Sam Kieth's Awkward and Exciting Comics: From Sandman to Maxx and Beyond

Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @comictropes
Sam Kieth is a comic book artist and writer who many know from his popular 90s Image Comics series The Maxx, but his career has spanned indie titles to mainstream and back. This video looks at his inking and illustrating career on books from Comico and DC and then his roller coast ride in the 80s and 90s on comics like Sandman and Wolverine. His more recent work is much more introspective and emotional, usually told from a female-centric point of view. This video looks at his art techniques, makes some comparisons with his contemporaries and also looks at his awkward life history that impacts his storytelling.

[@christianmartinez774]

I like his take on wolverine. The short muscular hairy wolverine is always my favorite image of him.

[@breadbeard9728]

Weird opinion, I love the 90s Wolverine where he doesn’t have a nose

[@longpigpie3584]

Danny Devito

[@alanmonteros6432]

I don't read a lot of Marvel and always thought that was his more common look tf

[@bigb5206]

Absolutely I feel it was more ruff and meaner and gritty or nasty than anything ever or since then! To say DC was better than Marvel because it was common is ridiculous. Each depended what book you read. Not overall as a collector’s view of each character.

[@ricklominguez2944]

@@alanmonteros6432 it is but he really pushes it

[@MrSamfonseca]

I remember very well the day my brother and I saw The MAXX on MTV and, even don't understand much of anything at the time, the character's image never left our brains since.

[@SlobZombie]

Same, like a dream or something

[@razmatazz9310]

Saw it for the first time a couple months ago, and it immediately drew me in. There's not much other media that invokes such a glorious 90's atmosphere.

[@prajwaljayaraj5887]

Sam Kieth was an extemely underrated artist on Sandman and not enough people give him credit for his brief yet wonderful run on the series. Thanks for the video Chris.

[@robesdebah4811]

I didn't love his depiction of Dream, but everything else was wonderful and made great references to the old horror anthology comics which were hosted by DCs versions of Cain and Abel and the Weird Sisters.

[@themangoman9315]

Just read the first volume of sandman really love the art

[@abuharam]

The colors were a little detractive from his linework on those, too. Maybe just because it preceded the digital era, but all the same nonetheless irregardless etc et al

[@joedent3323]

You spelled his surname wrong mate.

[@prajwaljayaraj5887]

@@joedent3323 Not anymore

[@Beantoon]

I first saw Kieth's work in "Critters" comics, where he introduced the Iz character, and became a fan. At Comic Con one year, he was signing at the DC booth and was sketching and chatting with everyone. He still had a line when his time was up and he lead us over to a the food court area, where he sat and drew us all sketches on his own time.

[@samt5911]

I was always fascinated with Sam Keith's art style. His Wolverine and Ghost Rider covers were so cool. I only own one issue of the Maxx but it was good to see him doing his own stuff and I was glad he got an animated series out of it even though I only saw a few episodes.

[@emersonviudez2284]

You skipped my favorite Sam Kieth books: the three issue-run of Friends of the Maxx. Great art and some of his best stories.

[@JohnnyLobes]

loved his Wolverine and Cyber run on Marvel Comics Presents

[@franciscobello1519]

Frazetta, Art Deco, Paglia, Spirit Animals... the guy's interests are so eclectic, clearly intelligent and personal. Consistency is the mark of a workman, but eliciting strong feelings (including discomfort with the work), comes from the kind of risk taking that is synonymous with being an artist. Few people straddle mainstream and outer limits more than SK. Though I agree some of his more personal stories go to places I can't engage with.

[@joedent3323]

Well said.

[@elizabethmolino8262]

So true

[@antoniolopez-lr2si]

The legend returns! 🙌 Also have you ever thought of doing a video on Jamie Hewlett?

[@lordsofkoble]

Tank Girl and Deadline magazine rocked!

[@tonybaggett1984]

Glad to see your back. Absolutely best comic book channel on KZbin by far IMHO.

[@Secarstra777]

Facts

[@amuroray9115]

I reluctantly agree with you.

[@nickbell8353]

MTV's "The Maxx" was how I was introduced to Sam Keith's work as well. I would say that the series was a straight-up translation of the first 12 issues, and it kinda blew me away. I didn't read the rest of the series for years, and when I picked it back up, it got even more surreal than before. Zero Girl didn't squick me out like it did with you, but I can understand why it did. I grew up in a rural area, and massive age-gap relationships like that were... normalized, for want of a better word. 15-year-old girls would brag about having boyfriends in their 20s, as if they've won a prize or something. Not condoning it, mind you, but there is some truth in that fiction.

[@smacksalad]

In some ways, a true artist (whatever that means) is one we are likely to find inconsistent as they're always trying something new, or something from their heart, or something from having to take on crappy work for hire to survive :)

[@EmptyGoat]

Great content. Sam Kieth was one of my favorite artists from the 90’s, with The Maxx genuinely changing what comics were and could be in my head. Would love an analysis on Humberto Ramos or the madcap Rob Schrab.

[@devinkk]

SAME!!!

[@galactic85]

I LOVE the Maxx. It's definitely a flawed work but it's still one of the most fascinating comics I've ever read. Even when it wasn't working that well I still got something out of reading it.

[@fuferito]

Chris has so much class that, even when he throws shade, by merely _not_ mentioning that (inexplicably successful) hack, Rob Liefeld as one of _Image Comics'_ founders it's a _message received._

[@TheZooropaBaby]

technically Rob was THE founder of Image because the company started from him and Dave Olbrich making a deal to create an imprint (Image) for his creator-owned book....he may be a hack but he kinda helped create massive and significant force in comics

[@Mate397]

Rob might not be a model member of the comicbook industry but you cannot deny his contribution.

[@BruceEverett]

Heh heh heh. I'd noticed that.

[@guanoguy4800]

Rob did a lot of cool stuff. He got a following for a reason. It might not age well, but it was incredible when it came out.

[@LupineShadowOmega]

@@guanoguy4800 I disagree with that man, but I do agree with people pointing out what he did for the industry. The guy does deserve credit at the least.

[@CB-ke7eq]

God, i felt a flood of memories wash over me seeing Sam's Hulk and Wolverine work. Peddled my Huffy to the Sunoco station to buy those and cherry Icee. Aww yiss!

[@skinc4rver]

Sam Keith easily does my favorite version of Wolverine. Wolverine should be a short hairy angry bastard in my opinion, and Keith nails it.

[@erikbuchanan4648]

I would recommend watching the Maxx animated series. It has this moody vibe with some powerful emotional moments. It mixed early computer animation, panels from the comic and traditional animation. The voice acting for Mr. Gone was spot on making him darkly charismatic.

[@superslobber9766]

this is perfect timing! i just finished watching the Maxx show, thanks for the video.

[@MudflapNichols]

Sam Kieth is one of my all time favorite artist. His work is unique, interesting, and unmistakably his own. His blend of realism and cartoon styles is so well done, for anyone else to do the work as well, it would appear as though they had plagiarized him.

[@elizabethmolino8262]

He's mines as well.He really is underrated.

[@CassiusMack]

The Maxx was one of the first books that I ever gotten. I loved it so much! Still have them and a few figures.

[@joedent3323]

The MaxX #1 was my first book, too.

[@7thsaga662]

Thank you. I've been waiting forever for a Sam Keith/The Maxx episode. Hell yes!!

[@residentgrigo4701]

Weird that you didn´t mention his late 80s conclusion to the Alien "Earth War" trilogy. That one is quite unpopular with fans to this day.

[@lordsofkoble]

I recently picked that up and was very surprised to discover my favourite comic book artists name on it. Sam is the 1st person I think of when it comes to comics but I had no idea. Can't say I liked the story though.

[@Pax-pw4es]

That's the one I was thinking of. Gotta admit it, I think Sam Keith's artwork has it's place, but the climax of the first comic Aliens trilogy wasn't it. Especially when the previous series was entirely beautiful airbrushed paintings every page.

[@WilliamTarver848]

I didn't know Sam Kieth did Dark Horse books based on the Alien film series. Gotta check that out.

[@archangel5627]

I absolutely loved the Maxx. I was introduced to the character all the way back in the good old mid 90s by watching MTV’s Liquid Television animation block which had cartoons like the Maxx, the Head, and Aeon Flux. I vividly remember getting my hands on the Maxx comics after I had seen the cartoon series. I also thought the recent Sam Kieth Maxx/Batman crossover mini series that just ended this past year was awesome. I never thought I’d see the Maxx and Batman team up in one comic event but they did and it was a whole lot of fun. I really enjoyed this video and I look forward to seeing more of your content. Cheers!

[@johnnyyu9882]

As usual, this was a terrific video! Sam Kieth’s art is iconic. One tiny suggestion: would it be possible to feature the fan art larger in the end credits? It tough to see the details of the art when it takes up only a quarter of the screen

[@NeilBlumengarten]

The MTV show got me into "The Maxx" and I loved every minute of it.

[@JessicaZane4realz]

The Maxx is so incredible. I love all the comics and especially the tv show.

[@SJKPJR007]

A very thorough, concise and considered look at a very distinctive artist. Fantastic work, as ever Chris. Always enjoy your content.

[@planetschlock]

Sam Kieth's art style was never for me, but I appreciate it all the same and every time I see it, I feel a pang of nostalgia for the whole 90's era of comics I grew up reading.

[@sneakyking]

Everytime I see comic TROPES I think of the intro where you he blended it with a marshal art movie...it was god darn seamless and perfect

[@MaximumCarter]

Wow, when I saw the thumbnail... I knew I had to watch this video. I haven't seen that artwork in a very long time and I didn't even remember the artists name. Until now of course... thanks for covering something so nostalgic for me.

[@colinsmith1071]

Man you have a lot of subs now. However I wanted to leave a note anyways. I read comics in the 80's and 90's but dropped out mid 90s. I was recently trying to remember the name of this artist as I loved his work on Marvel presents. The Wolverine and Spiderman issues. Always wondered why it was hard to find that art work as back then i didn't commit the artists to memory besides the really big ones. I'd good to see he did keep going but I would love to see his art in marvel comics again. Also I liked the art work of one of the artists who did some of Excalibur but I can't remember what part of the run but it was a little like his but much more surreal. Thanks so much for this episode.

[@amuroray9115]

90’s was a bad time for comic books. Do you remember Superman with his mullet? Why was that popular in the 90’s?

[@colinsmith1071]

@@amuroray9115 yes, but I was more of a marvel collector for the most part.

[@amuroray9115]

@@colinsmith1071 oh okay

[@chrash2246]

Sam has to be one of my favorite artists to learn about

[@themr.h427]

just as i recently watched the maxx tv series, you post this. Im glad Kieth is getting the attention he earns

[@Rockjesu]

I recently found your channel and I'm so GLAD. Thanks for reminding me that GOOD comics were so important to me.

[@LeandritoDendrito]

Your channel keeps getting better and better! Don't you ever stop!

[@ChrisHoppe-wordmeme]

Thanks for another insightful video analysis, Chris. I was unfamiliar with Keith before this, but now I'm ready for a deep-dive into the 30+ titles of his at my local library. Love the exploration, it usually leads to some pretty cool art and writing. .... ComicTropes 4 teh win!

[@cjhepburn7406]

Kieth

[@royjones8312]

I love the way he overdoes the tricep. His art always gets my attention.

[@antonydrossos5719]

I will NEVER et tired of that opening! Watched it twice inna row.

[@baconsarny-geddon8298]

You should do an episode on Vaugn (and Marc) Bode- A super-influential artist, but relatively unknown, even in much of the comic book world. The weird, indirect influence he's had on modern visual culture, via his (MASSIVE) influence on graffiti culture, as well as on many 80s and 90s comic artists like Sam Keith, Simon Bisley, Todd McFarlane, Jeff Smith, Dave Sim, etc, is insanely widespread, but also really easy to overlook. Literally EVERYONE has seen his insanelt iconic characters like Cheech Wizard and his Lizards, spray-painted in every city in the Western world, and probably even (unknowingly) recognize his style, yet outside the world of Graffiti, barely anyone even knows who Vaugn Bode is (apart from maybe knowing he got name-dropped in an old Beastie Boys song).

[@MarcoBayod_MB]

I'm discovering this channel, I just saw a video of you talking about your mental health in 2018, came to check new videos and I found you in maybe a better state, awesome office and better sound, this is amazing, really.

[@t.d.h.2938]

Dude you look great! Not just thinner. But brighter and happier. Idk if that's true but man I love seeing you so bright and excited. Been with the channel for a while and loving the growth bro.

[@bloobiebutternuts7613]

Infinitely better than other comics channels. Keep it up Chris

[@jesusjones9215]

Thanks for the video! I used to own the VHS of the Maxx show and I will say it is probably the truest adaptation of a comicbook simply because it literally goes along panel by panel with slight but impactful animation.

[@justingoers]

Thanks Chris! The Maxx cartoon blew my mind as a child. I love the vibe. I just grabbed the first volume of Sandman from my library. Awesome.

[@Hero-For-Hire]

Sam is probably my favorite comic artist ever. I love the artists who show their individuality. Love the Maxx and his Wolverine short story where he helped create Cyber

[@Nightscream72]

9:00: "The regular artist was Dale Keown." True, but Keown had only drawn one issue prior to Keith's fill-in, so there wasn't a long-running basis for contrasting the two.

[@Ste_Sko]

The Maxx... The story, the concept, the drawing style,... The Maxx has definitely conquered a place with me

[@jackofallclaws6672]

A possible episode featuring The Maxx? AWESOME!!!

[@orinrayner]

A well-done episode. I've never heard of this guy before but now I want to go find his work at the comic shop. Thanks :)

[@DIASTCartoons]

His mix media page for that Zero Girl comic looks nice.

[@jacksparrowguy]

I just discovered your channel and this is my first video here! I love your style and your editing!! I can't wait to watch more dude! And thanks for the recommendations. Honestly I'm a novice to comics but this really helps a ton!

[@jokergordon8446]

How in the hell do you still have less than a half a million subs? This is one of the things that absolutely bewilder me. Keep up the good work, I'm sure you will blow-up at some point.

[@beattodeath]

I bet Sam is happy he is still associated with the creation of the comic.

[@kenlieck7756]

Glad to hear you mention Cinamon Hadley. I miss her dearly. She was a sweet kid and it sucks that she's no longer around to see the upcoming Sandman TV series...

[@tmargosian]

Love Sam Keith art! Great content!

[@obeliskthe13th75]

Finally Sam Kieth been waiting for this thanks

[@Sauceyjames]

Been wanting to read Sandman, been a fan of Gaiman (American Gods, Anansi Boys, Stardust). is it worth the hype?

[@ComicTropes]

Yes.

[@doreendeluca1466]

Uh yeah

[@paultapping9510]

1000000% yes. It's straight up one of the best stories told in comic form out there.

[@kauswekazilimani3736]

It is.

[@richardblack3385]

Hell yeah my dude, love all those works you mentioned by the way. I read them all after starting with sandman

[@jeff_superscript]

I look forward to your in-depth look at “The Maxx!”

[@joedent3323]

Cheers Chris! I love Sam Kieth. You can find his early, collected stuff, in a 2-comic-collection (put out by Fantagraphics) named "I before E". I have them, and it's well worth having for any fan of Sam. Much respect from the UK "LiL'JpD."

[@Spthomas47]

If memory serves, I ordered that from a The Maxx comic or maybe a Wizard Magazine. Weren't there 2 of them?

[@joedent3323]

@@Spthomas47 yep: there were 2 issues, published by Fantagraphics. Ill amend my original comment!

[@Spthomas47]

@@joedent3323 wasn't calling you out, bud. More questioning my aging memory hahaha 🤘🏼✌🏽

[@joedent3323]

@@Spthomas47 #1 of "I before E" says "from the creator of The MaxX" on the front cover - so it seems likely that it was out at the same time as "The MaxX", and using its name and fame to boost it's sales. I remember you could buy "The MaxX" cassette tapes from The MaxX comic - so its not hard to imagine that you bought "I before E" from the pages of the MaxX. Wizard did a "The Maxx" #1/2 issue; so there is also a link there between The MaxX and Wizard.

[@joedent3323]

@@Spthomas47 it's fine - I didn't think you were calling me out on anything. My ego is far greater than that ;)

[@giversinner971]

This channel is awesome! I could watch you talk about comics forever. My favorite videos of yours are the rundowns of comic artists, the evolution of their style, and their place in comic’s history. I also appreciate that you don’t play to the algorithm-this may hurt your in terms of overall subscribers, but it also means you don’t have to tip toe around difficult issues for the sake of an advertiser.

[@DippedInInk]

The way Keith created Wolverine and Cyber as a kid I was amazed and skill is.

[@CardboardBots]

This channel is the story of my comics reading life. When I all but quit comics, I could never quit Sam Keith.

[@lukasketner]

When I first got into illustrating comics, I was very fortunate to make friends with Mike Dringenberg. He always described Sam as the "Jimi Hendrix of comics." Mike seemed mortified that any editor would mess with Sam's proverbial guitar on any given title, and should have been a little more flexible if they wanted to retain his interest. I still love those issues, and it's pained me to know some weren't a great experience for one of my favs.

[@Hero-For-Hire]

I love the cover he did with Robin Bane and Killer Croc during Knightfall. That's the first thing I remember seeing by him and it just stuck out against the other art

[@caelumsgreyman]

Sam Keith is my favorite artist. Thanks for this episode

[@LowellLucasJr.]

I personally loved Sam Keith's covers from Cadillacs and Dinosaurs and Marvel Presents! They were Strong both in physical stature and composition! There's a uniqueness to his hairy, colorful work that's ugly, weird but admiring!

[@mariop8852]

His run on Wolverine is my absolute favorite Logan ark. Also just an interesting dude, read an article about him joining a bunch of artists burning their own work as a statement.

[@prowellerable]

I watched the Maxx on MTV years ago. It was so interesting and cerebral I was captured by it.

[@BretGammons]

This video was a treat! I ironically wasn't nearly as familiar with Keith's work on mainstream comics as I was with more offbeat outings like Sandman and The Maxx, so your overview was very informative for me. I think you really nailed it with the Frazetta comparison. Keep up the good work!

[@edwinbaezjr.945]

Hi... I agree with what you said about not liking his stories but loving his art work. Im the same way. I love his art work and I can recognize them without skipping a heart beat. I have The Maxx, Wolverine Covers, Zero Girl, Ojo and Batman/Maxx.

[@koufax3739]

Been waiting for this one Chris 🙌

[@jasoncarrasco7682]

Loved this episode. Thanks for making it

[@aculdra41554]

His run in Marvel Comics Presents is when I first saw Keith's work, and I fell in love with it, and my love for it grew when I saw Maxx.

[@adampatino5372]

Dayum. This dood has the balls to casually throw out a "raip" in his video. I literally cannot name a single other KZbinr that would dare do that. They all go to great lengths to avoid doing that. That's what makes this so funny lolol Mad props, gangstar

[@briankulesz9410]

Chris, I started rewatching some of your older stuff. There seems to be a gap in your videos. I read you were going through a rough patch. Glad you're back. When did you come back?

[@cristoffL]

Great show. Hope you’re feeling great Chris.

[@moise1903]

Huge fan of the channel (one of my favorites) but I haven’t seen any of your videos for months (since summer).

[@vincentimbesi3947]

Great episode!!

[@hal-c]

I grew up on The MAXX. Still one of my favorite comics of all time. Sam's artwork on The MAXX is by far my favorite of any comic.

[@themangoman9315]

I love his art style I have Arkham asylum madness and I want more of his art

[@FowCowMow]

Hey man, I dunno how you're doing with everything these days, but I just wanna say you're looking great! You seem really energetic. Hope you're doing well!

[@vonbrewskie9361]

I'm not a big comic fan, but I'm a huge fan of yours, sir. I really appreciate this video. I don't have a big background in comics. But this kind of breakdown really helps me appreciate the art. Thank you.

[@queldar27]

A wonderful exposé. Thank you very much. I've been a fan ever since MTV's oddities.

[@bryancooper5495]

I’m an artist and Sam Kieth was a huge influence that led me to start studying frank frazetta

[@panelsandplatters]

Thanks for the video. Sam Kieth is my favorite comics creator, though I agree some of his stories can be challenging.

[@collectortherapy]

Chris I just started getting into Charles Burns, have you done a video about him?

[@JoeFlamenco]

Good to see you back at videos!

[@ramseydoon8277]

Another homerun of a video, Chris, you've got one helluva batting average. You're looking great, happy and healthy; I hope that's also how you're feeling! [I also hope that *you* are feeling that way, dear Reader.] Thanks for all that you do and just in case you don't upload again till after the end of the month, have a happy, spooky, eerie, raucous Halloween!

[@Secarstra777]

Happy to see another Comic Tropes video! Don’t stop !!

[@adamderosa9142]

Great episode (as always), Chris!! :)

[@kiddynamo66]

Haven't caught one of your videos in a while and I gotta say, they are looking great! The production, intros and music are so much better and your deep dives are as excellent as ever. Gonna have to trawl the back catalog now

[@leemckenna8214]

As a 9 year old, thinking 90s comics were gonna be worth something (not knowing the difference between my dad and uncles and my mass produced in the millions comics) I had AT LEAST 5 of the Wolverine" Fatal Attractions" with the holographic card lololol I remember thinking it wad gonna make it worth millions aHahaha. I had a GNARLY first issue of a Daredevil run early to mid 90s, one of the coolest covers I remember as a yougin'... Black and White, Sky BRIGHT WHITE most of the cover, black semi detailed. (In white, Windows, gargolyes ledges etc) silhouette of (I BELIEVE IT WAS) The Empire State Building offset to the left, and then like 3 quarters of the way down, tiny red (same kind of semi detail) Daredevil in complete freefall. It was SO DRAMATIC it burned it self in to my forming brain, as it was the first time I TRULY realized how BEAUTIFULLY an artist could tell a story with no words on the page.

[@thebeardofpepe]

There was also something so alluring about the maxx back in the day and still to this day it’s a super interesting read/view.

[@leoalcaraz6153]

Loved his work during what ifs and Wolverine and night crawler; loved maxx I have to say he’s the artist I miss the most

[@JoeyRocket]

Dale Keown penciled, like, one issue of the Hulk prior to Sam Keith's Fill-in. The image you show is from that issue, where he is actually imitating the style of Jeff Purvis who had been the 'regular'.

[@ИльяВолков-ф2в]

Love your channel. Your videos are super informative. Hope to watch more videos about strip artists.

[@MarkLipka]

*Love Comic Tropes.*

[@stevenking3659]

Awesome episode! Maxx is my second favorite comic book series! It'd be awesome if you could do an episode for my all time favorite: Roy Tompkins' Trailer Trash. 🙂

[@nickangelo116]

I used to have that issue of Incredible Hulk when I was a kid. I feel compelled to revisit it online