Meep

There seems to be this thing going on around the internet now where the word "meep" has entered the lexicon thanks to the Muppets. Well, Beaker specifically.



I was not aware of this phenomena at first. But rest assured, it has annoyed the hell out of me. You might be surprised to know the reason for this, though.

See, it has nothing to do with Beaker or any of the Muppets at all. This may come as a shock to all, but "meep" is not a new thing. I've known this word for years. And it's all thanks to a forgotten comic book called The Maxx.

Ah, The Maxx. Created in 1993 by writer and artist Sam Kieth, this was one of the original Image brand comic books to hit store shelves. Unlike Spawn, The Maxx never really attained a major fan following; it was more of a cult favorite, which managed to extend it's fan base thanks in part to an amazing animated series created for MTV (where I first became aware of it). The series was relatively deep, dealing with the inner workings of people's minds and emotions, and touching subjects that I always figured were taboo for a comic book.

However, there were characters in this series that offered a sense of comic relief from time to time. They were the little black and white eyeless critters known as Iz.



Isz (the plural form of Iz, pronounced is-is) were creatures that would be seen from time to time doing many different things for the main villain of the series' first arc. Besides being incredibly short, eyeless and (at times) vicious, they were known for uttering one thing and one thing only: Meep.

This phrase became a part of my vocabulary shortly after watching the TV show. In fact, I know this to be true of many fans of the series.

So what the hell does this have to do with anything? Well...nothing, really. It's just irritated me that suddenly now "meep" has become such a big deal. The word has even been banned from a school in Massachusetts. And all because of Beaker. And don't get me wrong, I loved watching Beaker and Vincent Honeydew on The Muppet Show all those years ago. I just think that if anyone should receive proper credit for this wonderful expression, it's those little residents of the Outback who have been forgotten.

If you missed The Maxx as a TV show, then I'm going to point you in the direction of the fine folks at Amazon.com. Through their "made-to-order" DVD service, you can now pre-order the entire 13 episode series. Get clicking here to do just that. Let's face it, you could do worse for $20.