two detectives. Having differences in the partnership is a tried and tested formula. Huge Detective gives its own take on it through the unique pairing. There’s tension between them as a first-ever pairing of this kind. Some of it comes from the difference in size. Both have to change their style of operating to accommodate the other. However, there are also lingering prejudices that each has to overcome. Rose portrays this through snippy remarks when the pair are discussing the case. It makes for a more interesting read if they got along with each other out of the gate, so I’m curious to see how this dynamic evolves in subsequent issues.

The human/huge dynamic is highlighted well visually. Take the above splash page. Here, we get a sense of scale, with Agent Tamaki almost a dot on the page next to the towing Gyant. A balloon extends out to magnify her so the reader can see what she’s emoting while still being able to show off the scale. It also helps letterer DC Hopkins out with the dialogue placing, allowing for the word balloons to be placed in a more central location instead of having to extend them out. Outside of this page, the comic constantly reminds readers of the scale of the huge characters, like revealing a foot as it stops over the landscape or through the choice of high or low angles. As a result, the comic never forgets its premise and allows it to play into the inter-species dynamics.

I enjoyed Huge Detective #1. However, as an Australian, some of the Australian elements irked me. It wasn’t that giants took over the country. I’m fine with that as a piece of fiction. What really annoyed me was the misuse of some words. Take a word like “Aussie”, which is used too heavily and in the wrong context, like referring to an Australian-based enclave as “Little Aussie”. (Australians never refer to the country as “Aussie”.) While it won’t bother international readers, who make up 99% of the readership, it took me out of the comic at times.

Beyond my own personal irk, this Huge Detective #1 was an enjoyable read with a unique premise. The comic uses it to play with scale, emphasising the human/huge dynamic and exploring their tensions. It’s the kind of comic that will scratch that urban fantasy detective itch if you found Bright lacking.

Huge Detective #1 is available at all good comic book shops, online retailers, eBay, and Amazon/Kindle.