The Maxx, by Sam Keith and William Messner-Loebs (superhero comic/cartoon, 1993-1998)

[lb_lee]

"We all need some place to go away to... some place we can be the people we should've been instead of the people we've become. Some safe place where we can escape reality."

Blurb: In our world, the Maxx is a homeless man who sleeps in a box with a hopelessly enmeshed relationship with his social worker, Julie, but in the primordial Outback, he's a superhero fighting for his Jungle Queen! But it turns out the Maxx, Julie, and the Outback are all hopelessly psychologically intertwined, and a killer named Mr. Gone seems to know way more about all of them than he should...

Why is it worth your time?: This is a very edgy '90s story that Sam Keith says tended to strike specific teenagers in just the right way at a specific time, and indeed, that's how we got into it. It is EXTREMELY uneven in quality, but Keith mashes Outback and "real world", realism and cartoonish exaggeration, together in a way that nobody else does, and it's still beautiful to watch. In an unusual twist for us, we will recommend the MTV Liquid Television cartoon over the comic; by virtue of its brevity, it forced the story to cut some of its worst excesses, and its ending is less unsatisfying and, in our opinion, much better placed.

Plural Tags: abuse intermediate focus, realitymashing, memory work, otherworld, children, nonhumans [spirit animals], visions

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: The cartoon has subtitles on Open Subtitles. It was released on VHS, DVD, and someone put it on archive.org. The comics version is available on paper and ebook, and someone may have textually transcribed them for readers with print disabilities on archive.org? That would be a pleasant surprise!

Misc Notes: The comics version of the Maxx came out in six trade paperbacks (and maybe one of side-stories), but vol. 4 starts with a big time-skip and loses William Messner-Loebs as writer, leaving Sam Keith pulling double duty, and it shows. The cartoon, by virtue of being made in 1995 (and thus before the comic ended) was stuck with the first three volumes, and thus it ends there. The cartoon was 13 episodes, each roughly 10 minutes long, so you can smash through the whole thing in less than three hours.

Steven Universe, by Rebecca Sugar (fantasy cartoon, 2013-2020)

[lb_lee]

"The two of us ain't gonna follow your rules
Come at me without any of your fancy tools
Let's go just me and you
Let's go just one on two!"

Blurb: Steven Universe, a half-human, half-alien Crystal Gem boy, lives with three Crystal Gems on a tropical island, protecting the earth from evil and learning about his origins, Gem culture, and the relationship his now-deceased mother had with his father, Greg.

Why is it worth your time?: Okay, this one goes on here because its "fusion" concept became such a useful concept for a specific subculture of plurals. In Steven Universe, Crystal Gems can fuse with others, mostly via dancing together, becoming one larger, more powerful individual who shares some traits and characteristics of both people while still maintaining their own identity. Over the course of the show, more and more fusions come to light; Garnet, a major character, is a fusion built by two Gems who later marry at the end of the original series. The show also goes into abusive forms of fusion. Rogan still gets all choked up watching "the Answer." The ending is kinda frustrating to adult audiences, and it takes a season or so for the show to reach its footing, but it's worth a watch! Also the music is great.

Plural Tags: abuse low-focus, cofronting, fusion/integration, identityblending, children, nonhumans [aliens, gems, solar-powered robots], community (later on in the series), romantic relationships, friendship, enmity, setting-specific

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: At least somewhat watchable streaming on cartoonnetwork.com? Also seems to be entirely available on DVD, though it's like $60. Subtitled!

Misc Notes: 5 seasons, 160 episodes. Also had a movie, and a 20-episode follow-up series, Steven Universe Future, which cranks the emotional implications of the series up to the max. We watched the whole thing and found all of it worth watching, though if you're going to watch Steven Universe Future, watching the movie is advised.