Maximum Press - Non-Moore Awesome Publications

Non-Moore Awesome Publications

Awesome's initial releases also included entirely new properties which were generally received more favorably than either the Extreme or Maximum lines had been. These included Kaboom, created by artist Jeff Matsuda (and written by Loeb), which dealt with main character Geof Sunrise, who on his sixteenth birthday is given "access to the Kaboom Power Cycle, the mystic source of all power", and subsequently hunted by "the Nine, a group of demons". Artist Ian Churchill created two series — Coven and Lionheart (both also written by Loeb). Coven (which followed a fairly regular bi-monthly publishing schedule between August 1997 and July 1998 for its first 6-issue series) was a supernatural, "Heaven vs. Hell" title, featuring the titular group. "The Coven" was made up of "Fantom (half-human vampiress); Spellcaster (white witch with owl familiar); Scratch (Catholic priest possessed by a demon); Blackmass (leader, descendant of Cain); and Phenomena (can tell when trouble's a-brewing)", and featured "a healthy mix of lightheartedness and horror". Lionheart's two issues told the story of Karen Quinn, an archaeologist accidentally transformed into Lionheart, a warrior "infused with a divine power tracing back to the Garden of Eden and the expulsion of Adam and Eve."