Introducing: The Maxx

I wanna continue with the running them of talking about obscure characters that I discovered in junior high. This was the most influential time for me in terms of comic books since it was a very weekly obsession for me. The Maxx is another comic I got into because of the 7-11 comic book packs. When I first saw it I immediately recognized that I had seen this art style before. It was created and drawn by Sam Kieth who is the master of mass. What I mean by that is that his characters actually look like they have mass and depth to them. His shadows look real. The dirt looks filthy. You almost wanna wash your hands while reading it which makes sense since Maxx is a hobo! In this world at least.

In the Outback he is a warrior fighting to protect his Jungle Queen. In the real world she is Julie Winters, a social worker who is usually bailing him out of jail or chatting with him. She is a cool character and not just because she was hot. There is so much depth to her character that even by the time the comic ended it felt as if there was more to her. I’m gonna stick with the first story arc since later issues were pretty lame and they changed the look of The Maxx and Julie was exchanged too much for Sara’s story which I didn’t care for.

The main villain in this is Mr. Gone. Though he is a stalking murdering rapist I liked him. The way he looked was so damned cool. The long coat that moved and was its own weapon along with the pistol he used. While stalking Julie, Maxx decides to take him on in a crazy gas station battle that ends with Maxx being shot. He uses these little creatures called Isz. They are black eyeless things with hundreds of sharp teeth. In the real world and the Outback Mr. Gone is a challenge to Julie/Jungle Queen. It turns out that Mr. Gone was a friend of her fathers. The voice used for him on the MTV cartoon hit the nail right on the head. So did the rest of them.

It is revealed that in college Julie was raped and beaten by someone she tried to help on the side of the road. To deal with it she created the Outback in her mind where she was powerful. Later she hits a homeless man, Maxx, and instead of helping him because of what happened before, she leaves him. Since the Outback is so unstable now a lampshade that was “touched” by it covers the man’s body and becomes a costume. I know this all sounds insane but this is how this comic book was. If you’ll notice, Maxx looks sort of like a rabbit. There is a whole theme of spirit animals (the second Maxx was horse like). When Julie was a child she saved a rabbit and her mother beat it to death to put it out of its misery.

I have been called The Maxx because one of the most comfortable positions of mine is to crouch down low with my fists on the ground. The first few issues, or when the Mr. Gone story arc, are done the comic began to be all over the place. But the look of the characters and the insanity of the stories and depth make this a comic book definitely worth checking out if you never have. Maybe I will start to make more sense to people afterwards.

Those Who Shaped Me

As any self respecting nerd knows, you have to have a hero. No, I’m not talking about your father who’s sitting in the living room wondering where he went wrong with raising you. No, I’m talking about fictional characters. Much like the blog I wrote about hot cartoon and video game characters this is about the types of characters I have liked throughout my life. This is the cream of the crop, ya’ll. You can tell a lot about a man by who he worships.

Batman



Of course he starts this list off. What is there not to like about Batman? I grew up liking him in all forms from the cheesy TV show and the silliness of Super Friends. Burton almost killed my love of Batman but the awesome ass animated series saved him. Batman is what every hero should be. Smart, fast, brutal, and efficient. How many other people can say they’ve been kicked out of the Justice League because they have a contingency plan to take out every single member of the team?

Blackbolt



This guy doesn’t get the amount of respect he deserves. Blackbolt is the king of the Inhumans and has so much power he cant use it. See, Blackbolt has the ability to destroy things with his voice. Not like many other characters that shout and bring down planes. No. Blackbolt could crack a country in two if he yelled. He has spoken very few times and even knock down The Incredible Hulk with a whisper.

Brock Samson



Brock is what could clinically be classified as a psychopath. He has no superpowers but somehow manages to not die no matter what situation he is in. He took enough darts to kill a man and was buried alive only to wake from the dead, use his car to crash through a super villains lair and kill all of his henchmen without dropping his cigarette. And he’ll fuck anything that moves…except for that one Russian lady and Dr. Girlfriend.

Deadpool



I used to have every issue of Deadpool. Yeah, they ruined him in that terrible Wolverine movie but “the merc with a mouth” is one of the coolest characters in comics. He is terribly insane and violent. One of the only characters that manage to float between evil and good without being jailed for his crimes.

Marv



When I first read the Sin City graphic novels Marv was like what I always wanted to be. Just human but indestructible. He has been stabbed, shot, hit by cars (I’ve been hit by cars!) and managed to keep on going. His determination and loyalty to the very few people that can stand to be around him makes him an admirable guy.

Rock Lee



This kid is from Naruto and honestly when I first saw him I thought he looked goofy. That was until I learned his story and saw him battle Gaara in one of the coolest and intense fights I’ve ever witnessed in a cartoon. The only student with no actual magical abilities Rock Lee has fought and beaten ninjas with far more power than he has with speed and his teacher smiling all the while.

Shade The Changing Man



I first got this comic book on accident at 7/11 and the bizarre story and art by Chris Bachalo pulled me in. He’s from a planet called Meta and he inhabits the bodies of people that have just died, in a coma, or empty. He has been in the body of a redhead (the one I am most familiar with), a psycho, and a woman. He had sex as a woman just to see what it was like. He had sex with the ground and it gave birth to mini Shade’s. Why are all of my favorite guys insane?

Shadowhawk



Again, another one that doesn’t get respect. Imagine if Batman decided to take his level of violence a step further. When Shadowhawk finds and catches criminals he breaks their spines. That’s his thing. And he does his thing well. This artist that drew him (I couldn’t find his version of Shadowhawk) drew in such a chaotic way it inspired my art in the sense that if something wasn’t completely visible it didn’t matter because I knew what was what and where was where.

The Maxx



Another one I first got from 7/11 and went nuts for. The cartoon was amazing as well as it was taken directly from the comic book. Sam Keith was an amazing artist as was Maxx. A man with the spirit of a rabbit. Long claws which are actually his middle fingers dipped in lava and sharpened. He fights Mr. Gone and switches between the “real” world and the fantasy world of Pangaea. Damn, I am really missing good comic books right now.

Skulduggery Pleasant



This guy is the reason I now have a tattoo. My friend and the best human alive Camille first told me about this book about a skeleton and this girl that used magic. I started reading the book and was hooked immediately. Four books later and the story just keeps getting better. He lost his original head and won a new one in a bet. He has a history that is hinted at where he committed very brutal acts. He throws fireballs! This character is amazing and one of the best ones I have ever read or seen.

And this is my tattoo.