Saturday, March 1, 2008

The Many Faces of Chief Smith -- Panoramic Poster!


DFG Comics has released a retrospective of the career of Chief Augustus Smith in the form of a panoramic poster entitled The Many Faces of Chief Smith. Since his first appearance in the very first DFG comic, Spy Comics Vol. 1, #1, in 1981, Chief Smith has been one of the most important supporting characters in the DFG universe. As DFG executive Darryl Andrews noted, "In the DFG universe everyone ages naturally, there's none of this 'slowed time' crap that you encounter in our competitors' publications. That's why we've seen Chief Smith go through the aging process over the years and his appearance has changed. We all get older and we all look different as the years go by."
Chief Smith has gone through many changes in his life since his first appearance. Perhaps the most traumatic event in his life was the death of his daughter Sarah at the hands of Capt. Nepto's foe, the Unknown Strangler, back in Spy Comics Vol. 2, #3 (Jan/Feb 1985). Her death left Smith a grimmer and more driven figure, as he was now all alone in the world with the exception of his younger brother, Sgt. John Smith, also of the Carnage City Police Force.
Smith retired from the force in 1996 (as seen in Spy '96 #3, Mar. 1996) handing over the reigns to his former Chief Inspector, Shamus McMullen. However, after Julius Smithers became Governor General, Smith was pressed back into active service as the director of the national Security and Intelligence Service (and also serves presently as tactical advisor to the Invincibles). He remains, even at his advanced age, a crucial character in the DFG universe.
The character of Chief Augustus Smith is based on his real-life namesake who now serves as a security advisor to the management of DFG Publications.
The poster features art from throughout the publishing history of DFG Comics by DFG artists Darryl Andrews, Dan Graves, Frank Daniels, and comic book legend Todd Abbot.
For a closer view of the poster, click on the image, above.

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