The Isz

The Isz are small, eyeless creatures from The Void, the surreal otherworldly realm featured in Sam Kieth and William Messner-Loebs's The Maxx. Appearing as deceptively simple white beings, they serve as unsettling inhabitants of that strange dimension.

Hatched from the imagination of J. P. Morgan and first unleashed in Critters #21 in 1988, The Isz are among the more genuinely unsettling creations to crawl out of the Copper Age into the wilder terrain of Image Comics. Over more than three decades, these creatures have haunted the pages of The Maxx and its collected editions, sharing that strange, dreamlike world alongside Maxx, Julie Winters, Mr. Gone, and others in one of indie comics' most surreal and celebrated series. With 46 catalog appearances — including a collector-recognized key issue — The Isz have proven far more than background dressing; they're woven into the fabric of a book that redefined what alternative comics could look and feel like. If you're exploring the weird, wonderful outer edges of '90s Image publishing, The Isz are exactly the kind of discovery that makes digging through longboxes so rewarding.