Awesome Art’s Tribute to Sam Kieth, creator of The Maxx

Some cliche somewhere said that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ This has proven to be the case for me and especially when it comes to fan art. I have always sought out great fan art and have wanted to share it with as many people as possible. “Awesome Art” is the outlet for that passion. In this column, I will showcase the kick-ass artwork of some great artists, with the hopes that these artists get the attention they deserve. That’s the aim. If you have any questions or comments, or even suggestions of art or other great artists, feel free to contact me at any time at theodorebond@joblo.com.

Born January 11th 1963 in Sacramento, California, Sam Kieth would become a truly uique and innovative comic book artist that broke out with a style all his own in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s standing tall with contemporties such as Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Jim Lee and other titans of the industy in a time in the comics landscape when the focus shifted from the writing more to the dynamic artwork at the time.His work was cartoonish, incredibly expressive and yet still somewhat realistic in the way that he would use textures and shadows.

Sam’s first published work came in 1983’s “Primer”. Other early work of his when breaking into the comics business were on Matt Wagner’s “Mage”, “Freddy Krueger’s A Nightmare On Elm Street” and “Aliens: Earth War.”

I still remember the first time I saw Sam’s artwork. It was on your everyday generic comic spinner rak at the local drug store. Just below the latest issue of Superman and above the latest Uncanny X-Men sat Marvel Comics Presents issue 107 featuring Wolverine and Nightcrawler and as cool as that was when I saw the back cover with Ghost Rider and Werewolf By Night was when my eyes really widened. By now I had heard of and seen pictures of Ghost Rider but hadn’t read any of his books Werewolf By Night I had never heard of but as a little kid obsessed with as much horror as I was allowed to consume so you had better believe I would be all in on a Werewolf. I begged for the issue and before long I was looking through the book on the car ride home. Sam Kieth may not of done any of the artwork in that book but it was both of the covers of his for that book that made me need it immediately.

Over the years I would come to know and love Sam’s artwork. He is up there as one of my favorite artists to tackle Batman and Wolverine espically. His work on Batman really emphasized the moniker of The Dark Knight, as he always looked like the dark brooding hero that would instill true fear in the criminals of Gotham. Wolverine meanwhile always looked as wide as he was tall and built like a refridgerator with so many arm hairs you would think it would take hours to draw them all. Both looked like the diffination of 1990’s cool.

Sam co-created and helped launch Neil Gaiman’s semminal work“Sandman” contibuting his artwork and helping establish the eerie and dreamlike look that would become the series trademark before he would leave the book after the only the first five issues, citing that he felt his artistic style didn’t match Gaiman’s vision for the series.

Sam Kieth’s most popular work however would be his own critically cclaimed creator owned book “The Maxx” for for which he provided both the writing as well as his artwork. The Maxx would debut for Image Comics in 1993 for a total of 35 issues until 1998. The book proved popular enough to spawn a ground breaking animated series on MTV for13 episodes in 1995. The comic series has been collected several times over the years since its initial release as well as being re-publised as “The Maxx: Maxximized” with new colors and improved scans from Kieth’s original work by IDW Comics from 2013 to 2016.

Sam died after complications of Lewy body dementia in his home in Sacramento. He was 63-years-old.

Aliens: Earth War

Arkham Asylum: Madness

Batman Confidential 43

Batman/Lobo: Deadly Serious 1

Batman: Secrets 3

Batman: Through The Looking Glass

Freddy Krueger

Mars Attacks: First Born

Marvel Comics Presents… 89

Marvel Comics Presents… 92

Marvel Comics Presents… 117

The Maxx

The Maxx 1

The Maxx 2

The Maxx 31

Peter Parker Spider-Man 57

Sandman

Toxic Crusaders 3

Venom 1

Zero Girl 2

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