Smax



A Spin-Off of Top Ten by Alan Moore. The series focuses on the titular character and takes place right after the events of the series it was spun off from. Like Top Ten it pays homage to genre comics, but instead of superheros and police procedurals, Smax focuses on classical fantasy settings, with the titular hero coming from that sort of world.

Jeff Smax receives news from his homeworld that his adoptive uncle has died, and prepares to go back for the funeral. He also invites his partner, Robyn Slinger (AKA "Toybox") to go with him. When they reach Smax's former home, Robyn learns that Smax is embarassed of his homeworld, that with the exception of his twin sister, Smax's family are all dwarves, that his "real" name is 'Jaafs Macksun', and that he brought her with him for more than just company, something she only finds out when he introduces her to his family.

After his uncle's funeral, circumstances manifest that remind Jeff of why he left in the first place, and that when he did leave, he left unfinished business behind. Because of this unfinished business, Jeff is eventually pushed into going off on a quest to slay a dragon named Morningbright. A dragon that he has had prior dealings with, and which is responsible for the presence of the hand-shaped mark on his chest...

This series provides examples of:

"Morningbright: You see, it's like this. In the beginning, God created me...Then he made the universe, from what was left."
 * Abusive Parents: Smax and Rexa's ogre father was particularly hard on Rexa.
 * Action Girl: Rexa certainly seems to know how to use a battle axe.
 * Adorkable: Given his characterization in Top Ten as the "strong and silent" type, it's rather surprising to find that Smax is incredibly awkward around family and friends, and altogether not very intelligent.
 * Affectionate Parody: Of fantasy literature and games, for the most part.
 * All Myths Are True
 * Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Played with, as Morningbright can change his form at will.
 * Badass: Smax
 * Badass Boast:

"Smax:HOW Smax:MANY Smax:DWARVES?"
 * Brother-Sister Incest / Twincest: The core of Smax's embarrassment about his home dimension. Not that it stops him from participating...
 * Chess with Death: Well, Chess with one of the Deaths. The Death in charge of all those games is named Lionel, and he happens to be terrible at chess.
 * Death by Origin Story:.
 * Fantastic Racism: Elves aren't really trusted on Smax's world.
 * Fantasy Kitchen Sink
 * Made of Iron: Smax and presumably, his sister too. Bordering on Nigh Invulnerable,
 * The Multiverse: Back home Smax was apparently aware of this, but only used it when he really felt the need to get away from everything.
 * Mundane Fantastic: Particularly funny when signs come up that Smax needs to go on a quest, and he stubbornly tries to dismiss them all, including.
 * Oh Crap: Plenty, but most memorably when Toybox gets the message "Heed, Earthly Lass, Lest Our Rustic Orb Become Your Nemesis." Don't get it?
 * Our Dragons Are Different
 * Our Dwarves Are All the Same: And apparently every formally approved quest involves a mandatory dwarf quota. They themselves do some Lampshade Hanging on this.
 * Playing with Fire: Morningbright's a dragon, and fire-breathing is definitely included in the package.
 * Rasputinian Death: Smax's father.
 * Self-Made Orphan:
 * Shout-Out: Far too many to mention here, as in most of Moore's works.
 * Survivor Guilt: Smax left his home, and went as far away as Precinct 10, because he couldn't save a little girl from a dragon. Her handprint was permanently burned onto his chest, which didn't exactly help matters.
 * The Grim Reaper: there are various reapers with different specialties.
 * This Is Sparta: