Sam Kieth Selected interviews.

STUFFOGRAPHY A chronological listing of Sam's comic, card, and film work.	Sandy Claws: An Interview with Sam Kieth (1992) Image: The Next Generation (1993) Maxx-imum Exposure (1993) MTV "Toonumentary" Interview (c. 1995) A Conversation With Sam Kieth (1995) The Kieths Interview Themselves (1997) Sam Interviews Himself (1998) First Look: Legs (1999) The Other Day I Got to Interview: Sam Kieth (2000)
INTERVIEWS Sam speaks about life, The Maxx, and his plans for the future.
WRITINGS Sam Stories available only on the Web.

Q) SAM: This is really sad. How can you end The Maxx??!?

A) SAM: Actually, it was already "over" (or at least Dave and Julie's story was) at Issue 20. #21-35 was Sara, and that's done too. It's more of a case of me not giving proper closure to everything. Hopefully, this issue will do that.

Q) SAM: So Maxx won't show up anymore? Only FOM stories? Who's the main character?

A) SAM: The story will revolve around Dave, teenage Mark, Julie and other FOM characters that will show up. (Wait 'til Julie wakes up from a drunken one-night stand with Charlie!) But Dave as Hero is gone. That doesn't mean superheroes, Outbacks and other weird stuff won't arise. But it's my sad fate (and my fans') to no longer be the person who created The Maxx. Everyone has to move on--even me. Sorry.

Q) SAM: How come you strung everybody along for so long, keeping Sara an Is in that bathroom?

A) SAM: Fans thought the newer stories were stopping a really good "Sara-as-an-Is" story which they assumed was waiting in the wings. It wasn't. I had no idea what to do after turning her into an Is, which was a one-note joke. Turning her back seemed capricious, as she had no body to return to, since it was already blown up.

Q) SAM: So why not stop milking The Maxx title and change to Friends of Maxx?

A) SAM: From a fan point ot view, that makes sense. But retailer perceptions know books by their creators

• Cerebus=Sim,
• Sandman=Gaiman
• Maxx=Kieth

FOM proved it's an uphill battle to introduce a "real world" book into a crowded superhero market. Retailers have specifically asked me NOT to change the title, just to continue as is. And that doesn't seem like too much to ask, does it? I mean, if it helps retailers stock it, I'd call it My Left Foot. It's the content that matters, not the title, right? The other thing is, The Maxx is not just a guy in a purple suit--he's part of all the characters in ways which have yet to be revealed. So in that sense, he'll never be gone, either. In that case, why change the title?

Q) SAM: Will the old Maxx and Julie ever show up again?

A) SAM: You mean will these characters ever remember being the old Maxx and Julie? Possibly. But we can't go "home" again--I tried. It doesn't work, at least not for me. Anyway, you know how they say the same people keep showing up in different incarnations to work stuff out? Same here. Maybe Dave will be the mailman, or Mark's uncle, or a friend. Seeing old people in new incarnations will be half the fun! Whatever has happened to then isn't invalidated for us just because they don't remember it.

	is ™ and © Sam Kieth. Dwellers of the Outback created and maintained by Chris Caughey.