Stories 7-10 (crossposted to 365shortstories)
I'm lumping these together for what should be obvious reasoning.
Story 7: Expose by Jake Black from Smallville magazine Sept-Oct 2006 issue.
Story 8: Quest by Brandon T. Snider from Smallville magazine Jan-Feb 2008 issue.
Story 9: Hole by Tom Inkel from Smallville magazine Nov-Dec 2007 issue.
Story 10: Project Solomon by Neal Bailey from Smallville magazine Sept-Oct 2007 issue.
In chatting with my friend Dave, we came to the conclusion that most likely, the stories in Smallville magazine are so bad mainly because the producers of the show don't want the stories to be any better than the majority of the scripts they write. This is probably an accurate theory.
Of the four stories above, the last one could easily have been expanded either as an episode or as a novel. In not so many words, it introduces Solomon Grundy (or a version thereof) into the Smallville universe. Sadly, the author feels the need to tie a Luthor into the dumping of the body into the swamp decades ago, rather than having it be just a random event. And of course there's a tie to the modern Luthors. With the right writer, this one could have had potential.
"Expose" is a decent Chloe Sullivan-centric mystery marred by poor dialogue and cliche. "Quest" involves Clark on a drug-induced vision quest instigated by the Martian Manhunter, who fights a Phantom Zoner in Clark's absence, and the whole thing reads like a rejected episode script. "Hole" is one of the better Smallville stories I've read (which isn't saying much), with Clark and Lois trapped in a collapsed cave and Clark having to fake being stuck under a boulder.
I think I'm caught up on the Smallville stories until the next issue comes out in two months ....
Story 7: Expose by Jake Black from Smallville magazine Sept-Oct 2006 issue.
Story 8: Quest by Brandon T. Snider from Smallville magazine Jan-Feb 2008 issue.
Story 9: Hole by Tom Inkel from Smallville magazine Nov-Dec 2007 issue.
Story 10: Project Solomon by Neal Bailey from Smallville magazine Sept-Oct 2007 issue.
In chatting with my friend Dave, we came to the conclusion that most likely, the stories in Smallville magazine are so bad mainly because the producers of the show don't want the stories to be any better than the majority of the scripts they write. This is probably an accurate theory.
Of the four stories above, the last one could easily have been expanded either as an episode or as a novel. In not so many words, it introduces Solomon Grundy (or a version thereof) into the Smallville universe. Sadly, the author feels the need to tie a Luthor into the dumping of the body into the swamp decades ago, rather than having it be just a random event. And of course there's a tie to the modern Luthors. With the right writer, this one could have had potential.
"Expose" is a decent Chloe Sullivan-centric mystery marred by poor dialogue and cliche. "Quest" involves Clark on a drug-induced vision quest instigated by the Martian Manhunter, who fights a Phantom Zoner in Clark's absence, and the whole thing reads like a rejected episode script. "Hole" is one of the better Smallville stories I've read (which isn't saying much), with Clark and Lois trapped in a collapsed cave and Clark having to fake being stuck under a boulder.
I think I'm caught up on the Smallville stories until the next issue comes out in two months ....