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The Maxx: Maxximized #6
The MAXX: Maxximized, Volume 6
Volume 6 continues the re-presentation of Sam Kieth's and William Messner-Loeb's groundbreaking series, The Maxx, with all new colors by Ronda Pattison. Collects issues #25-30 in this oversized hardcover."
132 pages, Hardcover
First published August 3, 2016
About the author
Sam Kieth
409 books273 followersKieth 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 28, 2018
One of my top favourite graphic novel series.
This volume shows why Gone is Gone. It doesn't make you feel good, but it was still such a good read.
This volume shows why Gone is Gone. It doesn't make you feel good, but it was still such a good read.
October 12, 2016
Sam Keith and William Messner-Loeb’s series continue and this issue is a mixed bag: meta-elements abound, but the origins of Mr. Gone remove some of the mystique of the character. Introduction of another third character resulting from Maxx and Julie moves the action furtherer into the future than one realizes. Sara becomes more and more of a crucial character, but the primary two characters of the other arch play such a peripheral role, it is slightly alienating. The art is sharp and the new colors nice, but parts of this plot feel almost tacked on.
October 16, 2018
Tomo más desgarrador que los puños del protagonista. El origen secreto de Mr. Gone es terrible y me dejó como lector en un lugar incomodísimo y lleno de preguntas. Y si en vez de ser una obra de ficción fuera un relato autobiográfico de verdad, me haría mucho más ruido todavía. El capítulo más gracioso del tomo (el último, "Tío Alce Italiano y Fred Flor el Show") no por eso deja de ser deprimente -y eso que seguro me perdí bastante metatexto en el medio-, y termina con una página rarísima, que no tiene nada que ver con el resto del capítulo y que promete ser el principio del fin.
August 28, 2018
This volume really hit a lot of nerves about abuse and rape, wrapped up in the history of Mr. Gone. It also shows his life after and how it resolved in his own actions and why he's a horrible guy and then reformed again after. It brings about Sara needing to enter her own outback and the problems she has internalized. Some really powerful stuff.
December 13, 2018
Shit gets even darker, man.
April 17, 2026
Reread
July 6, 2020
So after the last volume I thought the series was off the rails for good, but this one comes along and changes my mind. This may have been my favorite volume of the series as we start to see things explained. The origin of Mr. Gone was some really deep storytelling. This series would have worked just as well at Fantagraphics as it works at Image because this is high level drama. I'm sure the Image imprint kept the book's sales up and helped its visibility so I suppose it all worked out of the best. But back on subject, we finally start to see some clarity behind all of the weirdness. I'm hoping the final volume does a good job of wrapping things up rather than just get weirder. I think odds are 50/50.
February 22, 2024
En este tomo pasa de todo!!! nos enteramos muchos secretos y luego de haber perdido el rastro de Julie, descubrimos porque había pasado eso, pero Sarah debe tomar la decisión de conocer su versión de Pangea.
January 21, 2023
This is getting even sadder, how is it possible? I wonder how this surreal story is going to end. One volume left.
Read
December 16, 2023had to read a rip of this on Archive.org that I think had a couple pages missing ... not ideal
April 6, 2026
Very cool artwork and some interesting ideas here and there. Just not sure what the hell I’m reading.
August 15, 2020
Historias desgarradoras del pasado y deprimentemente graciosas de los dibujos animados conforman este penúltimo tomo.
January 22, 2020
Tomo cargadísimo el horripilante origen secreto de Mr. Gone, un viaje al Interior sin vuelta atrás, la vuelta de un personaje en su peor momento, unos chispazos de magia poco felices, la transmutación de un personaje clave y la cómica pero mucho más depresiva historieta-dibujito animado de Dave Feiss Fred Flor y Tío Alce Italiano el Show.
March 25, 2017
This series is so dag'on uneven! It's so vary frustrating.
Moments of PURE GOLD are mixed with moments of ABSOLUTE SHITE.
One more volume in the series.
I'm hoping that by the end I'll have a big picture perspective and everything will make sense.
Moments of PURE GOLD are mixed with moments of ABSOLUTE SHITE.
One more volume in the series.
I'm hoping that by the end I'll have a big picture perspective and everything will make sense.
April 27, 2017
The Maxx has to be, hands down, one of the most underrated comics of all time. Throughout the course of the series, Sam Kieth managed to take the tired familiar scenario of superhero/supervillain fighting for the honor of a lady and turn it into a complex, fantastical, psychological and very personal story. The Maxx started off as one thing and ended up as something entirely different.
The first four books in this remastered (or Maxximized) series served to lay all the pieces on the table. At the beginning we think this is a story about Maxx, but we then very quickly realize that Mr. Gone might be the driving force. The result was a complete mess of dysfunctional relationships with a good dose of magic. And now Kieth has to somehow tie all these loose ends.
What stands out most in the second half of the Maxx series is how Mr. Gone’s story unfolds. He’s violent, masochistic, and disturbed, and a very easy character to hate. But when we peel off the layers we find out that he’s very much a victim of his upbringing. We want to hate him, but it turns out we will never hate him as much as he himself already does. Every character in the Maxx has tragedy to deal with and no one tries to right his wrongs more than Mr. Gone. And as the story concludes we are left with a couple more hurdles to overcome and a group of people, estranged, betrayed, or simply hateful of one another, who must work together if they’re to find any happiness in their lives.
Quite a load, huh?
I would be doing the series a disfavor if I didn’t also highlight the excellent art which is so characteristic of the series. Sam Keith has an incredible ability to merge simple cartoonish designs with complex brushwork and very unique use of panels. From one page to the next he can go from near stick-figure like characters to lush paintings. The results are unexpected and quite wonderful. This is one of the ways the Maxximized remastering excels: by rescanning and recoloring all of Kieth’s original artwork from the series and presenting them in an oversized format.
After all these years, we still haven’t quite figured out the buzzare world Sam Kieth has created in the Maxx. It’s strange and nonsensical and at the same time concrete enough that the reader might be able to grasp it. It’s truly a unique and remarkable human story that is beautiful both inside and out.
The first four books in this remastered (or Maxximized) series served to lay all the pieces on the table. At the beginning we think this is a story about Maxx, but we then very quickly realize that Mr. Gone might be the driving force. The result was a complete mess of dysfunctional relationships with a good dose of magic. And now Kieth has to somehow tie all these loose ends.
What stands out most in the second half of the Maxx series is how Mr. Gone’s story unfolds. He’s violent, masochistic, and disturbed, and a very easy character to hate. But when we peel off the layers we find out that he’s very much a victim of his upbringing. We want to hate him, but it turns out we will never hate him as much as he himself already does. Every character in the Maxx has tragedy to deal with and no one tries to right his wrongs more than Mr. Gone. And as the story concludes we are left with a couple more hurdles to overcome and a group of people, estranged, betrayed, or simply hateful of one another, who must work together if they’re to find any happiness in their lives.
Quite a load, huh?
I would be doing the series a disfavor if I didn’t also highlight the excellent art which is so characteristic of the series. Sam Keith has an incredible ability to merge simple cartoonish designs with complex brushwork and very unique use of panels. From one page to the next he can go from near stick-figure like characters to lush paintings. The results are unexpected and quite wonderful. This is one of the ways the Maxximized remastering excels: by rescanning and recoloring all of Kieth’s original artwork from the series and presenting them in an oversized format.
After all these years, we still haven’t quite figured out the buzzare world Sam Kieth has created in the Maxx. It’s strange and nonsensical and at the same time concrete enough that the reader might be able to grasp it. It’s truly a unique and remarkable human story that is beautiful both inside and out.
Want to Read
September 21, 2017Futura edición argentina, tomo 6 de 7.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews