 The logo utilized for Marvel MAX Comics | |
| Parent company | Marvel Comics |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | New York City, New York |
| Key people | Joe Quesada Axel Alonso[1] |
| Publication types | Comics |
| Official website | {{ |
MAX Comics is an imprint of Marvel Comics specializing in comic book media aimed at adult-only readers. It was launched in 2001 after Marvel broke with the Comics Code Authority and established its own rating system.[2]
The MAX Comics imprint is not Marvel's first effort in featuring explicit content in their titles. The company's Epic Comics imprint in the 1980s and early 1990s often featured stronger content than their mainstream imprint. However, the MAX Comics imprint is the first time Marvel has specifically produced comics with uncensored content.
History[]
The first series to be published under the Max imprint was Alias, written by Brian Michael Bendis.[3] Several limited series were then created specially for the Max imprint, such as Apache Skies and Haunt of Horror, but the majority of its publications were based around existing Marvel characters, such as Howard the Duck and Devil-Slayer.
One Marvel character who was revived by Max was Rawhide Kid[4] who in 2002 became the first openly gay comic book character to star in his own magazine.[5] The first edition of the Rawhide Kid's saga was called Slap Leather. According to a CNN.com article, "The new series pairs the original artist, John Severin, now 86, with Ron Zimmerman, a television writer. Making the Rawhide Kid gay was Zimmerman's idea."[5] The character's sexuality is conveyed indirectly, through euphemisms and puns, and the comic's style is campy.[5] Conservative groups protested the gay take on the character, which they claimed would corrupt children, and the covers carried an "Adults only" label.[6]
Criticism[]
Former Marvel president and chairman Stan Lee openly criticized the Max imprint. Referring to an incident of strangulation with intestines in the 2001 Fury miniseries, based on the character Nick Fury, whom he co-created, Lee said, "I don't know why they're doing that. I don't think that I would do those kinds of stories".[7]
Titles[]
- Alias #1-28 (2001)
- Apache Skies #1-4 (2002)
- Black Widow: Pale Little Spider #1-3 (2002)
- Blade #1-6 (2002)
- Born #1-4 (miniseries, 2003)
- Cage #1-5 (2002)
- Deadpool MAX 1-12 (2010)[8]
- Dead of Night featuring:
- The Destroyer #1-5 (miniseries, 2009)[13][14]
- Doctor Spectrum #1-6
- Dominic Fortune #1-4 (2009)[15]
- The Eternal #1-6
- Fantomex #1-4 (2013)
- Foolkiller #1-5 (miniseries, 2007)[16][17]
- Foolkiller: White Angels #1-5 (miniseries, 2008)
- Fury #1-6 (2001)
- Fury Volume 2 #1-13, also known as Fury: My War Gone By (2012)
- Haunt of Horror:
- Edgar Allan Poe #1-3 (miniseries, 2006)[18]
- H. P. Lovecraft #1-3 (miniseries, 2008)[19]
- Hellstorm: Son of Satan #1-5 (2006)[20][21]
- The Hood #1-6 (2002)
- Howard the Duck #1-6 (miniseries, 2002)
- The Punisher #1-65; later Punisher: Frank Castle MAX #66-75
- Punisher: The Platoon #1-6 (2017)
- Punisher: Soviet #1-6 (2019)
- Rawhide Kid #1-5 (2003)
- Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu #1-6
- Strange Tales MAX #1-3 (miniseries, 2009)
- Starr the Slayer #1-4 (2009)[22][23]
- Supreme Power #1-18 (moved to the normal Marvel Comics imprint in 2006 under the name of its predecessor, Squadron Supreme)
- Supreme Power: Hyperion #1-5
- Supreme Power: Nighthawk #1-6
- Terror Inc. #1-5 (miniseries, 2007)
- Terror, Inc. - Apocalypse Soon #1-4 (2009)
- Thor: Vikings #1-5 (miniseries, 2003)
- War is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle #1-5 (2008)[24][25]
- U.S. War Machine #1-12
- U.S. War Machine 2.0 #1-3
- Wisdom #1-6 (2007)
- Wolverine MAX #1-15 (2012)
- X-Men: Phoenix - Legacy of Fire #1-3 (issues #2 and 3 of a three-issue miniseries, 2003)
- Zombie #1-4 (miniseries, 2006)[26]
- The Zombie: Simon Garth #1-4 (miniseries, 2007)
MAX Ant-Man and Deathlok miniseries were both solicited, but were cancelled before their release.
Some of the titles such as Alias, The Hood, Wisdom, Thor: Vikings and Apache Skies are considered part of Earth-616, the main Marvel Universe, while others like Punisher MAX, Wolverine MAX, Fury, Deadpool MAX and Foolkiller take place in alternate universes.
See also[]
- Vertigo, DC Comics' mature-readers imprint
References[]
- ↑ "Entertainment News, Celebrity and Pop Culture - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Jonah Weiland (July 5, 2001). "Marvel's New Ratings System... Explained!". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Lee, Stan; Quesada, Joe (2008). Marvel Chronicle: A Year by Year History. London: DK Publishing. p. 307. ISBN 978-0756641238.
- ↑ Comic Book First: Gay Gunslinger, CBS News, 2002-12-11, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/12/11/entertainment/main532702.shtml, retrieved 2009-03-21
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Marvel Comics to unveil gay gunslinger", CNN, 2002-12-09, http://archives.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/12/09/rawhide.kid.gay/, retrieved 2009-03-21
- ↑ Palmer, Joe (2006-10-16), Gay Comics 101, AfterElton.com, http://www.afterelton.com/print/2006/10/gaycomics.html, retrieved 2009-03-21
- ↑ James Adams, "Code Red in the New Comicdom", The Globe and Mail, May 2, 2002, p. R9
- ↑ "The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators". Maelmill-insi.de. 2015-06-28. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Aguirre-Sacasa talks "Dead of Night featuring Man-Thing"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "WW Philly: Devil-Slayer Returns in "Dead of Night"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Warren Simons & Brian Keene On Max's Devil-Slayer". Newsarama.com. 2008-06-03. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Swierczynski on "Werweolf By Night"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "NYCC: Kirkman Talks "Destroyer MAX"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ https://archive.today/20091126034834/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=154261. Archived from the original on November 26, 2009. Retrieved February 21, 2009.
{{cite web}}: ; title - ↑ Ekstrom, Steve (July 13, 2009). "Return to Fortune: Chaykin on Dominic Fortune MAX". Newsarama. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20090519203358/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=120373. Archived from the original on May 19, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
{{cite web}}: ; title - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20071029033839/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=120557. Archived from the original on October 29, 2007. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
{{cite web}}: ; title - ↑ Haunt of Horror: Edgar Allan Poe at the Comic Book DB
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20081208054457/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=150798. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved March 25, 2008.
{{cite web}}: ; title - ↑ "Shout at the Devil: Irvine talks "Son of Satan"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ↑ "Heroes Con '09: Marvel's Starr the Slayer Returns". Newsarama.com. 2009-06-19. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "HeroesCon: Way & Corben Talk "Starr the Slayer"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20081208054452/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=142228. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
{{cite web}}: ; title - ↑ "/404". Archived from the original on March 11, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Singh, Arune (June 2, 2006). "Marvel Fanboys: Mike Raichit Talks 'Zombie'". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
{{cite web}}:
External links[]
- MAX at the Grand Comics Database
- MAX at the Comic Book DB
- Marvel.com
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