Issue Description

This bizarre issue (bizarre even for The Maxx) starts with Mr. Gone and some Isz spying on the Maxx through a telescope. They see Maxx dozing off on Julies couch while watching cartoons.

The Maxx finds himself in a dream world resembling his favorite cartoon, ‘The Crappon in a Hat. This spoof of the Cat in the hat is all in rhyme. It hints at what is behind Maxx’s mask. In this dream Maxx removes his mask and finds seeds that grow into the Outback where Maxx finds a child version of Julie. Li’l Julie tells Maxx that he is the deepest parts of Julies subconscious and that he shouldn’t be there. The maxx awakes and tells Julie of his dream. Julie figures that the outback is something the Maxx made up.

The Maxx (1993)

Publisher

Image

Volume Description

The Maxx, originally a 35-comic-book series, is a superhero parody whose costumed crusader is a caring but insecure man, his "Gotham City" the inexplicable world of sex and violence that adolescents find both attractive and repulsive. The Maxx is a full-bodied man in purple, with yellow claws and a set of gleaming upper chompers. When down, he is homeless in a dumpster or a box. But, up or down, he is often with hottie Julie Winters, playing the role of boyfriend, protector, or pet. This clever setup matches up with angst-drenched teen fantasies and how teen relationships can look to an outside observer. The Maxx fights a never-ending battle with Mr. Gone and the Isz – eyeless ovoids with needle teeth – and a delusion that he is in "the Outback", an alternate reality that complicates everything. Kieth says a common reaction to The Maxx is "I just don't get it." He doesn't say (as with adolescence) "not getting it IS getting it", or that his weird, kaleidoscopic-y artwork makes it harder to get, but glorious at the same time.

The Maxx was an off-beat "superhero" series and more a universe of its own, rather than sharing the Image universe. The Maxx developed such a cult following, it was adapted into an MTV show: The Maxx.

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