Maxwell The Magic Cat

''Maxwell the Magic Cat'' was a British comic strip written and drawn by Alan Moore under the pseudonym "Jill de Ray". Moore produced the strip for the weekly ''Northants Post'' from 1979 to 1986.

Moore originally pitched the ''Post'' an adult-oriented strip called ''Nutter's Ruin'', which they rejected, advising him instead to propose a children's strip. Although ''Maxwell'' is on the surface intended for children, Moore inserted metafictional and surrealist elements, adult references, and social/political commentary into the strip throughout its run. In fact, the Jill de Ray pseudonym is a pun on the Medieval child murderer Gilles de Rais, something Moore found to be a "sardonic joke".

Moore has stated that he would have been happy to continue Maxwell's adventures almost indefinitely, but ended the strip after the host newspaper the ''Northants Post'' ran a negative editorial on the place of homosexuals in the community. Meanwhile, Moore decided to focus more fully on writing comics rather than both writing and drawing them, stating that "after I'd been doing tfor a couple of years, I realised that I would never be able to draw well enough and/or quickly enough to actually make any kind of decent living as an artist".

Overview

As writer Andrew Edwards observes, "Moore's key theme in the strip is how mankind's own sense of superiority is grossly misguided". The (mostly) five-panel strip features a sardonic talking cat named Maxwell and his human sidekick Norman Nesbit. The human bully Mangler Mullins makes regular appearances as well, as do assorted other cats (and mice).Edwards, Andrew
"Alan Moore's Maxwell the Magic Cat"
''Sequart'' (29 May 2008).

Influences on the ''Maxwell'' strip can be seen in Charles M. Schulz's ''Peanuts'', and British children's strips like ''Korky the Cat'', ''Bully Beef'', and '' Dennis the Menace''. Edwards feels that writer Grant Morrison's run on the American comic book ''Animal Man'' was influenced by Moore's work on Maxwell.

Publication history

''Maxwell the Magic Cat'' was published weekly in the ''Northants Post'' (based in Moore's hometown), from August 25, 1979, to October 9, 1986, initially earning Moore £10 a week.Khoury, George (25 August 2003). ''The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore''. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing. , pp. 36–37. The strip started on the children's page of the paper but eventually moved to the entertainment section.

From June 1984 to June 1988 the strip was also reprinted in most issues of the British comics fanzine ''Speakeasy''. ''Speakeasy'' was itself published by Acme Press,KF/RF. "Newswatch: Notes From Various Publishers", ''The Comics Journal'' #112 (Oct. 1986), p. 18. which in 1986–1987 produced a four-issue comic book collection of the strip.

Fourteen ''Maxwell'' strips were reprinted in ''Splat!'' #2 (March 1987), published by Tom Mason's Mad Dog Graphics.

In December 2016, Moore returned to ''Maxwell'' to write and draw one further episode for the ''Post''s final edition.Johnston, Rich
"Alan Moore's Final Maxwell The Magic Cat, In The Final Northants Herald & Post"
''Bleeding Cool'' (December 1, 2016).

The Brazilian publisher Pipoca & Nanquim produced a single-volume translated collection of ''Maxwell'' in April 2020. It features a foreword by Eddie Campbell, an afterword by Moore, and a gallery of Maxwell illustrations by such artists as Brian Bolland, David Lloyd, and Kevin O'Neill.Johnston, Rich
"Alan Moore's Complete Maxwell The Magic Cat Collected For the First Time – and It's In Portuguese"
''Bleeding Cool'' (March 7, 2020).

Bibliography

* ''Maxwell the Magic Cat'' (''Northants Post'', August 25, 1979–October 9, 1986)
* ''Maxwell the Magic Cat'' limited series (Acme Press, 1986–1987):
** #1 reprints ''Northants Post'' strips from August 25, 1979, to June 20, 1981
** #2 reprints ''Northants Post'' strips from June 27, 1981, to March 24, 1983 — includes the original ''Nutter's Ruin'' strip Moore pitched to the ''Northants Post''
** #3 reprints ''Northants Post'' strips from March 31, 1983, to December 12, 1984 — contemporary Maxwell illustration gallery by Ian Gibson, Mike Matthews, Hunt Emerson, John Bolton, Garry Leach
** #4 reprints ''Northants Post'' strips from December 27, 1984, to October 9, 1986 — contemporary Maxwell illustration gallery by Kevin O'Neill, David Lloyd, Gilbert Shelton, John Ridgway, Graham Higgins, Phil Elliott, Rian Hughes, and Brian Bolland
* ''Maxwell, O Gato Mágico — Volume Único'' (Pipoca & Nanquim, April 2020) — in Portuguese

See also

* List of published material by Alan Moore

References

Notes

Citations

Sources consulted

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{{Alan Moore

Comics by Alan Moore
British comic strips
1979 comics debuts
Fictional cats
Anthropomorphic cats
Comics characters who use magic
Comics about anthropomorphic cats
Comics about talking animals
British comics characters
Male characters in comics
Comics characters introduced in 1979