Sam Kieth, the highly influential comic book artist and writer best known for creating The Maxx and co-creating The Sandman, has died.
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Pop culture outlet Bleeding Cool confirmed that Kieth died on March 15 after a battle with Lewy Body Dementia, a degenerative condition that shares characteristics of both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Kieth was 63.
“We’re deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Sam Kieth,” Image Comics began in a tribute to the prolific artist on Instagram.
“From The Maxx to his work across comics, Sam brought a completely unique look and voice to the industry,” the company added. “His art was raw and unmistakably his. Sam’s influence will be felt for generations. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and fans.”
Born on January 11, 1963, Sam Kieth was a multi-talented comic book creator who wrote, drew, and painted. His art had a graffiti-like style, influenced by fantasy artist Frank Frazetta and horror artist Bernie Wrightson. Kieth used this style for mainstream superhero comics, becoming successful with characters like Wolverine in Marvel Comics Presents and occasional work on The Hulk.
However, Kieth achieved true fame with his 1993 Image Comics creation, The Maxx. The series explored themes of identity, existence, dreams, and reality, all lightly disguised as a superhero comic.
RIP Sam Kieth 1963-2026
— Cool Comic Art (@CoolComicArt) March 22, 2026
When it comes to comic art he showed us that weirder is better
Rest easy, legend🫡 pic.twitter.com/QyVYm64pNt
Kieth’s death follows that of Michael Haley, who passed away in April 2025. Haley was the voice behind the gritty purple guardian of the surreal Outback in MTV’s 1995 animated series, The Maxx. The show, which ran for 13 episodes, was based on the Image Comics series created by Kieth.
Sam Kieth’s Work Beyond ‘The Maxx’
Aside from his beloved work on The Maxx, Kieth had a hand in other groundbreaking comic books.
Kieth also co-created Sandman with Neil Gaiman. He drew the first five issues for DC Comics, incorporating the Bernie Wrightson aesthetic from DC’s horror legacy, which initially inspired the series.
Of course, the character would go on to inspire a show for Netflix, The Sandman, which ran for 23 episodes from 2022 to 2025.
Sam Kieth's highly stylized art blew my mind. When I picked up issue 1 of The Maxx, I was immediately sucked into a savage, Seussian fantasy world. He was far more influential than even he was willing to admit, and his contributions to comics will never be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/14AoybZ6MW
— Sal/ComicPop (@SalSaysWhat) March 21, 2026
For Wildstorm, he created titles such as Zero Girl and Four Women. Meanwhile, for Oni Press, he created Ojo and My Inner Bimbo.
Meanwhile, Kieth had more than a few brushes with Hollywood. Per IMDb, he wrote “No Smoking,” the pilot for Cow and Chicken (created by his cousin, David Feiss). He also directed the 2000 film Take It to the Limit for Roger Corman’s Concorde-New Horizons.
Kieth is survived by his wife of 43 years, Kathy Kieth.