Maxman Johnson isn’t just a comic creator; he is also a cosplayer who appears at conventions as his hero MaximumMan. Maxman was nice enough to stop by First Comics News as he is about to relaunch MaximumMan in color to tell us all about his comic.
First Comics News: When did you start reading comics?
Maxman Johnson: I gained an interest in comics as a youth which later inspired me to draw and create my own characters at an early age in life.
1st: What attracted you to comics?
Maxman: Well as a youth, I was attracted by the various characters within the comics medium such as Powerman, Black Panther, Black Goliath, Brother Voodoo, and the Falcon just to name a few by Marvel.
1st: What was your favorite comic?
Maxman: In the 1970s, my various overall favorite superheroes are Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Black Lightning, and John Stewart Green Lantern.
1st: Who is Maxwell Maxton?
Maxman: Well MaximumMan is a combination of John Stewart Green Lantern, Black Lightning, and Superman, along with some elements of Batman as well.
1st: Is Maxell Maxton/MaximumMan’s image based on you?
Maxman: The alter ego Maxwell Maxton/MaximumMan is a reflection of its creator much like Jerry Siegel is the personification of Clark Kent/Superman as he once admitted in an interview.
1st: Who are the Maxeons?
Maxman: The Maxeons are a war-like alien race that seeks out and conquers other lesser worlds along with harvesting for a rare planetary mineral ore within various planet’s inner core called megnithium, which is needed to fuel and sustain their home world on Maxus Prime once every millennium.
1st: How does Maxwell gain his powers?
Maxman: Maxwell obtained his powers from an explosive glowing red meteor that crash-landed on Earth within a local city park and engulfed him and other nearby standers in strange alien megnithium cosmic rays, these same energies that the Maxeons desperately need to sustain their dying home world of Maxus Prime.
1st: What are MaximumMan’s powers?
Maxman: MaximumMan has an array of energy-based abilities such as energy matter conversion, energy absorption and emission, energy force field aura generation, flight, energy strength enhancement, and energy phasing through solid matter, along with a ultra enhanced third sight sense awareness to detect danger and deceit.
1st: What is Century City like?
Maxman: Century City is a futuristic, yet crime-ridden megatropolis in desperate need of a guardian for its citizens as the Nubian knight of might, MaximumMan is that champion protector for the people, and safeguards the world from the evil Maxeon threat, as other superheroes later appear within the series to assist the man of might in the noble crusade.
1st: When did you start creating your own comics?
Maxman: I started creating my own comics in 1986, as I learned as a Marvel intern (1986-87)under Jim Shooter to formulate comic scripts for myself with some visual illustration guidelines of my concept art, as helpful advice was provided to me by long time Marvel artist, Mr.Ron Wilson of the Marvel Two-In-One series.
1st: What made you decide to start self-publishing?
Maxman: The day that I decided to self-publish was on advice given to me by Mr.Ron Wilson and Top Cow’s own Mr.Mark Silvestri back during my days as an intern as they told me not to give my best character creations to a mainstream publisher that will eventually mistreat you as it once did to such icons as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, thus it was advised to go be an independent publisher.
1st: When was MaximumMan #1 published?
Maxman: MaximumMan was created in June 1997, and published as a four-issue B/W limited series on June 24, 2001, along with tee shirt merchandise that was sold at Geppi’s Comics World outlet under Steve Geppi Diamond Distribution between 2001 and 2004, in Maryland and other selected states. The series graphic novel was relaunched in May 2019, for the color series editions along with added story scripts.
1st: When is the color edition coming out?
Maxman: The MaximumMan color editions will be resold soon on Comix Wellspring as a special mega max edition of all (20) stories in the late fall season along with many other singular issues of Millennium comics titles as well.
1st: Has MaximumMan crossover with other comic universes?
Maxman: In 2019, I returned to Nigeria on a one-man book signing event to promote the MaximumMan series as copies were sold out, as new Maxmaniac fans were born from that particular event that provided a growing fan base within the African continent on both sides of the Atlantic, and including the Pacific during a 2022 -23 book signing event in the Aloha state as well.
1st: Where can fans buy the Nigerian Crossover?
Maxman: MaximumMan in 2015 crossovered with a Nigerian-based character collaboration called, Max Strong of Mpire comics, but unfortunately the collaboration was shortlived with only one issue produced out of the four-story arc for a potential limited series project which was halted after scripts were written, due to creative differences. However, copies are available on special request by contacting the author at maxmanjohnson24@gmail.com
1st: You are known for being a perfectionist, what do you look for when artists depict MaximumMan?
Maxman: I look for character design accuracy in artists’ depiction sketches of MaximumMan from their art skill set, before hiring for a project along with having a keen eye for the minor details as well.
1st: Not wanting to name any names, but has this insistence on quality led to disagreements with artists?
Maxman: Unfortunately when working with certain artistically arrogant individuals within the indie comics community has led to some creative differences and or some freelancers taking unauthorized liberties with the client’s characters by slightly altering the character’s costume design without proper permission, or just not following client instructions and refusing to correct their mistakes.
1st: You dress up as MaximumMan at conventions, where did you get the costume made?
Maxman: I designed the tailor-made maxo suit along with the mask as well, as I provided the illustrated design pattern, fabric spandex jumpsuit, boots, gloves, and cape materials to the tailor and mask maker to fashion my maxo suit design for cosplay to self promote the MaximumMan character.
1st: Which came first the MaximumMan cosplay or the MaximumMan comic?
Maxman: The comic book publication came before the maxo suit costume
1st: There was a GoFundMe for an animated project, what is the status of the MaximumMan animation?
Maxman: A few years ago, I hired a minor animator to make a intro short animation of MaximumMan, but the animator had difficulty in illustrating the energy aura force field around the character during flight scenes, and decided to ditch the project, because of lacking the skills and computer equipment FX to complete the half done project. So I’m seeking another animator for the project to finish it. However, the MaximumMan theme song is fully completed.
1st: What makes MaximumMan so cool, no true comic fan should miss it?
Maxman: Well my guess is what makes MaximumMan such a cool character are his MAXTASTIC ebony scarlet costume design colors along with his kick-ass Villain Rogues Gallery, or maybe his iconic catchphrase, “IT’S TIME TO MAXIMIZE!”, and his awesome energy max transformation from the meek mild Maxwell Maxton to the Nubian knight of might called, MAXIMUM MAN. so take your pick my fellow maxmaniac.
About Author
