Maxine Cartoon Web Page Graphics

What is the Maxine Comic Strip?

Resonating with anyone who has ever dealt with the particular vagaries and attitudes of the elderly, the comic strip was a surprise success. Originally developed for Hallmark by the artist John Wagner (nicknamed "arty-boy" by his character, Maxine), Maxine was only supposed to be a part of the Shoebox brand of cards.

However, as the captions came out, Maxine, as a character, became more and more popular. Nothing was safe from the gaze of her sarcastic dark glasses: politics, home life, kids, marriage, jobs, sex, all were addressed with a zen-like wisdom that touched the hearts of millions. Since 1986, when she was first introduced, over 220 million Maxine greeting cards have been sold. She is the only greeting card character to move from the commercial publishing area of greeting cards into a full-fledged role in popular culture. Besides the comic strip, there are books, calendars, t-shirts, paper towels, and even a fully-developed web site complete with a presidential campaign for 2008.

What You Can't Do With Maxine Cartoon Web Page Graphics

A common misconception is that "because it's on the internet, it must be free." However, just because it is incredibly easy to copy and republish Maxine cartoon web graphics does not make it legal. Artists and other content producers work hard to create the material, and Hallmark corporation owns the copyright to the images.

Hallmark's Maxine Copyright

The legal terms of use for Maxine are very explicit on their website: You may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, display, incorporate into another web site, or in any other way exploit any of the content, in whole or in part without the specific permission of Hallmark.com. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, the use of any proprietary Hallmark characters such as Maxine, hoops&yoyo, Revilo, and Asteroid Andy on any website, in e-mails, or in other media without express written permission from Hallmark.

It does not get much more clear than that. While they are happy to have you download wallpapers or send e-cards from the main Maxine site, using any of the images on your own website without permission is illegal. To use it on a commercial website would be just as illegal as reselling stolen property.

The copyright also includes "personal" websites that are not designed to make money. It may take longer for anyone to notice them, but when a person has a MySpace page or other social networking site that features Maxine, whether on a background or just as an individual cartoon, it is illegal. Sites such as The Scream of the Crop, while very entertaining, are also breaking the law. Hallmark's attorneys could issue a cease-and-desist order to such a website, or they could possibly take more serious legal action.

Using Maxine Images Legally

An alternative is to find images that are legal for use, such as these banners. On the official site it states that these banners are "for your site, blog, whatever…" which does constitute written consent from the Hallmark corporation.

There are several sizes to pick from, given in pixels. Pick one, and a new window will open containing the image you chose. You can save it using the right mouse button (or control-click on Macintosh) and selecting "save image." Be sure to note which directory the image is saved to, and you may want to select a different name that you can easily remember.

Final Words

Different sites have different ways to post images. Some use flash or javascript to upload the image into a directory that the site will automatically file correctly. However, some sites require knowledge of FTP and basic HTML design. Using sites such as social networking sites or by reading some of the articles about web design here on LoveToKnow, Maxine's humor can also be on your web page in no time at all.