Kevin Maxwell

A creature of the Copper Age's grittier, more grounded DC universe, Kevin Maxwell made his debut in the very first issue of Checkmate in 1988, courtesy of creators Paul Kupperberg and Steve Erwin. That landmark series brought a spy-thriller sensibility to DC's superhero landscape, and Maxwell found himself sharing its pages with the likes of Harry Stein, Harvey Bullock, and a cast of operatives and agents who gave Checkmate its distinctive edge. With only a handful of catalog appearances, he's a deep-cut figure for the dedicated collector — the kind of character who rewards readers who want to explore every corner of late-'80s DC espionage fiction.