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The Maxx #2
The Maxx, Vol. 2
Presents the adventures of The Maxx, a homeless superhero who lives in a cardboard box, and his social worker, Julie.
160 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1997
1 person is currently reading
300 people want to read
About the author
Sam Kieth
409 books269 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 - 30 of 35 reviews
April 12, 2016
In the second collected Maxx volume, Maxx and Julie venture across the Outback and meet Pitt, another Hulk inspired character from the 90's. Meanwhile, in the real world, Julie is locked in the bathroom while Pitt and Maxx, both at four inches tall, fight an Isz in her apartment. After that, things get weird as Sarah James, a minor character in the last volume, finds out her true parentage and goes searching for her spirit animal...
The second volume of The Maxx is where things really get going, both in terms of weirdness and the overall plot. It is in this volume that you reallize that the central character of the title isn't The Maxx at all, but Julie Winters. I don't think a series titled The Julie would sell as well...
Sarah James's role in the series greatly increases in this volume, partly due to fan support. She was the mouthpiece of weird awkward teens everywhere. Has it really been 16 years since this came out?
Anyway, things really take off in this volume. Sam Kieth seems more confident and relaxed in his style and the weirdness factor is dialed up to eleven. Not to be missed if you liked the first volume.
The second volume of The Maxx is where things really get going, both in terms of weirdness and the overall plot. It is in this volume that you reallize that the central character of the title isn't The Maxx at all, but Julie Winters. I don't think a series titled The Julie would sell as well...
Sarah James's role in the series greatly increases in this volume, partly due to fan support. She was the mouthpiece of weird awkward teens everywhere. Has it really been 16 years since this came out?
Anyway, things really take off in this volume. Sam Kieth seems more confident and relaxed in his style and the weirdness factor is dialed up to eleven. Not to be missed if you liked the first volume.
March 20, 2018
The Maxx is a decidedly surreal, emotionally challenging, utterly bizarre series. You open that first book, and you see a big purple guy with a giant claw on each hand battling for his life. You think you're in for a thrilling super-hero adventure. There are even some good jokes thrown in to keep the mood jovial. Then, you're in a story about abused people, mostly women, coming to terms with themselves, their attackers, and their loved ones.
The Maxx has two very clear arcs - the first three books tell the story of Julie Winters, freelance social worker, rape victim and all-around cynic. Her Maxx is Dave, and he fights for her soul in the real world and in Julie's mental "outback." And Mr. Gone operates somewhere between the villain and the wise mage who instructs our heroes. All in all, the first three books are extremely engaging - Emotionally real, and full of intriguing metaphysical and psychological notions.
The second major arc encompasses the final two volumes and deals with Julie's friend (and Mr. Gone's daughter) Sara's struggle to cope with feelings of abandonment (As Kieth points out, where do you think the name Mr. Gone came from?). Although Sara is a much more empathetic character than Julie, I still found the final two volumes less fulfilling than the opening books.
The early books have plenty of interesting digressions and stories detailing our characters' histories, but the side-plots in Sara's story seem much more numerous and constantly interrupt the momentum of her story. There is a point in the second half of Book Five when I wondered if Kieth was simply stalling for time because he didn't know what would happen next. And, in fact, the ending seemed almost tacked on. After all the time spent having these characters face up to what they'd done and what had been done to them, for it to end with a magic reboot struck me as an emotional letdown.
It's a very bleak series at times, and yet there is also genuine charm and funny humor throughout. Kieth's art progresses at an amazing rate. The earliest stories are filled with clumsy designs, many of which work, some of which don't. He also experiments with different styles more frequently in the early volumes, often creating a palpable emotional reaction by doing so. The later books eschew much of this complication and experimentation for a clearer sense of storytelling (without losing any of Kieth's quirky illustrations).
The first three volumes of The Maxx are smart, funny, emotional and imaginative. The latter two volumes are interesting and worthwhile, but not as fresh or challenging as Sam Kieth's first, clumsy steps into the world of Outbacks, lampshades, Isz and freelance social workers.
The Maxx has two very clear arcs - the first three books tell the story of Julie Winters, freelance social worker, rape victim and all-around cynic. Her Maxx is Dave, and he fights for her soul in the real world and in Julie's mental "outback." And Mr. Gone operates somewhere between the villain and the wise mage who instructs our heroes. All in all, the first three books are extremely engaging - Emotionally real, and full of intriguing metaphysical and psychological notions.
The second major arc encompasses the final two volumes and deals with Julie's friend (and Mr. Gone's daughter) Sara's struggle to cope with feelings of abandonment (As Kieth points out, where do you think the name Mr. Gone came from?). Although Sara is a much more empathetic character than Julie, I still found the final two volumes less fulfilling than the opening books.
The early books have plenty of interesting digressions and stories detailing our characters' histories, but the side-plots in Sara's story seem much more numerous and constantly interrupt the momentum of her story. There is a point in the second half of Book Five when I wondered if Kieth was simply stalling for time because he didn't know what would happen next. And, in fact, the ending seemed almost tacked on. After all the time spent having these characters face up to what they'd done and what had been done to them, for it to end with a magic reboot struck me as an emotional letdown.
It's a very bleak series at times, and yet there is also genuine charm and funny humor throughout. Kieth's art progresses at an amazing rate. The earliest stories are filled with clumsy designs, many of which work, some of which don't. He also experiments with different styles more frequently in the early volumes, often creating a palpable emotional reaction by doing so. The later books eschew much of this complication and experimentation for a clearer sense of storytelling (without losing any of Kieth's quirky illustrations).
The first three volumes of The Maxx are smart, funny, emotional and imaginative. The latter two volumes are interesting and worthwhile, but not as fresh or challenging as Sam Kieth's first, clumsy steps into the world of Outbacks, lampshades, Isz and freelance social workers.
November 19, 2017
The short of it: Surreal, confusing, but thoroughly enjoyable.
Upon recommendation from a college friend, I ordered the first few books of this series from my local library. Unfortunately, I was not able to get my hands on Volume 1. As if The Maxx wasn't bizarre enough, starting knee-deep in the plot left me clueless as to who, where and what was going on.
And I dug it.
The Maxx is--to the best of my understanding--a superhero: a large purple fellow from another plane of existence, here to fight the forces of evil. He's friends with Julie and Sarah. Julie and Maxx are in a relationship. Sarah's father is a murderer and rapist and all-around bad guy. This, at least, was what I was able to glean. The rest? Eh.
The setting switches constantly between the "real" world and an exotic plane sometimes referred to as The Outback, though it's suggested that the plane changes depending on who is there. Sometimes it's The Outback, sometimes it's a jungle. Sometimes Julie is Julie, and sometimes she's a jungle warrior. I . . . think.
The Maxx is curious to me because it positions itself as a surreal work, but at times can be very explicit within that surreality. We as readers won't know where we are or what's going on, and then a character will have a very pointed word-or-thought bubble to explain the present circumstances. Which, on the one hand, is fine, because even surreal works need some sort of coherence, some of sort of through-line (often emotional) to propel the reader forward. But on the other hand, it feels like those explicit explanations are there to clarify confusing imagery, rather than to support the overall surreal tone.
Make no mistake, I like the artwork of The Maxx. It's colorful, but dark and shadowy. The otherworld characters are inventive, and it's fantastic in displaying what I can only think to describe as "cartoony grit". But the surreal subject matter can also be surreal in terms of layout, so at times it's difficult to tell when to read which panel, and so often images from different panels blend together in a page-long collage that's striking, but nevertheless confusing.
Would things have been clearer if I'd read Volume 1? Maybe, but even if I had a firmer grip on the "plot", I don't think that is The Maxx's primary purpose of being. These are fleshed-out characters with dark emotional depths. Action happens, yes, but the story progresses much more frequently through feeling and self-reflection. Layers of a character peel back. And the surreality of the environment juxtaposes against the heart of its inhabitants. It reminds me a little of David Lynch, in that way. It's the lens that's most bizarre.
So yes: absolutely check out The Maxx. I know I'll be returning to it, someday.
Upon recommendation from a college friend, I ordered the first few books of this series from my local library. Unfortunately, I was not able to get my hands on Volume 1. As if The Maxx wasn't bizarre enough, starting knee-deep in the plot left me clueless as to who, where and what was going on.
And I dug it.
The Maxx is--to the best of my understanding--a superhero: a large purple fellow from another plane of existence, here to fight the forces of evil. He's friends with Julie and Sarah. Julie and Maxx are in a relationship. Sarah's father is a murderer and rapist and all-around bad guy. This, at least, was what I was able to glean. The rest? Eh.
The setting switches constantly between the "real" world and an exotic plane sometimes referred to as The Outback, though it's suggested that the plane changes depending on who is there. Sometimes it's The Outback, sometimes it's a jungle. Sometimes Julie is Julie, and sometimes she's a jungle warrior. I . . . think.
The Maxx is curious to me because it positions itself as a surreal work, but at times can be very explicit within that surreality. We as readers won't know where we are or what's going on, and then a character will have a very pointed word-or-thought bubble to explain the present circumstances. Which, on the one hand, is fine, because even surreal works need some sort of coherence, some of sort of through-line (often emotional) to propel the reader forward. But on the other hand, it feels like those explicit explanations are there to clarify confusing imagery, rather than to support the overall surreal tone.
Make no mistake, I like the artwork of The Maxx. It's colorful, but dark and shadowy. The otherworld characters are inventive, and it's fantastic in displaying what I can only think to describe as "cartoony grit". But the surreal subject matter can also be surreal in terms of layout, so at times it's difficult to tell when to read which panel, and so often images from different panels blend together in a page-long collage that's striking, but nevertheless confusing.
Would things have been clearer if I'd read Volume 1? Maybe, but even if I had a firmer grip on the "plot", I don't think that is The Maxx's primary purpose of being. These are fleshed-out characters with dark emotional depths. Action happens, yes, but the story progresses much more frequently through feeling and self-reflection. Layers of a character peel back. And the surreality of the environment juxtaposes against the heart of its inhabitants. It reminds me a little of David Lynch, in that way. It's the lens that's most bizarre.
So yes: absolutely check out The Maxx. I know I'll be returning to it, someday.
September 26, 2009
Sam Kieth creates such a twisted, darkened vision of the world we live in, yet it is wholly accurate. Injecting The Maxx with equal degrees of realism and fantasy, the story comes to life magnificently. The fragmented, fragile states of the characters is mirrored in the fluctuating artistic mediums used throughout the comics, to create an entirely magical hallucinatory trip for the reader.
As far as storyline, Kieth tugs at heartstrings, bringing the reader to a place not dissimilar to that of Julia Winters or Maxx, or even Sarah. Through the occurrences and lessons the characters must undergo in the book, Kieth does nothing short of forcing the reader to ruminate over his or her own life and hurts. It really brought me to a point of tears multiple times throughout. It's just a beautiful narrative, and the art only works to boost that quality.
As far as storyline, Kieth tugs at heartstrings, bringing the reader to a place not dissimilar to that of Julia Winters or Maxx, or even Sarah. Through the occurrences and lessons the characters must undergo in the book, Kieth does nothing short of forcing the reader to ruminate over his or her own life and hurts. It really brought me to a point of tears multiple times throughout. It's just a beautiful narrative, and the art only works to boost that quality.
November 9, 2012
3.5
The first 3/4 of this comic was awesome. In particular, the story conveyed in Julie's youth was super interesting and uniquely presented. However, I found that this installment went a little sideways in the end (excepting the Mr. Gone piece).
For those who enjoy this series, it's unlikely you'll be disappointed. Pitt makes his appearance in the beginning. Major plot developments occur, and you learn a great deal more about the characters and the worlds they inhabit. The beginning is great, and it carries through 2/3 of the way before I found myself a little less entertained. Then every other page became enjoyable.
The first 3/4 of this comic was awesome. In particular, the story conveyed in Julie's youth was super interesting and uniquely presented. However, I found that this installment went a little sideways in the end (excepting the Mr. Gone piece).
For those who enjoy this series, it's unlikely you'll be disappointed. Pitt makes his appearance in the beginning. Major plot developments occur, and you learn a great deal more about the characters and the worlds they inhabit. The beginning is great, and it carries through 2/3 of the way before I found myself a little less entertained. Then every other page became enjoyable.
July 28, 2018
This volume went kind of in a surreal WTF is this all about, further down the psychosis rabbit hole (which is relevant to Julie and/or Maxx's psychosis). It's very interesting, but very weird. There is a couple cameos, Savage Dragon and the shark baddie, and Pitt - which made little sense and then disappears. For whatever reason they shrink down in the real world, and everyone is left wondering what is real and what is not. Julie is starting to realize she's deranged as well. Starting to wonder if Maxx is even real.
On a bonus note, v3 starts right off with a character asking "is this going to make any sense?" so the creator clearly knows what's going on. And it doesn't always have to make sense.
The art still looks great. There are some cool experimental pages that look like weird water colors, or other things. Some that look like they are akin to Boris Vallejo and other whacked out 70-80s era Wizard illustrations that I have seen, kind of psychedelic in ways. very cool.
On a bonus note, v3 starts right off with a character asking "is this going to make any sense?" so the creator clearly knows what's going on. And it doesn't always have to make sense.
The art still looks great. There are some cool experimental pages that look like weird water colors, or other things. Some that look like they are akin to Boris Vallejo and other whacked out 70-80s era Wizard illustrations that I have seen, kind of psychedelic in ways. very cool.
December 13, 2021
Back to back Maxx! The second volume of The Maxx continues the story of Maxx, Julie and Mr Gone. Maxx encounters some new foes other than the grinning isz as he once again flip flops into the outback and real world seemingly at random. My biggest gripe with the book is also one of its strongest offerings, it can be confusing at times but its meant to be that way, we feel that exact confusion Maxx is feeling when he has to fight a giant isz in a miniature world. The Maxx is bizarre and not for everyone, some stuff may be a little confusing but the character writing really helps guide us through whatever strange scenario is playing out. Can’t wait to read more, two volumes in and id recommend this to the maxx.
June 25, 2018
Several shocking revelations and loose threads coming together (and fraying back apart) as this volume explores more of the phycological bridges between the two worlds shared by our heroes. I had never read this far as a kid and I think much of this would have gone over my head. But today - goddamn. There's some emotional weight in here that will keep your shoulders slumped for a few days after finishing Vol 2.
January 2, 2019
Even if there were no words on the page it would still be worth it to look through the Maxx comics. The story is strange, dark and surreal and for someone my age, very nostalgic. Not sure I would be as enthused about the story if I had been born in 1980 instead of 1970.
August 21, 2025
Oh boy. More issues in which I have no goddamn idea what's happening. I like this a lot, and I'm hoping for a clear resolution; though I'm definitely not getting my hopes up. Savage Dragon's cameo was interesting.
7/10.
7/10.
September 1, 2018
Continuing my reread of this classic 90's comic series. Very much still holds up.
February 2, 2020
Still kinda wiped, but good. Going to keep reading.
March 16, 2020
More cerebral that the Initial as Keith tries to branch out and deepen his world with other Image characters
July 29, 2024
Yeah this one made me tear up.
January 21, 2025
Prosigue el buen hacer gráfico y los pasajes interesantes, aunque la solidez argumental se va perdiendo junto al misterio.
July 1, 2025
More Maxx insanity.
I love how Sam Keith is able to draw Maxx as equally badass as he is a dweeb.
I love how Sam Keith is able to draw Maxx as equally badass as he is a dweeb.
November 2, 2025
Now we're talking. The weirder it gets, the more it makes sense.
March 19, 2017
I'm man enough to admit it...this title is truly something special.
I don't think I can explain it so much as just say that having read this as a teenager my mixed memories of then and now may well be combining to make the experience something more.
It challenges perception and it messes with reality. But not in a cheap kind of way. It forces you to slow down and really take it all in.
Also, the art is PERFECT for this story. I'm actually reading this digitally and the reader I'm using emulates the shadowed crease in a 2-page spread so I can get the full effect. Love it. There are a lot of spreads where I kind of want to turn them into desktop backgrounds.
I don't think I can explain it so much as just say that having read this as a teenager my mixed memories of then and now may well be combining to make the experience something more.
It challenges perception and it messes with reality. But not in a cheap kind of way. It forces you to slow down and really take it all in.
Also, the art is PERFECT for this story. I'm actually reading this digitally and the reader I'm using emulates the shadowed crease in a 2-page spread so I can get the full effect. Love it. There are a lot of spreads where I kind of want to turn them into desktop backgrounds.
August 8, 2016
This volume improves on the first volume. Things are a little more clear as I think the writer is figuring out what he wants to do more. It's still very surreal and odd, but more focused. The first issue or two in the volume has a cameo from another comic book and honestly I have no idea who he is, so those issues are a little on the meh side for me. But the rest is pretty fantastic. It's also established itself enough to move away from Maxx and explore the rest of the characters. They really dive into some deep stuff. There's a particularly amazing issue involving an injured bunny that just on its own is worth a read.
March 18, 2024
Impresionante. Cuando dejé el tomo 1 hace casi un año más o menos me imaginé con qué me iba a encontrar en tomos posteriores. Y le pifié horriblemente. Y ahora que leí la serie completa (en los tres tomos de Norma que ya reseñaré luego) veo que cada historia, cada capítulo, a veces hasta cada página, es como una pieza de un rompecabezas que sabés que no va a encajar jamás, pero cuyo armado te puede dejar atónito, en el mejor sentido posible. Altamente recomendado para todo el mundo, sobre todo para los que no entren en los ideales de perfección de ninguna sociedad.
April 23, 2016
This was great...but I am so freaking lost. Of course the library doesn't have vol 1.
The reason that this isn't five stars is that I think that yes, this isn't supposed to be easy, but no, it doesn't have to be this hard. The structure is so complex that the characters have to be stripped down, the plot has to be stripped down, all to show off the structure. So, eh, points off for biting off more than you can chew and only partially getting me to swallow it--but points given for same, too. Will keep reading.
The reason that this isn't five stars is that I think that yes, this isn't supposed to be easy, but no, it doesn't have to be this hard. The structure is so complex that the characters have to be stripped down, the plot has to be stripped down, all to show off the structure. So, eh, points off for biting off more than you can chew and only partially getting me to swallow it--but points given for same, too. Will keep reading.
July 9, 2009
Another sequence of mind-poking artwork and twisty storylines. I don't remember this much being revealed so early in the animated version, so I'm definitely looking forward to reading the other volumes. Once again, I have to thank the Capital Area District Library for shelving an amazing selection of graphic novels. I'm biting my nails to read Volume 3.
September 5, 2016
Still my favorite Image book (and I'll always think of it that way).
April 22, 2015
Blew through this one in two short sittings. Like he did with the previous volume, Sam Kieth delights the reader with his weird (but awesome) art and awesome (but weird) stories. The Maxx is a book that's often strange and confusing, but never dull. Can't wait to see where it goes next!
October 3, 2010
I'm not sure about this volume. I really liked the first one but this really seems to be more a psychological study than a comic book.
February 4, 2022
One of the greatest (and most underrated) graphic novels ever. Not a fan past this volume, however.
July 9, 2016
Very psychedelic.
Read
February 14, 2016this is where we get into the rest of the story I don't know
August 27, 2016
Edición original en revistas, casi todas en muy buen estado. Regalo indirecto de NM, creo.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews