Destroy All Podcasts DX Episode 105 - Sam Kieth's The Maxx

Good show, and I couldn't help but chuckle ever so lightly at some of the misconceptions thrown about. Maybe it's because I saw the graphic novel, but 'CHUNG' was in the comic, and I always knew it represented Maxx's horrible pounding headaches. But that's just me.

Also, Mr. Gone is apparently just 'known' as 'Uncle Artie', and isn't actually related to Julie at all. Maybe that was always planned, I have no idea.

Great to see it on MTV.com, as you miss plenty due to the edits from the VHS tape I have.

I also gotta call you out on the "CHUNG" bit. No one you know had back issues? None of the TPBs were in your local book shop? You would have also seen that the art style that you were critiquing was almost directly lifted (panel by panel) from the comic.

Also, there was a DVD released a looooong time ago, which contained the same episodes as the VHS. One thing to note is that because of time restrictions, two episodes were omitted from the home video release. I'm hoping that if enough people go to view The Maxx online, MTV will see that there's enough of a market to re-release the whole series to DVD. Then I won't have to rely on bootlegs...

http://thegreyghost.net/

I heard Sam Keith will be doing a two issue miniseries for DC comics called Lobo: Highway to Hell.

If you want more stuff from Sam Keith, I think you can get some other stuff from him like Ojo or Epicurus: The Sage.

I managed to get a few back issues of the comic when they were at a comic shop I used to go to, though I didn't get them all. Not sure if a TPB for it was ever released, but I thought it was nice that the animated series was spot-on to Keith's artistry.

The show itself appears to take place in '92 or '93 the way they mention things like Maxx mentioning Cheers having it's season finale or the guys going to to see "Indecent Proposal" at a theater.

The animation here was done by Rough Draft out of LA, as well as their Korean studio in Seoul. And while it is an early use of CGI/Digital Ink & Paint, it's true the flaws are a tad noticeable but I don't think it distracts too much from the drama on the screen.

I always related to the Sarah character in this story, if only because I found it hard to open up to those around me.

When The Maxx first aired, I was watching it every week on the "MTV Oddities" presentation they had it under (alongside "The Head"), let alone taping it and watching it over and over to get the nuances and hidden details I may've missed before.

The bunny death story was quite shocking for it's time and a look into Julie's childhood were nice little pieces of a bigger puzzle we were trying to solve along the way in the story.

The comic book though was still ongoing when the cartoon was being produced, so the ending was much different there than how the series was wrapped up (much in the way some anime shows often have to wrap themselves up if the manga was on-going and they couldn't get to the end).

Incidentally, that guy who was at the gas station while Maxx and Gone were fighting was the guy who's girl got killed or something at a laundromat in a previous episode.

In some way, my interest in The Maxx is often of a similar nature to the way some may like Mamoru Oshii's work (and why I bother to drag his name here I dunno).

The VHS edition that came out in the late 90's is an edited version of the entire series that is missing a few things (a so-called director's cut I'm told). The version you can get now online or on DVD soon should be complete.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Maxx-Complete-Series/dp/B002WJHDJI

I just got done seeing this, freaking awesome.

I guess the ending kinda threw me off, I figure I would see what the Maxx would look like, but its just a behind shot of him and that's it.

I still liked it alot.