Welcome to Adventure(s) Time's sixty-second installment, a look at animated heroes of the past. This week we're going to explore another aspect of the 1990s media landscape. Launching in 1992, Image Comics quickly became the biggest story within the comic book industry. And, given the number of units sold, an easy target of Hollywood's attention. While it took years, often decades, for television and film adaptations of Marvel and DC heroes...Image's properties began as "hot."
The Maxx wasn't the first Image comic to be adapted to television. (I believe WildC.A.T.s beat it by a few months.) It was very possibly the first to enter production, however. Initially, MTV planned to debut it in the Fall of 1994, pairing an eleven-minute episode with an original cartoon called The Head. Maxx and Head would air as the two-halves of MTV's Oddities, a half-hour series highlighting quirky animated concepts. This was the height of the "alternative" movement in pop culture, and MTV wasn't shy about exploiting the fad.
Truthfully, MTV could make claims for participating in its development. By the mid-'80s, MTV was basing much of its identity on the New York arthouse scene. Starving artists and film school students produced MTV promos and short films for little money, but decent exposure. MTV maintained its status as the cool, new place for entertainment and young, experimental artists found work.
MTV became serious about developing animation in the early 1990s with the alternative cartoon showcase Liquid Television. The show famously debuted both Aeon Flux and Beavis and Butt-Head. The Maxx missed Liquid Television by a few years, but would've fit right in.
Having made the decision not to run Oddities as a split series, the show debuted in 1994 with two Head stories each episode. The Maxx took over Oddities during its second season, debuting on April 8, 1995. It's not an exaggeration to call MTV's Maxx the most loyal comic to TV adaptation ever. (Or at least since those '60s Marvel cartoons that traced Kirby pencils.) Most of the art is scanned from the actual comic, thanks to the still-new process of digital coloring and editing. And much of the new art required to flesh out scenes is directly from Kieth, who worked in the studio several days a week.
Almost every issue of the book translated easily into the eleven-minute limit of the cartoon. That means each Oddities episode adapted two issues of the comic. (Those that ran short had assorted Maxx stories from Darker Image and the Wizard #1/2 issue tossed in as padding. And, occasionally, entirely new material.)
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What made The Maxx so appealing to the "freaks, geeks, & weirdos" era of MTV? Well, as creator Sam Kieth has described the book: "It's quirky. Flawed, psychedelic. And just plain...WEIRD." The Maxx #1 (March 1993) arrived in the midst of Image's second wave of titles. In fact, it's the only book from that wave that actually survived. Citing blown deadlines, the Image founders culled most of the second generation of Image books not long after their debuts. Maxx continued its original run until 1997, however, only ending when Kieth lost enthusiasm for the series.
When discussing The Maxx, we can't forget scripter Bill Messner-Loebs and inker Jim Sinclair. Kieth has credited Messner-Loebs for helping to shape the direction of the series, in addition to providing the "swell dialogue." Truthfully, the book wasn't the same after his departure. Also, much of the flavor of Kieth's art in this era comes from his finisher, Jim Sinclair. Some of the little details associated with the book, such as the hidden eight balls, are actually Sinclair's. And let's give some credit to letterer Michael Heisler. He designed several distinctive fonts for the series, perfectly complimenting the comic's unique look.
The Maxx #1 isn't a total departure from the early Image aesthetic. The opening has the Maxx narrating the story of a woman's assault, brooding on the darkness of the city. Rather than leaping in to help the woman, Maxx is seemingly more interested in describing Fridge and Teego's sick robbery and rape scheme. When Teego chases a coin and ends up too close to the Maxx's hiding place, that's when he strikes. A horrific act of savagery that must be left off-panel, for the sake of all decency.
The opening's typical of the Frank Miller-influenced grittiness of the era. It's just smart and quirky enough, however, to wink at the audience and let them know the creators aren't mindlessly following the fad. We learn the Maxx is actually speaking his monologue aloud, humiliating himself in front of the cops who halt his heroic (mostly violent) attack on the thugs. The Maxx's revealed as a delusional homeless man, promptly taken into custody.
The police forget about the victim, leaving her behind as unwitting bait for the series' true villain, Mr. Gone. Gone returns later in the story to terrorize Glorie, a local teenager. Meanwhile, Maxx is bailed out by "freelance social worker" Julie Winters. In Maxx's diseased mind, Julie is his Jungle Queen, monarch of the Outback...or Pangea...or Australia. (Kieth acknowledges he was making this up issue to issue, so the mythology is occasionally shaky.)
The initial hook of the series is the Maxx as a delusional superhero. While he sees himself as the protector of a verdant-yet-savage fantasy world, he exists in "The City" as a homeless bum, generally making a nuisance of himself. With the second issue, the series begins to come into focus.
The story opens with Julie being kidnapped in her apartment by an Is, one of Mr. Gone's servile Outback creatures. Mr. Gone returns from a battle with the Maxx, eager to engage his hostage. What he discovers is a female character who doesn't quite belong in the stereotypical Image book.
As the series developed, Kieth realized Julie, initially conceived as a cheesecake figure, was the true star of The Maxx. (The first issue did hint at this direction, as Julie's decision to "dress like a hooker" is acknowledged. And played off in her usual sardonic manner.) All of the stuff about Maxx shifting between two worlds and causing trouble is nice, but it isn't the heart of the book. In an era of big guns, thong costumes, and blood-spattered heroism, here's a story about a woman hiding from a past trauma, perfecting her cynical facade, and enduring a world she actually doesn't understand any better than her homeless friend.
The sequence ends with Julie taking that tooth and severing Gone's head. She's less angry about being kidnapped than she is about Gone telling her things she doesn't want to hear. Maxx, for his part, spends much of the story trapped inside a dumpster, only freeing himself on the final page. His monologue is genuinely funny, especially if you're familiar with the tropes of the day.
Gone will continue to menace the heroes, severed head and all, until issue #20. After that, he becomes a very different figure, while the focus shifts to another female lead. The MTV series didn't continue adapting stories past issue #13. A second season was actually announced, but never produced for unknown reasons. Viewers still left confused by the series' central mystery, the tangled connection between Julie, her father, Mr. Gone, and his daughter, could only find answers in the comic.
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The Wrap-Up
Design-y
I don't know if Kieth acknowledged this, but the production of the show certainly seemed to influence how he laid out its pages. Early layouts are cramped, with tons of action on each page. It's fun, but the art left the animators with numerous tiny, squiggly images of the characters. Much of the new art generated for the show is in the early episodes. A few issues into the book, Kieth is drawing much larger figures and simpler layouts.
Continuity Notes
Teego from the series' opening is later revealed as an Is. The idea is they appear as human here, based on how they're dressed. Isz (that's the plural) can't truly speak, however, which Teego does.
Approved By Broadcast Standards & Practices
There are numerous times the word "rape" is used in the book, which made MTV nervous. Also, specific references to Camille Paglia, a hero of Julie's, were cut for television. Posters with her name are still in the background art, though. Paglia would later write a fan letter to the comic.
Gone's attack on Glorie was also toned down for TV.
Hey, I Know that Voice
Glynnis Talken, who'd later appear in numerous videogames and Star Wars audiobooks, voices Julie. Prolific anime voiceover actor Barry Stigler, who often went by Gil Starberry, voiced Mr. Gone. Not that anyone knew this at the time. He worked uncredited for mysterious reasons.
Battle of the Bunnies (that's a spoiler)
In this instance, there aren't any substantive adaptation issues to examine. What's worth mentioning, however, is just how well the MTV series holds up. Fans had a sense the Maxx comic was something special when it hit stands, but the cartoon gave the creators a chance to improve every aspect of the story. Dialogue was tightened up, the pacing was improved, and the voice acting added another level of humanity to the material. Messner-Loebs really should've pursued a career in television writing after this. His sharp dialogue is perfect for the pacing of TV.
Just the overall production of the cartoon is amazing. Every few minutes, the animation tries something new and cool. The soundtrack adds personality, but never detracts, from the work. And the voice acting is impressively subtle, funny, and touching, all when it needs to be. The show's available through Amazon now, although the streaming price seems steep. It's highly recommended, regardless.
That’s all for now. Want to see more of these Image shows? Just leave a comment or contact me on Twitter.