From: [dyun g k] at [netcom.com] (Daniel "Damian" Yungk)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.info
Subject: Maxx Comic FAQ 1/3
Date: Thu, 29 Feb 96 16:12:41 GMT
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>THE MAXX FAQ<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"I guess now you can really understand the rest of it...Anyway, I was
born in Ohio..." Mr. Gone, issue #15.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to the world of The Maxx! This document is designed to give
you an introduction to "The Maxx", and answer the basic questions you
might have. This FAQ is, and always will be, a work in progress.
I'm sure there's more info to be added. If you've got any suggestions,
drop me a line at [dyun g k] at [netcom.com.]
This document was originally written for the Maxx Mailing List,
maintained by Dave Gruber, [d j gruber] at [oak.oakland.edu.] For information
on how to join this list, see Part VI: "The Maxx" on The Net.
See ya in the Outback!
Damian
This FAQ was last updated on February 25, 1996.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Table of Contents<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
PART I.........The Story
PART II........The Comic
PART III.......The Animated Series
PART IV........Differences Between the Comic and Television Show
PART V.........The Merchandise
PART VI........"The Maxx" on The Net
PART VII.......Acknowledgements
PART VIII......Notes
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>PART I: THE STORY<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"...It was all coming back to me. I could feel the hot sun on my
backskin and the grasses under my toes." Maxx, issue #1.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
>>>ISSUES 1-20
--------------
The original story line to "The Maxx" is covered in the first 20 issues.
The following information applies to these issues.
>>>CHARACTERS
-------------
>>>The Maxx
A homeless man in the real world, Maxx sees himself as a superhero,
and a protector of Julie Winters. The Maxx wears a mask which hides
his face. Since finding this mask, Maxx has began slipping into a
fantasy world known as the "Outback" at seemingly random intervals.
Maxx has lost all memories of his pre-mask identity, and is apprehensive
about learning the truth about his past. Maxx is incredibly strong,
especially in the Outback.
>>>Julie Winters
Julie is the focal point of the story. She is a social worker who has
bailed the Maxx out of jail on occasion. Since meeting the Maxx, she
has begun a strong (and strange) friendship with him. Three years ago,
while studying architecture in college, Julie was beaten, raped, and
left for dead. After getting out of the hospital, she dropped out of
school, and began doing "freelance social work". Somehow, she
attracted the attention of Mr. Gone, a serial killer, who stalked her
and eventually kidnapped her. Julie is an ardent feminist who believes
women only become victims if they allow themselves to.
>>>Mr. Gone
A self-proclaimed "Student of the Mystic Arts", Mr. Gone is the only
one who can travel freely back and forth to the Outback. A serial
killer who has been terrorizing New York, Gone is also the only person
who seems to know who the Maxx really is, and the true nature of Maxx's
relationship to Julie. After stalking and kidnapping Julie, she freed
herself with an Is tooth and beheaded him. (Not that this slowed him
down very much.... ) Mr. Gone repeatedly tries to force Julie to accept
the truth about some events in her past that she'd rather repress and
forget. His efforts to accomplish this are often thwarted by The Maxx,
whom Gone has repeatedly tried to dispose of.
>>>Sarah James
A teenage girl, Sarah is a misfit who dreams of someday being a writer.
Sarah's mother and Julie are friends, and Julie has been trying to help
Sarah deal with the memory of her father, who left her when she was
a child. Although basically a loner, Sarah has become friends with
Julie and Maxx.
>>>The Isz
Native to the outback, the Isz have been used by Mr. Gone to do
his dirty work. The Isz are blind, and rely on their sense of smell
to navigate through the world. In the Outback, the Isz are white,
and somewhat harmless, except in large numbers. A large enough herd
of Isz can stampede across the Outback, devouring everything in its path.
When brought over to the real world, the Isz turn dark and malevolent,
and become carnivorous and more intelligent; their sharp teeth can
bite through steel. To humans, the Isz appear as whatever Gone chooses
to dress them as. Gone and Maxx, however, have the ability to see the
Isz in their true form.
>>>SETTING
----------
The setting for "The Maxx" alternates between the real world of
New York City, and the "Outback".
>>>The Outback
The Outback, also known as Pangea, and referred to as Australia by
Maxx, is a vast, primal wilderness inhabited by a variety of strange
creatures. Here, the Maxx is a mighty hunter, and the protector of
the "Leopard Queen", Julie's counterpart in the Outback. The Leopard
Queen lives in a large stone fortress which dominates the landscape.
Below, vast hordes of Isz roam the grassy plains. The nature of
the Outback is difficult to define. It exists parallel to our own
world, and the Maxx shifts between our world and the Outback with no
control. Mr. Gone also travels between these two worlds, but can do so
at will. The Outback seems to represent Julie's subconscious, and
may have been created by her mind. However, rather than being just a
figment of her imagination, things from the Outback can enter the real
world, and vice versa. (The Isz, for instance...)
>>>New York City
The "real world" of New York City is easier to explain. Here, Julie
is a social worker, working out of her apartment. Maxx is homeless,
living in a box in an alley. In the real world, Maxx believes he is
a superhero, whose job it is to fight whatever wrongs he sees,
especially those of Mr. Gone. His top priority is protecting Julie.
----------------------
>>>ISSUES 21 AND LATER
----------------------
Beginning with issue #21, "The Maxx" began a new story arc. The story
picks up in the year 2005, ten years after issue #20. The focus is on
Sara, now ten years older (and spelling her name without the "h").
She finds her father, Artie Pender, still alive in a trailer park in
Seattle. Also looking for Artie are three FBI agents...
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>PART II: THE COMIC<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"...the metaphysical and spiritual roots of everyday life, as manifested
through the metaphor of super-heroic struggle." Harry, issue #12.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Maxx" was created by comic book artist/writer Sam Kieth. Back in
1983, he created a character known as "Max the Hare", who appeared
in issue #5 of "Primer", published by Comico.
In 1993, Sam Kieth began a regular series centered around an updated
version of this character, now known as "The Maxx". The regular comic
series, entitled "The Maxx", is published monthly from Image Comics
(but issues are occasionally delayed a month or two.) As of this
writing, the latest issue is #21, which came out on 1/31/96.
The main people responsible for bringing you the comic, as
indicated inside the front cover, are:
Sam Kieth: story and art
Bill Messner-Loebs: swell dialogue
Alan Moore: swell dialogue *
Jim Sinclair: finishes
Mike Heisler: lettering
Steve Oliff & Olyoptics: color
Chance Wolf: logo
Kell-O-Graphics: film output
* Alan Moore provided dialogue for Issue #21.
In addition to the regular series, "The Maxx", several other comics
have featured characters from the series, and several special
editions have been produced. These are listed in Part V: Merchandise.
Some features found in the comic:
The Maxx Traxx
--------------
"The Maxx Traxx" is the letter column at the back of each issue of
"The Maxx". It contains fan mail, responses from Sam Kieth, lots of
fan art, and updates from Sam on the latest developments on "The Maxx."
Head To Head
------------
"Head To Head" is a free classified ad section which appears in each
issue of "The Maxx". Ads are free, and printed on a first-come
first-served basis; there is room for 120 ads each month. The usual
categories for these ads include "Artists seeking Artists",
"Announcements", "Zines and Small Press","Buy/Sell/Trade", and
"Pen Pals", among others. To place an ad (of 25 words or less), send
your message to:
Head to Head
c/o Sam Kieth
4363 Hazel Avenue
Ste. 1-285
Fair Oaks, CA 95628
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>PART III: THE ANIMATED SERIES<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"...Cartoons today are so pretentious!" Julie, issue #5.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In April, 1995, "The Maxx" premiered as part of MTV's "Oddities"
series. Six episodes totalling 3 1/2 hours, "The Maxx" animated series
covers the first 11 issues of the comic book, plus some additional stuff
(see below).
There are 3 1/2 hours total, divided up into 5 half hour shows, and one
full hour season finale (which was later broken up into two half hour
installments). Each half hour contains two 15 minute "episodes",
numbered 1 through 10. The final hour contains a fifteen minute
summary of the events thus far, told by Mr. Gone, and the final three
episodes, numbered 11 through 13.
Currently, "The Maxx" has been removed from MTV's schedule.
-------
CREDITS
-------
Creator: Sam Kieth
Directors: Gregg Vanzo (Eps 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, 11/12/13)
Eugene Salandra & Ilya Skorupsky (Eps 7/8)
Easy De La Rosa & Miguel Martinez (Eps 9/10)
Supervising Director on Eps 7/8 and 9/10: Gregg Vanzo
Writers: Sam Kieth
Bill Messner-Loebs
The Crappon created by Dave Feiss
Producer at Rough Draft Studios: Claudia Katz
Story Editors: Glenn Eichler & Claudia Katz
Voice Cast:
The Maxx: Michael Haley
Julie Winters/Glorie: Glynnis Talken
Mr. Gone: Uncredited Performance
Sarah: Amy Daniels
Sgt. Ocono, Cop, Fridge, The Crappon: Tony Fucile
Sarah's Mom: Patty Wynne-Hughes
Additional voices: James Dean Conklin, Scott Curtis,
Tony Fucile, Molly McLucas, David Thomas, David Valera,
Chris Vanzo.
Storyboards: Jeffrey Clark, Seth Kearsley
CGI Director: Scott Vanzo
Sound Design: Kurt Vanzo
Animation Services: Rough Draft Korea, a division of
Rough Draft Studios,Inc.
Animation Director: Chang Yeol Jung
MTV Post-production Supervisor: Nick Litwinko
Supervising Producer at MTV: John Andrews
Creative Supervisor: Sam Kieth
Executive Producer at MTV: Abby Terkuhle
--------
>>>MUSIC
--------
In addition to original music composed for the television series,
the following songs were used:
"I Wanna Marry A Lighthouse Keeper", performed by Erica Eagan,
taken from the soundtrack to "A Clockwork Orange".
"Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance", performed by Frank Zappa,
from the album "We're Only In It For The Money".
"Sartori In Tangier", performed by King Crimson, from the album
"Beat".
---------
>>>RUMORS
---------
>>>Second Season
----------------
Currently, nothing definite is known about the future of "The Maxx"
on MTV. Reportedly, both MTV and Sam Kieth are interested in doing a
second season, but I have not received confirmation that this will
happen. Currently, reruns of "The Maxx" have been removed from MTV's
schedule to make room for new episodes of "The Head".
>>>Video-tape release of first season
-------------------------------------
The first season of "The Head", the other half of MTV's "Oddities"
line-up, has been released on video. This could mean that a similar
release is planned for "The Maxx", but I have heard nothing definite
yet.
--
Daniel Yungk {a.k.a. Damian} | ___ _ _ |Brazil, where hearts were
[dyun g k] at [netcom.com] Enough | |/ \/ |entertained in June,
with the siggin', already! | / / |we stood beneath an amber moon
Quote of the moment: "Brazil" | |and softly whispered "someday soon"