HBO MAX Digital Comic #1
Written by Ivan Cohen
Pencils Scot Eaton
Inks Wayne Faucher
Colored by Hi-Fi
Cover by Jim Lee and Alex Sinclair
DC Comics
2020
HBOMax — To the Max!
In a world where, every day, people dream of being something more, three unexpected heroes get the chance to achieve their maximum potential. From outer space to Singapore to a Las Vegas casino, when danger looms, powerhouse champions make their explosive debuts! Given the chance to choose new abilities from a list curated to match their own interests and talents, each leaves their ordinary existence behind and goes… to the MAX!
To the Max: Hector – When a schoolteacher finds a mysterious device, it sends him flying into an incredible outer-space rescue mission.
I feel everything you need to know about these books is best summed up by counting how many times the word “max” appears on the cover of each issue. It’s a lot. And it happens even more inside. It’s distracting, bordering on offensive. These books exists ONLY to remind you that HBO is launching a new streaming service soon.
On some level, I want to believe that’s not such a bad thing. HBO is great, and every body needs to advertise, right? But why create an entire line of comics just to say MAX so often it almost makes you laugh? Whatever happened to buying a full page ad in an actual comic? Is supporting a series people might actually read not good enough any longer?
But to actually review the merits of this shameless advertising push in sheep’s clothing – the art is average at best, the story is a bit of a joke, and the writing is miserable. I simply can not imagine this being entertaining to any one but young children, and I also can not imagine them caring at all about HBO’s latest streaming efforts. This is one of the most poorly thought out and executed crossover events in living memory. But hey, at least it’s free…
Shameless Promotion for the Least Comic Book Thing Imaginable
There's nothing wrong with partnering up with another company to cross promote your new streaming service, but let's not call this a comic. These stories only exist to get the words "HBO" and "Max" in front of your eyes as often as possible.
Brian Reed
Brian has been reading comics since January, 1987, when the death of Optimus Prime rocked his young world. Once a regular presenter on The Nerdstravaganza Podcast, Brian now writes for Florida Geek Scene.
