Maxine and her author, John Wagner

Maxine…where do you come from?

From someone with a warped mind and sense of humor most likely!  Or perhaps someone who is quite ordinary?  Actually she is the product of one man’s imagination (yup – a man) with a little help from some real people.

John Wagner is the creator of Maxine.  He works at Hallmark and says Maxine was inspired by his mother, his maiden aunts and his grandmother.  He remembers doodling as a preschooler 
and says both his grandmother and his mother
 encouraged his artistic interests. He eventually 
attended the Vesper George School of Art in 
Boston and landed at Hallmark as part of a
 new artists group. With the birth of the 
humorous Shoebox Greetings 
(a tiny little division of Hallmark) in 1986, a new dimension was added to John’s 
professional life.

The Blame Game

“Cartoonists are sensitive to the insanities of 
the world; we just try to humanize them,”
he says. 

“If Maxine can get a laugh out of
 someone who feels lonely or someone who 
is getting older and hates the thought of 
another birthday, or if she can make someone chuckle about stressful interpersonal
relationships, then I’m happy. Putting a 
smile on someone’s face is what it’s all about.”

The Middle of the Road

 John Wagner’s “Old Lady”

When people at Shoebox 
started referring to the character as
”John Wagner’s old lady,” he knew that would 
not fly with his wife.  The Shoebox team had a contest among 
themselves to name the character and three of the approximately 30 entries suggested
”Maxine”.   John says the name is perfect.

    What does Maxine have to say about politics?  Well – here’s what she says….

Maxine on Bail Outs

Maxine on Health Care

The New Guy in the White House

Maxine’s Motto:

Live your life in such a way that in the morning,
when your feet hit the floor, Satan shudders and says…
“Oh Crap!  She’s awake!”

Enjoy this short video, compliments of Maxine -

What’s your favorite Maxine cartoon?  Share please?

Information for this post was taken from the following website;

http://www.tcnj.edu/~hofmann/Maxine/John_Wagner.htm