Some filkers write original material, too. Smith not only writes original stuff, he writes it awfully bloody fast. He penned the 20 songs here in—wait for it—one day. He admits, though, that "some of the shtick, and an extra verse here and there, were written later."

Last Hero is billed as a comic opera, and it is. It's certainly funny, laugh-out-loud funny in places, and it's also comic in the sense that its characters are comic-book superheroes. The tunes here are all fairly short, with only the last one breaking the four-minute mark. Think Gilbert and Sullivan meet Weird Al Yankovic. Smith sings and plays quite well, and has put together some very good backing.

The album opens up with "What If?" in which his heroes, members of the Heroes League, are introduced: a group of do-gooders who have from childhood wanted to help humanity. Now, with years of training and acquired powers and gadgets, that's what they do. Smith has a knack for clever lyrics and catchy melodies. The album is also quite well produced, with interesting voice filters (lots of characters here) and nice stereo effects.

Did I mention this is funny?

The second band, "Mad Scientists United," introduces the villains, who are anxious to eliminate the heroes so that they can (of course) rule the world. "We don't work together very well," they sing; "We don't call each other on the phone." But they have decided to put aside their differences and rid themselves of the superheroes once and for all. "I've got some earthquake pills I can hide inside some birdseed," one of the bad guys sings, referencing one of Wile E. Coyote's schemes.

The problem is that they can't agree on what to do—not until a heretofore unknown member of their group speaks up ("The Sinister Cavortings of Sir Wilfred P. Huffelbaggins III") with a plan involving 60 specially built androids who steal the powers of the good guys and teleport them to a distant planet. This leaves just one man, the titular hero, to save Earth. But this is The Waffle, a superhero wannabe who is armed only with a syrup gun…

Of course, The Waffle manages to get himself teleported off to an alien planet, where he and a beautiful princess seem destined to be wed. The problem is, they don't love one another, which they admit in "A Million Light Years of Love," which is a rare bit of seriousness on this marvelously entertaining disc. With the help of alien technology, the Waffle is returned to Earth, where he manages to free the other heroes ("Hey! Didn't You Die?"), save the world and be reunited with his love in time for everyone to get together for a big finish: "With Great Power Comes Great Power Bills."

And so, yes, it is all very silly, but it's funny, and surprisingly touching in places, and the tunes are both clever and catchy. If you haven't heard Tom Smith in person or on disk, this is a great place to begin your acquaintance with a unique talent.