Huck

Even in this day and age, superheroes still tend to have lairs, fancy outfits, and all kinds of folderol. Not so Millar’s fantastically endearing new star. Huck is a thickly muscled but sweet-natured grown-up orphan who works at a gas station, wears nothing but overalls, and spends his days making lists of planned good deeds. These range from finding lost pets to rescuing hundreds of girls kidnapped by Boko Haram. Huck is something like a more functioning version of Steinbeck’s Lenny, albeit with superhuman strength and an ability to dash down roads at supersonic speeds. Needless to say, his idyll as the aw-shucks semi-lonely good guy is challenged when dark secrets from his past rear their head, and multiple parties try to take advantage of his good nature. Albuquerque’s (American Vampire) art is kinetically charged and lavishly colored. Millar (Kick-Ass, The Kingsman) delivers a punchy and propulsive story with heart while toning down his bent for ultraviolence. (July)