Julie Winters

Julie Winters is a freelance social worker in a gritty urban setting who becomes entangled with the mysterious homeless man known as the Maxx. Her inner psyche manifests as a parallel realm called the Outback, where she rules as a powerful jungle queen.

Few characters from Image Comics' boundary-pushing early years leave as lasting an impression as Julie Winters, who stepped onto the page in Sam Kieth and Bill Messner-Loebs's The Maxx #1 in 1993 — a debut that itself stands as a collector-recognized key issue. Born from the restless creativity of the Copper/Modern Age, Julie anchors one of the most visually and emotionally distinctive series Image ever published, sharing her complex world with the likes of Mr. Gone, The Isz, and Sarah James across The Maxx, The Maxx: Maxximized, and their collected editions. The fact that her story was still being revisited as late as 2019 — a full 26 years after that debut — speaks to just how deeply she resonated with readers who found something rare and genuine in her corner of comics. If you've never spent time with The Maxx, Julie Winters is exactly the kind of character who makes you understand why people fall in love with this medium.