The setting of Huge Detective #1 is incredibly unique; though the comic is set in a world where Giants co-exist with humans, which isn’t entirely unexplored in fiction, the devil is in the numerous details on offer in this first issue.

Though the Giants (known as ‘Huge’ in the world of Huge Detective), having been given the entirety of Australia to call their own (and, with a clever, apt reference to Gulliver’s Travels, their home is rechristened ‘Brobdingnag’), maintain a relatively peaceful co-existence alongside humans, tensions remain. Two detectives, one giant and one human, are tasked with investigating a mystery, which may well threaten the harmony of the Huge/human world.

Despite the fact that Huge Detective #1 opens with a phenomenal piece of world building (which really sets the scene for the story well), I did find that the rest of the comic was a bit overwhelming, and there were a few times where I got lost in the details of what was actually going on. Some character motivations are a little unclear, and even the details of what’s being investigated by each detective wasn’t really explained particularly clearly, at least initially. It’s definitely worth noting, however, that despite this, I still found it to be a pretty compelling read.

There’s an awful lot of opportunities for great social and political commentary with the emergence of the Huge too, and writer Adam Rose goes for them at full speed. There’s some very dark humour at play here, as well as some truly grim stuff that artist Magenta King does a fantastic job with rendering.

Despite the fantastical premise, Huge Detective #1 presents a world that’s oddly believable, and it does so well with creating its unique status quo; it just feels as if it falters a little in making the main story easier to follow, which is a problem that arises due to its density and delivery.

However, it’s great to see a comic so unusual in both its tone and setting; Rose and King are certainly not lacking in ambition when it comes to telling a few smaller scale stories against an evolving, epic backdrop. Hopefully, the story will coalesce into something that’s a little easier to get a handle on in the subsequent issues.