Smax is a spin-off series from Alan Moore's Top 10 series. Top 10 is a parody mash up of cop shows and superhero comics, set in a city where everyone has a superpower. It's a light, humourous story compared to Moore's usual grim tales, and damn funny to boot. One of the main characters is a huge blue silent giant named Smax with a mysterious past, and in this book we follow him back to his home dimension to have the mystery revealed.
It turns out his homeland is a stereotypical backwater fantasy world, complete with dragons, quests and brothers and sisters getting married. Being more familiar with fantasy novels than comic books I found this much funnier than Top 10, probably because I caught far more of the in jokes. The book is peppered with references to fantasy literature and games, both generic (one character asks Smax “How long will it take to get there?” to which Smax replies “About an hour, as long as we don't get any quests.”) and specific (there's a picture of Trogdor on the city walls subtitled “And the dragon comes in the night!”).
It's a very light and fluffy book, but brilliantly written. The ending is a little cheesy, with a predictable magic meets technology kind of twist, but by and large it's thoroughly delightful from beginning to end.
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