Museum of Maxxiana

the Max Headroom chronicles

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A Universe of Maxes

Between 1985 and 1988, an almost inconceivably vast array of products appeared with Max Headroom's name, likeness or signature characteristics upon them. T-shirts and posters were only the beginning.

This page is intended to be the start of a complete catalog of Max-related items - a virtual museum, of sorts, of "Maxxiana." It is probably hopeless to believe that all items will ever be discovered and listed. We can but try.

Submissions, with descriptions, year of manufacture, maker and licensing info, and a decent photo or photos are actively solicited. As a start, I am monitoring and mining the continuing flow of Max items on eBay. Some very strange and unusual things show up there.

(As a general comment... is it just me, or does the Max that appears on most merchandising look weird? It's a strange, stylized take on the way Max looks that I find vaguely repellent.)

Publications

Item: MAD Magazine Cover & Articles

Description: MAD Magazine #269, March 1987. Mad icon "Alfred E. Neuman" as "Head of the Year: Television Superstar Alfred E. Headroom." Parody of Newsweek cover in Time Magazine "Man of the Year" style. The exact date (March 11, 1987) is bogus; MAD dates issues only by month.

This appearance predates the US series and is based on Max's popularity in the UK and in the Cinemax talk show. There is a page of commentary in the interior that is amusing, but is apparently ignorant of the series that would premiere while this issue was on the stands.

"Max" jokes about forthcoming TV series such as "Headroom of the Class" and "Make Headroom for Daddy." Perhaps most amusing is the comment "I was generated by a computer gone haywire. Yes - I'm a son of a glitch!"

There were only three other appearances of Max in MAD. In December 1987, Max appeared in a piece about talk show hosts. In April 1988, his silhouette was compared to that of Don Johnson. And in a January 1990 satire of the movie "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids," in which Matt Frewer appeared as the boss, he appears as Max in the final panel.

Item: Newsweek Magazine Cover & Article

Description: Newsweek Magazine, April 20, 1987. This cover and article appeared almost two months after the MAD Magazine instance, and provoked a hoot (in the September 1987 MAD) about Newsweek once again ripping off MAD's ideas.

The complete article can be found here.

General Max Items

Item: Max Headroom Fabric

Description: Running fabric yardage imprinted with three different Max images and the "gate bar" name. The fabric is 72 inches wide and each repeat of the pattern is 32 inches wide. Uses would include drapes, pillows, bedspreads, etc.

Manufacture: unknown

License: unknown

Item: text

Description: text

Manufacture: unknown

License: unknown

Coca-Cola Max Items

Item: text

Description: text

Manufacture: unknown

License: unknown

"Coca-Cola," "Coke" and design elements of related products are all
trademarks or registered trademarks of The Coca-Cola Company.

Organization, format, design and all original content ©2005-2009 James Gifford