Meanwhile, MTV was just beginning to come up with its own original animated programming following the success of their anthology series Liquid Television which spawned off a pair of shows, Aeon Flux, plus none other than Beavis And Butthead. They expanded with a new show titled MTV’s Oddities in 1995 which was originally intended to be an anthology featuring two separate titles, one of which was The Head created by Daria director Eric Fogel which went on to have its own series and became the first animated series that got a graphic novel conclusion after the original show was cancelled. The other title on Oddities was The Maxx based on the comic book, and the plan was to play one 10-minute episode of each title in a half-hour time slot but was instead split into showing the entire run of The Head followed by The Maxx which finished out the series in a single season.
Sam Kieth came up with the idea of a homeless superhero, even though Image Comics already had a similar character in Spawn by Todd McFarlane who not only got his own animated series on HBO but also a live-action movie. The Maxx stands out though as he wears a purple costume, a color that most superheroes stay away from. This is possibly meant as an homage to The Phantom as when Maxx isn’t fighting crime in the city, he’s caught in a dreamscape where he believes he’s a jungle king in a savage land called the Outback. This wild country is inhabited by another hero named the Leopard Queen, but she’s really Julie Winters, a freelance social worker who is constantly being called in to bail Maxx out of jail for his vigilante antics. Civilians don’t seem to regard Maxx’s appearance as anything of note as spandex-clad superheroes are commonplace in the Wildstorm Universe. Aside from the purple duds, Maxx sports a mask that gives the appearance of a row of teeth, plus both of his middle fingers are a huge claw that are nearly invulnerable that he can cut with like Wolverine. Conveniently, Sam Kieth went on to draw a few Wolverine comics. Maxx keeps flipping between reality and the Outback which it turns out is Julie’s dream world that she created after being raped, and Maxx is trapped in this cycle because Julie accidently imprinted her spirit animal on to him. All this is going on while a serial murderer named Mr. Gone is plaguing the city who happens to know what is really going on with Maxx and Julie, and he enforces his evil plans with a horde of carnivorous beasts called the Isz who act as Mr. Gone’s snickering minions.
The entire 13-episode run covered only the first 11 issues of The Maxx comic book along with a few specials. Since The Maxx takes place in the Image Comics reality, various other characters make guest appearances like Pitt or Savage Dragon who for the cartoon had to be replaced by original characters to avoid licensing hassles. The actual comic went on for a full 35 issues, so the TV series only covers the first third of the original run.
The show was directed by Gregg Vanzo and animated by his company Rough Draft Studios which went on to handle Futurama. Rough Draft would be one of the first studios to utilize digital and hand-drawn animation when producing The Maxx. Each episode is almost a motion comic taking artwork from the original comic issue that goes from panel-to-panel plus long panning shots featuring multiple panels in the same way a reader would scroll down a comic page. The animation would sporadically change for each scene, sometimes with generic 2D drawing, to CGI, and even live action. The animators saved a ton of money by showing as little movement as possible including lip flaps which works great for Maxx as he’s always masked, although this helps brings in the viewer even more because the dialogue was one of the most intriguing parts.
The cast would give each character their own distinct presence. The Maxx was played by the late Michael Haley who made the delusional homeless hero talk in a standard normal voice which really grounded Maxx as a believable character trapped between worlds. Singer Glynnis Talken was Julie and her take on the comics damsel was of someone trying to get their life together after a horrific incident while still being blissfully unaware of how her dreams are affecting the lives of others. The single best of all was Barry Stickler as Mr. Gone who is a charismatic over-the-top villain who completely revels in his nefarious deeds and takes great pleasure at being the only one who seems to have all the answers, even though he keeps getting his head cut off whenever he tries to explain the truth behind the mystery.
The Maxx gained a cult following during its broadcast which received a compilation movie on VHS that left out a decent amount of material from the series. Amazon would later release all 13 episodes on DVD along with a recap episode and other bonus features. Prior to the TV series, there was an awesome radio drama covering the first 4 episodes put out on audiotape. The Maxx character has also gone on to have various crossovers with Batman and Gen13. The animated series itself is also available digitally on Prime Video.
Sam Kieth went on to have a masterful career in comics working on titles like Lobo, Hulk, and Spider-Man. He created a few Maxx spinoffs, as well as the mini-series of Zero Girl. One other thing he did most people are unaware of is that he co-wrote the pilot for the Cartoon Network series Cow And Chicken which was created by his cousin David Feiss. Kieth unfortunately passed away from Lewy body dementia, but The Maxx TV series went on to be his most notable effort since he worked so closely with the studio animating it. The Maxx is a memory box of psychological 90s nostalgia that is just begging to be open for new viewers.
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