The Maxx Cast

    "Most of us inhabit at least two worlds;  The real world where we're at the mercy of circumstance . . . and the world within, the unconscious, a safe place where we can escape.  The Maxx shifts between these worlds against his will.  Here, homeless, he lives in a box in an alley.  The only one who really cares for him is Julie Winters, a freelance social worker.  But in Pangea, the other world, he rules the Outback and is the protector of Julie, his jungle queen.  There, her cares for her, but he always ends up back in the real world.  And me, old Mr. Gone?  Only I can see that the secret which unites them could destroy them.  I could be helpful . . . ah, screw it!  I think I'll have some fun with them first."    -The Maxx episode opener
                                    

For the last few weeks I've been wanting to do a little something out of the ordinary.  A little bizarre.  A few years ago, I ordered the animated series "The Maxx" from Amazon.com.  This very outré, yet interesting and entertaining animated series which premiered on MTV back in the early '90s and which was based on a comic book series by artist Sam Keith, who once worked for Marvel Comics, was an adventure story as well as a large helping of pop psychology.  The Maxx is a huge, purple lug of a man and a vagrant who hides his face behind a bizarre mask and is under the delusion that he's some kind of comic book superhero.  His apparent love interest is Julie Winters, a social worker who tries to come off as some sort of hardcore feminist yet she insists on dressing in very trampy clothing, but to the Maxx, she is the "Leopard Queen" in his imaginary world of Pangea.  Both Maxx and Julie are pursued and menaced by what I consider the most compelling and dramatic of cartoon villains - a psychotic rapist and murderer known simply as Mr. Gone who apparently can travel through different dimensions and who also commands an army of carnivorous little homunculi know as Iszs (a sort of demonic version of the Minions from the film "Despicable Me").  It is later revealed in the story that Mr. Gone is Julie's uncle.  With it's plethora of imagery and unique characters, The Maxx seemed just the right subject for my latest addition to my gallery.  And so, I present a lineup of the main characters from "The Maxx."  I hope you folks enjoy it.  (Medium: pen and ink, watercolors, Copic color markers).

The Maxx (C) IDW Publishing & MTV Animation