THE MAXX
From what I understand, The Maxx was originally a comic book created by Sam Keith…..
I first learned of The Maxx in 1995. MTV was doing all sorts of outlandish cartoons like The Maxx including such memorable shows like Aeon Flux and the Head. I never missed The Maxx when it was on.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Maxx is an American comic book and animation character created by Sam Kieth and published by Image Comics. The comic book spawned an animated series that aired on the MTV network. The series follows the adventures of the titular hero in the real world and in an alternate reality, referred to as The Outback. In the real world the Maxx is a vagrant while in the Outback he is the protector of the Jungle Queen. The Jungle Queen is similar to the Maxx in that she also exists in the real world as Julie Winters, a freelance social worker who often bails the Maxx out of jail. While the Maxx is aware of the Outback, Julie is not, though it is integral to the story of both the Maxx and Julie.
Bizarre? I know…..So anyhow, I really dug the cartoon.
With all that being said… I was excited the first time I saw him in prototype form at the SDCC08. Geoff Beckett CEO of Shocker Toys had him on display.
Luckily, this years SDCC 09 Geoff had some ready and he was happy to give me one.
Upon opening the display package (shown below),I immediately noticed the heft of the figure. He was pretty beefy, and sturdy, made of PVC and vinyl. The vinyl parts are the upper shoulders, torso and forearms. The rest is PVC.
In my opinion PVC and vinyl together is a rather odd combination that do not work too well together. For starters, I found that the paint took to the two materials differently. Giving the surface different hues disrupting the eye movement when checking out the toy. Furthermore the paint job on the Maxx’s hands was spotty at best.
The last flaw I noticed was the points of articulation, he had a lot of swivel ball joints, but they are loose and sloppy.
Maxx comes with two interchangeable heads, one for when he is in the Outback and another for when he is in his reality. But again, the head is made of PVC and the paint job doesn’t match the body too well.
He also comes with 3 IZS.
The Izs are little creatures from the outback. The Isz figures included with the Maxx (shown above) are black, pink, and white Isz. They are made of PVC the black and white ones are well painted and pretty detailed. but the pink fairy Isz had a less than satisfactory paint job. Here is some info about them.
FROM WIKIPEDIA The main creatures that inhabit The Outback are white Isz. White Isz are herbivores, but can eat most other Outback creatures, as most if not all the creatures in Julie’s Outback are actually plants. When white Isz are brought from The Outback into the real world they become black Isz. Black Isz are carnivores and cannibalistic. They are stronger, faster, and have sharper teeth than white Isz. Black Isz assume different appearances depending on the clothes they’re wearing. In this matter, intention counts more than disguise skills. If an Isz is dressed as an old lady, it appears as an old lady to anyone who doesn’t know what it really is. All Isz are eyeless. In the latter part of the series, Sara’s Isz appear as pink, flying, eyeless fairies and explode if not kept in water.
All in all, I think the figure has a good sculpt that depicts the Maxx well. There were just a few glitches with the paint and the loose joints. If you like the Maxx, I would suggest buying him, but, if you are a toy snob he may not be for you.