The Maxx

The fourth collection of Kieth's dazzling graphic roman-fleuve shows him assuming all writing duties, too. The artwork remains virtuosic (Kieth seems to express as much motion in a panel as an action flick does in a sequence), and what The Maxx may be all about starts to gel. Sara, friend to curvaceous Julie, the Maxx's object of unrequited mooning, moves to center stage. She looks up her long-absent father, an avatar of the elusive, powerful rapist-murderer Mr. Gone. She finds him living harmlessly in a trailer park. But if he's harmless, why do three men in black visit him--and vanish? In other news, the Maxx has a new alter ego, a nebbishy pile named Norbert; Sara's roommate Steve tries to move a waterglass telepathically; a giant yellow slug is offing folks on the list he carries; the origins of Mr. Gone are revealed; and--here comes coherence--things seem to be solidifying into a generations-long case of familial dysfunction. Volume 5 should wrap things up. Darn.