Huge Detective, Volume 1
Huge Detective, Volume 1Writer: Adam Rose
Artist: Magenta King and Dalts Dalton
Colorist: Magenta King and Minimone
Letterer: DC Hopkins
Publisher: Titan Comics
Publication Date: October 2025
Something huge is coming. Decades after the mysterious Omega Event, where giants referred to as The Huge awoke from their slumber, only to find that humans had taken over the planet, a Huge Detective named Gyant will have to work alongside the very human Detective Tamaki to investigate a series of disappearences and murders that threatens to upset the delicate balance between humans and The Huge. As the pair attempt to figure out the culprit, they will both be caught up into something far bigger than they ever could have imagined, a labyrinthian mystery that both parties will have to dedicate their all to solve. A fantasy mystery coming from newcomers Adam Rose and Magenta King, Huge Detective is a book with a lot of big and brilliant ideas, that while flawed in its execution, remains a fantastic reading experience nevertheless.
Detective Tamaki is a drug-taking, misanthropic Detective stuck investigating Manny, a mentally troubled young man who believes himself to be one of The Huge. Detective Gyant is a guilt-ridden, traumatised Huge with just as much of a chip on his shoulder as Tamaki. When their cases collide, and the link between them becomes impossible to ignore, the two will have to put aside their differences and work together. Rose and King utilise this buddy-cop format to explore the differences between humanity and the Huge, both in terms of physicality and psychology, allowing for an interesting twist on one of crime fiction’s most popular character dynamics. Together, the two will have to look into Manny’s nonsensical ramblings, deal with his tyrannical and mysterious mother Mrs Stubbs, and investigate how it all comes back to Dollsville, the human zoo located deep in the heart of Brobdingnag, the Huge’s sanctuary nation, created from the remnants of Australia. There’s a lot of brilliant and fascinating ideas here, and the book is jam-packed with additional material to help flesh out the world and it’s characters in interesting ways. Mileage may vary, but I found the setting and worldbuilding of this comic to be absolutely top-notch, and that ended up being the main way I invested into the story – I wanted to know more about this world and the people who inhabit it.
This books’ plotting and actual narrative is very well structured and engaging throughout. It has a really good understanding of pacing and every issue builds tension well, making it hard to put down in the best way. Towards the end especially, things get out of hand, and it’s really well done, an organic and great escalation of the narrative. It takes a lot of cues from classic hard-boiled detective stories, but also from urban fantasy, and reminded me of other fantasy-crime stories like The Dresden Files or Rivers of London, but with slightly more out-there and whimsical worldbuilding that really leans into absurdity, fantasy and big ideas. It’s not afraid to be a little out there, and I really respect and appreciate that, because it gives the story its own unique identity.
Thematically, this books puts a lot focus on cultural divisions and divides. Now, the way it handles this topic might be a little clunky, given that the Huge have a history of eating humans and causing mass violence, but they’re also portrayed in a mostly sympathetic light. Both Gyant and Tamaki have trauma that leads to initial tensions with one another, but they slowly unpack that over the course of the series and of course, grow to deeply care about one another in a genuine way. It’s a bit of a messy metaphor, and I don’t blame anyone who takes umbrage with it. Another primary focus is mental health and illness, with almost every major character suffering from some sort of mental health issue that they have to unpack and deal with, especially Manny. Whilst he initially seems like a dated, problematic presentation of mental health, the overall direction his story goes in is warm and empathetic, coming to a really sweet and wholesome conclusion that made me feel all fuzzy in my heart. Generally this is a story more focused on telling an exciting and fun story, so sometimes questions will be asked and never quite answered or elaborated upon. I’d rather these ideas and questions be asked than ignored completely, but it would’ve been nice for the series to elaborate a bit more on certain things, such as the ethics of evacuating an entire continent for The Huge, and what happened to those displaced, which quickly fades from focus after the first couple issues.
I was consistently impressed by Adam Rose’s writing whilst reading the book. He gives Tamaki and Gyant very distinctive narrative voices which allows for both to have long stretches of narration without the book ever feeling repetitive or dull. His dialogue is sharp and witty, with a great knack for conversation. Some of the one-liners are a bit cheesy, but that works in the book’s favour, as it’s consistently funny anyways. His worldbuilding is top notch, never allowing it to intrude too far into the story but also keeping it at the forefront of the book whenever it needs to be.
There’s so many unique and fun ideas here, and I really found them fascinating to read about, particularly the history of the nation of the giants and their human zoo. There are some real explosive moments in the narrative that work really well, crafting an epic and exciting fantasy-mystery story that blends both genres in a really fun and unique way. It’s a great showing from Rose, who is a relative newcomer to the comics field, and the conclusion of the story leaves the door open for more should there be a story to tell there. There is a brief epilogue giving a conclusion to our main characters, but there’s so much about this world that’s engaging to read, so stories focused on other characters would work as well.
I have complex feelings about Magenta King’s artwork. During the biggest and best moments of the series, it’s brilliant, with striking and stunning splash pages that absolutely shine in the best ways. Most of the moments of action or tension involving the Huge are fantastic, and he gives them a sense of scale that makes them feel like they’re really inhabiting the spaces you see them in.
However, a lot of the book doesn’t quite look quite right either, often limited by stiff character expression work or a strange lack of detail that can be quite frustrating. King colored the book himself alongside Minimone and I think that might be part of the issue – I don’t think the blocky, simplistic color palette entirely works for the series. It could definitely have benefitted from a more complex and ambitious color palette, perhaps leaning further into the contrast between high fantasy and hard-boiled crime fiction. Regardless, the art is still good, and gets better as the series goes on, never limiting the book from being a good read.
If the creative team does chose to do more with this concept, I’d be interested to see how King’s artwork evolves and gets better, because he’s clearly a great artist, just an artist with things to work on. His covers for the series are beautiful throughout as well.
Overall, Huge Detective Volume 1 is a really strong showing from two up-and-coming comics creators, with exciting and interesting worldbuilding and often brilliant artwork that comes together to tell a fascinating and compelling genre-blending mystery. It’s an easy book to invest into, and your investment is rewarded by a ton of unique and fun ideas and a compelling, exciting narrative that will keep you at the edge of your seat for it’s entire duration. Whilst its limited a bit by the inexperience of its creators, it’s a great display of talent from both, and a really fun and enjoyable read for those who enjoy reading oddball, unconventional stories that only comics can truly tell.
Huge Detective Vol. 1 is out in October via Titan Comics
Read more great reviews from The Beat!
