Max Payne 20: Making of the artwork by Anebarone.

Today is the twentieth anniversary of Max Payne! To be writing that sentence feels incredible. Apart from underlining I’m getting old, it feels special to be part of a community that is still inspired and talking about this game as if it were yesterday. Max Payne has had a lasting impact on many lives. It most certainly had on mine. Ever since its conception, this site has been a love letter to the series and its creators. As time moves forward, one thing remained a stable constant: our shared passion for our titular, in slow-motion gun-wielding, hero.

For years I have been toying with a few ideas that – for whatever reason – never reached fruition. As the date of this anniversary got closer, I felt compelled to do something special. I tried my luck and contacted a few people I’ve wanted to include in the anniversary celebration to try and see if we could bring some of those ideas to life. One of these people was the artist Juliane Hernandes Barone. She is perhaps better known by her nickname: Anebarone. Juliane lives in São Paulo, Brazil (what a coincidence, huh?!) and has mastered a style that looks to be inspired by aquarelle paintings. Her style has something that reminded me of the graphic novels found in Max Payne. I immediately knew I would want her to create an art piece that I would use as the centerpiece in the anniversary celebrations. 

Without hesitation, Juliane (a Remedy fan herself) took this opportunity with both hands and started doing some extensive research. During the creation of the artwork, Juliane and I remained in close contact and went back and forth to make sure the tiniest details got included. Max’s permanent grimace? Check! His necklace? Yes! The Hawaiian shirt? Absolutely! We even made sure the backdrop and his stance would be fitting. Juliane was kind enough to share all of her research material with me, as well as a few of the early sketches.

Although the first Remedy game I’ve finished was Control, I was aware of their games’ using a more unique, multimedia approach to storytelling. Revisiting Max Payne’s use of comics in the narrative and reading interviews about its inspirations and development has touched on common inspirations (Neil Gaiman, the occult/underground, old myths) and only made me a more devout Remedy fan. Patrick had a clear idea of the pose & moods, so all that was left was to make sure all details paid homage to the franchise! This was an incredible collaboration that I hope fans will enjoy! – Juliane Hernandes Barone.

Looking at what Juliane created, I’m convinced she has made something that pays homage to our hero in every way possible. I’m incredibly proud of this piece and I hope you will like it too. Feel free to leave a comment. I’m sure Juliane would love that too!