Welcome to Adventure(s) Time's 70th installment, a look at animated heroes of the past. This week, it's another chapter of Image TV. What happens when one of the most successful Image heroes lands his own TV show, and legal issues prevent his comic guest stars from tagging along?

Fans of the era might remember The Maxx #6-8. A quirky book by anyone's definition, The Maxx didn't feel as if it fully belonged in the nascent "Image Universe." That didn't prevent three issues in a row guest-starring the Savage Dragon and Pitt, however. The early years of Image were packed with these crossover appearances. Even if the heroes didn't seem to fully fit into that character's world, even if the creators didn't seem to even like the characters that much, Image heroes bounced around from title to title.

The Maxx #6 continues Sam Kieth's oddball exploration of abuse, trauma and comically masculine vigilante stereotypes... while also guest-starring the Savage Dragon. The story has Dragon traveling to The City, looking for a Chicago fugitive, a shark-man known as Mako.

Dragon comes across two kids ogling a box in an alley. One's a clear parody of Bill Watterson's Calvin, complete with his own stuffed animal. It's an ocelot named Nietzsche. Perhaps fear of a lawsuit caused the animators to recolor "Calvin's" shirt blue in the MTV adaptation. And, oh yeah, the Dragon's been replaced by William Shatner.

Okay, they didn't have a budget for celebrity cameos. But that's animator/actor Tony Fucile voicing the Shatner-inspired cop. In the DVD commentary, Kieth states Fucile was originally the Dragon's voice before the change was made. Assuming he didn't misspeak, that means production made to the voice acting stage before they realized the Dragon couldn't appear.

Why? Well, anyone remember the Savage Dragon cartoon, which aired on the USA Network? Since Larsen had already signed a deal with USA, Dragon couldn't be appearing simultaneously on MTV. The same goes for the Dragon's cast, which means Mako has been remade as Hammerhead.

On the commentary, Kieth recalls calling Larsen, asking permission to create a shark knockoff villain for Maxx to fight. "You're not going to sue me, are you?"

Hammerhead is played as even dumber than Mako, his dialogue mostly consisting of "blood, blood, blood." The in-story explanation is that Maxx's nemesis, Mr. Gone, has hired Mako/Hammerhead to keep him distracted. In practice, it was an excuse to give the Maxx a more traditional opponent for an issue. It's certainly not what the comic was known for.

Co-writer Bill Messner-Loebs comments on the sheer stupidity of the fight throughout the story. One thread has Mr. Gone narrating the violence, speaking directly to the audience, reassuring them it's okay to love blood and gore. The other narrative has Julie and her friend Tilly stranded at a lake. Their conversation turns to violence in the media, with feminist activist Tilly revealing that she's joined a media watchdog group.

Cute bits, but what saves the issue are the ongoing subplots. In her subconscious, Julie has joined Maxx inside the Outback. She encounters the Jungle Queen, the representative of how she viewed herself before her assault. Julie's warned that she shouldn't be here, and the ramifications will cause the world to "never be the same size again."

What does this mean? Honestly, it's the most egregious weirdness for weirdness sake during the initial run of the book. It's an excuse for Kieth to send the Maxx on a "totally tiny" adventure for the next two issues. And, hey, let's bring the Pitt along.

For unexplained reasons, Pitt appears in the Outback with Maxx and Julie. Simultaneously, in The City, both he and Maxx are teeny-tiny. The Outback Maxx, with the mane of straw, has also switched places with the homeless bum Maxx. From there, hijinks ensue. And this time, the comic doesn't have any clever asides, pointing out this is all empty calories distracting from the main story.

The Pitt never starred in his own television series... but maybe a deal was in the works? Regardless, Pitt is erased from the cartoon adaptation. Taking his place is Ret'qark'n, the monster from Maxx's first Image appearance, Darker Image #1. The cartoon filled a short episode earlier by adapting this story.

NEXT PAGE: Things Get Teeny Tiny and... Incredibly Deep?

This isn't a bad substitution. Actually, it makes perfect sense. There's no reason for Pitt to be here, but an Outback creature... okay, this still doesn't make sense. Why does encountering an aspect of Julie's subconscious cause Outback creatures to enter the real world... and for some of them to be the size of mice?

Kieth acknowledges he was inspired by an old Incredible Hulk comic with a tiny Hulk. He wanted to do the same bit with the Maxx. The logic of it wasn't so important. Maxx even speaks like the Hulk in these issues, for no obvious reason. In the comic, Pitt makes some snarky comments to the Maxx during their adventure.

And, later, he comes across an army of Isz. An army, in his eyes, of his little buddy Timmy. Why the Isz have no eyes is cryptically justified later in the book's run during Mr. Gone's origin. And, boy, is that disturbing.

Eventually, Maxx (who's having a simultaneous escapade with Pitt in the Outback) leaves him atop a cliff. That's all for the Pitt. Hey, maybe Maxx will run into Grifter next issue.

The cartoon follows the same beats, only with the mute Ret'qark'n in his place. As Kieth puts it, they're "treading water" here. Once again, the subplots carry much of the story. Julie encounters a mental projection of Mr. Gone in her Outback, receiving more hints about her buried memories. She responds, again, by removing his head. Julie's friend Sarah, meanwhile, is manipulated by a magic piece of talking clay into meditating before a horse statue. Why? Because a horse is her spirit animal, naturally. This was a perfectly mainstream, top-selling comic in 1994, by the way.

The clay is actually Mr. Gone, using Sarah to move his dismembered head into Julie's apartment. There's a wonderful moment, adapted perfectly by the cartoon, that justifies why Sarah would betray her friend. The Maxx could be silly, absurd; just an excuse for Kieth to draw something cool. But it could also be profound in its honesty. A book about what it's like to be the freak, to find some peace in a world you don't belong in.

DESIGN-Y

Why does Maxx run into a telephone cord store while fleeing Mako? Well, because this was a freaking weird book. Kieth's actually referencing the tattered "telephone cords" he's known for drawing -- fans dubbed those squiggly, ripped threads "telephone cords" (back when such things existed).

CONTINUITY NOTES

"Calvin" and his buddy are gaping at the remains of the Isz killed by the Maxx in Issue #1. That's Teego, who we're now to believe is an Isz. Even though that clearly wasn't the idea in the first issue.

HEY, I KNOW THAT VOICE

Tony Fucile has worked on several Pixar projects over the years as an animator. He's also popped up in small roles in the movies, like the Health Inspector and Pompidou in Ratatouille.

CUT FOR TIME

The sequence from the show of Sarah facing a cathartic revelation while studying the horse doesn't appear in the comic. The "big-eyed kid" scene was intended for the comic, but Kieth cut it for space.

 ALL HAD FUN AND NO LAWSUITS WERE FILED

These aren't regarded as the greatest issues/episodes of The Maxx. Typically, moments from the comic that feel rushed or don't exactly work are fleshed out and improved by the cartoon's excellent voice acting and musical score. The comic actually pulls out the ironic commentary laid over mindless action better than the show, though. For some reason, much of Julie and Tilly's conversation is cut from the episode, killing much of the humor. An odd decision.

As Kieth says of the episode, "the only thing that saved us is that William Shatner" impression. Diverting the main story in the very next installment, for another gratuitous crossover, did little to aid the series' momentum. And yet, there are enough moments away from the violence to save all of this. These are the stories that confirm Maxx's bizarre fantasy world is actually Julie's subconscious, a seminal revelation for the series.

More importantly, we have Sarah being tempted to the "dark side," so to speak. The creators weren't sure what to do with the character at this point (Kieth even wanted her to successfully commit suicide in her first appearance.) These are the issues drawing her closer into the main story, fleshing out her character beyond "mopey teen." Heck, even if these are the weakest Maxx episodes, that means they're pretty darn good. And even the comics are fun, especially if you're nostalgic for the early Image years.

That’s all for now. If you have any suggestions for the future, just leave a comment or contact me on Twitter. You can also check out some of my fiction writing for free over at Smashwords.