Writer: Alan Moore
Artists: Zander Cannon (p), Andrew Currie (i)
Publisher: DC Comics
The Smax mini-series delivers the story of Top 10’s Officers Jeff Smax and Toy Box as they adventure through Smax’s home world, a planet based on the Brothers Grimm version of Europe. Here two super powered police officers arrive in a land of elves, dwarves and beds cursed with a single pea under the mattress (trust in old folktales) to bury Smax’s adoptive dwarven uncle.
This issue, the mid-point of the mini-series, opens with Toy Box admonishing Smax for avoiding the quest to stop an evil dragon named MorningBright that he should have vanquished years ago. Smax stubbornly argues that the quest is not for him, he’s a police officer now and not a legendary hero of yore. As Smax makes his case, the gods rain down signs upon him that this quest is indeed for Smax. Finally, his adoptive dwarven aunt pushes him into the quest.
Mr. Moore is writing an over-the-top tale that combines his true love, the public domain, with super heroes. The series runs on a fish-out-of-water stream of humor as our main characters, cops that work in a science hero universe, are brought to this backward, medieval place where officer Smax is guilty of doing some pretty sick things with his sister (uh… before he became an officer… and a little after also). Zander Cannon’s art adds some very nice sight gags like Sergio Aragonés' Groo and Wendy, the Good Little Witch.
The story is adult, but handled in a very light-hearted manner. All in all, I enjoyed it!
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