Sam Kieth essentially made his name as one of the original artists on Neil Gaiman’s magnum opus The Sandman. While that would be enough to win comic book pedigree for life, he also became synonymous with the indie-comics boom of the 90s thanks to his creation The Maxx. Possessing one of the weirdest-yet-oddly-appealing character designs in all of comics, the Maxx was a giant purple creature that fought evil in a possibly imaginary world… when he wasn’t also a hobo. There was also a pretty rad cartoon on MTV too, so bonus.
This fall, Sam Kieth brings the Maxx back to comics with the miniseries Batman/The Maxx: Arkham Dreams. The concept, per an exclusive with Paste:
When a devious new doctor at Arkham Asylum conducts unconventional forays into the human psyche, he kicks off a disastrous chain reaction by experimenting on Arkham’s newest patient: The Maxx! The city of Gotham soon begins to merge with the Outback, The Maxx’s psychedelic mental landscape. It’s up to Batman to save Gotham and all of reality… but only by joining The Maxx on a trip into the darkest depths imaginable: the twisted minds of Batman’s greatest enemies!
I mean, if you’re going to relaunch a character, you might as well do it with Batman in tow.
The five-issue miniseries will begin this September. More details as we hear them here at Batman News.
SOURCE: Paste
UPDATE: Check out the full press release here, originally posted on Comics Now.
Sam Kieth Makes Long-Awaited Return to The Outback in Batman / The Maxx: Arkham Dreams
SAN DIEGO, CA and BURBANK, CA (June 21, 2018) – Batman must face the strangest adventure of his career as he meets the most bizarre hero in comics: The Maxx!
IDW Publishing and DC proudly welcome legendary artist Sam Kieth (The Sandman, Wolverine) back to his first Maxx story in over a decade, teaming his greatest creation with the Dark Knight for a mind-blowing five-issue miniseries event. The first issue of Batman / The Maxx: Arkham Dreams will debut this September with covers by Sam Kieth and Jim Lee.
“Doing a Batman and Maxx crossover is like a family reunion with my favorite brother and our really cool cousin,” says Sam Kieth. “You never want it to end… or at least I hope you won’t!”
When a devious new doctor at Arkham Asylum conducts unconventional forays into the human psyche, he kicks off a disastrous chain reaction by experimenting on Arkham’s newest patient: The Maxx! The city of Gotham soon begins to merge with the Outback, The Maxx’s psychedelic mental landscape. It’s up to Batman to save Gotham and all of reality… but only by joining The Maxx on a trip into the darkest depths imaginable: the twisted minds of Batman’s greatest enemies!
“It’s always a pleasure to work with Sam Kieth,” says editor Scott Dunbier. “He puts his heart and soul into his art, and gives you something truly unique in the process. We can’t wait for people to see this!”
