Huge Detective #4 Review

 

Writer: Adam Rose

Artist: Magenta King

Colorists: Magenta King & Minimone

Letterer: DC Hopkins

Cover Artists: Alex Moore, Magenta King & Lenka Simeckova

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: March 5, 2025

 

Detective Gyant found Human and Huge bodies in underground caverns beneath Belter’s Cave. But someone left booby traps that injured Gyant and killed nearby Humans. As Human relationships with the Huge breakdown, another Omega Event threatens. Yet even another war between the Huge and the Humans pale before an imminent impact event as a Huge skeleton drifts toward Earth. Can FBI Captain Tamaki and Detective Gyant work together to discover what happened at Belter’s Cave, prevent a war, and protect life on Earth from extinction? Let’s slip on our seven-league boots, leap into Huge Detective #4, and find out!

 

Story

Mrs Stubbs raised Manny. She filled the boy’s head with a grand dream. In Adam Rose’s story, Mrs Stubbs convinces her adoptive human son that he will tower above the land. Mrs Stubbs held his head underwater so Manny could hold his breath for long periods. She also gave him a dictionary so he could project his thoughts. Perhaps Manny will never grow tall enough to touch the moon. Still, as he sits in his cell, attended by Dr Crawford and trained staff, the boy has a psychic connection with Detective Gyant. Stranger still, Manny knew what was happening on the moon before the Hubble telescope spotted the Huge skeleton leaving the Copernicus Crater.

 

In Huge Detective #4, Tamaki and Gyant visit Mrs Stubbs. As they sit in the aircraft hangar where she raised Manny, Mrs Stubbs serves tea and tells them about her past. Detective Gyant found her business partner's body in Belter's cave. Her husband died during the early years of Dollsville. Detective Gyant understands her concerns. The Huge have strong olfactory systems, and the aroma of Humans drives them wild. Although he denies it, Detective Gyant struggles not to think of eating Humans when he is around them. He may have killed Humans when his people arose and established Brobdingnag, but the Huge wants to believe he's better than that now.

 

While Detective Gyant learns the truth behind the mystery at Belter’s Cave in Huge Detective #4, his Human partner also faces a dilemma. Tamaki lost her mother during the Omega Event. Her father is an empty shell. She uses pills to survive her constant headaches. Captain Tamaki can barely stand to be around a member of this species that destroyed her life. When danger threatens, will Tamaki stand by and watch it happen, or risk all she has to try and save Detective Gyant?

 

Art

Magenta King's art suggests a children’s book more than traditional comic art. Despite the horns or bone spurs on the sides of his head, Detective Gyant appears like a Human character. As they look up at him or scurry around his feet, Humans like Tomaki and Mrs Stubbs resemble dolls. You can understand the Huge’s fascination with these tiny people that filled their world while the larger species slept.

 

Magenta King & Minimone cast Mrs Stubbs’ memories in Black And White. Regrettable “workplace” accidents in Dollsville splash red on white and gray. Red bathes panels when danger threatens. The vibrant colors in Huge Detective #4 wade into the primary waters of red, yellow, and blue. As the giant beige skeleton drifts our blue orb, the skull’s eyes glow yellow against a dark blue starfield.

 

DC Hopkins projects black and red uppercase handprinted lettering into white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes. A Huge’s thoughts appear in Old School cloudy balloons. Giant-size dialogue conveys Mrs Stubb’s horror at a regrettable start to her missionary journey, while an enormous yellow thud heralds her new vision. Breaking News reports appear as white letters in black boxes as video clips project Earth’s future. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

As Mrs Stubbs reveals her past and Dr Crawford helps bring her plans to fruition, Manny demonstrates that he won't be anyone's doll in Huge Detective #4.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Huge Detective #4.

RuneScape: Untold Tales of the God Wars #1 Review

 

Writer: Ryan O’Sullivan

Artists: Daniel Bayliss & Sid Kotian

Colorist: Laurel Dundee

Letterer: Nathan Kempf

Editor: Phoebe Hedges

Art Director: Oz Browne

Cover Artists: Alan Quah, Ivan Shavrin, David Barker, Alex Moore, & Sid Kotian with Prasad Rao

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: November 6, 2024

 

When Larryr seeks refuge from a snowstorm inside the Flying Horse Inn, he sees the Storyteller has returned. As he purchases a frothy mug and sits at a wooden table, Larryr wonders what story he will hear tonight. What will the Storyteller’s tale of the Godsword tell him about his world? Let's strap on our armor, leap into RuneScape: Untold Tales of the God Wars #1, and find out!

 

Story

The Storyteller whets his listeners’ appetite by sketching the history of their world. After ancient beings created the cosmos, new peoples and gods arose. The God Of Balance brought men, dwarves, gnomes, and fairies to live harmoniously on Gielnor. Other gods followed Guthix but for less noble reasons.

 

When war overtook the planet, the Armadyleans forged the Godsword in the Temple of the Lost Ancients. But Zamorak, the God Of Chaos, decided to use their assassination plan against them. So Zamorak forged a hilt for the Godsword and charged K’Ril Tsutsaroth with finding the blade. As K’Ril led the Zamorakian army against the Armadyleans, the demon entrusted the necromancer Sherok with transporting the Zamorak’s hilt in his caravan. But in RuneScape: Untold Tales of the God Wars #1, Sherok also has plans for the Godsword.

 

Despite his ambitions, Sherok lacks focus and a thorough grounding in his art. As a Human, Sherok believes he outranks the demon warlord. Sherok assumes that all the soldiers batting the Aramdyleans are there to serve him. The necromancer may not be an expert in any particular field, but Sherok knows enough spells to serve his needs. His familiar Maro bolsters Sherok’s beliefs by sugar-coating how others see the necromancer.

 

Amid Ryan O’Sullivan’s tale of a demon general and a scheming necromancer, Maro emerges as the most relatable character in RuneScape: Untold Tales of the God Wars #1. Mystery surrounds him. Not even the Storyteller knows his origins. Maro may be unique, yet he’s tired of his job. The familiar dislikes being ordered about by odious people less intelligent than himself. Maro has tired of this bespelled existence among people who revel in death. He may be just a skull that floats through the air and has no prospects for a better future. Still, Maro doesn't let his circumstances get him down.

 

Art

The burly bartender polishes a mug as Larryr enters. Tables await customers who likely want more options than the casks of ale behind the bar. A hood obscures the thin Storyteller's features. His metal-covered hands and arms emerge from his dark cloak as he tells of Guthix. The horned God Of Balance stands as a giant among his fellow immortals. His face dominates the horizon as he gazes down on the land. After Guthix watches people as they emerge from a Stargate, other gods greet arriving elves, goblins, and demons. As the gods study maps and lead their forces into battle, a short, winged Aramdylean hammers a scrollwork blade on a mighty anvil.

 

Green foliage shines under bright blue skies as Sherok drives his brown caravan through the woods. Gray and purple fill the skies when the sun sets on the battle in RuneScape: Untold Tales of the God Wars #1. The muscular demon K’Ril, adorned in maroon and gray armor, carries a sword that evokes a meat cleaver. After maroon spills from a captured Aramdylean, a green spirit rises toward the ceiling as Sherok continues an interrogation wearing a black robe and a yellow crown. Pink energy surrounds Maro and trails behind him as he floats from the brown caravan to address the purple demons guarding K’Ril’s gray and brown tent. An eerie green light animates the skeletal warriors who guard Sherok’s caravan.

 

Amid Daniel Bayliss & Sid Kotian’s involving art and Laurel Dundee’s attractive colors, Nathan Kempf conjures large uppercase letters into white dialogue balloons and beige narrative boxes. The Storyteller’s words are bold and darken further for intonation. Spirits speak white letters into black dialogue balloons, and K’Ril utters red ones while question marks surround Maro wherever he goes. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

When the Aramdyleans forge the Godsword, the followers of the God of Justice set off a contest for the ultimate weapon. As the Zamorakians slay the winged warriors for the power to kill a god, an animated skull could prove the Aramdyleans’ only hope for survival in RuneScape: Untold Tales of the God Wars #1.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

For more covers and a look inside see my preview at The Dragon's Cache.