The Maxx, originally a 35-comic-book series, is a superhero parody whose costumed crusader is a caring but insecure man, his "Gotham City" the inexplicable world of sex and violence that adolescents find both attractive and repulsive. The Maxx is a full-bodied man in purple, with yellow claws and a set of gleaming upper chompers. When down, he is homeless in a dumpster or a box. But, up or down, he is often with hottie Julie Winters, playing the role of boyfriend, protector, or pet. This clever setup matches up with angst-drenched teen fantasies and how teen relationships can look to an outside observer. The Maxx fights a never-ending battle with Mr. Gone and the Isz – eyeless ovoids with needle teeth – and a delusion that he is in "the Outback", an alternate reality that complicates everything. Kieth says a common reaction to The Maxx is "I just don't get it." He doesn't say (as with adolescence) "not getting it IS getting it", or that his weird, kaleidoscopic-y artwork makes it harder to get, but glorious at the same time.
The Maxx was an off-beat "superhero" series and more a universe of its own, rather than sharing the Image universe. The Maxx developed such a cult following, it was adapted into an MTV show: The Maxx.
