The Maxx (single issues)

Series · 19

books · 1993-2016

By Sam Kieth, William Messner-Loebs

Books in series

The Maxx

Maxximized, #1

1993

The Maxx tells the story of a homeless person who lives in a box and moves back and forth between our reality and "The Outback," a heroic fantasy realm. He is aided and accompanied by Julie Winters, a social worker in our world and a beautiful jungle princess in The Outback.

The Maxx #3

1993

Maxx is following an Is, hoping it will lead him to Mr. Gone. Unfortunately Maxx keeps slipping into the Outback and cannot remember why he is in pursuit. The Maxx falls into a trap and finds himself in the Outback version of Mr. Gone’s bathroom. There he finds Mr. Gone. Maxx heads back to Julie’s apartment and they talk.

The Maxx #5

1993

This bizarre issue (bizarre even for The Maxx) starts with Mr. Gone and some Isz spying on the Maxx through a telescope. They see Maxx dozing off on Julies couch while watching cartoons. The Maxx finds himself in a dream world resembling his favorite cartoon, ‘The Crappon in a Hat. This spoof of the Cat in the hat is all in rhyme. It hints at what is behind Maxx’s mask. In this dream Maxx removes his mask and finds seeds that grow into the Outback where Maxx finds a child version of Julie. Li’l Julie tells Maxx that he is the deepest parts of Julies subconscious and that he shouldn’t be there. The maxx awakes and tells Julie of his dream. Julie figures that the outback is something the Maxx made up.

The Maxx #6

1993

Julie and Tilly enjoy a warm summer day, leaving Maxx at home to fix her larmp. The Savage Dragon has a cameo, and he’s looking for the ‘dangerous psychopath Mako! Fleeing from the Dragon, Mako burst in on Maxx. Maxx knows he’s no match for the blood thirsty land shark, especially with his claws glued shut. The Maxx is a lousy handyman. The chase goes on into the night. Mako ends the chase by tackling Maxx into a swimming pool. This causes Maxx to slip into the Outback. There Maxx meets the Leopard Queen again, only this time she appears darker. She inform Maxx that this change is due to Cruelty and pain. We also learn that her Leopard is dead. The chase continues until they find their way to a phone cord store. Maxx frees his claws with some solvent. Whit her car broken down Julie finds herself in the Outback where she meets Lil’ Julie. Lil’ Julie tells Julie that she is not part of Maxx;s outback, but the Maxx is part of hers. She also learns that the Leopard Queen is a part of her.

The Maxx, #7

1993

A coroner undresses what he thinks is the body of a dead homeless guy, but finds an Is instead. Julie locks herself in the bathroom while Maxx dream of the outback where he and Julie find themselves much much larger than usual, but not nearly as large as Pitt! Pitt somehow found his way to the Outback while pursuing what he thought was Timmy but was actually an Is dressed as Timmy. Meanwhile Sarah talks a chunk of clay while doing inventory at school. The clay hints at what Sarah’s spirit animal may be. And coerces her to it in Julie’s apartment. Also meanwhile, back at Julie’s apartment, Maxx and Pitt find themselves very small, where a normal sized Is gives them chase. Julie remains locked in the bathroom. This issue ends with a giant sized Julie finding a tiny Mr. Gone in the Outback. Ooooo!

The Maxx #9

1994

The coroner that discovered the Is back in issue 7 is now tied up in Mr. Gone’s basement. The Maxx entertains Sarah and some friends with a story that starts with a battle with a fierce predator from the outback called a ‘dicant’ that ends with a Buick Julie reveals that she does not like her relationship with Maxx. Two small boys find a hole to the Outback where a white Is escapes to the real world and one of the boys gets his hand caught in the hole. The foul smell in Julies apartment is discovered; the package that Sarah hid in Julies apartment was actually the decapitated head of Mr. Gone!

#11

The Maxx #11

1994

Julie tries to explain to Maxx why she has to leave. Maxx resents her. Mr. Gone reveals to Maxx that he has little to do with Julie, only that he got in the way when Julies spirit animal manifested.

#12

The Maxx #12

1994

With Julie gone, Maxx finds the Outback in shambles and goes on a rampage. Meanwhile Sarah’s friend wants to become Mr. Gone’s protégé in exchange for a favor. Gone would like him to deliver some tapes to Sarah.. We are also introduced to Jill. Jill is somewhat a sketchy character that uses men.

#14

The Maxx #14

1995

We find that Jasper (the boy who got his hand stuck in the portal to the Outback) is still stuck after three weeks. But frees himself with a hacksaw. The Maxx finds a new Outback that resembles a large blanket fortress filled with toys. In this outback Mr. Gone appears as a wooden toy who defends that realms princess. And we also meet Maxx 2. Instead of a rabbit he is a very big horse. And in case you hadn’t already guessed Jill was actually Julie, she’s back with a bun in the oven.

#19

The Maxx #19

1997

Mr. Gone gives Julie pictures she drew as a child, revealing that he has a history with her. And with that Gone tells us another Fairy Tail. This story begins with Gone visiting Julie’s parents and telling them about his trips to the Australian outback where he had started following a religion that believes that two worlds can exist at the same time. He also uses his sorcery to show Julie’s mom the outback. Gone explains to Julie that he’s been watching her, her whole life. He also hints that Julie may have been rapped during her teenage, rebellious years. After Julie objects to path of the story, Gone jumps to three weeks later where Julie hits someone with her car. She goes to investigate and in her distressed emotional state Julie inadvertently opens a portal to the Outback and a broken lamp that resmbles the Maxx’s mask falls partially through. At the same time Gone was witnessed the lamp while strolling through Julie’s mind and pushes the lamp back to the real world. Julie hides the still breathing man with trash (including the conspicuous lamp) and we see The Maxx form. Oh, and Maxx and Leopard Queen are still being chased by the Hooly.

#20

The Maxx #20

1995

Maxx and the Leopard Queen finally lose the Hooly and the Outback is restored. Maxx tells Julie that he is going to leave to find his old life. Julie recaps much of the story thus far and her and Sarah figure that Gone is dead. Maxx leaves and this upsets Julie. In the back we also get a bonus subplot page. This subplot is about a yellow slug that escapes Sarah’s Outback and is squashed beside a motivational tape.

#21

The Maxx #21

1995

We jump ahead in time and find a 25 year old Sara (formerly Sarah) living in a very small and very strange apartment with a guy named Steve. Due to a change in the law Sara is no longer eligible for social assistance and must find her father (Mr. Gone) since the new law states that he is responsible for her welfare. After talking to her mother, Sara heads to Seattle and finds her dad Their she finds him living happily with a girlfriend. Sara and Gone (now simply calling himself Artie Pender) talk. Artie hints that Mr. Gone was only a representation that Sarah somehow manifested when Artie used his magic to communicate with her. Sara is upset by him not taking responsibility for Gone and leaves stating that she does not want his money. During this whole ordeal Sara is being followed by 3 C.I.A. agents carrying an urn and looking for Artie. That night these three agents find him. Although we are not privy to how he did it, Artie made short work (killed?) these agents and is now in possession of the urn. At the same time Sara has a dream of this occurrence but in her dream the agents kill her father. Sara goes back to see Artie the next day but still cannot find it in herself to forgive him.

#24

The Maxx

Maxximized #24

2015

Sara finds herself out on a pier, literally and figuratively, and is swallowed up by exploding fairies and the relentless Yellow Slug, as the self-esteem tape—which plays in his head—does nothing to slow his destructive path of mayhem!

#25

The Maxx

Maxximized #25

1996

Sara and Horse-Maxx struggle to contain the exploding Pink Fairies they rescue from the lake. As they try to keep them on ice, literally, and hide them from Sara's roommate.

#29

The Maxx

Maxximized #29

2016

In the future, Sara's Horse-Maxx seems the only one capable of facing down Iago, the Giant-Yellow-Self-Help-Banana-Slug. Meanwhile, Gone hints at Maxx's own origin, and Julie finally discovers the mystery of Sara's disappearance.

#30

The Maxx

Maxximized #30

1997

Julie's search for Sara continues in the most unlikely of places. Meanwhile, a secret is revealed that will change Sara forever.

#31

The Maxx # 31

1997

Back issue comic book.

#33

The Maxx

Maxximized #33

2016

Things begin to spin out of control and things start to get weird—which is saying a lot for this book! And introducing Mickey, Dude, and a villainous man in a diaper named Uncle Freddie... and three oranges.

#35

The Maxx

Maxximized #35

2016

THE GRAND FINALE! Loose ends are tied up (or as close as anything is "tied up" or "makes sense" in this book) as Julie, Maxx, Gone, and the rest of the Maxx crew all get swallowed up into an alternate universe of magic bubbles!

Authors

Sam Kieth

Author · 40 books

Kieth first came to prominence in 1984 as the inker of Matt Wagner's Mage, his brushwork adding fluidity and texture to the broad strokes of Wagner's early work at Comico Comics. In 1989, he drew the first five issues of writer Neil Gaiman's celebrated series The Sandman, but felt his style was unsuited to the book (specifically saying that he "felt like Jimi Hendrix in The Beatles") and left, handing over to his former inker Mike Dringenberg. He acted as illustrator on two volumes of writer William Messner-Loebs' Epicurus the Sage and drew an Aliens miniseries for Dark Horse Comics, among other things, before creating The Maxx in 1993 for Image Comics, with, initially, writing help from Messner-Loebs. It ran for 35 issues and was adapted, with Kieth's assistance, into an animated series for MTV. Since then, as a writer-artist, he has gone on to create Friends of Maxx, Zero Girl, Four Women and Ojo. Ojo comprises the first and My Inner Bimbo the second, in a cycle of original comic book limited series published by Oni Press. Loosely connected, the cycle will concern the intertwined lives of people with each other and sometimes with a supernatural entity known as the Mysterious Trout. Kieth has stated that other characters from The Maxx series will appear in this cycle of stories. My Inner Bimbo #1 was published in April 2006. Issue #2 was delayed past its original release date; It was finally resolicited in "Previews" in 2007 and hit the store shelves in November 2007. DC Comics' Batman/Lobo: Deadly Serious, a two-issue prestige format mini-series that started in August 2007, was written and drawn by Kieth. This was followed by 2009's two-issue prestige format mini-series Lobo: Highway to Hell, written by Scott Ian and featuring art by Kieth.

William Messner-Loebs

Author · 48 books

William Francis Messner-Loebs (born William Francis Loebs, Jr.) is an American comics artist and writer from Michigan, also known as Bill Loebs and Bill Messner-Loebs. His hyphenated surname is a combination of his and his wife Nadine's unmarried surnames. In the 1980s and 1990s he wrote runs of series published by DC Comics, Image Comics, Comico, and other comics publishers, including DC's superhero series Flash and Wonder Woman among others. Additionally he has both written and drawn original creator-owned works, such as Journey: The Adventures of Wolverine MacAlistaire.