Sam Kieth

Sam Kieth (born 1963) is an American comics writer and illustrator and film director, best known as the co-creator of The Sandman and the creator of The Maxx and Zero Girl. He first came to prominence in 1983 as the inker of Matt Wagner's Mage, his delicate brushwork adding fluidity and texture to the broad strokes of Wagner's rather stiff early work. In 1989 he drew the first five issues of writer Neil Gaiman's celebrated series The Sandman, but felt his exaggerated style was unsuited to the book and left, handing over to his former inker Mike Dringenberg. He acted as illustrator on two volumes of writer William Messner-Loebs's Epicurus the Sage and drew an Aliens miniseries for Dark Horse Comics, among other things, before creating The Maxx in 1993 for Image Comics, with, initially, writing help from Messner-Loebs. It ran for 35 issues and was adapted, with Kieth's assistance, into an animated series for MTV. Since then, as a writer-artist, he has gone on to create Friends of the Maxx, Zero Girl, Four Women and Ojo. Ojo will comprise the first and My Inner Bimbo the second, in a cycle of original comic book limited series published by Oni Comics. Loosely connected, the cycle will concern the intertwined lives of people with each other and sometimes with a supernatural entity known as the Mysterious Trout. Kieth has stated that other characters from The Maxx series will appear in this cycle of stories. "My Inner Bimbo" was quietly cancelled after one issue; whether Sam Kieth's exclusive contract with DC had something to do with it, or whether it's his own issues with deadlines, no one knows. Keith provided the cover art for pogo-punk band Groovie Ghoulies 1997 single "Running with Bigfoot". In 2000, he directed a teen-oriented direct to DVD production, Take it to the Limit, about mountain climbing. In Britain, he has contributed to 2000 AD's Judge Dredd and several covers for the Nemesis the Warlock reprint title.