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Smax #5

FinderWolf

14:47 / 24.03.04

I just saw on a solicitation list that this is supposed to come out today! Boo-yah!!

FinderWolf

15:40 / 24.03.04

Sorry for my weak web-fu, but here's a link to the cover of SMAX #5!

(image below)

Who else read this? I thought it was just okay -- I felt the first 3 issues were a lot stronger than the final 2. It was fine and all, I'm just used to being a little more actively "Wow, this is GREAT!" from Alan Moore. But then again, I know it was meant to be a light little fun tale. I expected a different resolution to the Morningbright thing than we got...somehow I thought it would be more like "you don't really defeat evil, evil is part of the larger tapestry of the universe," all Invisibles/Promethea grand scheme of life type stuff (esp. from the previous inferences that Morningbright is like a god).

Prego the Werlf

09:45 / 26.03.04

How strange. Nuclear power saves the day, and a happy ending invovling insest. Lots of fun though, all told. I think Smax' greatest achievement however is the way it took probably the least iteresting character from Top Ten and fleshed him out into Dragonslaying, sister fucking, idiot warrior. It's true that that the reference heavy nature of the first three issues, was diluted in the final two by the need to fit in the end of the story, but then, how good was Morningbright's Golden Ball of Child Souls. And I dare you to go into a shop without thinking of the words sales fiend.

Tamayyurt

11:44 / 26.03.04

I got this on Wed. but didn't bother posting about it because it was kinda blah. I meant I liked it just fine but it didn't blow my mind or wasn't post worthy or anything.

"you don't really defeat evil, evil is part of the larger tapestry of the universe," all Invisibles/Promethea grand scheme of life type stuff

This is one of the few things I did like. It was evil and it got put down. Nice and simple all that "Invisibles/Promethea grand scheme of life stuff is getting a bit old so I'm glad they didn't go there.

FinderWolf

12:07 / 26.03.04

>> how good was Morningbright's Golden Ball of Child Souls

Yeah, this was pretty cool. And those sales fiends -- watch out, or they'll sell you a toaster oven with their Persuasion Points...

Keith, like a scientist

12:30 / 26.03.04

yeah...issue #5 didn't really live up to the hype of the that creepy first moment when you see Morningbright for the first time. Or the coded message to Robyn. Everything after recruiting the Quest team was kind of by the book boring...

Too bad.

Simplist

17:44 / 26.03.04

I did find the final issue a bit anticlimactic, but that was at least partly due to the looooong interval between the 4th and 5th issues. This was one of those "monthly" minis that was much closer to being bimonthly by the end, and the story suffered greatly from the consequent loss of momentum. I'm guessing it will read much better in the eventual collected edition.

Aertho

19:20 / 26.03.04

IF Morningbright was MORE than a precog, and WAS what he said he was, and was implied to be, I would've liked the story MUCH more.

We're led to believe through the course of four issues that Jaafs is up agianst an aspect of God. The knowledge outside of time, the fractal-self, the calmness and coolness of his character... it was adding up to be somehting a LOT more interesting than just "a dragonslaying story".

Here I thought the answer would've been more like Robyn not being afraid of Morningbright and letting him kill her, only to realize that him "killing her" is really just a variation of the theme of the Death card transformation. All the necessary symbols and set up were there.

Instead, it's a nail? And I'm glad that Rexa is accepted now. I think of them as two sides of a sinle entity anyway.

Simplist

19:27 / 26.03.04

You know, Chesed, it crossed my mind reading this last issue that Moore might've originally intended something more along those lines, but lost interest in the project along the way (while working on issue 4, I'd say) and just went for the easy wrap-up instead. That would also explain the increasing lateness as the series continued, if Moore's focus had indeed moved on to other things.

Aertho

21:00 / 26.03.04

Perhaps, although i'd hate to blast Moore. The end felt LAME. LAME like the expository of Paradise X lame. I feel jipped.

Gary Lactus

12:09 / 27.03.04

Wow! I'm surprised by some of the lack of enthusiasm here. I thought this was ace. I could only critisize the colouring but that's a problem I have with most colour comics these days. Morningbright was such a good take on the dragon. I'd be very surprised if Jim Woodring's "Frank" work wasn't a prime influence in the creation of Morningbright. Nice sklent ending, too. And they both lived happilly, incestuously ever after.

the Fool

12:39 / 27.03.04

I'm with Fraely on this one. I really enjoyed it. It was a fairy tale saga. The dragon had to die, the hero gets the girl. That's the way a fairtale land works. It affects the inhabitants like a strange gravity...

Mr Tricks

21:05 / 29.03.04

I enjoyed it,

It was rathr Light on Surprises though but quite fun...

The Mushroom cloud Morningbright was great.

Toy Box trying to explain science was also fun... a nice inverion of the science/magic thing

the ending was odd but original...

Ben Danes

23:03 / 30.03.04

I enjoyed it, but was surprised that Morningbright was done away with not even half way through the issue. A more 'epical' final battle would have been nice.

The humour was top knotch. The singing sword, bondage dwarves, Dennis, all of it was great.

The ending was a tad bizare with the whole incest thing. He didn't go for the predictable hooking up with Robyn scenario, which I wouldn't have minded actually, because Robyn and Jeff act like an old married couple at times.

Anymore Top 10 coming out? I think there's the 49er's, but anything else?

FinderWolf

18:55 / 06.04.04

Anyone know what the title to this issue was from? ("Leave us, please close our eyes" or something like that) Cause it seemed like the titles were from various fantasy/folk songs and books - right?

And I don't think more TOP 10 is on the horizon...although Moore has talked about hiring other writers to carry on some of the ABC line after his departure (Michael Moorcock on something), so who knows? He's already had Peter Hogan write and co-write TERRA OBSCURA and some TOM STRONG issues. Geoff Johns even wrote the last TOM STRONG.

But 49'ers is gonna be all Moore and Gene Ha.

The Natural Way

19:52 / 06.04.04

"Please leave us here, close our eyes...." is taken from The Octopus Rise by Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd fame, after he'd enjoyed a nice stint on LSD whilst locked in a broom cupboard. Or something.

Prog-rock and fantasy are frequent bedfellows, donchaknow?

Gary Lactus

22:37 / 06.04.04

All the titles are from that song.

FinderWolf

14:49 / 07.04.04

Cool, thanks - I was wondering where all the titles for this series came from. Barbelithers come through again!

much appreciated.

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