Sam Keith first published The Maxx in 1992 under the upstart banner of Image Comics. Image came about when superstar artists Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefield, Marc Silvestri, Eric Larson and Jim Viatelo bolted from Marvel Comics in 1991. Once established they reached out to other popular creators and offered them the chance to publish their own books, Sam Keith was one such artist. Keith was probably best known for having drawn Wolverine in Marvel Comics Presents. Both celebrated and criticized for his unique art style - which led to off model renditions of popular characters - Keith was finally free to "cut loose" with The Maxx. Unlike most superhero comics, The Maxx delved deep into psychological and metaphysical subject matter, thus making it a perfect match for MTV's late night cartoon show "MTVs Oddities".
The premise of the Maxx goes something like this. Most of us inhabit two worlds, the real world where we are at the mercy of circumstance, and the world within, the unconscious safe place where we can escape. The Maxx shifts between these two worlds against his will. Here (the real world) he lives in a box inside of an alley. The only person who cares for him is a freelance social worker by the name of Julie Winters. But in the other world - Pangea - he rules the outback and is the protector of Julie, his jungle queen. Sounds pretty crazy huh? Well it is, but in a good way.
As you can probably discern from the description above, the writing of The Maxx is very ... unusual. Though The Maxx dresses up like a superhero the story isn't really about that, it's about the psychological condition of the show's characters. Not just the mental state of Maxx mind you, but Julie Winters and The Maxx (you could also include the teenage girl Sarah as well). This is some pretty intense subject matter when you get right down to it, issues like suicide, rape, guilt and repression are all major themes in the show's narrative. Though calling the series "dark" would be an oversimplification, it would certainly not be without merit. To put it bluntly, the show can really mess with your head.
Magnificently brooding and complex the series does suffer from one big problem however, it ended before the story had a chance to finish. Despite being only 13 episodes in length the show actually caught up to the comic books rather quickly, thus it was only able to cover the first eleven issues (the story arc would later finish in issue twenty). The hope was that they could get a second season and finish the story then, but ultimately MTV decided not to renew the series (apparently MTV made this choice before the first episode even aired). The result is that the final episode of the series really doesn't leave the viewers with enough concrete answers and many of the foreshadowed hints sprinkled throughout the show go unfulfilled. Though incredibly frustrating this is not an uncommon occurrence in TV, fortunately you can still buy the source material and read how the story ends.
A cartoon like The Maxx is not for everyone (certainly not children). While the writing is excellent the subject matter may rub some people the wrong way. Being based on a comic book others may even find the lack of traditional superhero storytelling disappointing. Personally I felt the story was both original and refreshing, even if it was a little morose. Compared to the other Image comics that made their way into animation (Spawn, Savage Dragon and Wild CATS) it certainly proves to be a far more honest adaptation. Spawn was okay but the HBO cartoon was actually more adult than the comic. Both the Savage Dragon and Wild CATS went in the opposite extreme and tried to be toned down, "kid" friendly versions of themselves. Only The Maxx sought to be exactly what it always was, a psychologically twisted story about very flawed, three dimensional characters with problems.
Visually The Maxx is an amazing mix of various medias. The show uses actual artwork from the comic book, animation, CGI (some of the earliest you'll see on TV) and even live action very effectively. With so many styles at play one would expect a very visually inconsistent series, this is not the case however. Truth be told The Maxx looks very unified and polished despite its limited budget, even by today's standards it still looks good. A lot of the credit has to go to the youthful exuberance found in the shows creators. While many veteran animators scoff at the idea of using someone else's art or layout, The Maxx's creative staff was so young and inexperienced they didn't care about such egotistical nonsense, they just loved the source material and wanted to make a great cartoon. This naive passion made for a very fearless show, one that wasn't afraid to experiment with things like digital coloring and digital ink, it also allowed the series to overcome its budgetary limitations by making the project a labor of love.
In many ways The Maxx reminds me of today's motion comics. A relatively new media, motion comics take the actual artwork from a comic book, cut it up digitally and add music and voice overs. The Maxx does a lot of these things as well, but far better than any motion comic ever has, or ever will. While a motion comic is strongly bound by the layout and artwork found in its source material, The Maxx was not afraid to expand on - or even break outside of - its predecessors original structure. Vice versa, a full fledged animated show won't use any real comic style layouts, instead opting for the more traditional storytelling found in most cartoons. So it's like you're getting the best of both worlds, a faithful comic book adaptation, but with genuine animation.
The show did have visual hiccups however, occasionally the animation didn't quite match up with the original art styles for example, or a comic book image would not animate well. Still The Maxx's look and feel was - by and large - a huge success. The use of minimal animation was masterful, CGI was surprisingly effective and tasteful, original art was integrated flawlessly and the translation of Sam Keith's layout was near perfect. Given Rough Draft Studios appreciation of the source material - as well as Keith's own involvement - this was definitely a project of personal importance to those involved, and it shows.
Normally I don't spend a lot of time talking about a show's voice acting unless the performances are exceptionally good, or exceptionally bad. Fortunately in the case of The Maxx it's the former that holds true. Featuring the voices of Michael Haley, Glynnis Talken, Amy Danles and Barry Stigler, The Maxx is a very well acted show. Michael Haley probably had the most difficult job being that he was the voice of the Maxx. Since the character needed to be both a tough guy and a simpleton Haley had to really work the dialog carefully, luckily he was up to the challenge and pulls off the roll admirably. Glynnis Talken strikes a spot-on balance of determination, world weariness and emotional damage when voicing the social worker Julie Winters. Amy Danles uses a great melancholy sound to bring jaded teenager Sarah to life. Finally Barry Stigler gives a pitch perfect performance as the know-it-all, arrogant and just a little angry Mr. Gone. I am not exaggerating when I say that the core characters from The Maxx could not have been cast any better.
Musically The Maxx hits all the right notes as well (Hah!). From the jazzy, beatnik opening to the aborigine sounding outback music, The Maxx always sets the right tone. Haunting, irreverent, or just plain silly the music from this show has flavor, a distinct taste that is unmistakably "Maxx" (insert smelly homeless joke here).
Obviously I'm recommending this series to anyone who likes "off the wall" storytelling, or is just a fan of the original comic book (keeping in mind this is not a show for children). It's unfortunate that the story was never really completed in animation, had the series been able to finish with the original story arc I think it would have been an instant classic. Regardless, The Maxx is a very worthwhile purchase. Though it's a manufacture on demand DVD the price is very reasonable and the extras include a short interview with the shows creators and commentary on all (count them all) 13 episodes.
