The Maxx: Maxximized #11 Review


What will Maxx do when Julie decided to leave? Read on to find out.

The official description from IDW:

Julie grapples with how to tell Maxx she’s contemplating leaving him while she tries to see things from Maxx’s POV. Meanwhile, Gone tries, yet again, to reason with Maxx and force him to face the secrets of the Outback and why Maxx and Julie’s relationship is based on things both would rather remain repressed… all this while Julie packs up a U-haul.

The Maxx Maxximized #11 variantThe Maxx: Maxximized is a series that I’m always excited to read, as though it’s waned slightly in quality as of late, it has always appealed to a certain extent. This doesn’t change here, as though there’s a part of me that would have liked a more fun and quirky tale, the emotional direction of having Julie leave Maxx resulted in a deep issue that made me feel rather sorry for Maxx.

Sam Kieth and William Messner-Loebs have been slowly turning The Maxx into a more serious tale, as though we’ve still had fun moments, it has started to show more of an arc based structure. Now this is both good and bad, as building stories delivers suspense and speculation. On the other hand, the charm of the Maxx was it’s crazy one-shot nature. As for this tale, Kieth and Messner-Loebs do a brilliant job of delivering emotion, as though I found it a depressing at times, the development was very touching.

Kieth’s wacky style of illustrating continues to be one of the best things about The Maxx, with the detail and layouts being as eye catching as ever. He does however on top of this also convey the emotional developments of the issue brilliant, with the character expressions really helping to add sadness and despair to the issue. Colourist Ronda Pattison also continues to impress, with her dark tones giving a very gloomy tempo to the art, complimenting the emotionally depressing tale brilliantly.

The Maxx: Maxximized is always at it’s best when it’s fun and quirky. That isn’t however the case here, with the emotional developments being taking away energy, but adding depth. Due to this it still gets a recommendation from me, but I desperately want the craziness back.

OUR RATING
7
  • + Julie makes a serious decision.
  • + Sam Keith’s art is both crazy and emotional.
  • - Felt a little too depressing at times.
  • - I miss the quirky nature of this series.

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