The Maximortal [Paperback]

Rick Veitch (Author, Artist)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 7, 2005

Seven years before The Amazing Adventures of Kavelier and Clay, Rick Veitch married the larcenous history of the comics business to the outrageous themes and characters of his infamous Brat Pack universe, creating one of the most startling and uncompromising visions of the super-hero archetype ever put to paper.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Equal parts heart-wrenching and horrifying, this superhero deconstruction is both a gripping tale for graphic novel enthusiasts and a perfect starting point for those new to the medium. Veitch tackles the daunting task of examining the alchemy of ideas that simply must exist in order to make their way into the collective human experience. In doing so, he presents the painful cautionary story of two naïve young men who create a superhero named "True-Man," only to see the creation lead to their own artistic and spiritual ruin. Veitch offers a warped view of the real story of Superman's creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, adding a dark, violent examination of what a real superbaby from another planet might be like. The narrative's driving force is this unnatural entity, whose attributes are godlike yet devastating (in one sequence, the military struggles to put this nightmarish creature to use as an ultimate weapon, adding a startling wrinkle to the tragedy of Hiroshima). Meanwhile, the Siegel and Shuster surrogates suffer indignities of both a creative and financial nature at the hands of an all-too-human monster: their publisher. Veitch's art is powerful and even occasionally gruesome. With its depth of both art and storytelling, this is a comics counterpoint to The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay: it's strong stuff that looks into the history of comics in America and finds an abyss. (May)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: King Hell Press; 2nd King Hell Ed edition (June 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962486477
• ISBN-13: 978-0962486470
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,154,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unsettling stuff..., February 7, 2008

By 

H. Bala "Me Too Can Read" (Just moved to posh Marina Del Rey, CA - where if you drop a quarter, why, you just keep on walking) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Maximortal (Paperback)

Plot SPOILERS here and there.

Rick Veitch supposes that, sometimes, an idea comes along that is so in sync with the times that it manifests as a living entity. In Siberia, in 1908, a Russian trapper becomes party to the conception of a strange infant, an infant who is then placed in an egg and sent hurtling into space. Ten years later, in Visitation, California, an elderly couple witnesses a meteorite plummeting to earth. A closer look reveals a strange boy emerging from the meteorite. Has the time of the superhuman arrived?

Well, yes. But this is as seen thru the eyes of writer/artist Rick Veitch, so right away you know this won't be your typical superhero fare. This graphic novel, complex and very disturbing at times, won't be for everyone. I've read the thing, and, honestly, I'm still not sure if I liked it or not. THE MAXIMORTAL is, for sure, one of the most twisted takes on the superhero mythos yet. And, in the telling of the Maximortal's story, Veitch will keep you off-balanced and squirmy and maybe even agitated. Here's a hint: it's not so easy to make behave a willful child with destructive powers. Meanwhile Veitch soon constructs a story arc which begins to run concurrently with the "alien" boy saga. In 1937 we are introduced to Jerry Spiegal and Joe Schumacher, who have just created the comic book superhero True-Man. We see them sign a contract with Cosmo Publications, and without first reading it. You just know that's gonna bite them in the behind later.

Both storylines span years, and, in the Maximortal's case, it spans decades. Veitch goes on to tell of the Maximortal's subtle impact on society, from being an unwitting participant in a wartime act to later influencing the popularity of the superhero in cinema. To accomplish this, Veitch uses transitory point-of-views from a disparate bunch of characters - from Dr. John Watson to actor David Niven to even President Truman and Albert Einstein - as they come into indirect contact with the Maximortal. And, pointedly, in chronicling the tragic plight of Spiegal and Schumacher, Veitch signals an "Up yours!" to National Allied Publications (which would later become DC Comics) and its deplorable treatment of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman.

THE MAXIMORTAL is Veitch's deconstruction of the superhero, and it's an uncomfortable look and not for the younger audiences. If you're expecting standard superhero stuff, this is the wrong trade paperback, brother. First coming out in '92, THE MAXIMORTAL hasn't lost its bite. There is some seriously brutal and gross stuff in here. How gross? Well, for one thing, the mystic villain's name is El Guano. With a nice dosage of dark satire, this volume might be too high concept or "weird" concept for some. And the art? Rick Veitch's organic and sometimes explicit visuals, rendered in black and white, suits the ever-shifting story arcs. This trade collects the seven issues in the mini, as well as Rick Veitch's treatise "Curse of the Superman," in which he offers his take on Nietzsche's concept of the Superman and how it applies to comic books. And, if that's not enough for you, then you should check out Veitch's other work into this universe, Bratpack. But a word of caution: that one, too, isn't for the faint hearted.

Me, I'm still not sure if I liked this one or not. Reading it wasn't as enjoyable as reading Alan Moore's Marvelman/Miracleman stories or Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Veitch could've tidied up the main storyline a bit neater. And it hurts that the eponymous character is so unrelatable and enigmatic, although I guess that's how Veitch intended him to be. If there's anyone to root for here, it's probably the Jerry Spiegal character. Ultimately, I was left with a detached feeling, but also still intrigued, if that makes any sense. I was engaged, but not on an intimate level. Veitch has said that this trade and BRATPACK are only two volumes in what would be his 5-volumed King Hell Heroica series. So, as I await more of the man's grotesqueries, I'll give a nod to THE MAXIMORTAL, on the merit of Veitch's kooky and controversial ideas. But if you expect to warm up to his "superhero"...well, just don't get your hopes up.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the Maxinovel, February 15, 2009

By 

Babington (Seattle, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Maximortal (Paperback)

This is a very clever, very funny and quite surreal take on the history of comics, the development of the Atom Bomb, and the biography of Superman, all integrated into a single story. If you're a fan of Alan Moore and ran out of Moore to read, I recommend running through Veitch next, beginning with Maximortal. It's a classic.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Superman and the early Days of Comics Re-envisioned, Worth Reading, July 11, 2009

By 

Michael Dubisch "Reader, Writer, Illustrator" (San Diego) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Maximortal (Paperback)

A twisted but thoughtful re-imagining of the SuperMan story, entwined with a fictionalized retelling of the early days of comics and the experience of SuperMans creators getting thier creation stolen from them by the pornograph publishing company that became Warner Brothers Entertainment. At times violent and disturbing, at other times philosophical and funny, always readable, with great brush and ink artwork and wonderful, inventive page layouts that blow away most of the straitforward, or storyboard style layouts seen in most of todays color books.