Talk:The Maxx

No rewrite, please
As I mentioned in the summary for the revert, this article doesn't need a rewrite, but expansion. If you want to add back in the info from the rewrite, feel free to do so. But please do not delete information from the article unless you can justify doing so. Also, an intro is very useful, and there is no reason to remove it only to leave in a short, underinformative one that contains spoilers. -- LGagnon 04:00, 18 September 2005 (UTC)

Hey there, so it seems like this article "belongs" to LGagnon,) and I'm just a newbie and don't want to mess with the style or anything, but being a big Maxxhead from issue one, I do have info to add. I'm still quite new here, so I can add stuff, or I can just post things here and leave it up to you.  I'm sure I'll get more comfortable editing articles after a while.  A couple things I do want to add, there was a "radio show" type audio cassette made of the first three issues called "Maxximum Sound" which was really great.  It was offered in issue three, and had great voice acting, fun sound effects, interesting incedental music, and even some silly original "Maxx" based songs ("Mr. Gone's gone gone gone; Mr. Gone!")  It was great to listen along as you read the books, and to my knowledge was the first time anyone had ever done such a thing, and I don't know if it's ever been done since. The case insert had some original artwork, as well as Kieth's usual little indicia jokes. I _believe_ it was produced by a company called "Animated Alligator," and I remember the main producer being named Romero?, and his brother worked on a lot of the music? Another thing a lot of people don't know about is a spoof comic that came out around #3 or #4, called "The Taxx," a BW mini comic with a color cover, that was quite detailed, silly, humorous, and still showed that the creators were probably fans of the original. I _think_ it was put out by the guys doing the "Zen: Intergalactic Ninja" series around the same time? It also utilised imagery from Kieth's earlier works in Comico Primer, etc. I also think it would be worth mentioning Kieth's earlier, "Max" the ninja bunny assasin character, from Comico Primer. Also, I've lost my whole collection and may be a bit rusty, but I'd like to debate some of the complex plot details.) I'd love to get more character descriptions up, maybe even more pics? as well as an essay getting into all the symbolism and psychological, philisophical, and social references and themes.  Another thing that I think is worth mentioning is the extensive fan community that came up around the Maxx, as evidenced and encouraged by the large "letters" section in most every issue, and the "MaxxHead" fan parsonals section eventually added.  Let me know what you think, and I'll help however I can.  Peace.  --Elgaroo 16:50, 28 May 2006 (UTC)
 * I won't delete in pertinant info, but I am going to reformat the plot section (soon) cause it's a mess. --Thaddius 18:23, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

While we're at it, can someone verify that Dave was homeless? Because, judging by the fact that he had an occupation (plumber), I seriously doubt this is true, and that there's plenty more evidence to the contrary. -Phydeaux

First Appearance
First appearance added with citations. Ransak (talk) 05:35, 24 October 2009 (UTC)


 * Comico Primer #5 was not Maxx's first appearance. "Max the Hare" is not Maxx. The characters, setting and story are entirely unrelated to The Maxx. Sure, Maxx may have evolved from this character but this is not Maxx's first appearance. As far as I know, Maxx first appeared in Darker Image #1. Citing a few fan pages is not proper citation. Where is it published that Sam Kieth considers Comico Primer #5 as Maxx's first appearance? - tSR - Nth Man (talk) 23:37, 9 March 2010 (UTC)


 * No response after a year, so I've edited the article. - tSR - Nth Man (talk) 17:55, 9 March 2011 (UTC)

Not the original poster, and I refuse to get into a Wiki pissing match, but Kieth did say as much at Comic-Con in 1995. You could ask him http://samkieth.blogspot.com — Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.228.226.184 (talk) 04:46, 16 June 2011 (UTC)


 * I've corrected your edit and added a reference. Your assumption of a pissing match is very telling. - tSR - Nth Man (talk) 17:08, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

Clarifications in "Plot" section
I'm a bit confused about the first two paragraphs of the "plot" section of the article. As mentioned in the second paragraph, "the series starts three years later". And indeed it does - the story arc beginning with issue #1 occurs after the described events. What isn't clear, however, is the source of the pre-issue #1 information - it would be helpful to know whether this information is revealed later in the series, or if it exists "outside" the proper series. Heiff 04:24, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Further into the series there are many flashbacks and revisitations of earlier events, locations, etc. For example, Maxx's box in the alley, the first scene of the entire series, is revisited several times. This is a special treat, as Sam Kieth's drawing style evolved significantly over the course of the series, allowing him to stylistically re-vamp his earlier illustrations. I've lost my entire collection =( so couldn't possibly give specifics, but the pre-#1 info definately comes up later in the series, nearer the end i think, though there are often tiny, mysterious glimpses and clues throughout the entire series. --Elgaroo 16:16, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

The plot section is crap. I watched the series when it first came out, bought the VHS and watched it in full a few more times. I also bought the full comic book series as they came out and read them a bunch of times. I don't remember being as confounded about what the heck was going on as when I tried to figure out the plot from this article's plot section. Am I just remembering the story being more coherent than it really was, or does this article just seriously suck? 76.126.137.85 (talk) 05:30, 5 July 2012 (UTC)

Cleanup?
If you're going to add a template to the article claiming that we need to clean it up (or any other such template), could you at least mention on the talk page why we need it? -- LGagnon 04:10, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia is supposed to be written in a formal style, without peacock terms. Can we fix up the last few edits to change these problems? -- LGagnon 14:19, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

I'm just skimming through the article right now (nostalgia...) and I simply must say, while what I've read so far has proven informative, I simply can't understand how anyone can consider this NPOV. In particular the second paragraph of the introduction begins by belittling the rest of the genre the series spawns from, and subsequently procedes to gush over the author's infallable genious. Yes, certain points expressed within the article are exceedingly noteworthy (the title character being overshadowed in terms of thematic importance compared to other characters) but the paragraph said information is embedded in is such blatant fan-worship, it's realy a chore to read it. --KefkaTheClown 03:29, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

TV series article
Do we really need a separate article? It seems kind of pointless considering how verbatim the TV series was. A second article would just be redundant. -- LGagnon 20:05, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
 * I agree, in terms of narative, the TV series tells the very same story. The article should not be split unless some serously drastic deviations in the narative occur. --KefkaTheClown 21:52, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

Huh? The TV series is not the comic book, as closely as it may have followed it. You might as well argue that there shouldn't be seperate articles for anime closely based on manga or the Sin City movie. Yes, absolutely make a seperate article for the TV series, note the differences between the series and comic (No Savage Dragon cameo), and let the elaboration commence. -- 4.254.115.217


 * That's only one minor difference, though. You can throw that in a small trivia section. And both Sin City and anime have major differences that a separate article is needed for; this series does not. -- LGagnon 00:28, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

I wasn't claiming that was the only difference, just one of likely many. (I'd have to compare the comic and video directly to get a better idea.) While I can understand some initial debate, the apparent insistance that The Maxx comic and series shouldn't have separate articles seems strange and ...how do I put this?...  "Un-Wikipedia-Like". Did the comic mix CGI and drawn animation? Did the comic feature voice actors? (The list of whom would appear in a dedicated article.) Was the comic one of the first major instances of drawn animation to not utilize animation cels? Did the comic have background music?

I'm not yet a Wikipedia member so I can't create articles and I was hoping my comment above would get somebody to create an article or stub about the series linked from the comic's article and from there I could add to it. Trust me, there's plenty to write about The Maxx series and I can imagine the article being a few to several pages long if enough people contributed. I'd probably be slow about adding to the stub/article, but in the next few weeks I likely would. In the mean time I'll just have to add to the existing article and cross my fingers that the info I add doesn't get wiped out during the inevitable move to a dedicated article. -- 4.254.115.217


 * Right now, this isn't that long of an article. Add info for the TV series here, and we'll decide whether or not to fork it when/if it becomes needed. For now, it is not needed. -- LGagnon 04:44, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

I feel that the TV series does not require a separate article. In comparison with the comic's run, the series is just a small part of the whole. All the pertinent information specific to the TV series is given under its sub-heading; any expansion would only involve a summary of the story, which is covered in the Plot section of the article. I have clarified in the TV series section that many of the secret connections between Julie, the Maxx, and Mr. Gone aren't revealed in the limited course of the show. Pennyforth 21:01, 18 June 2006 (United States Central Time)

The TV series should be (and is) listed here in its own section. It seems to me that only one anonymous user thinks it should have its own article; everyone else seems to agree it shouldn't. This discussion has been going on for a couple of weeks now, so I'm going to remove the tag. Kafziel 14:25, 23 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Should we add on of these templates to the TV series section? --Thaddius 14:02, 13 July 2006 (UTC) ->
 * No objections? I'll add it I guess. --Thaddius 14:27, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

TIME PARADOX
Original run: April 8, 1995 – June 19, 1995


 * Mind explaining how that is a time paradox? The dates also match up with what tv.com has  --GargoyleMT 13:48, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

Liefeld critique
I saw an interview with Rob Liefield giving the comic a vary interesting critic, where could we add this in the article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Leninstomb (talk • contribs) 02:38, 1 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, if it seems relevant, I guess it could be added to its own section at the end of the article, with properly cited sources. 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 17:48, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

Changed Music?
Originally, the radios in The Maxx played I Want to Marry a Lighthouse Keeper by Erika Eigen, but this was changed to "I'm in love with the school bus driver" a similar-sounding song, but at the expense of the Clockwork Orange reference. Surprisingly, I hadn't even realized this (having only original recordings of the aired versions and digital versions of the same) until I re-watched some of the show on mtv.com. Given that this was apparently changed in the VHS release of the show, I suppose it's unlikely to be changed back now, but it may warrant a mention.

SnickySnacks (talk) 19:59, 16 July 2009 (UTC)

Over
Is this series over? If so please add that info to the article.Hollister4Mayor (talk) 03:30, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

MAXXimum Sound
I hold in my hand an audio cassette that says "1993" and "MAXXimum Sound" and "Animated Alligator Production" on it and contains an audio dramatization of the events from the comic book, including voice actors and minimal sound effects and music. Note that the MTV cartoon came out in 1995. And yes, it's difficult to hold a cassette in my hand as I type. But my point is that someone should include this in the article who isn't me because I'm lazy, and I always seem to do it so wrongly that other people revert the edits that I've made no matter how many books and websites I reference. So have at it, you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Doubledragons (talk • contribs) 23:15, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Unsourced Material
Section tagged for needing sourcing since 2010. Please feel free to reincorporate into article with appropriate sourcing. Thanks! Doniago (talk) 19:16, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

A VHS tape was released in 1996 as part of the Oddities line as the "original series" combining 12 of the episodes into a single "feature length" film. However, it is incomplete due to the absence of episode 8. The entire series was released on VHS in the UK under MTV's "Press Play" range.

After the series ended, "The Maxx" become popular with fans and later received a small cult following along with the comic-book series.

In 2009, MTV.com released all 13 episodes on their website for public viewing.

The complete series was released on December 17, 2009 exclusively as a DVD-R title available just in Amazon.com, as a "CreateSpace" program of "Burn-On-Demand" DVDs. The 2-disc set includes all 13 episodes plus interviews with creator Sam Kieth and director Gregg Vanzo, and audio commentary on all episodes.

Other media: RPGs
Amazon info on the Excel Marketing supplements for the Heroes & Heroines RPG:

book one http://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Heroines-Presents-Adventure-Supplement/dp/B000NGSL3O

book two http://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Heroines-Presents-The-Maxx/dp/B005ALYMIK 121.45.214.153 (talk) 08:52, 8 March 2016 (UTC)

Mister Gone
Can anyone think of a good reason why that article exists? It's not like he appears anywhere else but in this comic and its TV adaptation. Whatever is there that isn't here could be incorporated here, if it's worth doing. It has no references. ZarhanFastfire (talk) 05:34, 28 April 2016 (UTC)

Cameos
I'm just adding this here in case its found significant later. "Maxx appeared in the House of Mouse episode "Pete's House of Villains" where he was shown as one of the best heroes to fight against Pete and his villainous friends." Bod (talk) 06:49, 17 December 2017 (UTC)
 * We could probably include it in the article if a third-party source noted the appearance. DonIago (talk) 20:37, 18 December 2017 (UTC)

Parody
In 1996 The Maxx was parodied in a single issue comic titled "The Taxx" (#1, Volume 1) by "Parody Press!", a division of Express Publications, Inc., written by Don Chin with layout by Bill Maus, finished pencils and inks by Mike Taylor and lettering by Hathaway, Leach & Lawrence A.C.P.A. Firm.

The comics' title is explained by both the fact that The Taxx, a commercialized written form of his nickname "The Tacks" has "the world's largest thumb-tack glued to his knuckles" and that the release of the comic originally was sheduled for April, Tax Season in the U.S.

It contains a 24-page black-and-white story wherein the Taxx, whom we find living in a box in an alley, retells his story of having opened a Tax Audit office in Australia but, being overtaxed with the workload keeping him away from his wife, descended into madness, which resulted in the failure of both his business and his marriage. So he decides to set for a new life and follow in the footsteps of an old college buddy who made it big in the states as a superhero. It turns out that the main problem a superhero faces is getting a job in the comic book industry working for one of the big companies. Not having achieved that, the Taxx ends up being a stranger in a strange land, tortured by nightmares, living in a box in an alley.2003:CA:3F18:4663:49E8:16C6:1C81:3F0A (talk) 17:40, 12 April 2022 (UTC)