View source for The Maxx

{{Short description|American comic book series created by Sam Kieth}}
{{for|the retail store owned by TJ Maxx|The Maxx (retail store)}}
{{Infobox comic book title <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
| schedule       = Monthly
| ongoing        = y
| Superhero      = y
| publisher      = [[Image Comics]]<br>[[IDW Publishing]]
| startmo        = March
| startyr        = 1993
| endyr          = 1998
| issues         = 35
| main_char_team = The Maxx<br> Julie Winters<br> [[Mister Gone|Mr. Gone]]
| writers        = Sam Kieth (1–35)<br/> [[Alan Moore]] (21)<br/> [[William Messner-Loebs|Bill Messner-Loebs]] (1–15, 17–20, 22–23)
| artists        = Sam Kieth<br> Chance Wolf<br> Tony Kelly<br>Kell-O-Graphics
| creators       = [[Sam Kieth]]
| TPB            = Volume 1
| ISBN           = 1-4012-0124-5
| subcat         = Image Comics
| sort           = Maxx
| endmo          = August
| image          = The Maxx cover 1.jpg
| genre          = {{Ubl|[[Fantasy (genre)|Fantasy]]| [[Black comedy]]| [[Comedy drama]] | [[Drama]]| [[Superhero]]}}
| caption        = Sam Kieth, ''The Maxx'' #1 (March 1993)
| letterers      = [[Mike Heisler]]<br> [[Ken Bruzenak]]
| colorists      = [[Steve Oliff]]<br>[[Olyoptics]]
| inkers         = Jim Sinclair
| pencillers     = Sam Kieth
}}
'''''The Maxx''''' is an [[American comic book]] series created by [[Sam Kieth]] in 1993 and originally published monthly until 1998 by [[Image Comics]] for 35 issues, before being collected in [[Trade paperback (comics)|trade paperback]] by [[DC Comics]]' [[Wildstorm]] imprint. The first appearance of the character was in ''[[Darker Image]]'' #1 by Image Comics in March 1993.<ref>Overstreet, Robert M. ''[[Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide]]''. Gemstone Publishing, Inc. 2007. page 786.</ref> The [[comic book]], starring an eponymous purple-clad hero, spawned a 13-episode [[animated series]] on [[MTV]] that originally aired April–June 1995. Starting in November 2013 and ending in September 2016, the original series has been republished by [[IDW Publishing|IDW]] as ''The Maxx: Maxximized'' with new colors and improved scans of the original artwork by [[Sam Kieth]] and Jim Sinclair. In 2018, the Maxx featured in a five-issue crossover series with [[Batman]], published by IDW.

The series follows the adventures of the titular hero in two worlds: the real world and an alternate reality referred to as the Outback. In the real world, Maxx is a [[Vagrancy|vagrant]], a "homeless man living in a box", while in the Outback, he is the powerful protector of the Leopard Queen, who exists in the real world as Julie Winters, a freelance [[social work]]er who often bails Maxx out of jail. While Maxx is aware of the Outback, Julie is not, though it is integral to both of their stories.

==Plot summary==

===Main story arc===
[[Mister Gone|Mr. Gone]], a [[rape|serial rapist]] with a [[telepathy|telepathic]] link to Julie, has extensive knowledge of and access to other people's Outbacks. He starts phoning Julie, but she thinks he is merely an obscene phone caller and ignores him. Eventually, the Maxx gets in Gone's way by "protecting" Julie. Gone tries to kill him with assistance from the Outback's main predators, the Isz. The Maxx fights him in both the Outback and the real world.

Eventually, Mr. Gone makes Julie see the truth about her past and reveals to her how the Maxx came to be. Gone first met Julie when she was a child as "Uncle Artie", a friend of her father; his [[tall tales]] about a visit to Australia helped shape Julie's Outback. As Julie begins healing herself and the Outback, the series starts following Sara, a [[clinical depression|depressed]] teenager whose mother sends her to Julie for [[counseling]]. Sara is often in conflict with her mother, who disciplines her so she will not grow up to be like her father—Mr. Gone.

===Backstory===
The backstories of several characters are revealed midway through the series. While in college, Julie picks up a hitch-hiker who beats and [[rape]]s her, leaving her to die. To cope, she hides in what is referred to as her "Outback" (a primeval landscape situated entirely in her subconscious, where she has control). In the Outback, she becomes "The Jungle Queen", an all-powerful goddess. She spends so much time dwelling in her Outback that the real world and the Outback gradually become unstable.

One night, she accidentally hits a homeless man with her car. Remembering what happened the last time she stopped to help someone, she covers the unconscious body with trash, but in doing so unintentionally creates a link between it and the Outback. After Julie leaves a lampshade in the trash, which had previously brushed the Outback, it expands over the man's body and becomes a mask that consumes and links him to Julie, transforming him into the Maxx.

===Second storyline===
After the conclusion of the first storyline, the comic skips in time from 1995 (the then-present) to the year 2005. Julie and Dave (the former Maxx) having vanished, the action focuses on Sara (as she now spells her name) and "Iago", a giant, murderous [[banana slug]] from her Outback. Iago has a list of people to kill, and it turns out that Julie and Sara are both on it. Sara is hounded by a homeless man named Norbert whom she soon realizes is her Maxx. Sara has constant confrontations with Mr. Gone, who is repentant of his past crimes. He is visited by three special agents intent on arresting him, but he turns them into insects. Later, after reading a diary he leaves for her that reveals his tragic origin story, Sara eventually feels sympathy for and a connection to her father. She also begins developing a strange power that she may be inheriting from Gone.

Julie and Dave return to the story after Julie is attacked by Iago and loses a few fingers. It turns out that Julie abandoned her son, Mark, to keep him safe from Iago. She tries to have Dave tell Mark that she's dead so he'll stop seeking her out, but Mark does not believe him. Sara, Dave, Mark, Mr. Gone and Norbert band together to rescue Julie from Iago, who kidnaps and takes her into Sara's outback. Norbert cuts Iago open, apparently defeating him, but Julie has already escaped.

Mr. Gone soon reveals that time is unraveling for the group, which now includes Glorie, one of Gone's past victims who now has a friendly relationship with him. Gone returns Dave's Maxx power to him. Sara returns as a being whom different people perceive as a giant Isz, pink fairy, or football. Mark has an odd dream about eccentric kidnappers. Each member of the group begins to disappear from reality to be reborn in another. Before Gone can disappear, the three agents who previously tried to arrest him, now appearing as humanoid beings with insect bug heads, return and kill him, as he expected. Mark is the last to disappear.

In Julie's outback, Gone is reunited with Sara, who is now a child again. The Maxx considers attacking him, but the Jungle Queen says to leave him be, because even evil deserves a place to rest.

In the new reality, Mr. Gone is a professor and Dave is a janitor at his school. Julie and Mark are still mother and son, but seem to live in better conditions. All the principal characters now lead completely distinct lives, yet retain a small part of their connection to the Outback and to each other.

==Spirit animals==
One of the dominant concepts of ''The Maxx'' is that every human being has a [[Power animal|spirit animal]], which is linked to the person during a pivotal moment in their life. Julie's spirit animal is a rabbit, which she gained after rescuing a dying rabbit as a child. Julie later witnessed her mother bludgeoning the rabbit to death with a shovel to put it out of its misery, which linked the rabbit to Julie's subconscious.

Sarah's spirit animal is a horse. In the latter half of the series, this spirit animal manifests itself as Norbert, a homeless man she takes pity on.

==Isz==
The main inhabitants of the Outback, the Isz are small, eyeless beings with egg-shaped bodies. The white Isz of the Outback become [[cannibalism|cannibalistic]] black Isz when brought into the real world. In one instance, a White Isz was able to cross over into the real world unchanged through a small hole in an alley wall that connected both realities. The Isz in Sara's Outback are pink, flying, eyeless [[fairy|fairie]]s that explode if not kept in water.

==Collected editions==
The original comic series was collected into five [[trade paperback (comics)|trade paperbacks]]:

*''The Maxx'' Book 1: Issues #1–6, {{ISBN|1-4012-0124-5}} (September 2003)
*''The Maxx'' Book 2: Issues #7–13, ''[[Darker Image]]'' #1 {{ISBN|1-4012-0280-2}}
*''The Maxx'' Book 3: Issues #14–20 {{ISBN|1-4012-0298-5}}
*''The Maxx'' Book 4: Issues #21–27 {{ISBN|1-4012-0613-1}}
*''The Maxx'' Book 5: Issues #28–35 {{ISBN|1-4012-0621-2}}
The spin-off series ''Friends of Maxx'' #1–3 (April 1996–March 1997) was collected as:
*''The Maxx'' Book 6 {{ISBN|1-4012-0946-7}} (February 2006)

The IDW reissues of the comics have also been collected into [[hardcover]] collections:

*''The Maxx'' Maxximized Volume 1: Issues #1–4, {{ISBN|978-1613779590}} (July 2014)
*''The Maxx'' Maxximized Volume 2: Issues #5–8, {{ISBN|978-1631401046}}
*''The Maxx'' Maxximized Volume 3: Issues #9–12, {{ISBN|978-1631402029}}
*''The Maxx'' Maxximized Volume 4: Issues #13–18, {{ISBN|978-1631403231}}
*''The Maxx'' Maxximized Volume 5: Issues #19–24, {{ISBN|978-1631405136}}
*''The Maxx'' Maxximized Volume 6: Issues #25–30, {{ISBN|1631406612}}
*''The Maxx'' Maxximized Volume 7: Issues #31–35, {{ISBN|1631408003}} (December 2016)
IDW collected the reissues into trade paperbacks:

* ''The Maxx: Maxxed Out'' Volume 1: Issues #1–12, 978-1-63140-555-6 (March 2016)
* ''The Maxx: Maxxed Out'' Volume 2: Issues #13–24, 978-1-63140-705-5
* ''The Maxx: Maxxed Out'' Volume 3: Issues #25–35, 978-1-63140-880-9 (May 2017)

=== Other issues ===
An earlier version of Maxx, still called Max the Hare, made his first appearance in [[Comico: The Comic Company|Comico]] ''Primer'' #5 (1983). Other Maxx issues include his modern version comic book debut, in an 8-page spread in the first and only issue of ''[[Darker Image]]'' (March 1993), an incomplete anthology series from [[Image Comics]], as well as ''The Maxx'' #½ (June 1993) and a ''[[Gen¹³|Gen<sup>13</sup>]]/The Maxx'' [[Intercompany crossover|crossover]] (December 1995). Recently, IDW published another crossover series of five issues, ''Batman/The Maxx'' (October 2018–February 2019).

* ''Batman/The Maxx: The Lost Year Compendium'': Issues #1–3 (Kindle Edition) (September 2020)
* ''Batman/The Maxx: Arkham Dreams'': Issues #1–5, {{ISBN|978-1684054329}}  (2021)

==Cameos==
The Maxx has made cameo appearances in the graphic novel ''[[Popbot]]'' Book 2 (which Kieth co-wrote), issue #1 of the independent comic ''Armature'', the [[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Sonic the Hedgehog]] comic ''Sonic Super Special ''#7 Sonic/Image Crossover, the three issue [[Limited series (comics)|limited series]] ''Altered Image'', '' [[Bloodwulf]]'' #2, ''The [[Savage Dragon]]'' #28 (collected in ''Savage Dragon Vol. 7: A Talk With God''), and ''[[Troll (Youngblood)|Troll Halloween Special]]'' #1.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.comics.org/issue/764622/|title=GCD: Troll Halloween Special #1 (Image Comics, 1994)|website= Grand Comics Database cataloging information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful to comic book readers, collectors, fans, and scholars.}}</ref> He also briefly appears in the series ''[[Mars Attacks]] Image''. He appears on a TV screen on the Frostbite version of the cover to ''[[DV8]] #1''. Maxx stories have also appeared in ''[[Gay Comics]]'' #24 and [[IDW Publishing]]'s ''Hero Comics 2014''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG140471|title=Previews World: Hero Comics 2014 (IDW Publishing, 2014)|website=Another great all-star one-shot to benefit The Hero Initiative. Sam Kieth provides an all-new Maxx story, his first in nearly 20 years.}}</ref> In 2018, Maxx made a long-awaited comeback with [[Batman]] in the ''Arkham Dreams'' series.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newcomic.info/47050-batman-the-maxx-arkham-dreams-2.html|title=Batman - The Maxx - Arkham Dreams #2|website=Download Free CBR, CBZ Comics, 0-day Releases comics, Batman, Spider-Man, Superman and other superhero comics}}</ref>

==Television series==
{{Infobox television
| image              = TheMaxx Complete.jpg
| caption            = ''The Maxx: The Complete Series'' DVD set
| runtime            = 11–13 minutes
| creator            = Sam Kieth<br>Bill Messner-Loebs
| voices             = Michael Haley<br>[[Glynnis Talken Campbell|Glynnis Talken]]<br>Amy Danles<br>Barry Stigler
| based_on           = ''The Maxx''<br>by<br>Sam Kieth
| country            = United States
| executive_producer = Abby Terkuhle
| director           = [[Gregg Vanzo]]
| producer           = [[Claudia Katz]]
| network            = [[MTV]]
| company            = [[MTV Animation]]<br>[[Rough Draft Studios]]
| first_aired        = {{start date|1995|04|08}}
| last_aired         = {{end date|1995|06|19}}
| num_episodes       = 13
}}
<!--  Full episodes used to be able to be streamed for free on MTV's [[Liquid Television|Liquid TV]] reboot [[Liquid Television#Shows on LiquidTelevision.com|liquidtelevision.com]].{{Dead link|date=March 2015}} -->
The comic book series was adapted into an animated series as part of the [[MTV]] program ''Oddities''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Erickson |first1=Hal |title=Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 |date=2005 |edition=2nd |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=978-1476665993 |page=568}}</ref> The show covered ''Darker Image'' #1, ''The Maxx'' #1/2 and issues #1–11 of the regular series, and depicted the introduction of Julie, the original Maxx,{{Clarify|reason=original as opposed to what|date=July 2020}} Mr. Gone and, later on in the series, Sarah. Therefore, the TV show did not go into the same depth (e.g. revealing the origins of all the characters) as the comic series.

The animation frequently changes style: in one scene, characters may be rendered in detail, but in the next, they may be simplified [[cartoon]]s.  Often, this is done to show a change in perspective. [[Computer-generated imagery|CGI]] and even live-action film are sometimes integrated or interspersed with the [[hand-drawn animation]]. Critics such as Richard Matthes have noted how much of the animation is based directly on [[Panel (comics)|panels from the comic]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Mathes |first=Richard |title=The Maxx – The Only Thing MTV Never Screwed Up |url=http://www.tubewad.com/featured-the-maxx-the-only-thing-mtv-never-screwed-up-1664-p.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080123222154/http://www.tubewad.com/featured-the-maxx-the-only-thing-mtv-never-screwed-up-1664-p.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-01-23 |date=2007-05-29 |access-date=2008-12-31 |publisher=Tubewad |quote=The cartoon version of The Maxx follows the comics' art almost line-for-line.  Instead of attempting to cartoon-ify the dark tone of the comic books, the producers made the decision to use animation that is nearly identical to the panels within the Image comics. In addition, the animators did as little animating as possible. They don’t insert motion just to show that they can; instead, they hold on to shots, using movement only when absolutely necessary.}}</ref>

===Home media===

In 1996, the complete series was released on [[VHS]] with a runtime of approximately 2 hours. In 2009, it became available to stream on MTV.com,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Maxx – Full Episodes, Photos, Episode Synopsis, and recaps |url=http://www.mtv.com/shows/the_maxx/series.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090721221749/http://www.mtv.com/shows/the_maxx/series.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 21, 2009 |date=2009-08-06  |access-date=2011-08-06 |publisher=MTV.com}}</ref> though only to U.S. audiences. On December 17, 2009, ''The Maxx'' became available on [[DVD]] exclusively through Amazon's CreateSpace "Manufacture-on-Demand" program;<ref>{{cite web |title=The Maxx DVD news: Release Date for The Maxx – The Complete Series |url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Maxx-The-Complete-Series/13105 |date=2009-11-30 |access-date=2011-08-06 |publisher=TVShowsonDVD.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010182614/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Maxx-The-Complete-Series/13105 |archive-date=2012-10-10 }}</ref> it contains every episode of the TV show and also includes [[audio commentary]] on each episode, plus interviews with creator Sam Kieth and director [[Gregg Vanzo]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Maxx DVD news: Pre-order The MAXX – The Complete Series from Amazon |url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Maxx-The-Complete-Series/13038 |date=2009-11-30 |access-date=2011-08-06 |publisher=TVShowsonDVD.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127012145/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Maxx-The-Complete-Series/13038 |archive-date=2011-11-27 }}</ref>

===Voice actors===
*Michael Haley as The Maxx
*[[Glynnis Talken Campbell|Glynnis Talken]] as Julie Winters and Glorie
*Amy Danles as Sarah
*Barry Stigler as [[Mister Gone|Mr. Gone]]

==Other media==

===Role-playing game===
An adventure for the ''Heroes & Heroines'' [[role-playing game]] was released using ''The Maxx'' characters and setting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/83655/maxx|title= The Maxx|publisher=rpggeek.com|access-date=2017-08-17}}</ref>

===Soundtrack===
An audio drama comic adaptation, ''MAXXimum Sound: A Comic Book Soundtrack'', was made from the first three issues of the comic book<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smileslewis.com/historybio/ |title=History EHE Bio |publisher=Stephen Miles Lewis |access-date=2014-05-29 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304085502/http://www.smileslewis.com/historybio/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and released on audio cassette in 1993.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825070504/http://www.arcaderetroink.com/bio/bio.html |url=http://www.arcaderetroink.com/bio/bio.html |title=Arcaderetro Ink |archive-date=25 August 2007 |access-date=2014-05-29}}</ref> It was created by Stephen Romano and managed by Smiles Lewis.

===Video game===
In 2008, Chris Vick made an [[Atari Jaguar]] (1993 console) [[video game]] [[Game demo|demo]] based on the Maxx for the ''JagCode II'' contest. Being the winner of the contest, it is available on the ''JagCode II'' website.<ref name="JagcodeII">{{cite web|url=http://www.jagcode.com/IIdownloads.html|title=Jagcode II Downloads|website=jagcode.com|date=2008|access-date=2023-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513105000/http://www.jagcode.com/IIdownloads.html|archive-date=2008-05-13|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="DHS2008">{{cite web|url=https://dhs.nu/news.php?sd=2008-01-01&ed=2008-12-31|title=Atariscene News: 2008|publisher=Dead Hackers Society|date=2008|access-date=2023-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100512110540/https://dhs.nu/news.php?sd=2008-01-01&ed=2008-12-31|archive-date=2010-05-12|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Film===
On November 22, 2019, [[Channing Tatum]] and [[Roy Lee]] announced their intent to produce a film based on ''The Maxx''.<ref>{{cite web|first=Geoff|last=Boucher|title='The Maxx' Finds A Home With Channing Tatum's Free Association|url=https://deadline.com/2019/11/the-maxx-finds-a-home-with-channing-tatums-free-association-1202793421/|date=November 22, 2019|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|access-date=November 23, 2019}}</ref> In January 2024, Tatum confirmed on his [[Instagram]] that production on the film was moving forward.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-19 |title=Channing Tatum Confirms Involvement In THE MAXX Movie: "I'm So Excited For This" |url=https://comicbookmovie.com/comics/image/channing-tatum-confirms-involvement-in-the-maxx-movie-im-so-excited-for-this-a208947 |access-date=2024-01-21 |website=ComicBookMovie.com |language=en-us}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Cartoon}}

* [http://samkieth.blogspot.com Sam Kieth's Blog]
* [https://web.archive.org/*/http://www.mtv.com:80/animation/maxx/ Official site] of ''The Maxx''
* {{IMDb title|qid=Q3031713|title=The Maxx}}
* [http://www.tv.com/the-maxx/show/15534/summary.html?q=The+Maxx TV.com entry for ''The Maxx''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091202135913/http://www.tv.com/the-maxx/show/15534/summary.html?q=The+Maxx |date=2009-12-02 }}
*[http://www.toonopedia.com/maxx.htm ''The Maxx''] at [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]. [https://archive.today/20130621112935/http://www.toonopedia.com/maxx.htm Archived] from the original on February 15, 2016.

{{MTV Animation}}
{{MTV Network programs}}
{{Rough Draft Studios}}
{{IDW Publishing}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxx, The}}
[[Category:1990s American adult animated television series]]
[[Category:1990s American animated comedy television series]]
[[Category:1990s American superhero comedy television series]]
[[Category:1995 American animated television series debuts]]
[[Category:1995 American television series endings]]
[[Category:American adult animated comedy television series]]
[[Category:American adult animated drama television series]]
[[Category:American adult animated fantasy television series]]
[[Category:American adult animated superhero television series]]
[[Category:Comics about women]]
[[Category:Comics adapted into animated series]]
[[Category:Comics adapted into television series]]
[[Category:Dark fantasy television series]]
[[Category:Feminist comics]]
[[Category:Fiction about rape]]
[[Category:Fiction about telepathy]]
[[Category:Fictional humanoids]]
[[Category:Image Comics superheroes]]
[[Category:MTV cartoons]]
[[Category:Television shows based on American comics]]
[[Category:Television series based on Image Comics]]
[[Category:Television series by Rough Draft Studios]]